The Traditional English Village Is Dead – But Who Is Responsible?
The traditional English village is dead. What does that mean exactly? Well, it means that the heart of most English villages has gone; the once necessary local, independent shops that served the local community, have gradually diminished, while the residents take in their stride, the weekly trip to the supermarket to stock up on their groceries, along with mobile phones, banking services, broadband and telephone provision, clothes, furniture, medication etc. etc. And who IS responsible?
The days of being on first name terms with the local greengrocer, baker, butcher and so on, are long gone, along with knowing that you’ll get genuinely personal service when you do your shopping.
In the early 1960s, it was possible to walk through one of the oldest villages in England; Aylesford, Kent, and encounter, the Co-op grocery shop, where it was possible to buy all manner of foods, “loose”, (weighed and bagged to the customer’s requirements), an electrical shop, a wool shop and haberdasher (that also sold furniture), a dairy, a newsagent, a bakery, a post office, a tobacconist, a sweetshop, a greengrocer, a butcher, a cafe and a doctor’s surgery, (complete with a dispensary), all within a few yards of each other. Gradually, the shops have closed, as the supermarkets, offering rock-bottom prices, have opened.
Eventually, in March 2008, two shops that had been established in Aylesford village for many years; the newsagent and the hairdresser, finally closed their doors for the last time. By now, villagers had no choice but to drive to the supermarket; a couple of miles away, for their groceries.
In the meantime, supermarkets had been expanding at a phenomenal rate; their low prices forcing local, independent shopkeepers out of business, and changing the face of the English village forever.
Becoming evermore powerful, the supermarkets have gradually increased their level of control over their suppliers, eventually dictating what we will buy and how it is processed.
Of course, it isn’t always easy, or even possible, for some local villagers to make their way to the supermarkets for their shopping but for villages like Aylesford, where local trade has been wiped out by the growth of the huge corporations, a new trend seems to be appearing. Rumour has it that Aylesford village is soon to be blessed with a single local “convenience” store that will cater for almost every need; a Tesco Express.
With pre-packed sandwiches, cheese, ham, and just about all other foods, complete with additives, preservatives, flavourings, colourings and goodness knows what else, Tesco Express is hardly a substitute for the heart Aylesford, and many English villages like it, once had. The traditional English village IS dead. SOMEONE is responsible.
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