Remember when every high street had a Woolworths? Its collapse in 2008 would, sadly, not be the last big retailer to crumble.

In the second part of our look back at the biggest news stories impacting on Kent in the Noughties, we look at how our high streets were transformed, Madonna made a visit to Maidstone and smokers had to stub it out inside as the, then controversial, smoking ban came into force.

A giant falls

It was a real rollercoaster ride for our high streets during the Noughties - although sadly with more downs than ups.

But perhaps the single biggest shock was the collapse of high street staple Woolworths. Its demise would very much be a sign of things to come.

For 100 years, Woolworths had been an ever-present in town centres - selling a diverse range of goods from clothes to music and film, toys to its famous pick 'n' mix sweets.

But it failed to change with the times and in November 2008 slumped into administration. While most expected a takeover, the reality was a closure of its more than 800 UK stores as the year turned into 2009, which left gaping holes in prime town centre sites.

And as we have learned from bitter experience, they would be far from the last big name to collapse into extinction.

It was not the only challenge facing high streets, as many towns continued to struggle with out-of-town developments.

One of the most significant was the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet in Ashford, which opened its doors for the first time in March 2000. With its distinctive 'tent' design it transformed the town into a destination for shoppers and has continued to grow.

The other was Westwood Cross on the cusp of Ramsgate and Broadstairs. It too was an instant success when it opened in 2005 but it came at a cost. Unlike the Designer Outlet, which drew in new big brands and their cut-price offerings, Westwood Cross was more conventional and it pulled in plenty of shops from nearby Margate and Ramsgate, leaving those town centres licking their wounds.

Things weren't made any better by the deepest recession to grip Britain since the Second World War, which stretched from 2008 into 2009.

Stub it out

It seems strange now, looking back, to think that smoking in pubs or offices was ever permitted. Or cinemas, on trains or planes. But the ban preventing such action was only implemented less than 20 years ago.

In 2007, amid mounting health concerns, Tony Blair's Labour government ushered in the controversial rules much to the chagrin of the militant tobacco addict. Although many had introduced smoking bans in the years leading up to the legislation coming into force.

Offices in Kent suddenly found themselves having to install ashtrays outside their offices as workers gathered outside for a gasper, while pubs splashed out on upgrading their outside facilities. Faversham pub giant Shepherd Neame invested £3m alone.

Regardless of your views on it back then, few would argue it hasn't transformed - for the better - the environments which once had a blanket of smoke hanging over them. Not to mention finally being able to go out and not come back reeking of smoke.

Terror of Tobin

On a cold November day in 2007, police arrived at the property of a non-descript mid-terraced house in Margate.

They were not interested in the current owner - but someone who had lived there more than 20 years earlier.

Peter Tobin had moved to the property in 1991 and left in 1993. In those two years he buried the bodies of two young women he had murdered in the back garden. He told neighbours he was digging a sandpit.

When Tobin was convicted of the rape and murder of Polish student Angelika Kluk, 23, in Glasgow (he had hidden her body beneath the floor of a church), officers started looking into his past.

As he started a life sentence behind bars in May 2007, officers followed evidence which led them to Thanet.

There they discovered he had dug a six-foot hole, disposed of the two bodies, covered them in concrete, and then built a sandpit on top.

The two women's bodies were those of Dinah McNicol - killed five months after Tobin had arrived in Margate - and Vicky Hamilton, 15, who had been killed five weeks before he had moved from Scotland to Kent.

Today the property still stands and is home to a young family - who are aware of its grisly past.

Queen of Pop comes to town

When Radio 1 announced it was to host its Big Weekend live event in Maidstone in 2008, it did so in style - with then Breakfast Show host Chris Moyles broadcasting live from Leeds Castle to announce the news.

While music fans were excited by the prospect of the two-day live event coming to the town - it was staged at Mote Park - no-one was quite prepared for the headliner. Proving a delight for fans of alliteration, Madonna was coming to Maidstone.

