LET’S SHOP LOCAL TO KEEP BEXHILL BUZZING

OPINION BY FEATURES EDITOR, KIM MAYO

When walking through Bexhill town centre recently, I noticed several shops had posters in the window with the slogan ‘shop local’ and it is a message we should all take heed of and act upon whenever possible.

Many of the shops in town are small independent businesses and the run-up to Christmas is when the proprietors have the best chance to cash in before the much tougher trading months of January, February and March.

As a nation, we are becoming lazier and lazier with home delivery increasingly becoming the norm. Well, I am the exception to the rule because I actually enjoy having a good old nose around the shops.

Internet shopping, which we increasingly rely on, has a hugely negative impact on the local economy.

Take, for instance, Amazon. Yes, everything you could possibly want is there at the click of a button, but it is hardly a rewarding shopping experience is it?

What has happened to that good old British ethos of the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker?

Fortunately, Bexhill still has a butcher and several bakers, although candlestick makers seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Last month I visited Brighton for the first time in three-and-a-half years. Suffice to say it was not an enjoyable experience.

For some reason, people seem to love the city which begs the question of why?

It is crowded, dirty and largely unwelcoming with a plethora of shops which are uniform in their blandness. In effect, the big chains have taken over.

All the usual suspects are present and correct in the city centre and it is an unedifying experience for those of us who prefer the quirky and unique.

The streets are crammed, you need to take out a second mortgage to park your car for a few hours and a pint of lager for the friend I met and a glass of wine for yours truly came to a staggering £14.50.

Without naming any specific watering holes, you can get both of those beverages for a damn sight less in Bexhill.

Now, I am not suggesting for one minute we all become hermits and never venture beyond the outskirts of our town, especially with the likes of Hastings and Eastbourne within easy reach and offering their own particular charms.

But the beauty of Bexhill lies in its simplicity. You can take a bracing walk along the seafront during the winter months and bask in the sun in summer.

Everything is more or less at your fingertips and we should all be grateful for that.

I moved here more than three years ago because rents for properties in Portslade were going through the roof.

Despite working in central Brighton at the time, I thought the trek to work each day would be worth it for one simple reason, that being my quality of life would improve immeasurably.

And so it has proved. I made the right decision having quit the job in Brighton and setting up permanent camp in East Sussex. Any regrets? None whatsoever. Admittedly, the recent Budget has forced most of us, with the exception of the lucky few, to tighten our belts but life in general is really not that bad.

I managed to do all of my Christmas shopping for family and friends in Bexhill without spending a fortune and I actually enjoyed the experience.

As one gets older, one realises life is all about simple pleasures rather than unnecessary expenditures.

Bexhill has plenty to offer so let’s all make the most of it.