New Police number - dial 101

The police now have a new non emergency number - it is 101.
For genuine emergencies you can still dial 999

Signs of the times

I learnt the disappointing news last week that the Ashton Branch of Argos is due to close in January when their lease expires

I also read that Peacocks, the ailing fashion retailer, is considering closing up to 200 stores, as it seeks to reduce its debt burden. The group, which has 611 Peacocks stores and 394 Bonmarché shops, has debts of £240m with a syndicate of banks, including Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. A Peacocks spokesman said: "We continue to progress our restructuring discussions and plans, with no decisions taken at this point.Peacocks faces a huge rent bill on 25 December. Hopefully the Ashton store will stay open.

At the same time Amazon sold 3 million items in 'Cyber Monday' frenzy last Monday making it the firm’s busiest day ever and John Lewis, recorded sales of £113.6 million in the week to December 3, a 9.6 per cent increase on the same week last year and a 15.1 per cent rise on the previous week.

I would welcome readers comments about what is happening and will happen to shops on the high streets, especially in small towns such as Ashton.