Bangor High Street to be renamed Gin Lane

Much fanfare in the North Wales Chronicle yesterday about the opening of a new store on Bangor High Street. The event was even attended by the Mayor of Bangor, Cllr Jean Forsyth, who said "It’s nice to see shops opening on the High Street instead of closing and hopefully things are now starting to come full circle."

So why am I posting about it here, you may wonder? The shop which was opening is a branch of Cash Converters - a modern day Pawnbroker...

The Druid would suggest to the Mayor that the fact a Pawnbroker has chosen to open in your precinct is not a vote of confidence in the local economy - it is the exact opposite. 

So for the benefit of Cllr Jean Forsyth: See that sign with three balls hanging symbolically over Gin Lane, Hogarth's vision of poverty, squalor, and despair? Thats a Pawnbroker's sign.