Perhaps we should start 'White Friday'

Watching Torbay Council’s civic chairwoman Councillor Jane Barnby present DofE certificates to local young people the other evening was a wonderful experience. More than two-hundred young people and their guests had gathered for a glittering ceremony at Beverley Park in Paignton. This annual event celebrates the hard work put in to achieve the Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Councillor Barnby praised the youngsters for their perseverance and positive energy.  In a conversation after the ceremony we both agreed that all too often we hear about the silly things that happen because they provide an easy headline, but lose sight of the dedication of so many.

Councillor Jane Barnby

To gain a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award young men and women between the age of fourteen and twenty-five have to help others, demonstrate leadership, work as a team, follow an interest for a number of months and keep fit. That has to be a wonderful platform for any community and something to be celebrated. Part of that platform will be the huge number of people that also work as volunteers, leaders and supporters. I’ve been part of the Award Scheme for a long time and did make an atmospheric trip to Buckingham Palace forty-eight years ago to receive my Gold from a young Prince Philip! As chairman of the local DofE Network I really would like to thank all those who help and congratulate all the wonderful participants.

I bumped into Councillor Barnby again a few days later at a Torbay Business Forum breakfast event and she once again said how inspirational the DofE evening had been. Curiously this business breakfast had a youthful twist because the speaker was Paignton Zoo’s education officer Lisa Stroud who spoke about the excellent conservation work at the zoo and then went on to talk about the contribution our young people make. Lisa Stroud is soon to become chair of governors at South Devon College and that liaison has to build an even stronger bond between the College and the Zoo offering many more wonderful opportunities for the next generation to flourish.

Looking around at our young citizens I really do think that the future is in good hands. That is, I think, true also in the wider world. The attractiveness of Torbay brings visitors from many different parts of the world. I was invited to spend a little time at the Devon School of English in Paignton a few days ago. During my visit I shared lunch with a couple from Spain, Christian and Anna, working for a year locally whilst improving their business English at the Devon School of English. Again I found two young vibrant people looking to build a better world. One language school locally, EF, is also offering the DofE Award for longer stay students and that has to be a wonderful way of building international relationships in a very meaningful way.

One of the reasons for my visiting the Devon School of English was to gather a little more information for a talk that I was about to give to owners and managers of language schools throughout the West of England. The theme of my talk was about leadership and the impact that leaders have upon business. Basically the thread was whether you brought light into the workplace or darkness. Do you make the place tingle with excitement or suck the joy out of the air? Those who read my words regularly will know that I am constantly banging on about treading lightly on the world.

With that ‘light’ theme it is worth keeping an eye on atmosphere we generate around us as we rocket toward Christmas. For me the seasonal start was rather bleak with the arrival of the new Black Friday shopping phenomenon from the good old US of A. I don’t know whether you saw the television pictures with the demonic frenzy feeding for shopping bargains with people beating neighbours around the head as they fought for discounted shiny goods. The fight was mostly for ‘wants’ rather than ‘needs’ of course. Compare that selfish stampede with the good work evidenced by the young people doing good things for others!

Perhaps we might start something called White Friday where we all go out to do something nice for someone else without looking for a payback or perhaps donate to a local charity. It is just a thought at this stage but who knows it may catch on.

Keep the smile.

Think before you add to the social media bonfire!

I was saddened by a headline the other day. Saddened because the headline reported the fall from grace of a public figure after doing something rather silly. Of course it was simply a headline and the story lacked insight into the personal landscape that brought the individual to that point. I think that so many headlines report dramatic moments in the lives of many and that is the nature of our world. However what really saddens me is the hurtful rhetoric that too often follows a fall from grace.

How quickly we pick up the sticks and stones and throw them! Of course I don't actually mean sticks and stones but the hurtful negative comments that can be made, often without fully understanding an event. Those spiteful comments usually come from comparative safety behind a little barricade of anonymity or pseudonym. The thing is that despite the person in the headline being a public figure they are still, when all is said and done, a man or woman journeying through life: a man or woman with a family and a circle of friends who will now also take the pain.

I don't usually have a problem with headlines reporting an event but I am deeply troubled by the somewhat vigilante mentality lurking beneath many of the comments that follow. Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and William Goulding's Lord of the Flies provide powerful insights into the darkness of spiteful rhetoric. How quickly dark comments can gain a momentum that can tip a community over the edge turning neighbour against neighbour! It can and does happen in the blink of an eye! I have a friend who a little while ago said how beautiful the Syrian city of Aleppo was. The horrors of the Syrian conflict evidence the catastrophic impact of community collapse.

I say the blink of an eye and today that is very much the case. Modern communication techniques mean that an event can be reported globally in a matter of minutes. Texting, emails, social media platforms, television, radio, mobile phones and almost endless apps mean that story sound bites travel at amazing speed. Sound bites lack substance and can be troublesome.

But what is it about our time that has us wanting to heap humiliation on others? I certainly accept the place of righteous indignation but am troubled by the joy that so many find in ritual humiliation. There is, or so it seems to me, a need in many to validate their own reality by savaging others. This simply adds to the avalanche of negativity that can too often thunder through fragile communities. You will probably be reading this either in a paper copy of the Herald Express or viewing an online version. If you want to evidence some of the throwing of verbal insults then do look at the online comments that pop up after many articles! Of course many comments offer balanced opinion but sadly quite large numbers evidence less wholesome rhetoric.

