George Osbourne wants to increase Sunday Trading hours and give local councils or mayors the choice.

I have worked in retail for 35 years and have seen a lot of changes. As a child growing up, I remember half day closing on a Thursday and complete retail shut down on a Sunday except for a few ‘corner’ shops for bread, milk etc.

I remember Sunday as a time for going to church and usually my father would invite someone back to our home for Sunday lunch, then it would be an outing to Brigsteer woods or Arnside for a ride out. It was a day for families to spend time together.

Roll on 20 years and what do we have? A massive family breakdown era and one of the reasons I believe for family break-ups is that there is not enough time to spend together. Parents, whether working in shifts or retail, find it very difficult to be together and spend quality time with their children. Time is very precious.

We live in a very materialistic world where we can shop 24/7, whether on the internet or big shops like Asda, Tesco etc.

Debt is a huge problem because we have to have the latest gadget, mobile etc and what about the poor staff in retail who will have to work these extra hours?

I enjoy my job and work with a great bunch of people but retail is hard work and at the end of the day we, like everyone else, just want to go home to relax and spend time with our loved ones.

The one thing I have noticed over the years on a Sunday is that come 3 o’clock shoppers become scarce and it gets quiet then you always get the idiots who like to come into the store just a minute before closing with no consideration for the staff and who most likely have had all day to do their shopping.

Would increasing trading hours be beneficial in a town like Kendal? Yes, we are the gateway to the Lakes and a tourist town - but would it work?

Ruth Southall

Kendal