This may sound very dramatic, but have you ever stepped back and thought about our high street? The shops, the businesses, the life that goes on right in the centre of our towns?

I must be at a special age or something, but I am really worried about the businesses on our high streets, especially so in small local areas and old market towns. Don’t get me wrong, I shop everywhere, but I do try to get what I can locally. I put myself on an amazon ban because i was getting very lazy and just ordering things, without even thinking about going to town at lunch time to get it instead.

I have talked before about my principles, and it is hard work and sometimes more costly to keep them, but surely, long term, it is worth while? As consumers, we don’t need hard work, we need quick, easy, quality, price sensitive goods.

I wrote the top 3 paragraphs before Covid-19 breakout, and I did this as I was planning a trip to USA with my husband, and managing to buy everything I needed within the locality. Lampeter is an old market town and now, as other high streets, has charity shops etc but it also has lovely boutique ladies clothes shops (catering for different budgets and ages) and a lovely opticians too. I had bought some new daps (so comfy!) and prescription sunglasses and I was ready to go.

My sassy glamorous new sunglasses from Evans and Hughes in Lampeter
Maruti daps from Lan Lloft in Lampeter

Covid-19 has now changed our lives. It will continue to do so for some time. Some changes may be irreversible and our priorities will most likely change. It is like having somebody force to press the re-set button. It is very sobering, emotional, worrying and something so big to get our heads around…if we can.

I haven’t gone panic buying mad, but I did get a little extra during shops and thought forward more about what we will be eating. I am lucky in that we have local butchers, we have a grocery store a farmers CO-OP and a SPAR in our local town so I have been able to shop easily – we also have a chemist so any medical supplies have been available too.

Many of our high street shops are now closed, the clothes shops, the furniture shops, the gift shops – as they are classed as non-essential – which I completely understand. Let’s just remember to go and see them again when all this is over.

In the meantime – it has never been easier to shop local, as many communities will have a delivery system in place too – we really must stick to the guidelines of only going out if we need to, think about the food you are buying – food waste reduction should be boosting the creative side of your mind too. How many meals can you get from different items you already have?

With everything happening, this is not the time for me to preach about my principles, let’s just value what we have, value our family and friends and have respect and admiration for those who are still working as key workers to keep us all in supplies and good health.

So to make you smile (or laugh😂) here is a painting I did on an online art class with Sam Morris.

Keep safe everybody.x