New year ponderings

This time last week we were eating our New Year dinner and wondering what would happen in 2009. We do this every year - its a tradition. We think about what we would like to happen in our perfect world, as we sit around the table safe, secure and well fed.

The biggest news and changes seem to be on the high street.

Yesterday Woolworths shut its doors for the final time. Today M&S announced 1200 job loses. A few weeks ago either piece of news would have been unbelievable.

As a child I remember Woolworth for the forbidden, magical 'pick n mix' sweets on the small island town where I was bought up. Until this Christmas, I took my children to Woolies every Saturday to spend their weekly £1 sweetie money, and I bought many of their clothes there (my youngest are wearing lovely ladybird coats this year). As I listened to the news a couple of weeks ago, I noted that even the BBC reporter referred to Woolwoths as Woolies :-) Its hard not to... everyone shops at woolies! Its the only place I can pick up baby clothes, sweeties, paint, DVDs, lampshades, baking trays and a newspaper. Perfect when you are in a rush!

This year, on Guy Fawlkes Night, Woolworth would have been 100 years old. It started in Liverpool on November 1909. What a shame it wasn't rescued in time to celebrate its 100th birthday.

Now M&S are cutting 1200 jobs! I love M&S for work clothes and lingure. As a child I was bought up to think M&S were posh, now they are my lifeline whenever I need gluten free sausages, saffron, decent wine or various other things not generally available in Blackpool!

Last night I realised that an event I was attending and thought was a business lunch was actually a black tie dinner. Today I ran to M&S, with a grumpy Tabby in her buggy, and explained the situation. Three wonderful ladies sprung into action (after telling me I should have come in last week) and went through the racks pulling out their favorite clothes.

I left the shop a record 30 mins later with a black velvet strapless gown; a silver grey silk boloro wrap; a stunning silver grey evening skirt; and a fab faux faux jacket .......all were sale items and totaled less than the skirt would have cost pre-sale.

Carrying on with the high street theme...MFI have gone, and Adams have called in the receivers too :-( I bought my first 'fitted bedroom' fromMFI....and have often picked up kids bits from Adams, although not trousers as they seem to be for more 'rounded' kids as the legs fitted but the waists were far too big - lol.

In Blackpool we have new, improved Shopping Centre. It has a new food court with photos by Chromasia :-) (I will try and photograph it at a later date). These weren't commissioned photos, but photos from our archives licensed by Modus (the contractors). We saw the plans, but seeing a photo 10 meter long was a little different!

Now the High Street has empty shops where Next and River Island used to be and there is a empty corner where Woolies has served clothes, lampshades and paint to locals along side buckets and spades to holiday makers.

For me the worst bit is the wonderful Grade II listed post office building (another photo for the future). It has two huge entrances and yards of polished wood counters. Last year it closed its doors for the last time. Now we have to go to WH Smths in the pedestrianised part of town (which is ok if u aren’t carrying anything heavy) and queue to get a lift to the basement where the post office has been relocated. I am guessing this move wasn’t planned by anyone who has to take young children with them, or uses a wheelchair, or whose legs aren’t what they once were.

If the Post Office shuts it won’t really be a shock. For years they have been making it more difficult to use their service. As a child they were the General Post Office and I was in awe of the GPO Tower in London, and the tidy row of red post and phone boxes outside every post office. Then they split to the post office (for postal services) and BT (for phones). The PO kept the regal red colours, but BT went to a mix of drab gray and custard yellow. Since then both have had several face lifts, and various bits have been sold off; but its not really working. The Post Office now has one company to sell stamps and operate the counter, another to deliver letters and a third to deliver parcels.

I wonder what the high street will look like by the end of 2009?

Escaping all that...here are some of the kids on the beach on Boxing Day.