Practice English Speaking&Listening with: From A to PZ: The People of Penzance | Future of the High Street | Historic England

Well I remember it still being there, the high street opposite the railway station, Granite,

is totally solid and this is kind of like that, because it's like walking into another world.

I'm Karen Foss and I'm a local artist and I've been in Penzance about 7 years.

There's all kinds of things happen here and people are friendly and if you're willing to take part

and you go out there and find them, that things, that people are there. It's a nice feel when

you walk around each place has its own different atmosphere as well. That was the thing. It's not

just a repetition of chain stores, but everybody putting their own personality or their own slant.

We've got something of everything here really

I'm Rachel and I own the Honey Pot in Penzance. The Cafe's been here for roughly a hundred years.

A lot of older customers come and tell me they'd come after school and

get their sweets and ice creams and things from here.

All of the kind of independent lovely shops that are on Chapel Street,

we're all really good friends. There's a lot of other vibrant, young

young owners and we all support each other as much as we can.

My name is Ket and this is my shop The Chans Oriental Foods and Product.

We've been in Penzance for almost 15 years now. I find in my shop a lot of people just

like to get cooking ideas and cooking tips. And there is that personal touch that people can't get

from an online store and I could see that you know, they're happier and they get inspired.

Yeah, I think there's a hunger for

new things in the town really so hopefully young people will see that there's an opportunity.

It'd be interesting to see once lockdown is over and we're wandering up and down at what's actually

left and we got some fantastic independent shops. I would like to see more of those

like the bookshops Edge Of The World and Barton Books, Archie Browns those kind of Independents.

It's such a weird way to split the sidewalk... the music shop right next to the estate agents...

supporting local makers. The Star used to go right into another building which is the synagogue.

The last shoe shop there, there was a time when everything was a

shoe shop and then it turned into everything being a phone shop.

You go down the steps, and it's more retro shops,

you go down the steps a little bit, it's got about three floors in there.

Hi I'm Esme and this is Alan and we are apartnership in a Circa 21 been on the high street

now for a good 7 years. I think with the other shops like Edge Of The World and Restless Native,

Maria Chica, we support each other we help each other. There's a hardy rough edge to it. There's a

quirky, arty, slightly intellectual edge that's becoming slightly academic if you know what I mean.

Only in Penzance is something I would

say, you know, you see some people, you're like whey, only in Penzance, you know,

and it's good and I know but you can you can live your life how you want to live it.

We need to create more of a community space

instead of just sort of pop out to the shop and get what you want and go back, you know,

just to get people so that they can come and sit down and meet friends meet up with other people.

Yeah, I just, just to create some kind of atmosphere. I think that'd be good.