Back in the Day...

When a Toffee Crisp cost just 3p...

When the food offered at the family meal table wasn't always of the best quality...

When the cars were petrol guzzlers and were slightly unreliable...

When the fashions weren't always of the best possible taste...

When there were three day weeks, stand pipes in the street due to drought, power cuts and high inflation rates...

Communities were still sure to come together to celebrate a Silver Jubilee...

Whatever the weather!

Well, that is what happened today too, for the climax to the filming at Shepton Mallet.

The final community day, scheduled to be held on the Market Place in a street party style, had to find a new venue - Quickly!

And all went ahead as planned.

It was a wonderful send-off for the families and core customers involved in the making of the BBC history based documentary series, all about the average high street and how it changed within 100 years, from 1870 to 1970. Hubby and I were very pleased to be there to witness the grand finale to the show.

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I shall really miss all the activity in the town, as a lot has happened within those two short months. Looking back, I enjoyed the Victorian era best. A lot of the retail activity spilled out on to the Market Place and so the community was a lot more involved with each other. Shopping each day was a social event in itself and I'm sure it would have been very easy for everyone to get to know everyone else, with lives far more entwined together. Fast forward to the 1970's and shopping happened behind closed doors, was often self-service, with people popping quickly in and out for convenience products.

Perhaps, when the programme is aired in the autumn, it will have an inspirational effect and will make people re-evaluate what is on offer on their local high street, rather than always rushing to the out-of-town supermarket or to sit at a PC and order on-line.

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For Shepton Mallet itself, I hope that it will be seen in the good light that shone through at the street party event this afternoon. Perhaps new business owners will be encouraged to set up in the town. Also, if more local people and tourists came back and started using the shops - the ones that have weathered the tough financial years and watched customer numbers fall - to feel the community spirit that is within us all, and to work together, the town CAN be a more thriving and beautiful place once again.

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Thanks to Wall to Wall and the BBC for choosing Shepton Mallet as the location for the series...May the positive energy that comes from the programme be an inspiration to all the struggling villages, towns and cities in the country.

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Niki x