I left the sticks and headed for the big smoke as soon as I could.

There's no reason why all the young people of Oldton didn't do the same, abandoning the town once they realised it wasn't very exciting.

The endlessly boring Saturday nights hanging around the village centre, drinking cheap cider on the park bench or tooling around in the playground would have been clues. I miss Oldton - yes - but I'd not want to live there now.

As for the old people of Oldton, they'd twitch their curtains and 'tut-tut' about the noise even after all the young people had gone. And then, one by one, they'd sink into their armchairs, turn up the TV, and wait for the inevitable.