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sorry to add more, but I just remembered something.
I was actually going down town hill on the bike path that is on the road the day before yesterday. oddly enough, there was a man on the bike path with a walking frame, evidently having trouble getting down the hill on the path. the walking frame took up the breadth of the bike path and he was going very slowly, understandably. at the same time, cars were coming up the hill on the car bit.
I had two choices.. no three choices.
the two I initially thought of was to stop and wait. perhaps 5 minutes judging by the pace. or go on the pavement.
the third choice is to run the man down, but that’s not really a valid option in my opinion though others may not share this view judging by how upset some people seem to be about this issue.
I chose to go on the pavement to get past.
I thought it was the best choice as I didn’t want the man to feel like he was a burden on anybody.

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It’s clear that needs to be changed. I see far more people on the path than on the road. and car drivers round here are so dangerous. If I had a solid steel frame around me, I wouldn’t mind so much.

edit:
just to illustrate something, because i do feel strongly about this,
what if a person was running as fast as they could, with a bicycle next to them? (perhaps 20mph)
that is legal.
compare that to somebody like me, going at the speed of a light jog, in perfect control of the cycle. (perhaps 4-7mph)
which is safer?
the legal version or the illegal version?
this is what is wrong with the law and why police tend not to enforce it.

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I’ve seen some people riding dangerously on the pavement.
it’s not good because I don’t want to see anybody get hurt,.
on the other hand, the events in london this past few days really does illustrate that there is a greater danger to cyclists on the road. ( I’ve never heard of a pedestrian getting killed by a bicycle, but a cyclist can get crushed by a lorry regardless of helmet or protective gear. )
I myself avoid going on the road specifically because of that danger. although I am always taking care to ride as safely as possible, I rarely go over jogging speed and usually go at tip-toe pace in middle of town.
it’s true that it is technically against the highway code, but I have seen police riding on the pavement in the past. I personally feel that the law needs to be changed, to allow bicycles free reign on the pavement to avoid road accidents, but to have a clear and well publicised speed limit. that would also apply to roller-bladers and those little scooters that kids ride. also mobility scooters. yes, I have seen some old age pensioners riding those things at rather high speeds on a footpath and they are actually a motorised vehicle.

edit:
I’d also like to add that on more than a few occasions, I have had to move off the bike path onto the footpath because of pedestrians walking on the bike path. not that the bike paths even go anywhere that i need to go in the first place, but I do endeavour to use them if and when possible.

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yeah I got free banking from natwest.
very helpful.
however, I am having real issues with sales.
I have big gaps in my marketing and am having trouble solving those issues if I am spending all that time at the stall. not to mention I have discovered I am not good at sales and very bad at striking up a rapport with customers.

looking into the possibility of getting somebody to do work experience, with prospect for paid position.
until then, unfortunately the outlook is not good.

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wow, great article! thanks guys, you really went into depth, I really appreciate it :)

I’d like to make note of my prices. My prices are currently lower than supermarkets and even pound shops on the herbs that they stock. I don’t expect I can always keep it that way as they are very large companies but I am certain my herbs are of a much better quality and they are traceable.

thanks Paul :)

edit:
oh the other new place, I spoke to the lady who opened it, I believe it is a bridal store. she said it was for weddings and also some other bling.

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Some great replies here.
I am trying not to single out any particular owners here because I don’t want to offend anyone, but I believe it has been brought up that many youths do obtain specific breeds in order to be a ‘status dog’. I was reading an article of how a youth in london gangs, would take his dog and ‘train’ it by making it hang onto a branch by it’s mouth. the images included with the article were quite scary, as was the description of how he did this in order to terrorise rival gang members.
I wouldn’t want to think that this kind of culture was starting to rise in wrexham and I am sure all the owners of the dogs i have seen are responsible owners.
though I do know a few things about dog handling, like a dog needs to be kept alongside the owner, not straining on the lead ahead of the owner. that is the dog leading and dominant. it concerns me if I see this kind of owner.

I have no objections to breeds per-Se, and in fact the dog I used to own was a cross breed, Alsation-collie. the reason I mentioned that was because of how we knew our dog was docile, until it’s personality switched in a second. this was similar to some reports that have been in the news where children were savaged by the family pet and the quote from the owners was something along the lines of “I don’t know what happened, it was such a gentle dog that wouldn’t hurt a fly”. I often wonder how these people can say such a thing, are they merely delusional, or is there a big misunderstanding of these breeds? I’m not an expert and i would actually like to ask Cesar Milan about that particular issue.

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I took some photos of what I believe to be the backbone of hope street.
I realise this topic is about empty shops on regents street but i can’t think of any empty shops on regent street but i can think of lots of empty shops on hope street…..

these shops, I believe to be the strongest shops that could be used as a starting point to think about what new businesses could open on this street.

hope st backbone – a set on Flickr

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@Jonesy 1239 wrote:

As as an aisde does anyone else remember using those horrible gents underground toilets – see the entrance to the left of that pic of the veg market!

yes, I have a vague recollection of those toilets. it is very vague though since I am 32 and so was very young when those toilets were still there.

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it seems to me though, the retail parks are the destination, the middle of town is the journey.

the major chains move to the retail parks because of floor space and storage and air conditioning etc.
as those businesses move out of the high street, the shops are left vacant and the people who used to visit are now aiming for the retail park.
going into shops on the way there, is an unnecessary stop on the way to the destination. the more stops that are made, the more shopping they miss out on.
in order to make the high streets a destination again, they need to have a draw.
that used to be major chains but now it has to be something else. any shop that opens on regent street or hope street that does what a major chain does in eagles meadow, is going to struggle. shops opening on these streets need a target demographic that is completely different to what it used to be.
considering that targeting a totally different demographic could be risky, the rates need to be looked at. that’s just for starters.

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I’ve been trying to start a business for almost a year now.
main obstacle is getting some funding to start off.
nobody will borrow to somebody who was mugged off by barclays and ended up with a £3k debt.
so I have to start off with the absolute minimum.
struggling to even do that with no funding assistance.
but who knows, you may see my shop sometime soon. fingers crossed.
I’d like to tell you what I will be selling but I hope you understand i want to keep it under my hat until I can actually start.

I’ll talk about some other ideas I’d like for the future though.
I’d like to see a nice restaurant/cafe that sells decent proper cooked food and not at a fortune.
local well priced ingredients from local businesses, cooked in bulk to keep costs down.
I’m thinking of the same kind of attitude as Ramen shops in Japan. the food is local so it is cheap.
also, it is health and hearty. I am thinking of food like lamb stew, pot roast, farmhouse soup, etc.
if nobody opens such a place in the next 5-10 years, I may do so myself.

i just think it’s really important to promote local, quality and healthy products.
I’d also like to see more specialty drinks like ale and root beers etc. have you seen how much wild dandelion there is?!

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