Closing time

It’s sad enough when shops close down and inevitably change the face of our high-streets, but words fail me when the empty and deserted property was once a bank.
It is a sign of the times, perhaps, but none-the-less a depressing anddamning impact on the life of a community.
This bank was one of six in the town and one I used regularly. Until a couple of months ago that is, when HSBC decided to close this branch and withdraw from the town.
The doors are closed, the cash machine has been removed, and ominously the ‘To Let’ sign is displayed on the building fronting the town’s market square.

Okay, you can argue there still remains plenty of other banking facilities in the town but somehow I have that uncomfortable feeling that part of the heart of the community has disappeared.