Time to Change, Support Local

 We take for granted that we can pop down to our local high street at our own convenience and window shop, pop in for a chat, have someone to advise you on a particular item or just be able to potter.

The growth of e-commerce has shifted the retail industry from the high street to out of town warehouses and cloud storage, creating fortunes for some giant companies but disrupting the livelihoods of many others.

 We live in an era where technology is so advanced but we can’t forget we need human interaction. Technology is important but the well-being of your mind is greater and if the high streets start to diminish then so could our freedom to go out and browse.

 [Last year we went away for the first long haul holiday as our kids were old enough; we had to invest in new suitcases. We shopped in several shops, opened each individual case to make sure it was right, checked that the price tag was worth the build quality and once we were happy we then purchased these.  This would be difficult to do if these shops were not here.  Yes, you could order several on-line but this would have a very bad carbon footprint on the environment and you still may not be happy with your purchase].

 Under these current circumstances that we are all facing together it’s more important than ever to shop local and support local businesses. We do not want to see each town have similarities with big chains taking over but enough independent shops making a difference. Please help us not to lose the character of our lovely high streets'.