Town Centre

[Bill]

It’s a beautiful day for a change so we’ve just had a trip into town to visit the annual makers market that was being held today. Seems like a lot of others had the same thought so the free market car park was quite full and the market itself was bustling.

I’ve probably not been for a proper walk around the town for a few years and it was interesting to see all the changes. The majority of shops seemed to have changed and there were plenty empty, just ready and waiting to become yet another short-lived venture. Quite a few seemed to have changed to meet the towns increased Hong Kong population, and even the HSBC bank had a prominent notice on the door all in Chinese. The large new Chinese restaurant at the side of the market seemed extremely popular and had a massif queue of people waiting for it’s doors to open at mid-day.

Stand in that new market square and it’s like being transported to the future. Move outside though and sadly you’re back in Warrington with its ornate buildings hosting multitude of tacky shops and businesses, many of which seemed to have an obsession with matt black paint. Those that didn’t look dark and dirty were just as offensive to the eyes for being too bright and overly colourful. Maybe I’m just an old fart to the younger generation or the business minded but the visual balance of the place seemed all wrong.

The real shocker though is moment you move just off the main streets and find old buildings with boarded up windows and grass growing in the gutters. Ok some of these are just warehousing and small businesses making good use of what’s there, but the owners and landlords should take some responsibility for their external appearance. I know Rome wasn’t built in a day and we’re getting there but a bit of weed killer and few tins of paint shouldn’t break the bank for anyone’s business.

 

Bill 😊