Mrs Thatcher’s market forces, Adam Smith’s invisible hand – in other words the public gets what the public wants by exercising choice. That, in a rather highfalutin nutshell, is how we get so many tattoo parlours in North Devon. Put simply, some people want tattoos and therefore there have to be places where they can submit to the needle. If you doubt the power of that demand look around you. It is possible to get tattoos in all three of the biggest towns in North Devon and I think it’s true to say that those who wish to undergo such a permanent transformation have a choice of operators in those towns. And it’s not just towns. . .
The village of Northam boasts one tattoo parlour (are they always parlours? It does sound a bit questionable) but, to the best of my knowledge, no longer has a butcher or a fishmonger. Also Northam no longer has the presence of one of the High Street banks. It’s a strange state of affairs to my mind. I accept I am looking at this from the point of view of someone who doesn’t want a tattoo, therefore the presence of such establishments is of little relevance to me, but I presume tattooed people eat and use banks.
Of course, the demise of butchers, fishmongers, bakers and other such shops is due, in no little way, to the onward march of supermarkets. You might even say that the retreat of banks from villages such as Northam is down to the change in the banking market, which has seen supermarkets offer banking services (what would Captain Mainwaring think?). Indeed that has even set me wondering if, as supermarkets increase the range of goods and services they offer, they might move into the tattooing market. We might even end up bemoaning the loss of Ye Olde Village Tattoo Shop.
No comments:
Post a Comment