Thinking about the political landscape for a moment and the way in which words are used I was quite intrigued by the rhetoric leading up to the Rochester and Strood by-election and the period immediately after. Party workers from Torbay joined numerous leading politicians in walking the streets of the constituency campaigning for their hopeful candidates. As you probably know the outcome was a UKIP success for Tory defector Mark Reckless, but what caught my attention was the resignation from Labour's front bench of Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry. Emotions were running high at Rochester and Strood which made it a breeding ground for loose comment. Emily Thornberry sent a Tweet about white vans and Union Flags which caused upset to many and provided fuel for the opposition. My point is that this one brief Tweet caused outrage and had her bumped from political office in record time. The Tweet was divisive and a divided community is a worrying place. That is something we must guard against. Hmm. If the Shadow Attorney General is that loose with words what hope is there for the rest of us?

Emily Thornberry

So, the next time you feel like saying something nasty about someone else why not preface the comment mentally with the words "Would you like a cup of tea?" That peaceful mental picture quite often is enough to stop the hurtful words becoming a reality! At the very least think before you add to the social media bonfire or launch careless words into the public domain.

Keep the smile

(Published in the Herald Express 27th November 2014) 

Political manoeuvres on the English Riviera!

Also published in the Herald Express 30th October 2014. For many years I've been up before the dawn walking my dog and thinking. It's a good thing to do because very little moves and at this time of year the darkness provides a feeling of isolation that is curiously comfortable. I think that it is possible to taste the new day and if my walk takes me near the beach the first shards of light add to the delicious tingle of being alive! My dog, Marley, has the advantage of a 'doggy' sense of smell and therefore sniffs the retreating nocturnal wildlife before other hounds pollute the landscape.

Nick Bye and Gordon Oliver a little while ago! Both looking much younger!!

Yesterday morning I was out and about in Paignton shortly after 5.30 and the first thing that struck me was the almost absolute darkness. As I turned into Barcombe Lane it felt as though I was about to disappear down a rabbit hole. The streetlights were off and the darkness was almost a little sinister. In these dark hours I do wear a high resolution vest in the hope of avoiding destruction at the hands of a sleepy motorist staring myopically through a misty windscreen at the road ahead. To date that has been a successful strategy!

The absence of street light is of course a consequence of a local council attempting, perhaps hopelessly, to save money is these hard economic times. As I walked in the darkness that morning two things came to mind. The first was recalling the Spanish Roman Catholic mystic John of the Cross who battled with personal demons so long ago in the dark hours. He spoke of the 'dark night of the soul' and I am certain that many of us may, whilst not being mystical, have tasted the curious loneliness of being awake long before the dawn. I've been messing around with a theory about that time of night that I add to a model which for the moment I simply call a fear index.

The second thing that caught my early morning mercurial mind was a recent event at Preston Conservative Club that was more a 'night of long knives' rather than a 'dark night of the soul'. Our mayor, who also happened to be the leader of the local Conservative Party, faced a challenge to his leadership that night. The consequence, as I am sure that you know, was his loss of the leadership. He remains, at the time of writing, the mayor. I gather that he thought he would weather the storm that night and expected support from members but that turned out not to be the case. Of course describing it as a night of the long knives is perhaps over egging it but Gordon Oliver did seem a little shaken by the outcome.

My dark 'streetlightless' walk that morning brought home to me the challenges of political leadership these days. Of course our mayor does have enormous power but it should be remembered that he also has a small army of highly paid local government officers offering strategic advice. Whether he always takes that advice is another matter but nonetheless it is something to keep in mind. We seem stuck with the mayoral system for at least another five years after the 2015 elections and the question that we must ask is what is that going to look like? You may remember Nick Bye not getting the support of his backers five years ago and it looks as though Gordon Oliver may be facing the same landscape!  Oddly enough Nick Bye's name has popped up again as a potential candidate. As they say "Watch this space!"

Oddly enough I almost bumped into our mayor at the annual MTI (manufacturing, technology and innovation) Exhibition at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay and he seemed to be a somewhat lonely figure. Perhaps he was still pondering the fallout from the unpleasant meeting that bumped him from the local Conservative Party leadership. I don’t know and didn’t get a chance to ask because other demands got in the way.  What was my reason for being at MTI 2014? I wanted to spend a little time amongst some really positive people. It’s all too easy these days to sit back and criticise. Too often that criticism is simply a pop at easy targets. If we allow that to be the way in which we approach our community then the outcome is likely to be miserable. Martin Foulger chairs the Torbay Hi-tech Forum and is also a divisional director with Spirent Communications. He says “Torbay is home to a successful sector of national and international hi-tech companies and today due to its location and availability of skills, is attracting more such businesses, developing Torbay into a thriving centre of excellence for the hi-tech market.” Now that has to be something to celebrate!

Keep the smile.

‘Greenway – now that is what I call a holiday home!’

Holiday or second homes always make me raise an eyebrow when I see potential first time local buyers being priced out of the market. For so many of our young that first rung in the housing ladder is simply out of reach.  Of course it can be argued that the second home owners bring new revenue to the area and the subletting can boost local business. The debate can and often does get very emotional. That is a debate for another time because one former holiday home caught my eye recently.

Whilst I mention the first time buyer market for housing and holiday homes there are some properties that stand in a league of their own. Last week I went to visit a onetime holiday home that is now open to the public. I’ve been meaning to visit for a long time which given the fact that I don’t live that far away is ridiculous. It’s been on my ‘to do list’ for far too many years and now at last I can tick it off!

