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: January 2008

Item: Which? Shop Independent

I recently received the latest copy of which? magazine which featured its annual retailer survey comparing high street shops. Once again the results from shoppers at 77 stores made for interesting reading.

The top 5 overall stores included:

#3 Independent Book/CD/DVD shops, 77% overall satisfaction;
#4 Independent Electrical shops, 71% overall satisfaction.

Only John Lewis / Waitrose come out better.

In terms of specific categories, Independents performed well across the board in categories such as Electricals (2nd out of 11), Entertainment (1st out of 13), Sports Shops (2nd out of 7) and Mobile Phones (1st out of 9). Where Independents finished 2nd it was behind John Lewis who came out top overall.

I could name and shame the big high street names - and a number of them did incredibly poorly in the survey - but that would serve little purpose.

Additionally there is a feature on coffee shops, with Independent cafes and coffee shops come out way ahead in value for money. And being something of a coffee addict, I can happily say that the quality of coffee in my local haunts is far better then that at the big chains.

As I have said repeatedly from the launch of this site, Bexhill benefits from its diverse collection of independent and family run shops and businesses. Now which? are saying the Independents offer some of the best shopping experiences in the country. It’s always nice to be proved right.

Item: Choosing a Skewl School

Our son turns 4 this year so we have been looking at schools for him to attend come September. This is the first time I have had to do this and I have to admit to being very impressed with the standards at the schools we were able to visit. It was a tough choice as to which order or preference to put our chosen schools, but after long discussion we have done it and I submitted my choices via the East Sussex County Council web site.

I received an email back in due course advising me my choices had been registered and asking me, in the interests of the environment, not to print the email out unless absolutely necessary. Which is not especially noteworthy unless you’ve seen the huge book - 100 glossy pages 30cm x 21cm East Sussex County Council send out to every parent listing every school in the county rather then just small local area schools guide with a note saying “please contact us if you require information on a school outside your area”.

Sometimes all you can do is scratch your head at the way their minds work.

Item: Sickness! Sickness! Sickness!

I had the flu jab. No, really, I did. But as this is meant to have been the worst winter illness-wise for a long time I could have predicted all those nasty germs would view me as an ideal target. Throw in the recurrence of my respiratory problems from late 2006 and it’s quite surprising I actually managed to leave the house. And if being confined to home sounds like an ideal opportunity to get work done, bear in mind that:
a) I was not feeling well despite the best efforts of several types of medication; and
b) I was also trying to look after my 3 year old son who also was not feeling wonderful.

In fact, the list of family illnesses and injuries suffered by the three of us includes flu, bronchitis, norovirus, throat infections, neck problems and chronic asthma. By my understanding of Karma the lottery this week should be ours to balance things out a bit.

But none of this should stop me wishing each and every one of you:

A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS 2008!

Until next time,

Danni Segal
founder
around-bexhill.co.uk

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