MotherSoup

I’m afraid to go shopping nowadays.

Whenever I walk down the streets of one of East Lothian’s little towns, I find that another familiar, valued local business has disappeared. Right now they seem to be dropping like flies - it’s a bit that that story of the plague village where each day there were a couple fewer parishioners in the church.

I don’t know if the credit crunch has anything to do with it, but I’m sure that once these little shops have gone it will be much, much harder to re-open them. A bit like the Beeching cuts on the railways: just think what East Lothian would be like if we had even one or two or the old branch lines still working!

Right now, the only things which seem to appear in these vacant shops are gift shops and other chi-chi ‘high-end’ businesses- there’s only so many presents a girl can buy. There seems to be no opportunity for day-to-day businesses…

When the Little Soups were young, I found local shopping quite tough. The shop premises in North Berwick, Haddington, etc were not planned for prams and buggies, so you either left your little ones outside (it would always be raining) or hauled them in and out of straps and raincovers. At that stage Kinnaird Park (as it was then) was a much more practical alternative.

But rediscovering ‘little shopping’ was a delight. Lots of variety to keep the littlies amused - and it was easy to use a visit to the toyshop, bookshop or pet shop as an incentive and many - alas by no means all - shop staff were happy to welcome a reasonably well-behaved toddler, who itches to explore so much crowded produce. And there are playparks, gardens, rivers, beaches and libraries nearby as useful add-ons.

And I enjoyed the chance to talk with staff who helped to give each shop its soul. Small children are a great ice-breaker, and I’ve found I’m far more inclined to chat when I’ve got a child with me. Getting advice from a knowledgeable shopkeeper, and knowing that if I revisit or return goods I can deal with the same person is a big plus for me.

I can’t afford, however, to do all my shopping in the little shops in the little towns. But everytime another one dies off, I feel a pang - if only we’d all bought one more thing, would it have made a difference?

Go on, shop local, just a little bit more…