We are bombarded by gloomy forecasts. Each day there is talk of unprecedented changes to the way we live. The global credit crunch is upon us and the US economy seems certain for a recession according to many commentators.
Financial firms in The City have announced cuts and UK consumers can’t help but feel a little worried. More so, if like many people you own shares or need to borrow money – for a mortgage, for instance. Many people have relied on rising equity on their home to continue spending, while the total UK debt now exceeds £1.3 trillion. Accountancy firms have predicted record insolvencies in 2008 as people are unable to get cash.
And then there is climate change, immigration, teenage violence, predictions about mass obesity and so on and so on. In an age of dramatic change, it is natural for people to look for certainty and continuity.
Another typical day in a busy market town
It is a another typical day in a small but busy market town in Kent. Local traders are making their daily deliveries to their customers in the High Street, parking up while they transport their goods by hand and waiting for a signature on their paperwork.
Ladies are walking and chatting as they make their way up and down the pavement, maybe they are discussing the latest fashions that they both saw in the window of one of the new shops. Office workers cross the street, hurrying back to work, taking care of the traffic. A policeman stands watchfully at the side of the road reassured that all is well and thankful that his shift is almost over. Perhaps he is wondering whether there might be more excitement in a large city.
Of course, this is Sevenoaks but the scene is set over 100 years ago. Most of the shops and businesses have long gone, only to be replaced by others that also vanished. It is a natural process of urban evolution that these days happens more and more quickly and is usually unstoppable. But sometimes these changes can have a negative impact on us all and we should not be afraid to speak out with a common voice.
When we look back at the changing face of Sevenoaks we should also focus on the fundamentals of community that are less subject to change. We all need friends and neighbours to enable us to feel that we belong to a place and this can help to soften the blow when our surroundings are subject to continuous change.
There is however one part of Sevenoaks that we should all fight to preserve and that is the glorious green spaces that surround it. They are now under extreme pressure and with every square metre of concrete that replaces it, we know that the space will be lost forever. Imagine that in 100 years time the people of Sevenoaks look back at the old fashioned digital photographs of the area in 2008, would we want them to be able to still recognise it, albeit with a wry smile?
