Dear Sir,

OK, I admit it: I’m old-fashioned and not very tech-savvy. I don’t do Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, and as far as I know, Amazon is a river in South America. But I do love to shop — both for myself and for others.

I do all my shopping in our beautifully unique retail stores on Front Street, Queen Street, Reid Street, side streets and in all the fun mini shops in the malls.

I love trying on clothes and shoes in person, modelling a necklace in a mirror, chatting up with the salespeople, stopping to pet a dog, gathering special treats for friends’ birthdays ... and especially strolling our streets during the holidays admiring the decorations, then tucking into an eatery for a cup of tea and a sandwich.

This is how I grew up, with small-town charm and personalised service. No internet site can ever replace that.

Sadly, as of late, I have come to feel unnerved, intimidated and exploited with all the panhandlers — men, young and old — boldly approaching me on the streets and alleyways, begging for money for food, beer or cigarettes.

One day last week I counted seven times I was approached and actually felt fearful when one man literally followed me for two blocks yelling, “I know you have money ... you look like you have money.”

Yikes. To the downtown merchants, if something is not done to eradicate the vagrancy and begging on our otherwise attractive and welcoming streets — we should apologise to our cruise ship visitors, too — I will be resigned to the comfort of my pyjamas and bed, propped up with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, perusing all the goodies online and ... gasp ... ordering from Amazon.

Yep, time to travel down the “river”, I’m afraid, where the only annoyance will be my dog whining at the door or the phone ringing.

I LIKE TO KEEP MY MONEY LOCAL