Welcome to Tesco-Town

There is a place by the sea that is like no other; a place that I have called home for almost 15 years now. The quirky town of Margate is almost too original to describe. From its mysterious and beautiful Shell Grotto, the Tudor House that still stands down the road from our bowling alley, to the exciting festivals that build a sense of community, the gorgeous old town filled with its vintage shops, the Turner Centre that brings artistic inspiration to local artists, the different pubs that bring their own character, and who could forget that wonderful, local Tesco that sits on the sea front? Ugh.


To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. Those who have read my previous post on Margate (click here) may already know my opinions on the ever looming threat of an 82,000 sq.ft.Tesco store sat right on the seafront. Yes, Margate has been struggling for a while and more and more businesses are closing down, meaning there are less and less jobs to go around. However, building a Tesco on the seafront is not going to help he situation, it's only going to exacerbate it, and here are my reasons why:

  Goodbye, Local Business

So to begin with,this building is going to take away business from local entrepreneurs in the area. With Tesco's low-priced meal deals and boxes of ice creams, people are going to be detracted away from local businesses who have built their lively hoods on the tourist trade. There is a gorgeous new sweet shop that opened this summer, opposite the beach, by the stone steps. Will people want to buy their delectable treats if Tesco looms over it, offering two-for-ones on chocolate bars? Will parents want to save a few pence on the pick 'n' mix in the larger store, than indulge their children with unique treats from a smaller business? I think, sadly, we all know the answer. So despite Tesco bringing in jobs, where will it leave others? It's not just going to take away employment for others, it's going to bring down people's businesses, places that have been built within families and some of which have been standing there as long as I have lived in the town. What comes to mind at this point is the beach cafe and the soft serve/tourist store by the arcades. Since I was little I have seen these two businesses thrive and bring a fantastic level of service to those who have used it. Somehow, I don't think Tesco will match this, but what I do know is that it WILL thwart it. The thing is, large corporations like this superstore pick up on the sort of thing that sells well in the area, and match their deals to the demand. You can expect to see deals and discounts on the sorts of things that they know will sell well on the sea front.

Unfortunately, that isn't the only thing. Drawing from what I have already said, there has been similar case in North Devon, where Tesco built a pop-up stall in its car park (without planning permission) where they sold beach goods. It took business from other traders and was highly immoral, and the store only applied for planning permission retrospectively...after they had sold their goods. You can read about it here.

Hello, Tesco-Town

For local Thanetians, you may have noticed the sudden abundance of Tesco stores making their appearances in almost every town. There has long been a store in Broadstairs and Manston, with the larger in Westwood Cross, but now there is a another in Ramsgate, Westbrook and there are further plans to build another in Westgate town (a tiny town filled with local business) as well as the seafront store confirmed in Margate. The thing that really worries me about this is that it's all looking a bit...samey. Who wants to come to our lovely Southern corner, if all we have to offer is a Tesco store on every corner? I can't help that feel that Thanet has hedged all its bets on a multitude of Tesco stores to "save" our area, and have been blinded by the damage that it's really going to do. I could go on about how many businesses we're going to lose, but this second point is really all about character. When I heard that a Tesco was going to be built in Westgate and Margate, I grimaced. All I could think of was the white and blue stores overrunning Thanet and stripping us of any personality.

A recent article claimed that Tesco would be sensitive to the appearance of the rest of the town, but that does not count for what is inside. The same, monotonous aisles of store brand items makes my heart sink. There is no style, or interest to these products, or these stores. They simply serve a purpose and nothing more, and to me that doesn't scream "come to Margate!" nor does it say "look at our unique tourist area that stands out!" what it does say is "this is yet another Tesco-Town".  

Portas Pilot Crashes

Margate was named as a Portas Pilot town, where the focus was on rejuvenating the town and kick-starting local businesses. Unfortunately, Thanet did not receive her well and I'm still getting over the shock of how we treated someone who was only there to help in the first place. If Billy of Kiss Me Quick isn't a shining example of how Portas can work her magic on local businesses and turn them into a success, then I don't know what is. She brought Billy's shop a new and cheeky flair, which brings huge grins to customer's faces. If it isn't the slightly naughty treats hidden in the back, or the fantastic range of tourist sweets and gifts, then it is certainly the wonderful and bubbly personality of Billy and his employees, who are dressed in fantastic vintage sweet-vendor outfits. Again, it is all boiling down to charm, character, personality!

I am still confused as to why our council is not listening to the "No To Tesco" pleas, when even the Queen of the High-street agrees that it is an unwise move.  As Portas said herself, it's a very sad day for our seaside town.

Where is the Art in That? 

Margate spent a lot of time, effort and money into making the Turner Centre happen and everybody knows what a wonderful addition to the town it is. It has given local artists a boost, many of whom now use the harbour arm and old town just off of the Centre to display and sell their own work. We are a society of creative people in Margate, and I love that the Turner has given the opportunity to bring that forward. It is not only gallery art that we thrive on; we cannot forget the wonderful theatre, film and literature skills we have who create a fantastic image of life in Margate. We have become an Arts town. Except, now, across the sands will lie a Tesco. It's not going to fit in with a theme that has occurred in Margate for many years now and, quite frankly, it's not going to make Arlington look any less of an eyesore.



