Simplifying Life - Mark II

rosieben

Apart from markets and temporary shops/stalls, I'm thinking local art exhibitions, maybe schools getting involved with local history projects, exhibitions of crafts/needlecraft, local camera club, the possibilities are endless depending on the area, anything that would bring life to the shopping centre and bring people in.. I've just listed a few that are possible/have happened already in our local area. I'd love to see the WEA holding their sessions in places that are easier to access (here its mostly done at the secondary school and that's not walkable especially on a winter evening).

pagangirl

Just heard about 2 more shops going into administration 'USC' and 'Morgan' - both fashion stores - feel sorry for anyone in retail right now - scary isn't it, wondering what's going to go next.
It's pretty empty in town when all the shops shut, although the new Liverpool One centre does stay open late til about 8-9pm - never been there that late though - it's well out of my price range.

Hope your mum's ok Mary, thinking of you (and her)

Thanks for the diary idea Ceridwen - started mine today, just putting in birthdays, etc. Will start up properly tomorrow. You make me jealous with all your gardening ideas - love gardening, but living in a second floor flat with not even a window box - not much I can do ! We do have grassed area between the flats, and those who live on the bottom do have a (very) small patch to plant a few flowers, but nowhere to grow veg (not even got anywhere to dry washing, never mind a garden).:eek:

mary43

pagangirl - glad my getting rid of what I thought was 'sentimental stuff' was of help. My Dad died in 2000, Mum didn't want what she called his clutter so it found a home with me. I've still bits kicking around of Dads and they just might find a new home this year.............I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I haven't missed the bits I got rid of which proves something.
There are other bits though that do mean something to me and are more personal so though they're in a suitcase (Dad's with his initials on) they're not cluttering up anywhere.

Sorting out my photo albums is going to be a chore(though a nice one) as I've so many but I want them in some sort of order (grandchildren in one or two - houses & gardens we've had over the years, holidays etc.)

Thanks for thinking of me and my mum. It doesn't look good for her and we were told a year ago she may not see 2008 but she did, so who knows.

Softstuff

seraphina wrote: »

I've lost any sympathy I had for the high street, if only for one reason - their failure to change their opening hours. We have a fairly typical small town high street - we have a Boots, a Woolies, and lots of independent shops like cobblers, motorfactors, hardware and a bakers. Yet the only shops that are open beyond 5:30pm are Tescos and the takeaways.

Our local independent retailers don't really seem to be helping themselves to survive in this respect. People who work tend to be the people with money to spend so why not make it as easy as possible to spend locally? I bet if retailers shut for an hour or two in the middle of the day, and reopened for 3 hours in the evening it would be more profitable.

I'm against longer opening hours for a very simple reason, I work in retail. Over the Christmas season I've worked up to 80 hours a week. Some days being in store from 6am to sort stock, opening at 8am then closing store at 9pm. And you know what, people were still wanting to shop outside of those times.

I'm not independant, just a manager of a store in a chain who has to go by the hours set by management, set to maximise their profits. But you know what, there are some times people need to stop shopping and do something else. Shopping shouldn't be available 12 hours a day 364 days a year.

I'm about to go into work shortly, and it's new years day.... the only day we've been closed is Christmas day, though I doubt that will last.

Bring back Sundays without shops, public holidays without shops. Bring back just 1 late night opening a week. Give retail staff a life.

ceridwen

Very true...and I am certainly not going to advocate "Open all hours" shopping. I was horrified recently to note some shops staying open till midnight....if I had been an assistant there would soon have been comments about "how am I supposed to be working at a time when I am going to be in bed asleep?" (Certainly with the worsening work conditions now prevalent one of my next economic objectives is now to ensure that I have enough in savings to live on for 6 months.....so that if I ever had to resign from a job because of poor work conditions I could handle the "up to 6 months disqualification from benefit" that might get imposed). I do now strongly advocate that anyone who can possibly manage it has a bit of savings to enable them to avoid the worst of what employers might try to impose in terms of working conditions. I have been unemployed before now and was very grateful that I had a bit of savings - as that meant I was able to turn down a couple of job offers for jobs where there would have been unsafe work conditions, etc. Errr....think its colloquially known as "S** Off Money":D

What I do advocate is some Street Life/some reason to go to the High Street other than shopping.

Shopping is not my idea of a leisuretime pursuit...I've got a more typically "male" attitude to shopping it seems...."shop and go". I just want to head straight for the shop I want/head straight for the item(s) I require...and get on with something more interesting. I dont see the point of windowshopping for instance.