The Greenway Estate was at one time the holiday home of Agatha Christie and is now under the protection of The National Trust. I gather that Agatha Christie never lived there for any length of time and simply used it for holidays. The gardens and house seemed atmospheric in the early autumn late afternoon. I’ve seldom seen so many different trees, shrubs and plants in one place. The large house is surprisingly cosy and all the furniture actually belonged to the family which gives the place a ‘lived-in’ feel. It is almost as though the occupants have simply nipped out for a while and expected back for high tea at any moment.

Whilst walking to Greenway I paused for a while at the top of a hill. To my left were the tranquil waters of Galmpton Creek on the River Dart and to my right the distant choppy waters of Torbay. We live in a magical place and it is all too easy to miss the beauty as we rush busily around. Of course the whole Agatha Christie culture is very big business for South Devon and brings thousands of tourists annually to the area.

Recently two Swiss lads came to stay with me and they were very ‘Christie conscious’ and said how popular her books were in their country. Sadly I am not a reader of her books but suspect that is my loss. I remember Carolyn Custerson of the English Riviera Tourist Company returning from a trade show in Berlin and commenting on the enthusiasm for ‘Agatha’s Riviera’ holidays. So much of our tourism offer is themed around Agatha Christie and that certainly is something to celebrate. The uniqueness of many small hotels and guest houses add atmosphere for visitors wanting to touch the spirit of Agatha. One such guest house if the Villa Marina in Torpark Road Torquay where the rooms seemed to link the modern with the elegance of a former time free from mobile phones and wall to wall wi-fi. The Villa Marina does of course have wi-fi!

Anyway before heading down the hill to Greenway I spent a little more time thinking about this world of ours. We take so much for granted locally and although we jump up and down about local issues the wider world can be a scary place. As I meditated a fresh north east breeze ruffled my hair and I simply took as much of that lovely wind into my lungs whilst thanking God for the moment. Far below me boats chugged up and down the Dart. In the distance I could see the puffing smoke from the Dartmouth Steam Railway and listened to the whistle blast echo across the estuary. 

Daily news bulletins bring the chaos of our world into our living rooms. The conflict in Syria, the bomb blasts in Baghdad, the broken villages still rebuilding in the Philippines after that dreadful storm and many other epics must make us appreciate how lucky we are. So let us be aware of that when we want to moan about the small things and at least look for something nice to say each day.

Keep the smile! 

‘Maid Moses’ and her Mobile

The road junction at Lawes Bridge in Torquay is a scary place. I say scary because the proliferation of traffic lanes, traffic lights, confused traffic, wailing ambulances and environmental distractions can muddle the mind.  As a pedestrian crossing that junction is, or so it seems to me, a case of literally taking your life in your hands as you place trust in the sanctity of the ‘little green man’! The fact that both the hospital and the cemetery form part of the local landscape should sharpen the mind but sadly that isn’t always the case.

The other day I found myself in a queue of traffic waiting for the lights to change. A girl walking down from the hospital caught my eye because her behaviour seemed a little erratic. It soon became obvious that she was chatting away on her mobile phone and the conversation appeared somewhat heated. Then horror of horrors she started to cross the busy Newton Road without a moment of hesitation at the kerb! This reckless behaviour should have ended very badly but it didn’t. Like some modern Maid Moses she cut a path through the braking traffic and crossed to the ‘promised land’ on the other side quite oblivious of the shocked faces around her.

Some days later I listened to the angry sounding of a car horn via my daughter’s mobile phone as she crossed a busy road in London on her way to work. She too was chatting away whilst crossing a road and had not taken note of a busy filter lane. Quite shocking for me as it brought back the picture of my ‘Maid Moses’ crossing the Newton Road and gave it a curious more personal twist. Hearing a loved one in harm’s way via a mobile phone is stressful for any parent.

The invasive use of mobile phones and other smart mobile devices has started to interest me. I would suggest that you might want to share that interest. Just spare a little time looking at the amount of time you spend ‘surfing the net’ or simply chatting to friends and acquaintances via a mobile phone.  Walking down Union Street in Torquay the other day I noticed a couple of motorist’s texting away on their phones whilst driving slowly in heavy traffic. Can you text and drive safely? I don’t think so and that is probably why it is illegal! At the same time numerous fellow pedestrians were chatting away on hands free mobile phones giving the impression that the village idiot was on a shopping trip and nattering madly to himself.

For me too many hours are now lost staring myopically into my computer screen or iPad whilst drifting endlessly through cyberspace. What is sad for me is the level of distraction. I might have something specific in mind when I start the cyberspace journey but too often something catches my attention and I head down some remotely interesting path and become totally lost. It is often with surprise that I suddenly find myself in a curiously dislocated world without any idea as to how I got there! That isn’t always a bad thing because I often add to the eclectic collection of interesting things that lurk in my dysfunctional mind!

For those who follow my ramblings you will be aware of my constant message about the importance of community life. Too often in these busy times people walk the streets oblivious to those around them whilst gazing at or playing with mobile devices. You could argue that this is the nature of modern community and that we are all in touch with each other but I don’t think that is the case.  The other day whilst enjoying a meal at TJ’s Restaurant on Paignton’s lovely little harbour I watched a group of four friends sitting at a table in silence whilst all tapped away on their smart phones.  Does that matter? Well I think that it does because it gives the impression of a shared experience in real time without actually sharing. We must use the Internet and mobile communication devices as tools rather than becoming a slave to these invasive time thieves.

