For most of my adult life I have lived in cities, and I never thought that I would be able to survive again in a small town like Lewes, where I grew up. The three biggest I lived in were Bologna, Barcelona, and London. In each city my pattern was pretty much the same. In the first months after my arrival I threw myself into a discovery period. I visited parks, monuments, clubs, bars, museums and restaurants to sample what the place had to offer. Then came the consolidation period, when my pioneering spirit died down, and I became more selective in my choice of venue. And then, inevitably, came the lazy period. I would generally end up going to the same few restaurants, the same few bars, the same handful of cinemas, with the same small group of friends, and my life would revolve around an easily accessible comfort zone. In these periods I often wondered: what is the point of living in the city, with all its drawbacks?
A couple of years ago I left Barcelona, and moved back to Lewes, for a bit, thinking I’d probably end up back in London, where I had a network of friends, where I could find journalistic work. But a funny thing happened. Whenever I went up to London, I immediately wanted to get back to Lewes. I realised that the town had changed for the better over those twenty years. It had boomed, it had bloomed, it had become full of cultural possibilities. I decided to stay. And I’ve never since doubted I made the right decision. After two years back, I find myself doing a wider variety of things with a wider variety of friends than I ever did in any big city. And work? I helped start set up this webmag. Viva Lewes, which celebrates its first birthday this week, is much more than a what’s on guide to the local area. It’s a celebration of life in this marvellous town. Enjoy the week, enjoy the town, enjoy the year.