I sympathise with the comment about "Give retail staff a life". In the past I could have asked for a retail job if need be - now I cant. Reason: I wouldnt be prepared to work evenings, Sundays or Bank Holidays...and as for nights!!!!

Our society as a whole is the poorer because of the "work all hours" trend prevalent in recent years. I recall when it was possible to take it for granted that everyone else would be available for leisure in leisurehours - ie evenings/weekends. It was a downward shift when people started having to excuse themselves from leisure pursuits because they were having to work then.

In fact - this whole thread started because of my sheer frustration and tiredness from "working all hours" - from doing various part-time jobs on top of my full-time one. Those other jobs have now gone - and its a blessed relief!

lilac_lady

I "shop and go" too and avoid weekends and school holidays when possible. If shops opened later there would be some staff who would take a late shift to fit in with family commitments. It's not easy to work 9 - 5 if you've got small children. Longer opening hours would mean more choice for staff as well as customers.

Softstuff

Unfortunately Ceridwen, over here working conditions in retail have been pretty dire for a while. The way I've been treated is pretty much the norm. You have 2 options in the world of work here - the first is to be a casual employee, with no guaranteed hours, sick pay or holiday pay. You then get paid for all the hours you work, and also get extra on public holidays and sundays, but may receive no hours on certain weeks due to business demands. The second option is to be "salaried". This tends to be an option only for senior management, and the option I have as store manager. It means you'll be paid for 40 hours a week, recieve up to 2 weeks sick pay a year, and 3 weeks paid leave. Unfortunately it also means you'll work all bank holidays and other public holidays for no extra wage, and you'll also end up working up to 80 hours a week during busy periods, again for no extra.

The stores here have been open as late as midnight, fortunately as store manager I flatly told my area manager that 9pm was as late as I would go. Given that he knows how much I've been working recently, he wasn't apt to argue.

Today, New years day, the centre was full of people browsing. I despaired at their lack of imagination. If a person can't find something to do with leisure time other than wander around shops it's alarming.

As for the comment that longer opening hours mean more choice for the employee, over here that certainly hasn't been the case. Instead of working 9-5 (we've never been open that few hours, the least has been 8.30-5.30), the simple fact here is if you're open 8.30 - 9pm, as a manager that's how long you'll end up working. I've met a few other managers in the centre who were close to breakdown. One lady spoke to me on Christmas eve, almost in tears, saying she was so exhausted she'd sleep through Christmas day.

To my mind a reduction in shopping hours would be a huge step towards simplifying life for the entire population. As for the issue of convenience, there would be few people who wouldn't manage to purchase what they wanted of stores opened 6 days a week with one late night, and no public holidays, especially since the advent of the internet.

ceridwen

On a lighter note - I've just found an amusing little clip on You Tube - I couldnt make the link work. So click on the You Tube clip below and type "I have to get ready" into the search box - its the little cartoon entitled "Tales of mere existence - I have to get ready" (anyone know how to give a direct link that will work?)

http://www.youtube.com/

errrr....I could so relate to it when I'm in procrastination mode....why dya think I'm getting myself so organised:D ...if I have to face a list of things I've made up that I should be doing....then I get at least some of them done...and can then sit and watch birds/clouds/candleflames or listen to music....(the simple pleasures of life without the "Guilt Demon" sitting on my shoulders going "coulda/shoulda/woulda");)

Charis

ceridwen wrote: »

Good point....I tend to think one must always regard all adversity as opportunity in disguise...the silver lining to every cloud.

I think we all recognise that there are soon going to be a lot of empty shop premises with signs above them offering them for lease. [...]These buildings are all usable space/resources available to us all...so the question is what do we want to do with them?

Ceridwen, you have just given me an idea. The centre of our town is all ancient buildings, difficult for people to access upstairs, so the ground floors have all been premium property. One effect of this is that every suggestion to have a drop in centre which could become a focal point for the community has fallen at the first hurdle - expense. If we have any shops which lie empty for a while maybe we can put the idea up for discussion again. We could have a kind of coffee bar/local information, help and advice centre. We could reclaim the town centre for the inhabitants.

Greenshieldstamp_2

Hi there,

Just wanted to wish everyone on Simplifying Life a Happy and peaceful New Year. I hope we are able to survive the rollercoaster of whatever 2009 may bring.

I love this thread - it has so many different viewpoints, ideas and things which encourage us to think in different ways.

Thanks SoftStuff - it has been interesting hearing from a retail point of view.

Bye for now and thanks everyone
Greenshield