All shops can do now is try to remain positive - Kevin Buckle

Speaking to other shops in the city centre it isn’t just the Waverley Mall that is quiet though from what I also hear Edinburgh is quieter than Glasgow.

Of course currently Edinburgh shoppers can shop anywhere in the Central Belt and indeed I have had a few folk through from Glasgow coming specifically to Avalanche but generally customers seem to have abandoned shopping on the high street at the moment.

On a personal note I’m hopeful given the customers we have had have come to the shop especially for the many unique items we have that our plan to involve local photographers and their wares this Christmas will help to keep the customers coming in.

What I suspect will happen is that, much like happened with the supermarkets in March, quite soon people trying to order online for Christmas will start to be given delivery dates in 2021 and will have no choice but to visit shops.

In Scotland the worst-case scenario for shops is that now furlough has been confirmed to March that the Scottish Government feels the five tiers have not worked and we go into lockdown at the start of December.

Such a decision would cause problems on so many levels that the health issues would need to be so severe that it doesn’t bear thinking about.

For now shops have to stay positive and hope that come the start of December things are actually eased and we are able to have a Christmas that is both safe and to some extent sociable.

Certainly people can help now by shopping safely. Clearly if the Scottish Government felt shops were unsafe they would have closed them down and that is obviously not the case.

This is not about simply supporting small independents but all shops and this was made clear to me last week when a very helpful lady serving me in the Marks & Spencer food hall told me she was one of 65 people being made redundant that week.

Of course those few profitable days in England will not see them through the lockdown but for shops in Scotland this could be death by a thousand cuts if things don’t improve soon.

Finishing on a more positive note Road Mole who have featured more than once in this column in the hope they will one day fix Edinburgh’s potholes won a safety award at the Highways UK awards this week adding to their already impressive awards for actually fixing potholes.

Covid permitting we will hopefully see Road Mole in Edinburgh next year.