Among the others in the line-up were the likes of Usher (who came on stage to say 'hello Manchester' to bemused faces), Fatboy Slim, The Fratellis and Vampire Weekend. There was also an early day slot for a young emerging singer by the name of Adele.

Tickets were all free and there was huge demand - with many Kent fans claiming they missed out. It didn't stop 20,000 people enjoying the event, however, or Madonna's headline slot where she appeared on a throne and rattled off six - mostly new tracks - before disappearing in a helicopter.

However, tragedy did deny the county of a brush with one of the entertainment world's most successful ever artists.

When Michael Jackson announced he was to perform an incredible run of 50 shows at the O2 Arena in Greenwich starting in 2009 and stretching into 2010, he was set to stay at a 32-bedroom manor house in Chislehurst during the residency.

However, on June 25, 2009, as he put the final touches to his comeback shows which were due to have started 18 days later, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died. He had been due to arrive in Chislehurst the following week.

Speeding to the big smoke

We take high-speed rail routes into London now for granted. But it was only in December 2009 that the benefits of the tracks laid to whisk Eurostar passengers from London to Paris became accessible to the Kent commuter.

And it made a huge difference. Travelling from Ashford to central London once took 84 minutes. When High Speed 1 started, it slashed the time to just 37 minutes. It also gave Kent direct access to St Pancras and Kings Cross for the first time.

True, there was - and remains - a premium to pay for getting there faster - but it made the capital accessible at speed and many parts of Kent became attractive to commuters, driving up house prices in the process.

It could well be argued it has been the most significant improvement to Kent's transport infrastructure so far this century.

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

During Tony Blair's reign at Number 10, the Conservative Party found itself in a bit of mess. Having been soundly beaten in back-to-back landslides in 1997 and 2001, it struggled against the centre-ground politics of New Labour.

And, perhaps more worrying, it struggled to tackle the charisma of Blair.

William Hague was the first to try - and failed - as Leader of the Opposition. He was replaced by Iain Duncan-Smith who fared even worse and slinked off within two years.

Which left the party hoping a step back would allow it to make two steps forward.

In 2003 it appointed, unopposed, Michael Howard, a man best known for his role in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

And for Kent it meant a political leader was one of its MPs. Howard had represented Folkestone and Hythe since 1983.

He fared little better - leading the party to a third straight defeat in 2005, albeit gaining some seats in the process. Before he left the post, he did promote two individuals to the Conservative top table - namely David Cameron and George Osborne. Between them, the pair would put a Tory PM back in Downing Street by the time of the 2010 election - albeit through a coalition government.

Sporting glory

During the Noughties, the nation got quite good at securing major sporting events. In 2005 it won the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games in London and in 2007 it hosted the start of the world's most prestigious cycling event - the Tour de France.

With the Grand Départ taking place in London, the race then saw the first stage go from the capital down to Canterbury. Thousands lined the streets to watch the peloton pulse through the county, as it took a route which saw it go through Dartford, Gravesend, Medway, Maidstone, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Tenterden, Ashford and finish in Canterbury.

Hailed a great success, the blink and you'll miss it race to the finish line saw the cyclists then head to Belgium before remembering its name and heading back into France.

It was the second time the race had taken part in the county having previously hosted a stage in 1994.

And while we're talking about sporting endeavours, it would be remiss not to celebrate Kent's very own Geraint Jones' role in England's historic Ashes victory in 2005.

The wicket keeper may have had his critics, but he was an ever present in a series which saw England lift the urn for the first time in 16 years in what was hailed one of the greatest ever Test series.

Gillingham fans had a real rollercoaster decade too.

They started it in the most remarkable manner, winning the play-offs to gain promotion to Division One for the first time in its history and putting it within touching distance of the promised land of the Premier League.

They stayed there for five memorable seasons before the league changed its name to the Championship and Gillingham suffered relegation at the end of its first season under the moniker. They've yet to reach such heights again.