Killingworth
Established Member
The emphasis on Covid job losses tends to be on larger shops, hospitality, sport, charities - and public transport.
Across the land there are many people who have lost their incomes from small businesses. They're dotted around our high streets - and in our railway stations. Behind each and every one is a story of intense pain.
They're the things we take for granted. Just picking up a paper, a magazine or a hot drink at Chesterfield before boarding the London train. Maybe a brief word, the weather, late trains again, but often in too much of a hurry to say more. I never really gave them too much thought, but I do now. 27 years of hard and dedicated work from early in the morning - all gone! A personal disaster. This notice almost brought a tear to my eye. 27 years, gone.
At the other end of the scale, after a long campaign by users to get a refreshment facility for morning commuters at Dore & Totley one arrived in January. A young couple sank their savings into a converted Smart car with gazebo and got established. By March they'd got through the worst of the dark and cold mornings and were already almost breaking even. Very chilly, but passenger numbers were increasing at over 10% pa and it was looking good. They tried different positions to avoid cold winds that tried to blow their gazebo away. Wham! Within 3 weeks from optimism to wipe out and as a new business little if any help from the various schemes.
Just two examples that will be repeated with many variations across the land. Hard working people who had good business models, all turned to nothing.
We have an immense amount of economic damage to repair before any semblance of our former normality can return. The virus has to be taken very seriously and we will get over it, but how soon and what new normal will we have to accept?
Across the land there are many people who have lost their incomes from small businesses. They're dotted around our high streets - and in our railway stations. Behind each and every one is a story of intense pain.
They're the things we take for granted. Just picking up a paper, a magazine or a hot drink at Chesterfield before boarding the London train. Maybe a brief word, the weather, late trains again, but often in too much of a hurry to say more. I never really gave them too much thought, but I do now. 27 years of hard and dedicated work from early in the morning - all gone! A personal disaster. This notice almost brought a tear to my eye. 27 years, gone.
At the other end of the scale, after a long campaign by users to get a refreshment facility for morning commuters at Dore & Totley one arrived in January. A young couple sank their savings into a converted Smart car with gazebo and got established. By March they'd got through the worst of the dark and cold mornings and were already almost breaking even. Very chilly, but passenger numbers were increasing at over 10% pa and it was looking good. They tried different positions to avoid cold winds that tried to blow their gazebo away. Wham! Within 3 weeks from optimism to wipe out and as a new business little if any help from the various schemes.
Just two examples that will be repeated with many variations across the land. Hard working people who had good business models, all turned to nothing.
We have an immense amount of economic damage to repair before any semblance of our former normality can return. The virus has to be taken very seriously and we will get over it, but how soon and what new normal will we have to accept?