Councillor Alison Hernandez has recently championed a rather interesting series of events that mix cyberspace with a shared community experience. She and a number of friends have created something called the Torbay Social Media Café.  This a is useful event for those who want to learn more about modern communication and still meet at easy to reach venues like Dot’s Pantry in Union Street Torquay. This seems to me a way of embracing the virtual and the real by being part of the community rather than mindlessly tapping endless keystrokes on a mobile!

Keep the smile.

Palm Trees and Great Minds.

I like Gordon Oliver’s palm tree and during a recent trip to London I bumped into its little friend! There in the middle of a roundabout at the Milbank end of Lambeth Bridge is a spectacular palm tree. I was heading to Waterloo Station for the train back to Torbay but paused for a while to photograph the beast complete with a London bus in the background. Can it be that Torbay’s mayor is indeed a visionary? Great minds thinking alike and that sort of thing perhaps? Hard to say but obviously Boris Johnson has a similar empathy with the palm tree.

Those who brave the Kingskerwell journey will know that the famous palm tree is now missing, but we shouldn’t worry because it is going to reappear when the super-roundabout at the Torbay end of the new road is built. Now I know that many people started to jump up and down when the palm tree first appeared saying that it was a waste of money and of no interest. I have to disagree! For me it is a brilliant statement and a spectacular welcome to the English Riviera. In these troubled times to have something that lifts the spirit is simply brilliant and the palm tree does that for me. For those heading along the new road the palm tree will stand proud offering an almost exotic welcome.

More palm trees have appeared locally of course and recently a couple popped up at each end of the Hollicombe pedestrian refuge on the busy Torquay to Paignton coast road. Once again this little display adds a huge amount of atmospheric ambiance to what was once a dull stretch of road. Of course a new housing estate is about to spring up on the site of the old gasworks at Hollicombe and the pedestrian refuge will provide an oasis of safety as residents head to the beach whilst seemingly endless traffic thunders between Torquay and Paignton. The additional greenery is more than welcome.

The thing is that at the moment large chunks of green space seem to have a habit of suddenly disappearing and it isn’t until they’ve gone that we sadly realise what we have lost. One such event is the proposed redevelopment of Armada Park in Torquay which is likely to be a less accessible green space as a local football club seek permission to expand. This will inevitably mean car parking, clubhouse facility (toilets, changing rooms, food et cetera) and playing area screening. Armada Park is a hugely popular open space and much used by the local community. This is something to think carefully about as I feel certain local councillors Nicole Amil, Michael Hytch and Mark Poutney will be doing. I gather that the Cockington, Chelston and Livermead Community Partnership will be holding a public meeting at 7pm on the 7^th October at the Saint Peter’s Centre Queensway to discuss the possible lease of Armada Park. You have a voice and hopefully an opinion! I’m pleased that the meeting is being held at the Saint Peter’s Centre because this is a focal point for the local community.

Thinking about community focal points I came across an interesting place recently whilst wandering around the streets of London. Age Exchange is a community space in Blackheath which has somehow managed to unite the young and old with common purpose. The building has a little café, computers, a small library and meeting rooms. When I was there the people mix included older folk, teenagers, working people popping in for a break, mothers, toddlers and an assortment of others all enjoying the pleasant atmosphere. It seems to me that somewhere like the Saint Peter’s Centre might offer that potential. We need these days to find things to pull communities together. People bang on about social media and the Internet but it seems to me that cyberspace can in point of fact be a very lonely place. It gives the impression of friendship but lacks the vibrancy of face to face contact.

Curiously there is a flip side to the loss of green space and that has to be the huge number of weeds popping up in once cared for urban areas! Cutting back on urban care is one consequence of the economic downturn. However there is nothing stopping us from doing a little neighbourhood weeding, litter clearing and sweeping of course.

Keep the smile!

Paignton United!

You would think that as a community we would have some sort of common purpose. Yet when you consider that when the Paignton BID (Business Improvement District) trundled into life our beautiful harbour and its business community wasn’t included. Now why was that? Well it seems that some bright spark said that the business rates were paid to the Torbay Harbour Authority! Not true of course but enough to have Paignton telling half its story. Just to add salt to the wound I think that might have been the same year that the English Riviera Tourism Company (ERTC) left Paignton Harbour out of the annual tourist brochure. Hmm.

There is a new initiative being on the horizon and consultants have been employed to guide the decision makers Torbay Council). The initiative is the new TTR-BID (Torbay Tourism and Retail). This will be the first ‘super’ BID of its kind in the UK. In a BID area all businesses pay an additional fee via the business rates to fund area improvements. The payment is legally enforceable and so if you’re in the included area then you have to cough up your share.

In these financially challenging times we must all take great care when spending hard earned cash. With that in mind it is important that you pay careful attention to what is going on. We’ve have already demonstrated that the BID in Paignton isn’t fully inclusive because a major asset, the historic harbour, had been left out.

If this new TTR-BID becomes a reality we need to ensure that it is something we really want and that the money collected is spent wisely. It has the potential to unite the community and we can then welcome a more ‘united’ Paignton. How lovely that would be!

Keep the smile!!

New friends from far off places

Falling out of my dream-scape into a new day is often, for me, a powerful and unsettling experience. Adjusting from the colourful and too often complicated dreamscape can also be something of an adrenalin rush. Colourful memory scraps fall away as soft morning light offers a more, hopefully, stable landscape. Today was such a start that it made me catapult out of bed whilst balancing my own reality! I don’t know whether you have read Jostein Gaarder’s book ‘Sophie’s World’ but if you have then the significance of that moment will make you smile.

