Past meets Modern

Since my return I've filled these pages with stories of my holiday, it wasn't a very exciting holiday in many ways, just driving around little villages and seeing what one can see. Stopping on occasions to admire the beauty of the surroundings or to take a look at the village shops.

It was during these trips around village shops that I saw something quite strange. Strange as is in something I never expected to be honest. The traditional village would or should have the following...
A Doctor
A Groucer
A Butcher
A Post Office

These would offer everything for everyone in the village. The doctor of course is the medical man, the groucer would sell the fruit and veg and packet stuff/tins, the butcher would deal with the meat and post office would be the port of call for sending mail and also probably stationary and news papers. Newsagents shops have since taken over the role of providing newspapers and sweets to the general public, and have been a more recent addition to the village way of life. I don't include them as traditionally as it's something over the past 100 years or so that this has become more popular.

Anyway, during my many visits to many villages, some with no more than 6 houses, I found that many villages would have the more traditional shops but most had a new comer, one which I was shocked with and a little suprised. The amount of places that had Indian restaurants was astonishing. I've nothing against a good curry house, in fact I'm all for Indian restaurants, but when they populate villages like they did there, I was a little taken aback. Apart from the demand not being able to meet the supply, it seems that the diet of the English is on the move, gone are the good old traditional values of old in terms of food, and a more wider diet is prevalant. I guess why most pubs do food now, is that in many ways they are becoming the bastion of "English" cooking.

I don't mind foriegn food, but it's a sobering thought that it's being absorbed into obscurity. It's like taking hot-dogs and burgers out of the American diet, and replacing it with homous and pitta bread.

This isn't an attack on the restaurants, obviously they are making money or more wouldn't spring up every where, and I'm happy with world cuisine.