Is Accrington being dumbed down?

[Wynonie Harris]

Surely, it's not about being snobbish or elitist, but rather, about offering more choice? A record shop that offers jazz and classical, but also blues, 50's rock 'n' roll, reggae and more. A bookshop that stocks Shakespeare, but maybe also has a good crime fiction section, perhaps books on the occult and other varieties. Restaurants serving tirimasu and red wine, but possibly something more out of the ordinary like a Mexican, veggie or even cajun restaurant.

I think it's been said before on here, but there seems to be little point in Accrington chasing the coat tails of bigger towns with more and more bog-standard high street chain stores. Instead, it should develop its own identity as an unusual, slightly off-beat shopping centre with an interesting range of independent outlets. I know it's stating the obvious, but we have so many jewels in the crown here - a superb (but criminally misused) arcade, the Warner Street area, a traditional market hall that wasn't flattened in the 60's. When you add the free parking to that, Accrington has the potential to be a real draw for out-of-town shoppers...or am I dreaming an impossible dream??

[garinda]

Originally Posted by entwisi

I'd actually like to disagree with some things said here. The advent of the Internet means that you have access to an enormous amount of music/opera/books etc(and I'm not talking about the illegal downloads that seem to be teh mainstay of tabloid representations of the net). You can take part in high brow discusssions with people all over the world just like sitting down in the library or outside the market hall.

You can find out when real life shows etc are and book for them without having to trapse through rain snow sleet to get your tickets.

Stop looking for whats missing and start looking for whats available you'd be surprised.

I'm not being a flat earther, and yes technology is great, but we could all sit at home and buy every single thing we need or would like information about via the internet, and what a sad and insular world we'd be living in.

You can't browse through a book on the internet or try clothes on.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by jaysay

I agree with Gayle for once

Hope it didn't hurt too much. Don't worry, I won't hold my breathe for it to happen again.

[entwisi]

But what we were discussing is the actual music/literature, not the experience of buying it. How many people would drive to town on their own, walk into the music shop, on their own, pick up the CD, go to the desk, at most say hello, get their change, walk out the shop and head home, again on their own. The key is with whom you listen the music itself (but tbh, you don't talk over it, you sit to listen). again with literature, this is another passtime that is quite insular in its first instance. You may choose to discuss the book with friends but that happens after the actual experience itself.

Granted you can't try clothes on but as for browsing books, things like amazons recommended and last.fm you can find out what others who have similar tastes read/listen to and expand your own preferences that way.

I'm not saying everyone should do it this way either, just that as opposed to the OP's thoughts, this stuff is available in what is effectively a larger shop than Accrington could ever hope to maintain.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by entwisi

But what we were discussing is the actual music/literature, not the experience of buying it.

I thought that this thread was about that, that we can't buy books/music, other than popular music in Accrington.

You can't hold a book on Amazon, flick through it, read the dust cover etc. and then decide if you'd like to buy it.

It's the same with music. Blackburn has Reidy's, which has a wide selection of all kinds of music, and they'll let you listen to something if you ask them. Accy does have MusicZone and the staff are very friendly, headed by our own Miss Ormerod.

Market forces dictate what we get. I'm sure if there was a market for more bookshops we'd have them.

Talking of cultural deserts, I remember when Mid Pennines Arts put on exciting contemporary dance troupes, Shakespeare and other touring dramas, rather than the somewhat limited second rate pop acts we now get in Hyndburn, and no it's a not a dig at Gayle I know booking what we get isn't your job. It just seems a shame that Burnley seems to have been chosen as the centre for arts in the area, and all we are fit for is the pap.

[Gayle]

I totally agree with you Garinda about the pap in Hyndburn but we don't put on shows over in Burnley either. I wouldn't say that Burnley is the centre for the arts either because the Mechanics (nothing to do with MPA btw) has the same sort of stuff on as Ossy Civic - tribute bands, comedians and the odd kids show, they just have more on every week rather than the random stuff that's on at Ossy Civic.

I've submitted proposals to the Council for how they could make Ossy Civic profitable with different types of acts and alway been told 'stop trying to take over our theatre'.

[shakermaker]

Originally Posted by garinda

It just seems a shame that Burnley seems to have been chosen as the centre for arts in the area, and all we are fit for is the pap.

That's true - I often find that all the stuff I would love to see is either in Liverpool, Burnley or Manchester - which is all well & good but once travel is accounted for I find myself screwed out of a ticket!
It's a shame that Oak Hill & the other parks aren't put to full use.

[Madhatter]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Surely, it's not about being snobbish or elitist, but rather, about offering more choice? A record shop that offers jazz and classical, but also blues, 50's rock 'n' roll, reggae and more. A bookshop that stocks Shakespeare, but maybe also has a good crime fiction section, perhaps books on the occult and other varieties. Restaurants serving tirimasu and red wine, but possibly something more out of the ordinary like a Mexican, veggie or even cajun restaurant.