Grabbing both dogs I then wandered down to the beach in the early grey light to find a quiet spot on Preston seafront to watch the warming sun creep up over Hope’s Nose. That moment as the golden light spreads across the tranquil waters of Tor Bay is truly atmospheric. This life of ours tends to be a bumpy business and so feeling the first rays of a new day wash over you is like nothing else. This can be your moment of mindfulness meditation as your breathing matches the rhythm of the new day. What a brilliant platform!

For me part of that platform was eventually sorting breakfast for the two foreign students living with us at the moment. Sixteen year old Nicole is from the Czech Republic and fifteen year old Adelina’s home country is Kazakhstan. Both are studying English at the Devon School of English in the middle of Paignton. Paul Hawthorne is the principal and the other day invited me to come and have a look around.  

I live not far from the Devon School of English and the quickest route for me is through the Oldway Mansion gardens. There is a temptation here to wax lyrical about the curious status of this wonderful old estate as Torbay Council seeks to secure its future. Answering public concern Torbay Council issued a statement recently which said “"Torbay Council is working closely with Akkeron to progress the development of Oldway into a four star hotel. Discussions are on-going and we will make further announcements at the appropriate time. The council is committed to securing the most favourable outcome for one of Torbay's most prized landmark buildings." Hopefully you will be able to make more of that statement than I managed to! Torbay Council appears to be still looking after the estate and I have to say that the gardens did look stunning as I wandered past. The flower beds were a riot of colour and the grass had been freshly cut. People were also playing tennis but sadly the once popular tea room café is now, like the main building, closed.

It seems to me that Torbay has many historic buildings less famous than Oldway Mansion that too often go unnoticed or end up at the receiving end of a developer’s merciless sledgehammer. That might have been the fate of the beautiful old vicarage next to Christ Church in Paignton had it not been bought by the Devon School of English some years ago. What a quintessential location for foreign visitors to study English and certainly my student guests all seem to love it there.

I do worry that the value of language tourists to the local economy is often overlooked or worse still deliberately ignored. Let me give you an example. Some years ago a German student on work experience with the Training Partnership in Torquay came to join me for three months. He was well educated and not particularly short of money. Whilst here he stayed with a local family boosting their family income, enjoyed many meals in the various eateries, visited numerous attractions and bought clothes in town shops. Recently he and his family came back to South Devon for a two week holiday with friends! This is a great place to visit and all these folk from different parts of the world become ambassadors spreading the good news about our friendly community!

Sadly I hear many negative comments about the number of foreign students in the area and that really upsets me because they bring so much energy with them. Please make them welcome and allow them to celebrate the vibrancy of our local landscape. Why not tell them about the stunning sunrises over our sparkling sea and if you have them staying as guests chip them out of bed soon after first light for a ‘dawny’ on the beach to celebrate the start of the new day as the sun lifts from the distant horizon!

Keep the smile!

Changing landscape

So much seems to be suddenly changing at the moment and that has started to worry me.  It’s all too easy when you live in a beautiful area to accommodate change with a shrug of the shoulder without really thinking too much until the impact comes knocking on your door. Let me give you an example.

Recently for four of my friends that change came in the shape of a P45. A P45 is a government form for the termination of employment. They had all lost their jobs and were clutching meagre redundancy packages to soften the immediate impact of not having a job. There was a common theme that linked the four and that was a feeling of not being wanted. These days we hear of so many people losing jobs and if you are reading this in South Devon you might well be one of them.

The good news is, or so we are told, that the economy is on the up and that should bring with it many new jobs. If that is the case then that is indeed good news. It is also true that the loss of a job can create an opportunity for breaking away from the grind of the daily routine and doing something new. Quite often the fact that employment may be terminated has been anticipated and plans are in place for a transition to other work. In the case of my four friends that awareness was there and whilst seeking pastures new wasn’t on the agenda the sudden shocking blow to the status quo didn’t happen.

As part of my work I run short courses building self-esteem and confidence. I also act as a professional mentor with people adjusting to new landscapes. One consequence of being bounced out of a job can be a loss of confidence and self-esteem. Once your world has been rocked ‘getting back in the saddle’ isn’t always as easy as you might think. Of course, as I well know, running out of work is an unpleasant experience for those working for themselves. The worry about providing for yourself and those around you can be a dark and lonely place.

You would have had to be living in a very remote state not to have been aware of budget cuts to our local council services. Mayor Gordon Oliver has had to produce a budget to save millions of pounds which has already caused serious hardship. Budget cuts tend to mean people losing jobs because it has an immediate impact upon the balance sheet. Those council jobs at one time tended to be a job for life but that cosy concept appears to have slipped into history.

Philosopher Alain De Botton is an interesting man and talks about the curious nature of human consciousness. It is that consciousness that all too often has the biggest impact when unemployment comes knocking on the door. We are very aware of the future or at least an anticipation of a future and worry about what comes next. I remember a while ago chatting with my doctor about a number of things at a time when the dark demons were knocking on my mind. My blood pressure had been high and he was recommending a new medication. I questioned whether I really wanted to take another drug. He suggested that it would possibly make me live longer. “Why would I want to do that?” I asked. His reply still makes me smile as I write. “It will satisfy your natural curiosity as to what comes next!”

