Shine a light in the darkness

.Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Herald Express - my stuff in this week's paper.....

I REALLY love Paignton's Fairy Cove! Fairy Cove is a quiet little beach tucked away under the Roundham Head's red sandstone cliff just east of the Paignton harbour sea wall. It's a great place to watch the sun rise and a wonderful beach for family picnics, swimming and just having fun. Access to the beach is either by steep steps from Cliff Road or via the harbour.

This morning I came down those steep cliff steps and paused on the shore to splash sea water over my face. It's a tingly sensation I enjoy especially when I then let the salty water evaporate from my skin in the warm morning sunshine. Two very simple things, and yet so incredibly spiritually refreshing.


Sadly, my good humour soon evaporated faster than the water from my face when I found the path from Fairy Cove to the harbour yet again blocked by large trucks, multiple plastic crates and two huge, ugly containers. The latter exist because of a silly decision by the harbour administration allowing them to be dumped in a conservation area, and that nonsense is now being rectified all too slowly via planning enforcement. I've watched tourists angrily turn away from this lovely beach rather than risk taking the family through the messy hazard. This is a curious tourism paradox, but I will leave that to the English Riviera Tourism Company and Torbay harbours to sort between them if they feel so inclined. But hey, there are bigger things to worry about just now.

One of those bigger things popped up on the horizon the other day when the plans for a third harbour appeared on the front page of the Herald Express complete with a picture of our mayor looking whimsically out to sea. I had thought we had escaped from such mayoral visions, but it would seem that mystical insights are still out and about. It's going to have to be a very deep harbour indeed to accommodate huge cruise ships packed full of folk just itching to shop in Fleet Walk, Castle Circus and Torwood Street.

But let me not be a harbinger of gloom because I really do love exciting new ideas, so long as they work for the greater good.

Part of the greater good is making certain that all the usual checks and balances are in place. I worry also that funding for the research, which alone will be hundreds of thousands of pounds, is to come from reserves. Now the thing about reserves is... that's right, they are in reserve for the unforeseen!

Now, about that greater good thing. These are indeed tough times, with so many of us being battered by economic hardship and a constant torrent of confusing political rhetoric. If you've been following the Leveson Inquiry then you must by now have your head in your hands after the daily wriggling and twisting from our political leaders. It can seem very depressing at a time when the national mood is already somewhat subdued.

Which leads me neatly on to the topic mental health and to something I rarely seem to do these days.
That rarity for me is actually praising a politician. Now, why on earth would I want to do that? Well, if you fall and break a leg, people will gather around and quickly call an ambulance.

They will also try to ensure you are comfortable and tell you help is on the way. On the other hand, if you fall to the ground sobbing, people tend to go out of their way to avoid you. Yet in truth too often the person weeping with chronic depression is probably in more danger than the person with the broken leg.

So who therefore gets my praise? Well, it is Totnes MP Doctor Sarah Wollaston who stood up in the House of Commons the other day and said she had once suffered from depression. That sort of self-disclosure is a brave thing to do these days, and especially so coming from a doctor. She went on to say that having been depressed that it now made her more empathetic toward patients suffering in that dark and lonely place. Believe me, it is indeed a dark and lonely place, for I too made a visit some years ago. Good friends held out a hand and helped me climb out of the pit. Empathy is certainly what is needed, and not sympathy! It's good to shine a little light in the darkness.

So let's go back to where I started. So often the joyful things in life tend to be staring us in the face. It can be something as simple, as it was for me this morning, like splashing sea water in your face and drying off in the sun! It's also about looking out for each other and, as Sarah Wollaston says, finding a little empathy. Oh yes,and do try to keep the smile.

Students bring welcome boost

Friday, June 01, 2012 Herald Express..............

AS I WRITE this column, the sun is streaming through my window and the air is suddenly warm. It is worth mentioning because this year the weather so far has been dismal and I can’t remember ever needing the heating on mid May! Sunshine makes such a difference to the collective mood and a blast of bright sparkling sunlight really does tend lift flagging spirits. Beautiful bird song soon after dawn this morning seemed to say it all for they too were celebrating the start of a sunny day in South Devon.
 Now one of the lovely things about Torbay at this time of year, in my opinion, is the welcome arrival of numerous foreign students who have chosen the English Riviera as a temporary home while improving their already excellent spoken English. They bring with them an almost electric vibrancy that tends to send the Riviera air ringing with beautiful words like ‘Buon giorno!’, ‘Fantastico!’ and ‘¡Hola!’

But of course they bring more than a much needed breath of fresh air. In this hugely troubled economic time they bring with them a much needed income boost for many local families and the business community. It is all too easy to lose sight of the value of this influx to our community and simply pretend, as many do, that they don’t exist. That ‘willful blindness’ is sadly somewhat endemic among many of the local decision makers locally who still habitually plough the same furrow and quizzically wonder why the outcome is no better than the year before. But don’t get me started on process and outcome! Hmm. In raw basic economic terms, these foreign students provide a potential source of potential disposable income for cash strapped communities in these merciless times. That additional income then becomes part of a local economic upward cycle rather than a hopeless downward spiral. All contributions to the communal coffers will be gratefully accepted!

Let me share a couple of things with you. The first must be about the joy of sharing of your home with new friends from exciting foreign parts. As one young father said to me: “It’s not just about the money. We just love having foreign students in the house because they bring a whole new cultural experience to my young children. “However, having said that, the money is also very welcome and this year we have had a total of 18 already. “They come from all over Europe and seem to love being part of the family. I hope that when my children get older they will want to do the same thing.” Of course it isn’t just the summer, since many local businesses have interns from mainland Europe throughout the year for periods of up to three months. These interns are funded by the European Community and bring a new cultural dimension to local business as well as an extra pair of hands. Once again, this is much needed additional income for the English Riviera as they live with families, shop locally and visit our numerous wonderful tourist attractions. They also meet up in local pubs and clubs, travel by bus and taxi, bringing more than welcome custom where it is much needed.

Ian Smith of the Training Partnership in Torquay (The Training Partnership brings hundreds of language visitors to South Devon every year and provides a first rate service) tells me that the intern places are also available for our young folk in Europe. He says that these are all fully funded work experience positions which means, although unpaid, outgoings are covered, including accommodation, language tuition, local support and transport. How good is that? Sadly, he also says, that it is almost impossible to find local people who want to participate. What a great way to smarten up a CV with overseas work experience in an employment market which is now so highly competitive. If you are interested and still reading this then please give Ian a call.

In passing, years ago I used to teach overseas students to windsurf and remember clearly asking whether they could understand what I was saying. The reply still makes me smile today. “Oh yes,” said Marcus, “But why are you speaking so slowly?” So often we worry that there will be a language problem in dealing with people from overseas, but that isn’t usually the case and anyway, when all is said and, done a winning smile carries the day! So let’s throw open the doors and windows around South Devon allowing new young friends from overseas to boost the energy of the English Riviera.

Let’s embrace the change rather than stamp on it. Keep the curmudgeons out of sight and celebrate the here and now. This is a time when we really do need to engage with each other in the hope of providing a better platform for future generations. Let it begin with you.