If you were wise enough to read my blog about women drivers, you'll know that my wife and I took a trip into Dartford last Tuesday afternoon. After a more recent excursion to Sidcup High Street for a look round the shops, we decided that Sidcup makes Dartford Town Centre look decidedly prosperous.

Sidcup High Street is in its death throes for a number of reasons but mainly because Morrisons has taken the trade away from the local shops. A long time ago, before the advent of colour televisions, kind-on-the-bumhole toilet paper and Les Dennis (yes, that long ago) Sidcup High Street wasn't a bad little place to do the shopping. It provided just about every shop and service one required and even had its own car park in Nelson Place.

Unfortunately, the local traders became complacent and did nothing when the building of a new Safeway (now Morrisons) superstore was proposed. Safeway built its own car park - on two levels - on the Nelson Place site. Oh, and guess what? Yep, it's free to park, unlike the old one.

Shoppers from far and wide soon made the amazing discovery that it was quite nice parking for free and shopping undercover, away from the wind, rain and diesel fumes. Granted, it took them a while to get used to the piped 'muzac' as they filled their trolleys with freshly baked bread and other delicious goodies.

However, they soon learned to blot out the dulcet tones of Carly Simon, Stevie Wonder and Dexy's Midnight Runners. You see, all they had to do was remember the days of queuing for hours outside the bakers in the High Street, only to be told by the assistant - after finally reaching the counter freezing cold and soaking wet - 'Sorry love, just sold the last bloomer'.

Ah, those really were the days, weren't they?

In time, Safeway became Morrisons and the behind-the-times Sidcup High Street shops and their keepers were soon forgotten all about.

The few remaining Sidcup High Street traders now spend their days wishing for the return of the good times. For eight hours a day - sometimes longer - they stare mournfully through their shop windows at the dirty, litter-strewn, shopper-free pavements and boarded-up shops on the other side of the road. How they could kick themselves for not making more fuss when they first heard the rumour that Safeway was going to bring shoppers into the 20th century, let alone the 21st.

How they yearn to be able to turn the clock back as they think, 'Why didn't someone get a petition going?', along with, 'I knew we should have picketed the building site!' and 'If only we'd demonstrated outside the office of whoever gave the go-ahead for the contractors to move in!'

Well, it's too late to think about all that now, isn't it?

Naturally, instead of admitting that their complacency after years of shoddy service, high prices and poor stocktaking is to blame for their own decline - coupled with the fact that Morrisons is customer friendly, convenient and dry - the local traders are now blaming the ongoing roadworks. Hmmm.

Whatever I may have said about Dartford Town Centre in the past, at least it's always buzzing with people; albeit of the fat, lazy and unemployed variety. Like Sidcup, there are but few shops that aren't boarded up in Dartford, but the people still have their cheap jewellers, Primark and Burger King to keep them happy.

Dartfordians are a stoic breed and have adopted a sort of 'war spirit' to keep their upper lips stiff upon hearing the news that yet another of their favourite charity shops has 'copped it'.

Perhaps the shopkeepers of Sidcup High Street could learn something from the folks of Dartford.

In fact, I'm pretty sure they could.