Numerous people have played around with the words ‘the past is history, the future is a mystery and the present is a gift’. This is a truth of course. What has happened has happened. What is to happen does tend to be mostly hidden from us and so all we can truly deal with is the actuality of our own reality at this precise moment.  It can be so hard to do that because there is a tendency to look back fretting about what happened. But that is the point! It has happened and so we must move on and be the wiser for it. We might worry about the future and plan but once again events tend to throw up many threats and opportunities. We must learn from the past, plan for the future but live in the present.

So here is a little homework for you. At the start of your day stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at your reflection. Yes it really is you! Now smile at your reflection and watch it smile back. If you think that is silly now give yourself a wink! Hopefully that will make you laugh and that is the point. In doing that silly little exercise you set a platform for the day. It is your day and you have decided to be in a better place. That smile is infectious and you now face the world as a source of light rather than darkness. That has to be a good thing for all of us.

Keep the smile!

Whether to laugh or cry

To be quite honest I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! There is on Torquay’s Cary Green a statue of Agatha Christie. They tell me that it is the only official statue of her, which may or may not be true. It doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that the other day a yellow planning notice was slapped on the plinth giving statutory notice of plans to redevelop the area and turn picturesque Cary Green into a car park serving a new hotel.

I don’t know whether you know Cary Green but I suspect that you will have travelled that way on numerous occasions. For me it has always been something of an oasis on Torquay’s crowded harbour-side and is much loved by many. There is a campaign to save it from becoming a car park. Of course you may feel that it doesn’t need saving and that a little thing like a colourful garden shouldn’t stand in the way of progress. The progress here is the building of an iconic hotel that will dominate the harbour area, reportedly bringing hundreds of jobs, providing numerous opportunities and endless happiness. I’ve made the last bit up but it does give you a taste of the supportive rhetoric.

All very interesting you might say, but what has it got to do we me? Well I will tell you what it has to do with you. The planning application came before a full meeting of our council a week or so ago and it was decided that it should not be openly debated. The decision was taken to make the process secret and that was immediately questioned by a number of councillors who worried about the democratic ethic. The consequence of this ‘secret squirrel’ delegated council policy is that the decision will be announced by the few to the many without open debate. Of course having said all that most council decisions can be overruled by our elected mayor which to me is a ‘democratic’ abnormality!

So here we are again looking at what holds our community together and what input we might have in the decision making process. We must keep an eye on what is being proposed and decide whether it is for the greater good or simply for the benefit of the few. In less than a year we will be electing local councillors and members of parliament. We will also, unless things change, be electing a mayor again.

This is the time to take a really good look at what is happening around us and decide whether proposed changes make sense. We all know that these are stormy financial times and so pay attention to where the public money is being spent. Look for the winners and the losers. Is the ‘spend’ for the good of all or once again for the benefit of the few?

Let me take you back briefly to the not knowing whether to laugh or cry. In last week’s Herald Express Paul Hawthorn, chairman of the Friends of Oldway, expressed concern over the lack of progress with redevelopment. At least this year the tennis courts have reopened and that has brought joy to hundreds of local people. Sadly the Oldway Mansion building is starting to look very sad indeed. Torbay Council responded to Paul’s concern by saying “Torbay Council is working closely with Akkeron to progress the development of Oldway into a four star hotel. Discussions are on-going and we will make further announcements at the appropriate time. The council is committed to securing the most favourable outcome for one of Torbay's most prized landmark buildings." I’m not sure what is being said here other than the situation is unchanged and likely to remain unchanged for a while.

As I have already said these are hard times and of course difficult decisions have to be made. It just seems to me that these decisions must be transparent and not be the result of ‘secret squirrel’ meetings. But I guess that will only happen if we all engage and contribute in a meaningful way. Why not contact your local councillor and ask for a Cary Green/Oldway update?

Keep the smile!

The Girl from Brazil…..

I knew very little about Brazil other than the fact that it is a huge South American country with rain forests, Reef sandals, scantily dressed women on Copacabana beach, the huge Christ statue above Rio de Janeiro, colourful cities, shanty towns and of course the 2014 football World Cup!

 

That all changed in June when sixteen year old Naiara de Salvo Lisboa came to stay with us for two weeks. Nai was on a month long tour with her school visiting Paris and London before spending two weeks in Paignton at the Devon School of English polishing her already excellent English. Her only linguistic stumble was the pronunciation of ‘ed’ where words like finished become finish-ed. I speak no other language with any fluency and therefore folk like Nai have my deepest admiration.

Over evening meals we were introduced to the beauty of Brazil and its colouful culture. Nai is a Catholic and shared Sunday mass with me, commenting on the similarities here with the more vibrant Brazilian celebration. Thinking about the World Cup I loved her comment that Brazil should win because whilst the pope is Argentinian she thought that God was probably Brazilian!

Nai enjoyed her time with the the Devon School of English and thought their standard very high. Every morning was spent in the classroom and afternoons were packed with interesting visits around the English Riviera and atmospheric Dartmoor National Park. They even managed a day surfing!

The overseas students bring a special vibrancy to South Devon and a welcome boost to the local economy. Their interaction makes the world a smaller and perhaps safer place, which has to be good for all of us. Nai is back in Belo Horizonte now enjoying almost endless sunshine and we miss her boundless energy.

Look for the light rather than the darkness.

