As we find ourselves in the midst of another national lockdown, it is clearly a time which provokes all sorts of emotions from many of us – but owners of retail businesses are going to feel the impact in a very real way.

A High Street provides a useful barometer for villages like Cuckfield. Whilst it’s easy for us to ‘harp back to the good ol’ days’ when there was a number of butchers, greengrocers and a hardware store – but that doesn’t really change anything for the better.

I guess what could change things and help secure the colour and variety of window displays for years to come, is us making decisions to support these businesses – especially when we come out of this current lockdown period. The businesses on the High Street are almost all independent traders – most of whom are having a pretty bad year! Could we think about what Christmas presents could be sourced locally? We are all romanced by the ease of global retail giants offering simple one-click purchases – but what is possible, if we make just a bit more effort? Some High Street shops have even begun offering ‘click and collect’ during this second lockdown.

At Cuckfield Life we would like to encourage and support businesses in the village, so we’ll be trying to connect and showcase these on our social media presence. But for those not active online, perhaps a walk down to the High Street could trigger some festive foraging inspiration?

Christmas shopping and your daily exercise; now that’s two for one value!