Talking all things Westmorland with Andrew Thomas

We are now one week into the second national lockdown. Hopefully there are just three weeks to go until restrictions ease, at least in some parts of the country, and we can start seeing more of our friends and family again.

In the meantime, this is a very difficult time for many, not least small, independent shops. The run-up to Christmas is one of the most important times of the year for retailers – and this year many have had to close their doors to customers just when they were hoping to recoup some of the lost trade from the first lockdown.

However, it is good to see many shop owners are using innovative techniques to try to maintain sales during this difficult time.

I walked past Youdells Art Shop at Kirkland, in Kendal, the other day and saw a notice about ‘Click and Collect’. It said people could still buy goods from the shop during lockdown via phone or email orders. Goods could then be collected at the door or the shop would arrange other ways to get items to customers.

The window display was excellent – real effort had been made to display priced goods in an attractive way. If you saw something you liked, you could ring to order it and collect it at the door.

I noticed another great display at another independent shop, Sam Read Bookseller, at Grasmere. One window was full of new novels; another had local books, including biographies of William Wordsworth. The shop also offers phone and internet click and collect services.

Shops have always displayed their wares to attract the interest of passers-by, but during this lockdown it has become even more important that windows are bright and inviting. It’s also important that, where they can, they have easy-to-navigate websites with click and collect options that are simple to use.

In this column last week High Sheriff Julie Barton urged people to shop local, adding: “Our businesses rely on us and we need them too.”

It is easy to order goods from national, online retail services. But it’s important to the social fabric of our towns and villages that we keep vibrant high streets.

When you are taking your permitted exercise, check out the windows of local shops – and then take advantage of their phone or click and collect services.