About to Close

Cerrig & the Green Lady is to close. There are "closing down" posters dotted around the windows. The stock's already run down. This is happening to one of our most prominent locations, on the corner of St Peter’s Square and Clwyd Street.

It's also a symbol:

• Back in October 2007 at its opening, it was a sign of optimism. It showed a vote in Rhuthun as a visitor destination. Just over a year after Tesco arrived, the town was beginning to feel the pinch. The future rested more in comparison shopping like Cerrig rather than the convenience shops forced to close. Cerrig was the sort of shop we needed.
• Fast forward to 2011 and among a string of closures this month, it's also a symptom of the realities of life 3¼ years on. Small market towns are feeling the pinch. There's less money around to spend on the luxury soaps and the beauty products on sale. There's also fresh competition from an expanded Choo Choo.

Blame whomsoever you will for Cerrig's closure. Ultimately, it's all our faults, every one of us reading this. If we don't support our local shops, who will? It's nice to think that we have visitors but we shouldn't and can't rely on them (with petrol prices as they are). The future has to be in our own hands.

If ever you wondered about the shop's unusual name, here's why. As you'll know, in English, "cerrig" translates as "stones”. The proprietress is Mrs Stones. The Green Lady part comes from her daughter's shop that sells similar stuff though, right now, I can't recall where it is. Somewhere in England (and that gives plenty of scope).