..superbly converted apartments for sale

The window first floor left used to be my office. It overlooked the Shambles marketplace and the high street. We were incredibly lucky to have such a central location, run down though the building was. The upper floors have been empty since 2002, and Millet's quit the ground floor some years ago. It's not clear what will happen there.

Currently the former shop doorway is being used by rough sleepers: a sign of the times. Beggars and rough sleepers are a frequent sight on Stroud's streets now, mostly young people. In London I saw a group of people sheltering in a small domed tent on Tottenham.Court Road.

I am glad the building is being brought back into use, and would dearly love to see the apartments. The brown-carpet throughout will surely have been replaced, as will the bowed floorboards and the trees growing out of the rooftop.