Doing our Bit

1. A sunny early October Sunday afternoon in Rhuthun, with temperatures nudging the very low 20s, and families on or about the Square enjoying ice creams. Not a care in the world... 2. 10 weeks & four days till Christmas and Ernst & Young stated on that same Sunday that by then we'd be in recession. Britain blamed Iceland and the Icelanders blamed Britain and America. 3. Yesterday, Britain averted meltdown for now by a £37 billion part-nationalisation of banks. Look out for balancing tax rises. The paper losses at the stock market last week were almost as great as during the Great Depression. Then, spending dried up in the real economy, with disastrous consequences...

Talk among traders in town and right now, some are privately worried. The summer wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. There were fewer tourists around than usual. Whether it was the continuous rain or the credit crunch, or both, they aren’t sure.

But world events last week, well, that was something else. And the fear is that matters are set to get worse and what happens in Wall Street or Paternoster Square will reverberate around our little town hidden away behind the Clwydian Hills. If the money markets needed bailing out and the banks propping up, what could happen here? It’s understandable that some town traders fear for the future.

Each year on this site we’ve made a plea to shop locally in Rhuthun for Christmas. Christmas can make or break a business. This year, that appeal needs to be said earlier and even more loudly. As the image of booklets in a town window shows, Boots is already preparing or Christmas.

I’m reminded of a couple of recent comments on this site. Said one, ‘I do think it is a shame that Ruthin people rush to shop in Chester without first of all checking out what is available on their doorstep.’

And another remarked, ‘Chester is no longer a pleasurable place to shop. You can find much of what you want here in Ruthin…’ and the pleasure issue's even more true at Christmas.

Added a proprietress, ‘Many is the time I have thought about taking the sign down earlier and going home when suddenly someone will walk through my door at 4.45pm looking tired and bedraggled saying how they'd walked the streets of (usually) Chester/Liverpool all day and couldn't find anything. Within a few minutes they'll walk out with something…’

So the challenge must again go out: with less money around compared to last year, how can we make it count in Rhuthun this Christmas?