Why I avoid this York street like the plague
There has been a lot said in The Press recently about the changes to York in general and Shambles in particular. As a long-time resident, I would like to throw my thoughts into the mix.
As a child, it was a pleasure to walk along the Shambles, almost like walking through a page from a history book, fascinating for residents and visitors alike.
People would stand and look up to admire the jettied architecture with its heavy oak beams and mullioned windows.
The shops were interesting – Austin Hayes Gallery, Barbara Cass with her sculptures and pottery, Derwent Crafts, to name but a few. The shops were clean, cared for and welcoming.
These days it is a place I avoid like the plague. Yes, I know, ‘time moves on’, ‘nothing stays the same’, and the rest of the worn-out clichés.
I have heard them all and they make me sad, because the Shambles, as a place of historical interest and value, is dying, and those who should be protecting it are allowing it to happen.
Very few visitors bother to look up any more. The interesting artisan shops are gone. The current shops are filled with ‘Harry Potter’ merchandise or cheap, tacky souvenirs.
Someone (?) seems determined to turn the place into a replica of Diagon Alley even though J K Rowling herself, has refuted the idea that she based it on The Shambles.
Please, don’t turn this lovely city into a theme park.
Gabrielle de Yorvick, Name and address supplied
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Join public sector for a life of self importance
For years Ant and Dec have been considered mega stars of ITV, this acclaim constantly hindered by one salient problem - between them a total lack of real talent.
For any 16-year-old leaving school today, wondering what career to pursue, only one is obvious, join the public sector. A guaranteed future, generous salary, irrespective of ability or talent, failure overlooked, early retirement, excellent pension. Basically, a life of self importance, achieving nothing, enjoyed by hundreds of thousand costing the rest of us a fortune.
Peter Rickaby
Moat Way
Brayton
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