Nobody can say that Wycombe does not have enough shops.

We've got all sort of shops including grocery shops, jewellery shops, shoes shops, clothes shops and there are even some empty ones too!

Thanks to the building of a new shopping centre a couple of years ago Wycombe has more retail space than it needs leading to an overcapacity.

In recent months new shops have sprung up and sadly some of our most historic and cherished ones have closed down.

But look at the type of goods on offer and you will soon realise that despite having more outlets selling goods the diversity of items on offer is not all that great.

In the halcyon days of the 1970's we had the pleasure of visiting such great shops as Keens Model Shop, WA Child's toy shop, Hull Loosely & Pearce in Oxford Road, John Hearn's shoe shop, Jones & Rivet, Davey's toy shop, MacFisheries, Berry's the jeweller, Pat's Flowers, Brighter Homes, Aldridges, Keens photographers in Pauls Row, GA Woods outfitters and the legendary Murray's department store.

Sadly all the retailers named above have ceased trading in Wycombe town centre and in my opinion our town is the worse for their passing.

When you think about it there aren't that many retailers from the 1970's still trading in Wycombe. What does that say for the longevity of a business in the town?

Of course there are a hand full of our long established business still open in Wycombe but sadly they are in the minority.

In my opinion the shopping environment of today isn't a patch on that of forty years ago.

Modern Wycombe is full of ladies clothing shops, charity shops, pubs, betting shops and empty units marking the site of business failure.

Where can you see a washing machine on display in the town centre? You can't.

White goods, lawnmowers, electronic and other small electricals are completely missing from the retail landscape.

There are currently very few shops selling clothing for older men with the emphases at the moment on young yobbos who want to wear t-shirts and rough looking jeans.

When GA Woods men’s outfitters closed the clothing choice for the older man fell off the edge of a cliff leaving a void that has yet to be filled.

Thankfully the Wycombe of today does have quite a few independent retailers which I think we need more of.

Not only does buying from an independent shop help to support a local business person but the sight of an independent shop is far better than the chain stores with their bland look alike appearance.

Let's face it the internet and home shopping has killed town centre shopping.

What’s the purpose of having a High Street if everybody is buying there items elsewhere?

In ten years time I can see the people deserting the town centre completely and the retail units will be converted in to housing accommodation for tramps and vagrants.

What do you think?

*Maybe you would like to suggest other suitable topics for letters of the alphabet? If you have any ideas on what you think the letter 'T' should stand for just leave a comment and let me know.