THE Parish Church, standing proudly in centre of shot, is now the sole survivor from this peep-back to the main St Helens shopping centre scene of about four or five decades ago.

The picture postcard view, found blowing in the wind in the Cowley Hill area, and kindly forwarded by Carl Dingsdale of Thatto Heath, will bring back countless memories (and not a few sighs) from townsfolk who recall when traffic still flowed through the main shopping drag of Church Street and when the town centre had a highly-impressive main post office building, which sadly fell victim to the re-developers' wrecking-ball. It's shown in the far background.

Veteran shoppers still speak with fondness about Harts department store (canopied frontage shown left, close to the knot of shoppers) with its uncovered, creaky wooden floor.

On the right are other memory-tweakers: Newday furniture store, Shenwoods, Telefusion, Stone Dry and Wilson's dress shop.

What is particularly striking about this bygone scene is the lack of bustle and the cleanliness of the street, with not one bit of litter in sight. Yes, things have certainly changed!