OK, I am not defending the beer prices, but I do want to say that I have the impression that it's a really tough living for businesses in Whitby. Quite a few empty shop fronts even on the main streets.

(I am very glad Whitby's not a place of Starbucks, McDonalds and Travel Lodge. I read the news that Travel Lodge wants to start a hotel there with mixed feelings. But I think it doesn't have many big chains because it's simply not prosperous enough.)

A few years back I got what must have been the last free room in Whitby. In a hotel. Quite a bit costlier than a B&B. You might say--the owners will be raking it in at that price. I thought that at first, but came to doubt it. When I came back late afternoon on departure day, I asked for a loo and was directed to the one in the proprietor's place in the hotel. Just one room they had, no fancier than a regular one, the facilities even a little less 'updated' than the room I'd stayed in.

If you've seen local newsagents close where you live because people buy in big out-of-town shops, or if the milkman stops making rounds because people prefer cheaper supermarket milk... well that's the world that comes when everyone's out to maximize profit and savings. Now I don't know the ins and outs of beer price hikes, and like I said, I don't want to defend or attack them, but I suspect there's a story on the other side too, especially in this credit crunch.

Hard times, hard times, come again no more.