Stumble It!
You face a long drive in future to fill up
Remember when getting a loaf of bread
or a pint of milk meant just a short walk (or a short drive in the
country) to the local corner shop? Now you probably make a family
excursion to your local Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's or Morrisons. Now
think about refuelling your car. Remember when refuelling the car
was something you did when the fuel light came on? Oh, fuel light
on, there's a station... fill up.
Not any more.
In the future we are going to have to be more organised. Get the groceries. Fill the car.
Our filling stations are currently closing at the rate of one per day, according to the Petrol Retailers' Association!
That's bad news for road users who can no longer rely on filling up conveniently. It's bad news for people like me who hate queuing, because - as the number of filling stations dwindle - the only ones remaining get busier and we have to queue for the privilege of filling up our cars.
It's also another nail in the coffin of local shopping. Most local filling stations have a small shop. It very possibly stocks some local produce, bakery, milk, plus local papers and magazines. Supermarkets don't. So an alternative local sales avenue to the corner shops closes down.
Finally, it is bad news for local economies the length and breadth of this land.
Local filling stations employed local people. The money they generated went into the local economy. They often helped local business.
The only winners now will the big supermarkets who really don't need to control more of our spending.
Not any more.
In the future we are going to have to be more organised. Get the groceries. Fill the car.
Our filling stations are currently closing at the rate of one per day, according to the Petrol Retailers' Association!
That's bad news for road users who can no longer rely on filling up conveniently. It's bad news for people like me who hate queuing, because - as the number of filling stations dwindle - the only ones remaining get busier and we have to queue for the privilege of filling up our cars.
It's also another nail in the coffin of local shopping. Most local filling stations have a small shop. It very possibly stocks some local produce, bakery, milk, plus local papers and magazines. Supermarkets don't. So an alternative local sales avenue to the corner shops closes down.
Finally, it is bad news for local economies the length and breadth of this land.
Local filling stations employed local people. The money they generated went into the local economy. They often helped local business.
The only winners now will the big supermarkets who really don't need to control more of our spending.
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