West Vegas

FRIDAY

After a day in the office I arrived home to find Harriet had returned from medical school for Christmas and was catching up with sleep. I'm hardly surprised as she was up until 3 am at the cinema the previous day watching the Star Wars trilogy. 

Having been instructed not to disturb her I set off on foot to the local shop as we had run out of garlic - an essential ingredient for tonight's tandoori salmon.

I ended up walking over 4 km to the co-op store in West Vale and took this shot there at the bottom of Rochdale Road. Ten years ago it was a sleepy backwater with the traditional butcher, baker, bank, post office, newsagent, launderette, florist and pub. The bank, newsagent and post office disappeared a few years back and a host of restaurants (thai, seafood, italian, indian, mexican) and craft beer and wine bars have sprung up. A new one seems to open every month. We've also now got a tesco express, co-op, funeral director, dentist, designer clothes' shop, charity shop and accountants.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's been gentrified as the place is now dubbed "West Vegas"