Today, I was in a shop in town and a girl of about 10, standing in the queue behind me, said to her mother that Exmouth is the shockingest (her grammar, not mine!) town she s ever been to . I turned to look at the child in amazement and her mother laugh

Today, I was in a shop in town and a girl of about 10, standing in the queue behind me, said to her mother that "Exmouth is the shockingest (her grammar, not mine!) town she's ever been to".

I turned to look at the child in amazement and her mother laughed and said: "It is a dreadful place, isn't it? There's nothing here. We've only visited for the first time today and we won't bother visiting again."

I shrugged, acknowledged her opinion with a polite nod, and turned back around.

But the worse part is, while I might have wanted to argue, there was nothing I could say. She's right: the town is empty and sad. How many charity shops do we need before there are too many? Or coffee shops? Something needs to be done. Sad but true.

C Bright,

(via email).