I have to admit to being very surprised by the buoyancy of the retail sales figures. The main conponent in the rise was a 4.1% increase in textile, clothing and footwear sales. But everywhere I go retailers are bemoaning the fact that business has never been so bad. Everywhere i go i see boarded up shops as retailers give up the ghost. I visited a small village where i used to live yesterday and counted 5 shops shut up awaiting new occupants. I had never known even one shop to be empty. Is it me or is something amiss. If i wasn’t so trusting I might just think someone was fudging the figures!!!