Author Topic: Death of the village.  (Read 729 times)

xetog

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Death of the village.
« on: Aug 18, 2019, 11:30:42 AM »

I have just been reading an article observing the death of village life.  Whilst not, I imagine for the majority, there must be many of us who remember the village pub, the butcher, baker, greengrocer and more.  We lived in a village for 45 years and watched it's decline as often quite well supported businesses failed to find buyers when their owners retired.  We left our village to live nearer our son 7 years ago, but recently had a hankering to return and saw a house we might like close to the village centre.  So we arranged a viewing and took a few days in a hotel to wander around the area. We were stunned.  The village centre was empty.  Where it would always be difficult to park, we could have the choice of spaces We could always count on bumping into people we knew, but the place was empty.  The ancient pub where I used to play Bat and Trap was closed as was the newsagent that delivered our newspapers.  Mr Nye, the Butcher is long gone an that was taken over as a Chinese eatery, but even that was closed.  The one thriving business was the Chemist which had, years ago absorbed the post office.  The general store was actually derelict with weeds growing above its fascia although everyone got their bread there after the village bakery had closed down years ago as a result of some hanky panky between the baker and a local temptress, that has been converted into holiday lets.  We knocked on a few doors, but found no replies.  The co-op had opened up a small store across the road from the station and upon asking the Asian proprietor a few questions we find that most of the locals had gone and all the close properties were now 2nd homes.


I would like to have gone back, but my wife was too disappointed and the place was a bit small anyway.  We hear of supermarkets and e-commerce destroying village life, but I fear the real death is being caused by townies with money.


Mike.x
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Diasi

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #1 on: Aug 18, 2019, 11:43:42 AM »
The general store was actually derelict with weeds growing above its fascia although everyone got their bread there after the village bakery had closed down years ago as a result of some hanky panky between the baker and a local temptress

Mike.x

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Raven

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #2 on: Aug 18, 2019, 11:58:50 AM »
Our Village is down to the local butcher who always does a good trade, the McColls Store, and the Hotel with a Lounge and a Public Bar, the local garage shut about 18 months ago. We now have to drive to either Thurso or Wick for most of our shopping.

sparky

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #3 on: Aug 18, 2019, 12:10:18 PM »
The small Cotswold village we moved to in 1980 had I small shop, and a pub, the shop which my wife regularly  used, was a bit of a meeting point, and there was always village people wandering about, after about 12 years the shop closed, as more and more of the properties became weekend retreats for townies, so  the occasional  occupants  never used the shop, The pub is still there, but we moved to a nearby larger village about 10 years ago  to be nearer doctors etc, when my wife's health started to fail, my late wife and I loved that first village home.

Scrumpy

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #4 on: Aug 18, 2019, 12:42:39 PM »



My village life has long gone.. The butcher, baker and fish shop all closed their doors and turned their shops into terraced hoses where they chose to reside..
 The post office where you could buy cottons .. greetings cards.. knitting patterns plus wool is now a nice looking house.. The petrol pump where the owner came onto the forecourt to serve you ,where he would check your motor over and take it into his work shop and repair minor faults. All gone .... The local pub is still there but not very enticing to enter. Our little medical clinic where the doctor/ nurses and receptionist knew your name stands derelict.. just waiting for the bulldozers to move in..
  Our little Co-op remains.. It had a re-furb a couple of years back so I guess it is here to stay...
  But I know the people.. and they know me.. I feel safe.. and my neighbours young and old are here to help.. So I guess I must count my blessings..


 Through choice I would live in a town where I can people watch..
 
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GrannyMac

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #5 on: Aug 18, 2019, 01:54:23 PM »
I've only lived in one village, it was a mining village and we moved there when our children were small.  It was our first house purchase, and the new homes being built there were cheap.  I think I was less settled there than anywhere else I've lived before or since.  My OH had no connection to the pit, unlike the majority of people in the area.

We moved after a few years, to a suburb where some friends lived and where the school had a good rep.  Even though the children hadn't been at their previous school long, they had some catching up to do!


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R. Gervais

Traveller

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #6 on: Aug 18, 2019, 04:50:19 PM »
The village I live in (and the immediate surroundings) has a population of about 250.  Years ago it had a school, parish church, pub, garage, two shops etc..  Earlier than that, it  also had a police house and  blacksmith's.   All gone now - the pub was the last to close about 5 or 6 years ago. 

Still, it's a nice place to live and if you have your own transport, the bigger towns with their supermarkets and other amenities are within easy reach.   I spent far too long where the view from my lounge was my neighbour's garden fence.  Now I have a nice garden with fields to the front and back and until such times that it becomes impractical to live here, I'll stay put.

As for moving to be nearer children.  Back where I lived before, an older couple whom my wife knew had moved to be near their son and D.i.L.  After a while, the son's job moved and he relocated,  taking him away from his parents.  By that time they felt too old to keep moving and so lived in relative isolation, miles from family.
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Michael Rolls

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #7 on: Aug 20, 2019, 08:41:54 AM »
Our village - population about 500 - had, when we came here nearly 16 years ago, 3 pubs, a post office, a newsagent, a butchers and a garage/car sales room. I suppose we have been lucky - we've only lost two pubs and the post office, but then we don't have any second homes that I know of.
Mike
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Michael Rolls

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Re: Death of the village.
« Reply #8 on: Aug 20, 2019, 09:01:47 AM »
Oh, and the next village - calls itself a town and with a population of 2,500 I suppose just qualifies - when we came had three banks open Monday-Friday, a health centre, a hardware shop, a greengrocers, a ladies' hairdresser, three pubs (one a hotel) a Ford agency, a small cafe, a charity shop - for local charities, not any national ones - a corner shop/newsagent, a barber, and a smallish Co-op. It has lost one pub, the hardware shop, the barber and the greengrocer and two banks with the remaining one now only open of Thursday, and a second corner shop has opened. Compared to some of the experiences on here we don't seem to be doing too badly, but I suppose one reason is that we are not the sort of area to attract second homes from townies, being only 13 miles from Perth and 15 from Dundee.
Mike
Thank you for the days, the days you gave me.
The older I get, the better I was!