Some months ago I was the guest speaker at the Riviera International Conference Centre Business Breakfast with a bendy sort of theme entitled How to Cure a Curmudgeon. Curmudgeons have always worried me, but that isn’t what I want to write about today. As I write the country is being stressed by economic dips, rioting, disengaged communities and most of all the sense of the loss of hope.
So what has all this to do with Torbay? Well it’s August and theoretically the height of the tourist season; a time for making the most of what we have. You might ask what we have and I would answer that we live in an area of outstanding beauty with large wooded areas, miles of super safe beaches and stunning rocky outcrops. Did you know that you can almost walk from the middle of Paignton to Cockington village through leafy tracks past sparkling streams and only have to cross roads a couple of times? How good is that? As a bonus you can score one point for every deer you see on the way. Yes it’s true we really have wild deer on our doorstep!
From numerous high points the view across our precious bay is to say the least breathtaking. Yet on a summer afternoon in August few boats bob on the open sea. There was a time, not so long ago, when you could almost hop from Torquay to Brixham bouncing off windsurfer decks, but now only a handful flit across the water.
I had thought about introducing geriatric Coasteering this summer in the hope of grabbing a bundle of older folk (not all geriatrics, although I now include myself in that noble group!) to explore the cliff coasts from a very different angle. I seem to remember Jim Parker jumping up and down with excitement when I mentioned the idea. What better way to encourage tourists than to see the local population out there using the environment without having to flash huge amounts of cash?
Ah yes, the local population. Well that is you and it is me, folks. The socio-political landscape is changing and unless we wake up to that fact the future is indeed not that rosy. Whilst I use the throw away comment ‘grabbing a bundle of older folk’ it is of course much bigger than that. It is about grabbing the energy of a community which is a bigger and a hugely more important task. The word community must mean exactly that; all of Torbay and not simply randomly touching the energy here and there.
The other morning, just after six, I wandered down with my dog to the local newsagent to pick up a copy of the now weekly Herald Express (I miss the daily dose!) and bumped into four lads outside the door. They seemed nice enough and responded to my greeting. Two were in the infamous pulled up hoodies; I guess they were between the ages of sixteen to nineteen and had obviously been up all night. With my paper tucked under my arm I walk home with the four lads a little way ahead of me all munching away on their recently purchased junk food breakfast of fizzy drinks, bottled milkshakes, crisps and other goodies. You might wonder how I knew what they were eating if I was trailing behind them listening to the sound of loosely used foul language? Well it was easy really since once they had finished or simply had enough, the unwanted bits were casually dropped.
Now a good citizen would have hailed them and suggested that they carry their litter home with them. They seemed nice lads and I suspect that they might have apologised and picked up the discarded detritus. But given the recent worrying news, the fact that I was alone with my hound and the national propensity for gratuitous violence, I did not. I did however pick up litter. As I walked home the words of a song made famous by Crosby Stills Nash and Young came to mind which now echoed in the early morning light. They sang that we should teach our children well, which made me wonder about parental guidance in this troubled time. How do we teach our children well when so much has changed and the constant onslaught of television, social media, instant communication and the irresponsibly mixing of fact and fiction into a maelstrom that is fast becoming a socio-political and economic perfect storm?
Well Mayor Oliver I still think that we can set an example here in Torbay by using our natural resources to the maximum and engaging the whole of the community. I have already suggested open meetings at which you could encourage all sectors to attend and positively contribute in a meaningful way for the greater good. But how do we get them there? Well, we could start by knocking on doors and holding out a hand. Hmm, interesting! We all have life and it is something that in my humble opinion we must positively share. That’s my vision. What do you think?
So what has all this to do with Torbay? Well it’s August and theoretically the height of the tourist season; a time for making the most of what we have. You might ask what we have and I would answer that we live in an area of outstanding beauty with large wooded areas, miles of super safe beaches and stunning rocky outcrops. Did you know that you can almost walk from the middle of Paignton to Cockington village through leafy tracks past sparkling streams and only have to cross roads a couple of times? How good is that? As a bonus you can score one point for every deer you see on the way. Yes it’s true we really have wild deer on our doorstep!
From numerous high points the view across our precious bay is to say the least breathtaking. Yet on a summer afternoon in August few boats bob on the open sea. There was a time, not so long ago, when you could almost hop from Torquay to Brixham bouncing off windsurfer decks, but now only a handful flit across the water.
I had thought about introducing geriatric Coasteering this summer in the hope of grabbing a bundle of older folk (not all geriatrics, although I now include myself in that noble group!) to explore the cliff coasts from a very different angle. I seem to remember Jim Parker jumping up and down with excitement when I mentioned the idea. What better way to encourage tourists than to see the local population out there using the environment without having to flash huge amounts of cash?
Ah yes, the local population. Well that is you and it is me, folks. The socio-political landscape is changing and unless we wake up to that fact the future is indeed not that rosy. Whilst I use the throw away comment ‘grabbing a bundle of older folk’ it is of course much bigger than that. It is about grabbing the energy of a community which is a bigger and a hugely more important task. The word community must mean exactly that; all of Torbay and not simply randomly touching the energy here and there.
The other morning, just after six, I wandered down with my dog to the local newsagent to pick up a copy of the now weekly Herald Express (I miss the daily dose!) and bumped into four lads outside the door. They seemed nice enough and responded to my greeting. Two were in the infamous pulled up hoodies; I guess they were between the ages of sixteen to nineteen and had obviously been up all night. With my paper tucked under my arm I walk home with the four lads a little way ahead of me all munching away on their recently purchased junk food breakfast of fizzy drinks, bottled milkshakes, crisps and other goodies. You might wonder how I knew what they were eating if I was trailing behind them listening to the sound of loosely used foul language? Well it was easy really since once they had finished or simply had enough, the unwanted bits were casually dropped.
Now a good citizen would have hailed them and suggested that they carry their litter home with them. They seemed nice lads and I suspect that they might have apologised and picked up the discarded detritus. But given the recent worrying news, the fact that I was alone with my hound and the national propensity for gratuitous violence, I did not. I did however pick up litter. As I walked home the words of a song made famous by Crosby Stills Nash and Young came to mind which now echoed in the early morning light. They sang that we should teach our children well, which made me wonder about parental guidance in this troubled time. How do we teach our children well when so much has changed and the constant onslaught of television, social media, instant communication and the irresponsibly mixing of fact and fiction into a maelstrom that is fast becoming a socio-political and economic perfect storm?
Well Mayor Oliver I still think that we can set an example here in Torbay by using our natural resources to the maximum and engaging the whole of the community. I have already suggested open meetings at which you could encourage all sectors to attend and positively contribute in a meaningful way for the greater good. But how do we get them there? Well, we could start by knocking on doors and holding out a hand. Hmm, interesting! We all have life and it is something that in my humble opinion we must positively share. That’s my vision. What do you think?
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