Many towns across the UK have been suffering shop closures for years, with lots of 'for sale' and 'to let' signs along their high streets. So how does Brigg manage to buck this dismal trend?
One key factor is offering personal service beyond the call of duty to visiting shoppers.
Late one afternoon recently, Brigg Blog arrived at the Wrawby Street entrance to Brians DIY, needing to buy a couple of 30 amp plugs.
It was 5.30pm and the shop was due to close. But the helpful staff not only remained open to serve us, but one of them set off for a distant shelf to locate what we wanted and returned with a pack of two in hand.
There's unlikely to have been much profit on this very modest £2.99p sale, and perhaps we could have bought the fuses more cheaply if we'd care to shop around.
But we got what we needed and were on foot so there was no petrol for the car to add to the price of our modest purchase.
In Monty Python's Life of Brian film, Eric Idle famously sings: "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life."
After visiting "our" Brians, and getting such fine service, we were certainly looking on the bright side as we headed for home along Wrawby Street.
Folk living outside our area seem to think likewise, as demonstrated by this email that recently dropped into Brigg Blog's "in" box.
Sent to a local councillor, it said: "My neighbours have been to Hull for the weekend and met up with some friends in Brigg. They were very pleasantly surprised with the shopping offered and general appearance of the town. They commented that for a small market town, local businesses appeared to be thriving, and the only shop that was closed down was Greggs bakery (part of a national chain)!
"They commented that the flowers looked lovely and the whole town was very welcoming in stark comparison to the offer we have in Huddersfield town centre of empty shops and student bars. Well done!"
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