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Spanish Honduras, a neighbour, was in the news in September 1974 with 9,000 killed and 60,000 homeless from hurricane Fifi. No wonder hurricanes are the main topic of conversation in the former colony of British Honduras, as is the more temperate weather of UK in British homes. Well over a century ago the US ambassador to the Central American Federation visited what he subsequently described as the British Territory of Belize. Although like most artificial federations the CAF soon crumbled, and this country became known as British Honduras, in 1973 it renamed itself Belize.

THERE is far too much talk and writing about book expenditure per authority or per 1,000 of population, which frankly does not get one very far. What matters is what books you buy or do not buy. I have picked, quite at random, one copy of the British National Bibliography, for May 7th, 1958, and made a list of all the books which I think every library authority ought to have, whether large or small, industrial, rural or urban. These titles would meet the needs of the inhabitants of any community and enlarge their vision, give them the materials for attempting an understanding of the world and its problems, arts and sciences, and enable them to improve their abilities and skills, and fit themselves physically, mentally and morally to be useful citizens. It sounds pompous, I know, but that is what we are trying to do. Here is part of the list: Irwin: Origins of the English Library. Jung: Undiscovered Self (a world famous psychologist on social problems). Mackenzie: Free Elections (textbook on matters of interest to all citizens). Finer: Anonymous Empire (lobbying, its faults and virtues). Roberts: Trade Union Congress. Pollard: Problem of Divorce. Stengel: Attempted Suicide. Railway Magazine Miscellany. Dunn: Teach Yourself Japanese. Trustram: Classbook of Arithmetic and Trigonometry. Calder: Electricity Grows Up. Morley and Hughes: Elementary Engineering Science (a standard work). Powell: Physics, Vol. 2 (textbook for National Certificate students). Bowen: Exploration of Time. Brown: How to Make a Home Nature Museum. Leithauser: Inventors of Our World. Meares and Neale: Electrical Engineering Practice. Lamberment and Pirie: Helicopters and Autogyros of the World. Spicer and Pegler: Practical Book‐keeping. Luker: School Craftwork in Wood. Goff: Further Guide to Long Play. Clark: Royal Albert Hall. Graveney: Cricket Through the Covers. Swift: Collected Poems. Bolt: Flowering Cherry. Austen: The Watsons. Hobbs: Maps and Regions. Richie: Hampshire Coastways. Winch: Introducing Germany. Cooper: Rainbow Comes and Goes. Cope: Florence Nightingale and the Doctors. Hudson: Sir Joshua Reynolds. Pitt: Zeebrugge. Cowles: Phantom Major. Grinnell‐Milne: Silent Victory. Pollock: Jervis Bay. Then add on some half‐a‐dozen novels.

In English valuation practice, when valuing small to medium size (StMS) shops, rental analysis is undertaken using zoning based on the argument that shop fronts including window displays attract customers to shops and that most trading takes place in the internal frontage area making it the most valuable part of shops. Albeit zoning has been critiqued, it remains the preferred method of rental analysis. The paper aims to answer two research questions: are shop fronts including window displays the only factor that attracts customers to shops? And is the frontage space within shops the area most trading takes place?

The exploratory qualitative research methodology was used, and primary data collected by observing 178 shops in selected five shopping areas. The observational data were complemented with the use of secondary data.

The study has shown that shop fronts are not the only factor attracting clientele to shops as there are other varied factors including location, availability of Internet and hoardings. There is no evidence to suggest most goods in shops are displayed at the frontage space that attract most customers to that area, thereby, making the area the most valuable part, which decreases backwards.

These findings coupled with extant research evidence implies zoning can lead to under or over valuation of StMS shops (which is not good for retail real estate (RE) management or market), and turnover generated from shops is the overarching determinant of rental values in valuation.

This is the first time the very foundation/underpinning principles of zoning have been subjected to scrutiny in England.