Only in France have I ever looked forward to attending a pharmacy. Napoleonic Paris, in response to the fatal incompetence of its citizens at foraging, mandated that pharmacies should come to their aid in identifying mushrooms. Across France they still do. I have wandered into many, clutching samples of my haul. Back in Britain I just eat them, but in France I get a second opinion. Firstly, I’m more adventurous there, knowing I have an expert safety net near at hand, and secondly the mushrooms are slightly different. There is the added appeal, though, of showing off. An indrawn breath and an impressed nod greeted one particularly fine bolete, and it tasted all the finer as a result.

Queuing for pills is not quite the same, and few of us are left with a lingering fondness for pharmacies. But we need them, and – if the National Pharmacy Association are to be believed – they are under threat. Almost half of the pharmacies it surveyed said they were considering closing down, and more than half were contemplating a move to a new location to try to save money. The Association says the culprit is the recent increase in business rates.

A trade organisation’s business is to make us worried for the survival of its members.........

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