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Danni Segal,
needing more sleep
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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
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Dateline: March 2008
Item: Overhauling around-bexhill.co.uk
I blame my recent lack of sleep. I mean, why else would I have been insane enough to overhaul the entire site; over 250 pages needing to be checked and tweaked. It must be sleep deprivation.
Actually, the redesign of the site has been in the works for quite a while and has been based on the feedback I have received over the... wait, let me work it out... 18 months since the launch. I never really liked the look of the menu buttons so they were the first thing to go, but various ideas I have been using on other web sites crept in and soon it ended up being a major job.
Apart from the cosmetic changes, there will be a few structural changes made as well. The Shops and Businesses indexes are being merged as a number of people commented they weren’t sure which section to look in. The Tradesman section has become the Professionals sections and will now include all professionals, be they builders, tailors or musicians. The features section will include articles submitted to the site by locals, starting with the History of Di Paolo’s Cafe.
And there is still much more to come. So please be patient, but don’t be shy about letting me know what you think.
So to all those who have offered their opinions - be they positive or negative - I extend my thanks; whether I have acted on them or not, all feedback is appreciated.
Item: Mother’s Day
Those people who know me will suggest that I am at times capable of a slight degree of cynicism. Actually, what they would probably say is that I can be one of the most cynical people you are ever likely to encounter, especially where politicians are concerned (though that is a subject for another time).
One of my hot button issues is the creation of artificial holidays, something we seem to be picking up from America. Not just mother’s day and father’s day, but grandparent’s day, secretaries’ day, nurse’s day and even bosses’ day as well.
I mean: “bosses’ day”! They already earn more then us, get better bonuses and more perks then us, and now we are expected to buy them a present out of our hard-earned pay? Something is seriously wrong with the world.
Yet Mother’s Day is different. Mother’s Day - or Mothering Sunday to give it its proper title - has origins outside the purely commercial. I’ll leave it to anniversaryideas.com to explain:
Most Sundays in the year churchgoers would worship at their nearest parish or "daughter church".
In olden times it was considered important for people to return to their home or "mother" church at least once a year. So each year in the middle of Lent, everyone would visit their "mother" church.
As the return to the "mother" church became an occasion for family reunions when children who were working away from home returned. (It was quite common in those days for children to leave home to work in service from ten years of age.)
The majority of historians think that it was this return to the "Mother" church which led to the tradition of children, particularly those working as domestic servants, or as apprentices, being given the day off to visit their mother and family.
This special day has now become a time when people give thanks to their mothers and offers an opportunity to express both love and thanks for the work that they do.
Now, those who know me will also know that I have a number of simple philosophies on life, key amongst which is “if you love someone, let them know every day.” That is to say, do it because you want to, not because the media or retail industry tells you to. But sometimes it helps to get a nudge in the right direction, and Mothering Sunday is such a nudge.
So if you are reading this after Mothering Sunday and didn’t show your mum how much you appreciate her, you don’t have to wait until next year to do something about it. Do something nice for your mum today; I know you’ll both feel better if you do.
Until next time,
Danni Segal
founder
around-bexhill.co.uk
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