Niall Walton’s message is vital

How many nostalgic memories are triggered by the news that Walton’s Music Shop in Dublin’s South Great Georges’ Street is closing down! What a fine institution it was, and how valiantly it upheld the cause of Irish music down through the decades, ever since 1922.

But Niall Walton, who inherited the business from his father and grandfather, also makes another very good point with wider application: if we want to see towns and communities survive, then we really must do some of our shopping locally – patronise and use the small retailers, instead of ordering so much on-line and via Amazon.

Of course, on-line shopping is useful and convenient, and there are times when we all have recourse to it. It also has its downside – sending a dress back to a retailer in China is tedious and expensive: not receiving the garment in the first place while the retailer pesters you by email to buy more is also a pain in the neck – an experience I’ve had.

Yet the Irish music business is itself an example of how something that seems to be in doldrums can revive brilliantly.

In the 1940s and 50s, Irish people wanted the big American band sound, and Irish music was downright unfashionable. But there was a marvellous revival and renaissance, and the same thing can happen in keeping alive the family retail businesses.

Real 
buzz

In the small Kentish seaside town where I reside (I’m also in Ireland for a week each month), we’ve seen a blooming of small shops and businesses which has added a real buzz to the area.

There are now two fabulous delicatessens, a terrific local theatre and performance centre, two brilliant small household shops which sell everything domestic, two greengrocers, two electrical appliance shops, several attractive dress shops, several independent cafes and teashops, a new bookshop and an art gallery. None of these were in existence 20 years ago when my late husband chose the location because (perversely) it was “dull”.

It’s such a positive experience to shop locally: to engage with the shop assistants, to ask their advice when looking for a domestic appliance or to try on a garment properly to see if it suits and fits.

Niall Walton’s message is vital, and a slogan could be adapted from the old Walton’s radio advert: if you must shop, do try to shop locally.

If you ever fancy a small but delicious treat around the Euston area of London, take afternoon tea at the St Pancras branch of Fortnum & Mason (not far from the Eurostar train exit). An exquisite pot of tea (real tea-leaves), poured into a china cup, accompanied by a scrumptious little scone, jam and cream, and served with old-style courtesy – all for a sterling tenner.

And if you don’t finish your pot of strawberry jam, you can take it away with you in an F&M bag. You can also sit peacefully and watch the world go by for as long as you want. Calming and reflective in the busy bustle of modern life.

There are occasions when you might be sorry for an individual setback, mishap or accident: but compassion for the individual cannot always over-ride a general principle of the common good.

The case of Antoinette Johnston illustrates this. Ms Johnston, aged 28, a cleaner from Clondalkin, sued a pub that she had visited – Clondalkin Taverns Ltd – after she dislocated her ankle on the stairs visiting the ladies’ room there. She was wearing stiletto heels, which was her choice but which may not always be conducive to perfect balance. Then the ladies’ room of the pub was three floors down, which doesn’t seem to me to be ideal either.

Her case was that the stairs were defective, and because of the fall, she was hospitalised with a broken ankle and off work for three months.

The pub denied liability and laid the blame on a snapped stiletto heel.

The judge, Mr Justice Kevin Cross, said that Ms Johnston did not exaggerate her injuries, but he could not accept the allegation that the premises had been negligent, and thus did not accept her case.

You could feel sorry for Antoinette Johnston for this piece of bad luck, and you could believe that public premises should put loos in suitable places (especially ladies’ toilets, which don’t always merit the description of “conveniences”). But there has to be an element of personal responsibility in all our actions.

The old motto is a good one: hard cases make bad law; misfortunes cannot always be met with compensation.