Shopamania

The speed -- and optimism -- with which Brits open up new shops is nothing short of astonishing.
I mean, I know it's a nation of shopkeepers and all that, but cor blimey!
At least two dozen new shops and restaurants have opened on and around our high street (an almost endless stretch, that just joins on to the next high street) in the year since we've been here, many of them just recently.
Replacing stores that closed down.
That doesn't seem to stop them though.
They just keep trying.
How long they'll do that is anyone's guess.
My husband and I were talking the other day about how supermarkets have done in the local butcher and fishmonger, once staples of the British high street. We've got a quaint butcher -- and a fishmonger -- near our Tube stop here, but have I ever shopped in either of them?
No. I'm sorry, I haven't. Even though I buy a lot of fish. Because there are also four great supermarkets near us. Which is precisely the problem.
But do I like that butcher and fishmonger?
Absolutely.
And do I want them to close down?
Absolutely not.
Last night, we we were out on the high street for something, when we noticed a sign that said a new butcher's is opening right by the bus stop, in a storefront that's changed over three times in the past year.
A highly-trafficked spot, but obviously hard for retail.
A new butcher?
You gotta be kidding.
Today, the butcher is there. I kid you not. And I swear, it looks like it's been there for years.
Three guys with big white butcher hats standing behind gleaming counters, stacked full of fresh, appetizing meat ready to purchase.
New polished wood storefront.
Last week, it was an Italian gelateria.
There's a new shop next door too.
A new tanning salon.
And a bunch of new estate agents, since the real estate market in London is buzzing.
At least for now.
All feels a bit shaky to me.
Wonder how long the new butcher will last.