This little effort by me was published in The Herald Express (South Devon) today...They say that money doesn’t make you happy and that may well be true. But what is also very true is the fact that not having enough money to make ends meet can make you unhappy. Very unhappy indeed! Now, I’m not talking about whether you have enough cash to take an annual holiday or to buy another fun toy. I’m talking about the very basic stuff of life, simply having a place to feel safe, to feel warm and enough food to keep you and your loved ones going. The sort of stuff that holds a family and indeed a community together
The “not having enough money syndrome” in Torbay is having a bigger and bigger impact on a daily basis. Of course you may, after reading the Herald Express and listening to local radio regularly, say that is obviously true. If you are the one with not enough money to gather the most basic things together then you will know only too well that it is true. The difference now is that the number of people having sleepless nights and early morning panic attacks about the future is steadily growing and perhaps you are one of them. You see, that “not having enough money “ to make ends meet is impacting on a bigger and bigger slice of the local population. For example you may have recently retired and looked at what your ‘pension pot’ has produced and wonder where all those contributions went. That of course is a rhetorical question that you may want to ask the bankers, the hedge fund managers, the myriad of financial advisers and other fiscal predators. Or perhaps you are a recent graduate clutching many thousands of pounds of student debt, a huge bank loan, punishing credit card balances and no meaningful job prospect– or indeed simply no job at all, especially in Torbay!
My life, so far, has always been an adventure in one way or another. Having started out as a teacher, thirty or so years ago I jumped ship and founded Harbour Sports with my brother-in-law Julian Smith back in 1978. Over that time I’ve watched Torbay go from being an exciting and vibrant community to the curious place that it is now, a sort of topsy-turvy confused collection of folk that increasingly resemble something out of Alice in Wonderland. Of course in these troubled times this perhaps is nothing more than a reflection of what is happening in the wider world. Or is it? It’s not just the physical structure of the place that has changed, it is also the very nature of the community. Hmm, community, now there really is a very interesting concept. I believe so very much in the power of the community, the sharing of experience and the support for each other. You see, without that bond we become a very lonely crowd indeed.
There are changes within Torbay, and of course the wider world, that can be both subtle and shocking. “Subtle and shocking” , what on earth is he talking about? Let’s do the shocking first. In addition to my daily activity at Harbour Sports I also work as a lecturer at South Devon College. One little project that I had a hand in was something for Foundation degree students called Enterprise Exchange. Getting a degree is one thing, making it work in a wider context is quite something else as all too many recent graduates have discovered. My theme for this activity was something that I call the ‘Tsunami of Change’ where disruption in society is so sudden it is very much like a very large tidal wave. This wall of water is hugely damaging on the way in and even more catastrophic on the way out as all sorts of junk washes back to the ocean. That is exactly what has happened and is happening in the financial markets! Being hit by the economic knee-jerk reaction is one thing but then to face the socially damaging dumping of jobs is an evil fiscal tool; and that is what is happening now. The impact on the individual of job loss is emotionally hurtful, on the family debilitating and in the community it causes division.
I think that it was Dr Albert Schweitzer, the founder of the leper hospital village in Africa, who said “The tragedy of life is what dies inside of a man while he still lives.” That has always worried me, and these days I am beginning to see the creeping evidence of that very thing in our society. So what have I noticed?
Well, the shocking changes above in the wider economy tend to grab the headlines and why wouldn’t they? But there are the more subtle social changes that tend to creep up on us. It’s a bit like water dripping on limestone. At first you don’t really notice but as time passes you end up with something the size of Kent’s Cavern!
The first thing is the difference between rhetoric and reality. For example take a look at the change between Gallows Gate and Tweenaway Cross. In the not too distant past there were a number of large holiday camps dotted along the ring road, but today they’ve gone and have been replaced by housing estates. First one went, then another and then all of them. Of course things change and that is the nature of progress, however the nature of that adjustment to change can be a matter of choice. Surely there are things that we can quietly accept and other where we really do need to take action.
As I’ve said, for me much of the past thirty years have been spent working on Paignton’s lovely little harbour. At the time when the Mayor’s Vision for the harbour suddenly popped up I did go into print pointing out that this was a living community rather than an abstract plot for development. Whilst on the topic of visions the question has to be asked whether Nick Bye is a Man of Vision or a man having visions. If it is the latter then it may be a medical condition that requires the help of a doctor or a skilled psychotherapist with an interest in the nature of night time’s dreams. If it is the former then we must have the checks and balances before the colouring book becomes a reality with unforeseen consequences.
Paignton harbour has a rich and colourful history dotted with charismatic characters such as Peter Pannel, Joe Lane and Captain Ron Richards. It has until quite recently been a community of folk woven together by a love of the sea, but we live in curious times and small changes can have quite a big impact. Take as an example the closing of the Post Office not too long ago. This was a community hub, a daily contact point for many and a source of local awareness. When Monica died alone in her flat it was the guy in the Post Office who went immediately to check on her because she had not dropped in for her stamps which, as a letter writer, she did each day. Harbour Sports were able to post parcels rather than do what we do now which is to send a man in a van half way across the town leaving a large carbon footprint.
Furthermore there are other worrying changes around the harbour like the sudden proliferation of prohibition notices, including one in the middle of a little memorial garden, which has angered the North Quay boatmen. The Vision shows a redevelopment of this harbour as a hub for folk that I don’t recognise at all from the artists impressions which show smartly dressed athletic people striding on the east quay (it is worth pointing out that the east quay in winter often ships green waves over the harbour wall) and I wonder where the locals have been relocated!
Now here’s the thing. Most importantly what must happen if you want to captivate a local population is that people have to believe. Occasional success is the catalyst and that too often is not recognised. For example recently Paignton Community and Sports College received ‘outstanding’ from OFSTED inspectors. There should have been dancing in the streets because this is a COMMUNITY school! Young people work through community awards and dozens achieve Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards. The latter requires that they not only work for themselves but also have to work for the community. This sort of thing is socially cohesive and it washes through the community.
Ultimately it is all about community and unless we pull together, stop and pick the paper from the floor, help a neighbour without seeking reward then the future is bleak. These are hard times, very hard times, but that is no excuse for walking around with a face like a slapped kipper. Let’s start by supporting each other, use local amenities like the Riviera Centre as a community hub, swim in the sea, paddle a kayak, walk the coastal path, support local business and keep in good order the living fabric of Torbay. Now there’s a Vision!
