IT IS a favourite pastime these days to blame somebody else for something of your own making.
Your story of the call for a boycott of a new Tesco store in Marston (Monday’s Oxford Mail) tops the bill for passing the buck.
The ridiculous claim by the local vicar that shopping is a “moral issue” cannot be further from the economic truth for families trying to make ends meet on limited budgets and for whom shopping is a financial issue, where lower prices are what keeps the wolf from the door.
What is happening in Marston is happening everywhere. The local people did not use the local pub which closed and will now become a local supermarket selling goods at prices which people can afford.
How many of those now protesting do their main weekly shopping in local shops? My guess is that everyone with a car would pop over to a supermarket away from Marston, with only the odd bauble purchased locally.
The article says that the “local shops have supported this area” but it is obvious to everyone that the locals did not support the local shops.
We should not blame Marston for something that’s happening everywhere but we must encourage them not to waste energy on a futile campaign.
The world is changing and people are more mobile and consequently are not restricted to local shops: people will shop where the best prices, quality and service are available and that mostly will not be found in a local small shop.
Instead of bemoaning inevitable changes, we should all adapt and make the most of those changes.
Before someone imagines I don’t know know what I’m talking about, my father ran a village shop and post office and, even 50 years ago, the trend to shopping elsewhere as people acquired cars had already begun.
Local shops will adapt and they will be different, but don’t moan at the big companies who bring us all better prices.
JOHN MacALLISTER Chamberlain Place Kidlington
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