THERE is, perhaps, a lesson for us all in today's uplifting tale about the residents of Llanmadoc in Gower.

If ever there was a classic case of that old idiom "biggest is best" being proved well and truly wrong, then surely this is it. How much easier would it have been for them to watch the demise of their old village shop, wring their hands, mutter something about "not in my day" and leave it at that. No. Instead, they got up and set about saving it — albeit under a new guise.

Better still, many of them are at it, volunteering behind the tills ensuring its long-term success. Instead of leaving it to others, they are doing it themselves.

Over the past couple of weeks, many of our biggest retailers have produced some of their worst results ever, as trading conditions get tighter on the high street. There are also bound to be more casualties of the downturn in the economy.

That makes what these people have managed to achieve all the more incredible, and acts as a reminder that the big guns don't always have it their way!