Love Local.

I've lived in the same part of Hull for more years than I care to remember. The failure or success of different places I've rented has been down to various factors but probably the most important has been how close I was to my beloved Newland Avenue. A friend once pointed out that I'd spent my teenage years trying to get away from a village only to turn my part of a city into one.

Love Local is a fantastic campaign designed to encourage people to shop on Newland and use all the small independent traders rather than give all their money to the big chains. I can't claim to be someone who never goes to supermarkets (their opening hours make them attractive when you work) but there are huge advantages to shoping locally. My local pet shop will drop off heavy bags of cat litter to save me carrying them home, my butcher knows I love chicken livers so got in some free-range ones on the off-chance and kept them in the freezer til I was next in, and my pharmacist will lend me an inhaler if I've c*cked-up my prescriptions (and has consequently probably saved my life more than once). I love being part of a community and shopping in places where people recognise you and tell you your cold sounds better or your new hairstyle suits you.

Seemingly one pound in every seven spent "on the high street" is spent in Tesco, if we want places like Newland to survive we need to spend our money there. I pledge to make an effort to shop on Newland on a Saturday morning each week even if I need to go to supermarkets during the week.