I HAVE had a tune going through what passes for my brain, for a while now.

Some years ago there was an advert on the idiot box (and I have to point out that it was Herself who used to switch it on, not me) which went: ‘That’s the wonder of Woolworths, that’s the wonder of good old Woolies’. And for those of a certain age who recall the song, I’d practically guarantee you’ll find yourself humming it over the next few days, now that you’ve been reminded of it. And what a shame it is that the shop in King Street is closing after all these years.

The chain started a while back, in America, if my facts are correct, then came to Britain and’ with every item priced at 6d (that’s two and a half pence in current money) grew enormously, until there were stores in most English towns. But my memories of the shop in King Street go back to when I was a nipper and, clutching a couple of pennies (which is all my mum could afford – in fact, thinking about it now it was probably more than she could afford) I would go, with my mates, to Woolies on a Saturday morning to spend my pocket money.

In those days, of course, the British currency was pounds, shillings and pence, so the twopence I clutched in my grubby mitts was worth all of about 1p in new money – but it was enough to buy a satisfying selection of the sweets on offer at the glass-fronted counters.

Back then, I remember, the floors were made of wood, as were the counters, and to see the goodies on sale we had to go up on tiptoe to look through the glass which covered the top part of the display of sweets. There was none of that picking up what you wanted and going to the till to pay, like nowadays. We lads had to ask the assistant for what we wanted – and woe betide us if we did not ask politely – and then wait impatiently while the sweets were weighed then put into a paper bag.

Although it was more years ago now than I care to – or really can – remember, I do recall the gobstoppers and barley sugar twists and the liquorice bootlaces and the blackjacks (thus-named long before political correctness came into being) and other delicacies, and the feeling of anticipation as we left the shop with our goodies in a brown paper bag and headed home to sit outside the house and tuck in.

I suppose all those memories have flooded back now because we know the closure of the King Street store is imminent. But while my maudlin reminiscences are all very well, the cold, hard, fact is that with the closure of the shop, people who have been working at Woolies for maybe 20 years, some of them, may soon be jobless. I was pleased to hear that retailers contacted the Woolworth’s’ manager to tell him of vacancies elsewhere which his staff may apply for, and I really hope that all those who need a job find one soon.

I can’t help feeling that, while I am well aware that the ‘credit-crunch’ – which is affecting most ordinary people in Jersey, despite the Chief Minister’s assurances that we are not experiencing a recession – must have hastened the end of a piece of retailing history, and I know that the chain had not been making money (although, ironically, it appears that the Jersey store was one of the few that was still operating at a profit,) it still seems very sad, especially at this time of year, that the apparent greed of the money people – well who else would it be? – who don’t even live in the Island (and probably don’t even live on the mainland and stay safely cocooned in their luxury penthouses somewhere well away from the British winter) are safely removed from the worry and concern that anyone losing their job must feel – will probably feel no worry at all about the results of their actions.

As 2008 comes to an end, I’ve been wondering what the new Prime Minister has been up to since he chose his new team. It occurred to me that there are, doubtless, a few ideas in his head about how he takes on the role that Frank Walker had for a few years – and, I would guess, since Terry Le Sueur is, it would appear, a bit of a thinker – probably be thinking about what not to do in the next few years. He’s an intelligent bloke, so I hope he will be thinking that one of the most important things he can do, from the start, is to ensure that the States PR is a darn sight more efficient and people-friendly than existed in Frank’s reign.

To be fair, Frank stepped into a newly created role so there was no blueprint for how it should work, but I am absolutely certain that, reflecting on his tenure, he will have kicked himself more than once about the way PR worked against the States with the gobbledygook that emerged. To say that some of the information handed out was, to quote British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: ‘A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma’ is an understatement. If we are to have the open government that our politicians keep banging on about (but, to date, appear to have done little to encourage) then it is to be hoped that Senator Le Sueur learns from those earlier mistakes.

And finally . . . The New Year is upon us once again, and seems to have arrived sooner than ever. While many will be looking forward to the big event that New Year’s Eve has become (and which, in my opinion, never lives up to expectation), many others will be dreading it. So my wish for 2009 is that those who are in need of support, of whatever kind, will receive it, and that everyone will enjoy happier times in 2009.