How the dearth of Accountants in South London shows the absence of local businesses.

Britain can really claim to be a hub for small businesses. If you live, for instance in Croydon, then you will be used to the many accountants Croydon has to offer, being grouped together in rows alongside independent law companies. Mostly the accountants in Croydon would be servicing the many small businesses that are so plentiful in this area of south London; the fruit shops, the furniture shops, the ethnic stores, launderettes and family-run restaurants. West Croydon especially, offers a gentle nod of encouragement to those wanting to avoid the rat-race and create their own business ventures. If you travel deeper into south London you find the same thing, the same groupings of what seems to be all the accountants south London has to offer on one street and the same plethora of small businesses. What is perhaps even more heartwarming is the support that these people get from the local communities; despite the large, shiny, new supermarkets that had popped up offering their two for ones and convenient shopping experiences, people would still flock to the grimy fruit and vegetable market on a Saturday morning, smelling and prodding and feeling the wares; I am not sure whether it was any cheaper, and sometimes you would inevitably come back with something rotten or lacking in taste, and you would be left feeling disappointed, but over-all the shopping experience was a far cry from the almost futuristic supermarkets with their zombie-like customers, all seemingly traumatized by the experience they were currently undergoing. Moreover, before the shiny turrets of Ikea popped onto the Croydon landscape, people would buy their furniture from a number of family-run businesses, which would make to measure, offer a very personal and pleasant service and really try to deliver you your vision of these key aspects of our houses. Ikea in contrast is almost like a theme park; I admit fully to having an urge to spend money, not needing anything and therefore organizing a trip to Ikea in order to spend fifty pounds on items which whilst walking around the store, you deem vital to your domesticity. Yet the mass production and the unnerving lack of sales assistants still managed to successfully push out many of the small bespoke and true craftsman that the area had to offer, leaving Croydon with only enough to count on a single hand. Money is of course the route of all these sad occurrences, and not just in Croydon, South London as a whole has seen a diminishing of its local businesses meaning that Accountants in South London are staring to lessen too because of course the large companies have their own in-company men to deal with accounts and really it is the average man and local business that keep the high street accountants and law firms etc in business. There is recently a revival of the popularity of the local business and an awareness of the importance of supporting such men and women, but the economy is what it is and nobody can compete with an empty purse. Although many have now started to offer conveniences such as card-payment services and offers on popular items, there is still a long way to go before we can get back that rich diverse and exciting atmosphere which we used to have when our localities were run essentially by the people who lived in them.