WITH DEBATE RAGING about the future of the high street, the increasing dominance of the big four supermarkets and the nature of our villages, towns and cities, this is a perfect time to discuss such big issues. In Frome, there are plans to redevelop the town, which sparked the founding of ‘Keep Frome Local’, a group pledged to resist a giant town centre supermarket. After a busy year and a half, they are bringing people together to share their experiences of campaigning and navigating the bullshit brown waters of local planning. What kind of places do we want to live and work in? Is there an alternative to so-called ‘big box’ retailing? For one day of workshops, discussions and more, ‘Independence Day’ will take place on Saturday November 17th, from 10.30a.m. to 4p.m. at the Wesley Chapel, in Frome town centre. To encourage as many local participants as possible, they are offering travel subsidies and subsidised tickets; e-mail info[at]tescopoly.org. On another note, whilst we welcome resistance to Tesco and multinational corporate monoliths, the root of the problem is the capitalist system itself; swapping out big capitalism for smiley small-scale capitalism is only the tip of the iceberg.
