Well… this has been a long time coming.
Today, lovegnosall.com quietly goes live.
I say “quietly” because, in truth, this thing has been anything but quiet in my own head for the past three years. It’s been one of those ideas that refused to sit still, evolving, expanding, occasionally keeping me awake at 2am while I convinced myself it just needed “one more tweak” (it never did… but I did it anyway - regularly).
What started as a simple thought — how do we bring more attention, pride, and connection to Gnosall? — somehow turned into… well, all of this.
A proper platform for the village. A place to discover local businesses, events, groups, and the people behind them. Something that (hopefully) makes it easier for us to support each other, rather than accidentally driving past what’s right on our doorstep.
I’ve poured more hours into this than I’d care to admit in public, partly because I’m proud of it, and partly because I’m slightly embarrassed at just how deep I went. There were moments where I questioned whether anyone would actually use it… and moments where I forgot what “finished” was supposed to look like. Actually, I'm still at that point, and I'm sure you'll all help me identify the inevitable bugs!
It all started way back in 1999 (bear with me). At the time I was living in Southend on Sea (Essex boy for a few years), and created a wildly popular community website called "Southend Central" in my spare time, whilst working as a webmaster at a law firm in the City. Watching people come together and use it for the greater good was hugely satisfying - I get a real kick out of building things that people benefit from.
But here we are - 27 years later, and I've done it again for Gnosall. It’s live(ish - if you ignore any bugs). And more importantly, it’s not really mine anymore - it’s for the community.
If it helps a local business get discovered, a family find something to do on a weekend, or even just reminds people that there’s more going on in Gnosall than meets the eye… then it’s done its job.
There’s still plenty to improve (there always will be), and I’ll keep building, tweaking, and probably overthinking parts of it, but for now, I just wanted to get it out into the wild.
If you get a chance, have a look around the site. And if something doesn’t quite work… just pretend you didn’t see it and give me a day or two!
Thanks to everyone who’s encouraged the idea along the way - whether you realised it or not. It's Gnosall's people - you - that have inspired me to create LoveGnosall. Never before have I met such warm, friendly and generous people, and being a city boy by heart you inspired me to give something back to you all.
Right… I’m going to sit down now and stare at the screen with wide eyes, like I’ve just released a rattlesnake from the zoo, hoping no one gets bitten!
Chris Haycock
Founder and Discoverer-of-New-Grey-Hairs
www.lovegnosall.com
