Danni Segal, needing more sleep The (ir)regular thoughts of Around-Bexhill.co.uk founder, Danni Segal, on life in Bexhill-on-Sea This column reflects the thoughts of Danni Segal, and does not claim to reflect the opinions of around-bexhill.co.uk or any of the shops or businesses listed on this site unless directly stated

Dateline: February 2008

Item: America Unchained

Strange as it may seem, I’m starting this column with a review of a DVD. In this instance, the DVD pictured on the left which is entitled Dave Gorman in America Unchained. So what, you may wonder, has some bloke driving across America got to do with Bexhill which, after all, is the focus of this column?

The answer is: Everything.

The concept of this documentary is that the Dave Gorman of the title is aiming to drive across America coast-to-coast using only independent, family owned (the “mom and pop”) establishments during his journey and using NO chains. This means no fuel from Shell, no eating at McDonalds, no sleeping at Travelinn.

Can you see where I am going with this?

The documentary is always entertaining and often amusing, but there are a number of moments that can’t help but make you think about where we are heading as a society. When watching the last day of a classic Mom & Pop store in the town of Independence after decades of being the focal point of the town, a lump forms in the throat. Seeing the owner of the town diner asking the owner of the town garage to open on Sunday to help out a couple of strangers you feel a genuine warmth for their sense of community.

In Bexhill we are lucky enough to still have a wide range of independent, family run businesses who not only sell excellent goods but are also in a position to offer friendly, knowledgeable assistance. We still have a sense of community where people help each other because they genuinely want to help people.

With more and more towns becoming carbon copies of each other, now more then ever we need to support our local businesses and local community.

Dave Gorman in America Unchained is available on DVD from 11th February 2008.

Item: High Street Visionary

I have a number of comedy books which every so often I browse through. Whilst going through Janet Lives With Mel and Griff, a book from comedy duo Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, I stumbled across this cartoon.

Picture by Rob Shone, Copyright © Talkback Advertising Limited 1988

What struck me about this wasn’t that it perfectly illustrates one of the reasons this site was started (which it does), but the date the book was published. This cartoon saw print in 1988; 20 years ago comedians were already pointing out the loss of identity that was affecting our towns. The more things change...

Janet Lives With Mel and Griff (ISBN 0-00-637369-0) is currently out of print.

Until next time,

Danni Segal
founder
around-bexhill.co.uk

Read past Bexhill Thoughts columns in the Archive