A little local...

...news.

I can't and wouldn't put political views here, there are other blogs and sites that can do that one, and at present most of us are in the financial turmoil that is covering the world. I'm sure we all have a view.

My local town is a small market town called Saffron Walden...Walden coming from Walled Town, originally called Chepyng meaning market, but changing it's name in the 16th century to Saffron as it became a centre growing saffron crocus'. It is also horticulturally famous for developing Chaters hollyhocks and carnations, but that's all in the past. It is known as a Quaker town, as the families Gibson, of Gibsons Bank...forerunners of Barclays, and the Fry's (Elizabeth Fry's family) came from here. It has one of the oldest purpose built town museums in the country, a restored Victorian garden, medieval houses with beautiful pargetting, ghost and murder stories...and on it's border is the stately house of Audley End. In all it's a tourists delight.

When we moved here it was a little sleepy, with the usual mix of local shops...gradually the smaller family run shops disappeared. We still have some individual shops, but these are mostly gift/homeware shops now, and I love them. There is an abundance of coffee, and charity shops. It, of course, along with other towns and cities lost it's Woolies just after the new year, and yesterday came the news that its largest independent shop, and in fact its largest shop had closed. A family run business with three branches, it closed for business Thursday...a sign of the times? A mix of the present climate and changes in the local demographics.

And how long had this company been trading? It opened in 1750...