Dear Spurtle,
After three-and-a-half long months, many of us independent retailers finally opened our doors again yesterday.
Messages of support flew between us throughout the day, but our joy is tempered thinking of those in our vital entertainment and hospitality sectors who still await their decree.
How sad then, at the end of the day, to see the media focus on a national, competitively-priced, budget tailor and an international purveyor of fruity phones and laptops, as symbols of retail recovery north of the border.
Charlie Paterson, my dear departed father-in-law, would have been dismayed to see Edinburgh’s proud and unique independent retail sector slighted by banal reporting, rather than celebrating the unique range of businesses this fine city offers.
I send love to all those who have suffered and continue to struggle in Spurtleshire and beyond.
Lynne Roberts
(Salento, 44 Dundas Street)
