This popular shop has been around for 17 years and clearly had acquired a loyal band of customers.

Although the business was apparently doing quite well, a steep rent rise convinced senior partner Brenda Ravencroft that enough was enough.

This has left us with no specialist flower shop as we've already said goodbye to the Bouquet Residence on Norwich Street.

The heart of the town is beginning to look a bit sad as the closing down sale reaches its final days at Aldiss and the To Let sign goes up above its main doors.

Some four neighbouring business premises remain empty and their blank windows are hardly a welcoming sight as the tourist season gets into full swing. At least the former Godfrey DIY store on the corner of Norwich Road and Holt Road has been given a new lease of life with an excellent outdoor activities business, MPG Leisure, providing floor space for both camping and cycling pursuits.

Nice to celebrate an opening up rather than a closing down. We could certainly do with a few more of those in the coming months.

• Our monthly farmers' market has recently changed management hands between the town council and Fakenham Area Partnership. Thus far this has made little difference to how it is run every fourth Saturday, but it's important for everyone that it retains its special popularity with both residents and visitors.

With shops finding it difficult to stay ahead of the game, small market traders are no less pressured by the economic climate. They may have less in the way of overheads, but as the modern equivalent of travelling salesmen their continued existence is down to variable factors like good conditions for growing what they sell and good weather on the actual market days. If it's cold, wet and windy, people are far less inclined to meander the market square and spend time contemplating a possible purchase.

Every pitch has to be paid for and for many there's a fine margin between profit and loss. We really are lucky to have one of the best markets in the county which has proved over and over again to be an excellent advertisement for the town.

• Baseball is a game more associated with America and it's rare to see it played around here. But its gentler cousin softball is fast becoming a firm favourite and our schools are promoting it with enthusiasm. Dare I say it, but plenty of girls now seem to prefer playing softball to their traditional summer game of rounders.

A few weeks back a tournament organised at the High School attracted ten mixed teams involving more than a hundred participants. Many of them had never held a softball bat in anger before.

Now there's a chance to have a go at the game on a regular basis. Every Wednesday evening, starting tomorrow from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, the school will welcome allcomers to try their hand.

Sessions cost only one pound and players should be at least 13 years old. Coaches will teach the basics to novices and advanced skills to more experienced players. The evenings will mainly be devoted to playing recreational slopitch softball, the social version of the game where fun and inclusion are the main priorities.

One of the great things about this particular team sport is that its skills can be acquired quite quickly, the rules are simple and people can continue to play well into middle age and beyond. No special wear is needed apart from trainers and all other equipment such as bats and gloves is provided. Why not give it a go?