I see that yet another of the local shops has shut down, its sad how so many of the independent shops round the Portobelloarea have had to shut or move away, not because business was bad, but because their land rent and running costs was increased so much that it was too high to be affordable, even popular shops found that they couldn't afford the new rents. It's these shops that people come from all over the world to visit, not the plastic burger bars like Mcrubbish and the identi-kit coffee 'houses' all lined up one after the other like some chainstore cattle market. Already we have seen two coffee chain stores open up at roughly the same time directly opposite each other, the powers that be at the council like to see all the tourists coming into the area spending their money, yet they fail to realise that in their mania for the tourist pound they are killing off the very thing that makes the area what it is and what people come here for.
Saying that, it hasn't been all bad because in one premises a new 'ad-hoc' shop has opened which is selling all sorts of wonderful cheap things, the other day i found a VHS 'double' video that has two of my favourite films from when i was young, not only did it have 'Sinbad and the eye of the tiger' it also had what i think is one of the best films ever made, 'Jason and the Argonauts' (oh joy!!). Time was i would of sold my mother for that video if i had seen it for sale (i wonder how much i could of got for mum on the open market?), and i think that 'Mr special effects man' Ray Harryhausen is nothing short of a genius.
2 comments:
Also it was sad to see Dub Vendor go. Very sad.
The 2 coffee shops you refer to pretty much killed off the tiny one that used to be next door, Coffee Stop. I always suspect that Coffee Republic and Star*ucks moved in to cash in on the fact that Coffee Stop was in the movie.
I cant believe anyone would be that shallow, surely not!
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