It was the mid-seventies and London had emerged from the austerity of wartime. Property prices started to reflect the growing prosperity with larger shops and the emergence of chains. The change was less pronounced the further out you went. Brick Lane was still a thriving textile centre with machine shops all along the streets. Even further out, in the suburbs of places like Romford, markets were still the main pull. I remember going down to Romford market every Wednesday and Saturday with my parents right up to the late sixties to buy fruit and veg. Small shops were very much the norm. They closed half days, usually on Wednesday because of the market and they always closed at lunchtime. Life was slower. Those were the days when there were grocers on the corner of the street and little runs of shops like butchers, greengrocers, ironmongers and maybe things like a cycle shop or even a tiny barbers or hairdressers. This photo-essay is about how the differences in shopping habits has changed the appearance of the high street in many towns.