22/07/2026
What on earth is happening in Blyth right now?
We are supposed to be building our town up, supporting new businesses and encouraging people to invest in our high street, not tearing one another down behind the scenes.
I’ve said it repeatedly: constantly putting negativity out there about Blyth, its businesses and the people trying to make something work here creates a narrative that takes so much more effort to overcome than simply choosing to stay positive and supporting one another in the first place.
I’ve taken a few days away, stepped back from social media, and it feels like all hell has broken loose. Surely we’re all allowed to switch off for a few days without the drama taking over.
I’ve just seen a post from another lush new Blyth business describing comments being made about their products and, honestly, it has really saddened me.
Starting a business is hard enough. Opening your doors, putting your work out there and investing your hard-earned money into your own town takes guts. Nobody should then have to deal with gossip, bitchiness or people seemingly waiting for an opportunity to pull them apart.
We should want every independent business in Blyth to succeed.
When someone opens a new business, they’re investing in our town. They’re creating jobs, bringing people into Blyth and giving customers more reasons to shop locally.
Another business doing well doesn’t take anything away from the rest of us. There is more than enough room for different ideas, different products and different businesses. That’s exactly what makes a high street worth visiting.
So to the business involved: keep your head up. There are far more people in Blyth who want to see you succeed than fail.
And to everyone else…
Let’s choose support over gossip.
Encouragement over Chinese whispers.
Collaboration over cliques.
Because our town, and the people working hard to build businesses here, deserve so much better than the mean-girl, school-playground nonsense.
We are better than this.