I think it's been said before on here, but there seems to be little point in Accrington chasing the coat tails of bigger towns with more and more bog-standard high street chain stores. Instead, it should develop its own identity as an unusual, slightly off-beat shopping centre with an interesting range of independent outlets. I know it's stating the obvious, but we have so many jewels in the crown here - a superb (but criminally misused) arcade, the Warner Street area, a traditional market hall that wasn't flattened in the 60's. When you add the free parking to that, Accrington has the potential to be a real draw for out-of-town shoppers...or am I dreaming an impossible dream??

I'm not sure, but it would need good advertisement. This is exactly the idea behind the booktown started here. Instead of trying to get shops that the big towns have, which we still wouldn't use even if we did have them, the idea is to have unique shops selling stuff that you can't get in big towns. Therfore as well as being interesting for us it would also pull people in from big towns and tourists. The idea is a town of bookshops, some just with books, some with books and music, some with books and a cafe, tea rooms what ever. certain shops specialise in certain types of book, fiction, photography, gardening, cooking, occult and spiritualism. This it's hoped will bring classy gift, home, crafts, collectables, food shops.

Blanavon has more or less failed, because it started with 8 bookshops cheap rent and people who didn't think about what they were doing just jumping in, here we started with no shops on the launch date, and it's very steadily built up, despite the local council not advertising it. Because of this we've actually lost several shops that I feel were needed, a candle shop and a teddy and dolls shop, both are touristy.
The tourists and and visiitors are supposed to bring in people to the towns existing shops, increase footfall, increase turnover and enable them to increase their choice, rather than just selling what most locals will buy.

[Madhatter]

Originally Posted by garinda

I thought that this thread was about that, that we can't buy books/music, other than popular music in Accrington.

You can't hold a book on Amazon, flick through it, read the dust cover etc. and then decide if you'd like to buy it.

It's the same with music. Blackburn has Reidy's, which has a wide selection of all kinds of music, and they'll let you listen to something if you ask them. Accy does have MusicZone and the staff are very friendly, headed by our own Miss Ormerod.

Market forces dictate what we get. I'm sure if there was a market for more bookshops we'd have them.

Talking of cultural deserts, I remember when Mid Pennines Arts put on exciting contemporary dance troupes, Shakespeare and other touring dramas, rather than the somewhat limited second rate pop acts we now get in Hyndburn, and no it's a not a dig at Gayle I know booking what we get isn't your job. It just seems a shame that Burnley seems to have been chosen as the centre for arts in the area, and all we are fit for is the pap.

Some people go on the net find it on amazon, read the reviews, then go to the bookshop to buy it.
Some people predicted that book sales would drop because of the internet but they have gone up because of the it.

[Tealeaf]

If I ever won the lottery, I would be very tempted to spend a 100K or so in setting up a bookshop/internet cafe in the middle of Accy, where all the trendy lefties like Gayle & Madhatter could come in and spend three quid on a cup of frothy nescafe discussing the meaning of life. I would probably have payback after 6 months.

[Madhatter]

lefty. lmao, you don't know me very well do you? I think cyfr knows me better and he's never met me. I've discussed nothing on here that should even come into politics tealeaf, town centres, bookshops, music, tastes in, regeneration have nothing to do with politics at party level. They're about getting facilities for people that live in a town. manipulating trends so that rather than accy end up just a suberb of blackburn it stays a place in it's own right.

you'll never put me in a box, a political box or any box, because I'm me, an individual, and I think different to most people, with my eccentric views on life, and the universe.

And if you ever won the lottery non of us would see you for dust, you'd probably go abroad, to a big brother free country.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Madhatter

Some people go on the net find it on amazon, read the reviews, then go to the bookshop to buy it.

Yes but we'd have to travel to Blackburn or further to buy it. Come to think of it now that Seed and Gabbutts has closed down there may not even be a book shop in Blackburn never mind Accy.

[Tealeaf]

Originally Posted by garinda

Yes but we'd have to travel to Blackburn or further to buy it. Come to think of it now that Seed and Gabbutts has closed down there may not even be a book shop in Blackburn never mind Accy.

Are you sure? When did this happen? Is the only bookshop in Blackburn now the ubiquitous WH Smiths?

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Are you sure? When did this happen? Is the only bookshop in Blackburn now the ubiquitous WH Smiths?

At least ten years ago!

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Are you sure? When did this happen? Is the only bookshop in Blackburn now the ubiquitous WH Smiths?

I know Seed and Gabbutts is no longer at Suddell Cross because I went there. Sadly it seems the only bookshop in Blackburn is W H Smiths. Unless someone knows differently?