Its 2013 you could have your breakfast in the BHS cafe, followed by a shopping trip to the Forum. In the city centre you could browse the many departments of Browns or shop at GAME, Wilko, PC world, Thorntons or even The Disney Shop. “Selfie” made its debut in the English dictionary, and you could have posed for one with the street preacher Themba on his once regular patch near the clock. Then you could have lunch at Pizza Hut on Foregate street followed by an afternoon session at Mecca Bingo, stopping off at the Ship Victory and the Northgate McDonalds on your way home. On the TV Breaking Bad reached its climax and Rylan won Big Brother. You could read about PM Cameron legalising same sex marriage on your 3G phone or reflect on the deaths of Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher (not all on the same day.) Chester and the world has seen many changes not least the rise and rise of the internet which has transformed the way we live our lives. The last decade plus has seen more development than any other apart from the 1960s revolution which saw the huge forced changes of the ring road’s construction. Here’s 11 things you could do in 2013 which you can’t anymore and the positive/negative/ don’t know implications of each.

1.You could walk along a largely derelict canal corridor. In 2013 the area that is now Waitrose consisted of a demolished former retail park and a demolished school opposite a Shot Tower complex that was falling to pieces. Waitrose opened in late 2014 and transformed the area with a new bridge over the canal also being installed. Hotel Moxy further improved the area, despite the later sad loss of Artichoke. The smart new Shot Tower development was finally completed in 2022 ending the ugly unloved views. In short this area was awful in 2013 and now its not.

2.You could catch your bus from the old station next to the market. Famously the council of the time replaced the concrete shelters with pop up yellow shacks which were hopelessly inadequate offering little protection from the elements. Also, due to a payment dispute one of them mysteriously vanished overnight. The bus station was moved in 2017 to a modern and fit for purpose “world class” interchange which was staffed, had information screens and basic facilities including a cafe, shop and toilets. As a user of public transport I don’t miss that old bus station which made way for the Northgate development…

3.Leading onto.. in 2013 you could complain about the Northgate Development not happening. With various schemes for developing the Northgate proposed , cancelled and collapsed since the the 1990s, Cestrians wouldn’t have been blamed for thinking that nothing was ever going to happen and that things would be stuck in limbo, particularly the fate of the Market. The collapse of House of Fraser bought an end to the plans for a new shopping centre, but thankfully the scaled down development continued with construction beginning in 2020. Love it or hate it the scheme was completed. Thanks to long term follower/good guy Mark Livesey for suggesting this one. For a bonus you can have moaning about student housing schemes- theres been no new schemes built or proposed since the pandemic, and some schemes which received planning permission were never built.

4.You could enjoy a show by Tip Top Productions in the repurposed basement of the old Gateway Theatre (closed 2007) at the Forum Studio Theatre. Tip Top kept the flame of theatre alive with their consistently excellent “amateur” productions and were played a key role in my own cultural road of discovery in those exciting early days. The Christmas pantomime was a regular highlight and much missed since Tip Top vacated the studio in 2020. Whilst they still perform today at Theatre Clwyd and (after a long wait) at Storyhouse the loss of their own performance space is a melancholy loss.

5. In 2013 you could buy a daily Chester newspaper . Up until 2018, The Chester Leader was a good read while you were sitting in the old Market Cafe. Most of us get our news from the internet now and print media is dying a slow death, with the Chester Chronicle surely not having long to go. Back in 2013 The Leader/Standard operated out of an office on Watergate street, of course now its a bar/cafe. The Chronicle had a huge office on Sealand Road before being downscaled and eventually making the remaining journalists work from home. The internet has set everyone free but when everything is free, the results to local news coverage is inevitable. Now we are denied headlines like MAN THREW SNAIL AT CAR IN STREET ROW.

6. In 2013 you could borrow a book from the old Library – (now Cosy Club / North Light) with its iconic arched windows. One of the “places I’ll remember” now lost to history. The CD library, or even the VHS library are casualties of our changing times. The new library with its extended 7 day a week opening hours is a far more open and inviting space with the bookshelves mingling with the other cultural and social facilities of Storyhouse, yet traditionalists will still pine for this silent calming space.

7. You could take the shortcut from the back of Tesco to Queen street and vice versa. This was a key thoroughfare all those years ago and was closed during the pandemic to allow social distancing but never reopened , probably because of it’s convenience for the shoplifting community. Sometimes it’s the little things you miss.

8. Another thing lost to us is the toilet block in the Grosvenor shopping centre. It’s a myth that Chester has seen a decline in public toilets- the groves and park toilets remain alongside the bus station and market, but these were the best facilities in town. As late as 2016 I remember seeing some EU referendum graffiti on the wall of a cubicle, but sadly the block was lost and the space given to a hotel development. With the centre now under new management it’s hoped that toilets will return in this central location. We never knew we had it so good.

9. You could shop in the old market up until it’s closure in October 2022. Chester never really got over the loss of the old old market in the 1960s, with the building always in it’s shadow. Changing shopping habits doomed the market when Cestrians stopped shopping there in significant numbers , even before the bus station moved. The decaying building suffered from a leaking roof, outdated 60s decor, broken toilets and power issues towards the end of its lifetime. traditional traders , apparently so well loved retired one by one and it was only the addition of the food court in 2017 that saw any uplift in fortunes. The New Market has been enjoyed by millions so far, but hasn’t been universally praised with many yearning for the stalls that people didn’t use. Note also that many of the stalls that didn’t move to the new build went on to establish themselves as quality high street businesses.

10. You could park for free after 3pm in certain council car parks. The free provision was controversially axed by Labour in 2018, many still angry 6 years later. Since then there has been various schemes offered including free parking at the racecourse and discounted park and ride but nothing has replaced this sacred offering.

11. Finally you could go bowling in Chester in 2013. At the time of writing you can’t bowl anymore , but that will all change at Easter when the new 28 lane Ten Pin opens, only a short distance from its old location. The entertainment renaissance in Chester is in full swing- people in Chester used to say there was nothing to do here…