So there are some more reasons to say no to Tesco. I find it a great shame that Louise Oldfield lost the case in court, which highlighted a lot more points, involving traffic (which will be horrendous), the loss of car parking spaces for tourists and the impact the store may have on the upcoming plans to rebuild Dreamland. It deeply concerns me to think that if a 21 year old graduate like myself, and a fully committed team of members from the local community can see the damage that this, or any, superstore may do to our beautiful seafront, then why can't our council?  I would love to make this article very well known in Kent, to truly demonstrate the dismay of our locals and hopefully bring forward some key points to help our council understand why we don't want yet another Tesco. Are we doomed to live in the dull and monotonous Tesco-Town?

To read more about this issue, click here.

ASDA and Tesco "Psycho" costumes - How far can horror go?

Asda's withdrawn costume (Image taken from the BBC News Website)

This afternoon, a BBC story was posted online about the withdrawal of Asda's "Mental Patient Fancy Dress Costume", and Tesco's "Psycho Ward" costume after a number of complaints that they enforced a stigma on those living with mental illness. The companies, in their best efforts to keep the peace, also offered a donation to the charity, Mind, which had criticised the stores for offering these outfits.
 Soon, politicians and the public alike gathered around to share their thoughts and opinions on the topic, with a large amount of people agreeing that it was offensive. Naturally, as an avid fan of all things Halloween and horror, I couldn't help but take to my keyboard to offer my own thoughts - and here it is - are we taking this a little too seriously?

Tesco's withdrawn costume (Image taken from the BBC News Website)

 I'll be honest, I dressed up as a psych ward patient a couple of years ago, and at the time I couldn't say I even considered that it might be offensive. I am a sufferer of depression myself, and have been on a number of different anti-depressants, but when I donned my costume that Halloween, I was not myself, and I did not aim to replicate anybody with this illness - I was a character of my own fiction, one which I had designed to be scary. I do recognise the concern these people are trying to raise. There is a stigma that comes with mental illness (I have seen the brunt of it) and this, like a lot of issues to do with disability, needs to be addressed. There are people living with these sorts of illnesses and others often don't know how to support them. HOWEVER, is there a difference between selling these types of costume and a character like, say, Hannibal Lecter - a psychopath, succumbing to his mental illness, who is deemed terrifying and used as a horror icon? Can we now say that literature, television shows and films that MAY enforce a stigma on those living with mental illness should be removed on the basis they are offensive?  Do we consider that we might be offending nurses, or surgeons, people who may have lost a patient on the table and have felt affected by it, when slipping on our bloodied scrubs and wielding plastic knives as accessories? These costumes are not mocking, or attempting to be cruel, they are a nod to the horror genre.

Norman Bates from Psycho (Image taken from Wikepedia.en)

In my first year of university I wrote a piece on the horror genre, listing a number of features that regularly occur. My argument was that the horror genre often reflects a shared fear of something relevant to the time the film was made. It blows the issue up and makes it plain scary. For instance, Britain's rising concern with teenage crime and violence could arguably be reflected in horrors such as Eden Lake. One thing that has always been relevant and reoccurring is the idea of the human mind, something we still know very little about, and this often veers into the idea of human capabilities. Think films such as Switchblade Romance, Silence of the Lambs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and, of course, Hitchcock's iconic Psycho. Like horror, Halloween addresses our fears and allows us to express them. I must be clear and stress that I am not saying we are afraid of people with mental illnesses, but afraid of our own capabilities and the power our mind can have over us.

On the subject of costumes, I was surprised to see that this was the only costume choice that was targeted. I understand how people may be offended by the term "mental patient" being used on the costume, but if we are going to go as far as to ban these outfits, then perhaps we should consider a few others to also rid our shelves of. A common fancy dress choice, not only for Halloween, is the "Sexy School Girl" outfit. If we look into this, are we not just objectifying school children? Could we go as far to say that it is encouraging pedophilia? To take it further, if we dress as the dead, might we offend those who are bereaved? There are many costumes that may upset, or even shock people, but the reaction to this particular issue leads me to question whether we are really doing something good, or whether we are encouraging the stigma ourselves. By creating such a reaction against it, are we simply making mental health a taboo subject once again?

 
My final word on this debate is that it's really all a big kerfuffle over bad wording. If it was the same costume with the name "Serial Killer" or if it was an authentic costume of, say "Leatherface" or (again) "Dr.Lecter" then I have no doubt that they would have been fine to sell. In fact, one could argue that the "Psycho Ward" costume from Tesco pretty much IS a knock off of Hannibal's outfit. This is probably because it's trying to be cheap and affordable without breaking copyright laws. I am certain we will still see people in orange jumpsuits, who are playing the Silence of the Lambs villain, and nothing more. At the end of the day, I feel that all we can do is promote awareness of such illnesses, whilst also accepting that costumes like these are really trying to sell cheap-o versions of popular horror icons without treading on copyright toes and were not intended to offend.  

Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (Image taken from Fanpop.com)

To read the BBC News report online, click here.



I encourage debates and would love to hear your opinion. However, I urge you to be considerate of others, as I have tried to be, when responding to this blog. Thank you.