MS Jones has a rather mixed opinion of Darlington town centre, detailing both the good and bad points of what was once a busy location (HAS, Jan 16).

She correctly stated that there are now a large number of barber shops and that there does seem to be an increased number of beggars on the streets, but that’s the situation up and down England, these days.

I love my hometown, and like many other towns of similar size, the town centre is not as busy as it once was, and you will also find that in places like Stockport, Gillingham and Basildon.

My good friend, Hermann Junglas, often visits Darlington from his home in Mainz in Germany, along with his wife, Birgit, and they always seem to enjoy themselves but how I wish that they could have experienced the days of yesteryear when Darlington was a major shopping destination in North-East England and everywhere in the town was busy on a Monday, Friday and Saturday.

The days of when English high streets were packed with shoppers and the pubs chock-a-block with customers are sadly over, and I have a feeling that those days will never return, but please excuse me while I sit here for a while and fondly remember those times.

Christopher Wardell, Darlington