Orchard Street

Early morning dog walk, a bit of shopping at Arjuna our wholefood shop and dropped some books off at the Amnesty bookshop.  

Still had time to kill before my hair appointment at noon so I wandered down a very pretty street, Orchard Street about 10 minutes walk from the town centre.  On one side of the street are these terraced single storey houses.  Charming aren't they.  The opposite side of the street are Victorian two-storey houses - extra.

To reach the hairdresser I walked through the Grafton Centre.  This shopping centre was built shortly after I arrived in Cambridge in 1981.  There was antipathy towards its construction as the area known as The Kite had charming old buildings with pitched roofs and had a lot of character.  

By comparison The Grafton Centre was bland.  It once housed Mothercare, British Home Stores, Debenhams and many independent small shops.  Now the plan is to build laboratories here.  It's a bizarre plan, particularly as there are several other developments for laboratories at a nearby retail park and two others north of the city centre not far from where I live.  There's already a massive Biomedical campus near the hospital.  Residents question the need for so many laboratories and fewer varied shops and a need for social housing.  It's a developers' paradise in this city and social housing isn't a profitable priority. 

The Grafton Centre is a sad reflection of its earlier days.  Many store units are empty and others are having closing down sales - extra.

It's been a cloudy, humid day.  Tomorrow's forecast looks better.

Pleasant evening everyone.