Pages

Wednesday 17 June 2020

Is anybody there?



Went off for a short walk in the hills above Matlock yesterday. The car park was virtually empty at 10.15am when we arrived. Usually it would already have been fairly busy but even though the parking was temporarily free the silence was almost spooky. We'd expect to see more people than that on Christmas Day.

The cafe was closed - no takeaway service but we wouldn't have bothered with a coffee anyway. Out on the walk we only came across a woman walking her dogs - nobody else at all. When we arrived back at the car there were more people around but by then the car park should have been full and it was nowhere near that.

Maybe retired people are staying away, but out in the sticks lots of businesses must depend on them during the week, especially in summer. If they don't come back soon, summer will drift on by and quite a few places may close permanently. Oh well - maybe we'll go back to a flask of tea and a couple of Eccles cakes in a Tupperware box.

5 comments:

Scrobs. said...

The latter may well soon be the norm - sort of what it used to be like!

Where's the Primus...?

Sam Vega said...

A flask of tea and a couple of eccles cakes in a tupperware box says "gentle walking in the hills" more eloquently than anything else. At least you know what you are getting.

I think those sorts of businesses, even if they individually go bust, will soon regenerate. They don't need a lot of capital, or expertise, and there will always be a market.

James Higham said...

Eccles cake - yum.

Woodsy42 said...

Could the promise of thunderstorms have kept people home?

A K Haart said...

Scrobs - that won't bother us too much. As you say, it's what it used to be like.

Sam - I think they will regenerate too, because sooner or later I think the people will come back. They may have a problem if the propaganda never goes away though - if we get this every time we have a flu epidemic.

James - too yum, I have to resist a second.

Woodsy - where we were thunderstorms weren't forecast although rain was possible. Doesn't usually put people off too much in that area.