I went to the famous Boxing Day sales in Telford to see how times have changed - what I found was striking
Tales are legend of the Boxing Day sales back in the day when people used to queue from 5am and fights would break out over the most hotly anticipated bargains.
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It is not like that these days. Far from it in fact, as I found out when I ventured out on a cold and foggy morning to find that the A49, A5 and M54 were virtually my own.
It was the same in the car parks and I took my pick of the spots at Telford Centre 3 before wandering around the cathedral to corporate capitalism that is the town's central shopping destination.
At 8.30am about the only shops that were open were Greggs and the rare punters looked like they were enjoying their time out of the cold.
The days of fights breaking out over cut-price TV sets are now long gone, which pleased Samantha Dale, from Codsall, who was out with her mum Jane and the family.
Samantha, 38, who uses walking sticks because of a disability, quipped: “I won't have to use my sticks to fight people off!”
Jane, 67, and Samantha have been going to the Boxing Day sales as a way of extending their Christmas family time together, to enjoy each others' company.
Jane and Samantha have, like me, noticed big changes in the way that people shop.
Jane said: “People would be queuing up for the bargains - but now it is much more relaxed.”
