WE live in Pendle now, but we were born and for many years lived local to Bolton.

In fact, we started our first few years of married life in St George’s Road and Breightmet.

After moving away, we regularly came over to Bolton for quality shopping. Nearly 30 miles! No more.

I am also given to understand that a petition of, was it 80,000 names, was submitted in a vain exercise in democracy.

Who was it that said: “We are a democracy for one day every four years.” (To hell with the public the rest of the period!) Did the council ever put forward a convincing argument for the surgery to the Market Hall, i.e. one that was seen as convincing by “The Public”?

Here is an extract of an email I sent to a friend in Harwood after a visit on Tuesday: “The ruined Market Hall is like one of those ‘back-street-operations’ of old!

“They say they’ve kept the beautiful iron-work, but if you don’t know to look for it, you’d never see it.

“Before it was part of the scene, now the total is obscene!

“It’s just another anonymous mall now. Watch out Bury, here we come!”

D J White, Pendle