My column in the Herald Express 26th June 2014

The other day I ‘shared’ a post on Facebook. For those of you who don’t play with social media let me quickly explain. Facebook is a social media platform on the Internet for the sharing of information, uploading photographs and generally keeping in touch with friends.

One of my friends shared something the other day that he had seen which worried him. The worry was a picture of the House of Commons debating funding for an important social issue with only of handful of politicians present. Given the nature of what was being discussed and the apparent lack of political interest I thought it important and therefore ‘shared’ the story and picture with a personal comment expressing my concern. Local MP Adrian Sanders almost immediately posted a comment explaining that the original article was a hoax! The picture from the House of Commons had been taken on another day and then the debate title below copied from another day! Why would people do that?

The thing is that these spoof news stories seem to be sprouting up a little too often these days usually with an icon that relates to a genuine news source that gives the post a false credibility. That potentially harmful disinformation can cause so much damage. With the speed of communication these days via the Internet, mobile phones, television et cetera words can spread like an Australian bush-fire on a hot windy day! The thing about words is that once they have been spoken or written then calling them back is so very hard and even if the original story is corrected too many people will not see the correction which means that the false fact trundles on potentially eternally!

Of course that false or misguided information isn’t restricted to cyberspace because daily social intercourse can be a source of quite harmful rhetoric. How often do we say something to others about something and then a little later find that what we had said wasn’t correct? Do we then contact all those that we have told and correct the fact? Probably not I rather suspect. Whilst talking to a group the other day someone commented on the seriousness of religious fundamentalism and that stimulated a debate about religion and its place in society. The comment related to one specific religious group and its ethos. It didn’t take long to understand that the speaker knew little of the religious group but did have very strong negative views about them.

We then discussed other religions and it soon became clear how limited our knowledge was. In a multi-cultural society peppered with religious dogma that has to be a worry. How easy it is to stigmatise and label identifiable groups! Education is changing on a daily basis as Michael Gove MP rampages through the curriculum dumping subjects and my worry is that religious education will slip into obscurity. That in my humble opinion would be a disaster because religious education is about understanding how social groups interact and not simply about worship. Most of us, if not all of us, will have been conditioned in some way by the religious experience and certainly when I was at school every day started with a corporate act of Christian worship. But in those growing years I knew almost nothing about Judaism, Islam, Hinduism et cetera and therefore equally very little about the cultural norms surrounding them.

Can I give you some homework? If you have access to a computer why not search for an online encyclopaedia and learn a little about some of them. Nip in to your local library (while we still have a network of libraries!!) and find a book that simply explains the nature of each. But whatever you do please stay away from the spiteful rhetoric that is so divisive and hurtful too often rooted in ignorant bigotry. To build a healthy community we really need to embrace neighbours and the richness that multiculturalism can bring. That can start by simply smiling at a stranger and if you are feeling really brave you could also say hello!

We live in restless times with increasing evidence that communities seem to be tearing each other apart in so many places. If that is to change then we really need a much deeper understanding of each other and that can start with you! Look for the light rather than the darkness. Seek the good rather than the bad. Find something nice to say about people rather than constantly looking for the negative. You can make a difference.

Keep the smile.

    

Many many years ago I started a journey with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and that ‘pilgrimage’ continues today.

What sort of community do you want? I have to ask because to be quite honest I am getting increasingly confused. I thought I understood once, but now I am not so sure. Listening to the shards of radio news, television bulletins, occasional glances of newsprint and of course the ubiquitous social media postings should give me a feeling of what ‘community’ might be. But is doesn’t and that, for me, is a worry. 

A little while ago Tesco cancelled their plan to open a large store in the middle of picturesque Brixham. Whether you were for the Tesco development or against it now doesn’t really matter because the plan has slipped into history. What does matter however is what you thought about community impact of that development and whether the views of all the local population were reflected in the decision making process.

In the post-Tesco decision period I noticed a comment made by local councillor Mike Morey about the lack of young people at a public meeting. My suggestion is that we, in the wider community, need to take these meetings TO the young people. In truth what we are talking about is their future without adequate consultation. But quite how you find the view of the wider young community is a problem since too often that opinion is hijacked by those with a political agenda or aspiration.

So what sort of community do we want and how do we achieve that desire without the constant battering from those preaching a divisive doctrine? With that in mind a recent worry for me was the rise of social stereotyping during the recent European elections. Mankind has always been a little prone to scapegoating; seeking those to blame when things don’t seem to be going in a direction that suits our mood. That philosophical distortion has far too many devastating consequences which can be evidenced throughout history and indeed today! Whether mankind has the ability or the desire to rise above that is a matter of debate but listening to the hurtful rhetoric during the European elections did send a shiver through my spirit.

It seems to me that to build a vibrant community with a future we really do have to engage our young in many more of the strategic planning decisions. 

Some years ago at a Paignton Town Community Partnership meeting a local policeman questioned how we might engage more positively with young people. The meeting had gathered in a cinema and it occurred to me that actually walking into that area would have been very intimidating for many people.  I’m not just talking about the very young of course but all perhaps that have more future that past! Too often those with the time to spare have strong opinions about what the young need/want and the outcome can be a distortion destined for failure.

Of course it occurs to me that  in writing this I have never really grown up and certainly as time passes I am increasingly aware how little I know! But one thing that I do know is that it is essential we all work together for the good of the local and wider community. Many many years ago I started a journey with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and that ‘pilgrimage’ continues today. There is a lesson for us all from the theme running through the DofE. That theme is about helping others, working as a team, being able to work alone and having the ability to see the task though. I had hoped that when the new Parkfield Centre opened in Paignton that it might become a catalyst for that ‘dream’ by embedding the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award there. Sadly the Parkfield landscape became a bit of a shaggy dog story, but I live in hope having met recently with two people who have fire in their eyes. 

