What are you all up to

I am well endowed in at least the 2 areas 🤣.

Tammygirl thank you for your good wishes. He looks a real.poppet 😃. Good to hear you are still not time wasting!

Such good news that your grandson can now go home and good to know that their plans re equipment are all coming together. I think we worry too much about the younger generation and their organisational skills but it does all seem to work out in the end.

We have had 3 seasons here today - no summer. High winds, heavy rain, sun out, sun in, back to heavy rain again. I decided to venture into Wilko this morning as I hadn't been since before Christmas and we were running out of various toiletries and cleaning products.  I thought I would enjoy a wander round. Sadly as soon I got in there I decided I didn't like being in a shop and couldn't wait to get out so I swiftly got everything on my list and came home.  The rest of town is like a ghost town, so depressing.  I wonder how many of the shops will actually re-open?  I can envisage our town centre being all flats, coffee shops and eateries . We had some wonderful shops here in the 1980s and 90s 

That is going to be replicated across the whole of the UK I think Millie. It's going to be hard to replace big shop areas like John Lewis and Debenhams but we've found it difficult here in our town to get new businesses going in small shops as well, unless it's to do with hair or cafes.

I do wonder how much people can eat and drink WN? We used to have quite a few phone shops as well but they seem to all be going online as well. 

Such good news that your grandson can now go home and good to know that their plans re equipment are all coming together. I think we worry too much about the younger generation and their organisational skills but it does all seem to work out in the end.

Milliehull my concern was how the world is at the moment, no shops open and even the online stuff has to be made and delivered. Thank goodness they weren't on THAT container ship or those following 😱

I too wonder what our high street's will be like. We have a lovely Quadrant, the co-op, basically who I feared John Lewis would damage, but they were doing ok. Never used our Debenhams just not a nice store, very big though. I used to be a Saturday girl in there when they traded under the original name, but it just got bigger and bigger. Our M&S is small, especially for the county town but that maybe its saving grace? Our Bhs still awaits other than Christmas shop occupancy. We have had so much office space converted to high street living recently at seriously silly prices......

I too whizzed into town today, busier than I expected, I only wanted Holland and Barrett, Boots and the open air market stall for fruit and veg, forgot to include the latter on yesterday's Tesco delivery - not that I've been happy with their offerings. An older couple, well late middle age plus, walking in the opposite direction chatting and I heard him say well I presume this is the high street! I tried not to over analyse the comment or draw unjust conclusions.......

Not me guv (Santander ) But the egg yes and far too much! No doubt we'll see our daughter and partner in the garden soon and along with the eggs we've bought them they'll help us with ours. Don't normally buy one!

B2 good to hear things are progressing with the new family.

Millie I also went out today, to a bigger garden centre and didn't enjoy it all, just didn't feel free enough to see things easily, awkward one way system etc. I had some garden tokens but only used one of them. It will be better when all the colourful bedding etc arrives. Horrible weather too, hail showers on and off.

Good to hear your bedroom improvements for new grandson are nearly done Kj. 

Hooray I finished my chair project, never again but it passes muster from a distance....I'll probably have to stop anyone sitting on it in case it can't cope! 

Our local paper has just reported that there is a very strong rumour (yet to be comfirmed) that our Beales store is to re-open in May. It has been taken over by a company called Drapers. Not in the same league as John Lewis but it would be really good to see them back. I hope they keep the name Beales though as we have a very popular pub in the city centre called The Drapers and people might get confused about where they are going 🤣

It was a Co Op store before Beales? as we had in WGC before it was a Debanams it is now being converted into 27 Flats/Apartments

Yes JVB it was a co-op department store for years, always referred to as Westgate House as that is the name of the building. If it does re-open I hope they revamp it a bit as it was very dated. We all thought that it would be converted into flats like every other building that becomes vacant in the city centre.

I just looked that up Millie because Beales first started up in Bournemouth and Drapers are a media outlet for the trade. it looks as though a company, "New Start" has taken over the Beales brand and opened a new store in Poole last year. Can't imagine what the trading year has been like for them but here's hoping there will be better news. A bit more about it HERE. I think they will be using the Beales name.

It would be great to see our local Beales opening up again, our town centre is so empty now but it looks like they are proceeding very cautiously.