The truth is of course is that we can all make a difference if we really really want to. The question is I suspect is whether we really want to! With the whirl and buzz of sound bite media it is all too easy to be beaten down by the constant hammering from 24/7 news. Attempting to balance what matters and what doesn’t is complicated. 

Take care with the way in which words are used especially when it comes to the casual stereotyping and labelling of others. Once the words have been used it is so very difficult to call them back! Of course that can be hard to do when you feel aggrieved by the selfish antics of others especially when you can clearly see that the action taken has had a financial gain for the few at the expense of the many. Hmm.

Keep the smile. 

The moment we lose sight of the fact we must care for each other the world becomes a darker place.

My column in the Herald Express 15th May 2014

Sir David Attenborough was eighty-eight last week and is still a vibrant role model for so many, including me. Something that he said a while ago made me reflect when I noticed his birthday mentioned in the paper. He said “We are a plague on the Earth. Either we limit population growth or the natural world will do it for us.” At the time his words sent a shiver through my spirit and I think that it still does today.

We hear so much about saving the Planet and the aspiration to make our world a safer place and yet the evidence of that happening is a little too scarce, or so it seems to me. The global stuff is hard ask when you look at the fractured communities, particularly when socio-political events and religious dogma seem to harden hearts. So what difference can we make? Philosophers and thinkers throughout history have wrestled with the growth of population and the nature of community.

Population growth is something that we must think about but of course that has huge implications socially, politically and religiously. What we can do something about immediately is the nature of our community and the way in which we look after each other. American psychologist Carl Rogers talks about ‘prizing’ the individual and that is, in my opinion, so important. The moment that we lose sight of the fact that we must care for each other the world becomes a darker place. That should be a core value in the platform we are building in the next generation.

In these restless times it seems to me that one major factor in developing a vibrant community is the provision of meaningful employment. Being able to support yourself and those around you is so important and builds self-esteem. We all may have particular ‘wants’ it is the ‘needs’ that will cause stress. A chap called Maslow many years ago produced a little triangular model called The Hierarchy of Needs which explained this nicely. At the bottom of his triangle you will find the essential building blocks of life; those things that allow you to live such as food, shelter et cetera. Having some sort of meaningful income allows latitude for the ‘wants’ but being able to cover the core ‘needs’ is absolutely vital.

With all that in mind I was particularly captivated by a recently released song by the late Johnny Cash. Many of the lyrics used by Johnny Cash carry carefully constructed social observations about the way we treat each other and of the consequences of social inequality. Those of you that take the trouble to read what I write will know that youth unemployment worries me tremendously. The Johnny Cash song can be found, with the lyrics on You Tube and is called ‘Out Among the Stars’ and the words talk about a boy who can’t find a job. It’s worth finding the time to listen to the words and meditate on how that might one day impact upon our own community.

Something that I have been working on recently is the establishment of small locally based socially focused business developments. I’m not alone of course and as huge numbers of public sector jobs go many of those people now look at starting their own business. These new start-ups are quite often registered as Community Interest Companies and seem very exciting. Whilst they quite often attract grant funding they must also have a robust business model.

One local community based organisation is Agatha’s Closet (part of Future Shores) which is a project aiming to inspire and give new skills to local people of all ages based around fashion. They now have a retail shop and workshops in Hyde Road Paignton. Do drop in and have a look at this exciting project and have a chat with Aly Lazel.

There is support from within our community for many of these new and exciting socially conscious groups. I happened to spend an evening with some very interesting folk recently. They under the banner Creative Thinking Torbay and their mission to provide a ‘think-tank’ for charity based groups. Creative Thinking Torbay is championed by Bare Foot Thinking guru Peter Redstone and includes Barry Cole from the Torbay Business Forum and the energetic Angela George who now chairs the Torbay branch of the Federation of Small Businesses. They are ‘lateral thinkers’ and invite a guest local organisation to spend two hours with them working through opportunities. It really is very good and I can certainly recommend the experience.

I guess what I am saying is that we really are all in this together and if we want to make a difference then hold out a friendly hand to those around you. In the words of Tom Paxton from his song Peace Will Come “Oh my own life is all I can hope to control. Oh let it be lived for the good of my soul.”

Keep the smile!

There's a general feeling of unrest.

(My column in the Herald Express 1st may 2014)

A little while ago I wrote about what I considered to be the master plan phenomenon because more and more of these colourful projects seem to be popping up. Curiously when the consultants write master plan it appears as one word and perhaps that is part of the trendy attraction. Anyway the other day I pitched up at a meeting hosted by the consultants employed by Torbay Council to produce a new Paignton master plan. There were other meetings for Torquay and Collaton St Mary but I didn’t attend them. Simply ran out of time. I want to share a couple of points about what is going on because for me it is a worry.

One word that seemed popular with people attending this event was apathy. The suggestion was that many local people were simply apathetic and show no interest in local development. That in my opinion is simply not true. Apathy can be defined as a lack of enthusiasm or interest and in the case of our increasingly cosmopolitan population that is not the case. It seems to me that the constant smoke and mirrors of various socio-political adjustments have produced a general feeling of unrest and perhaps community disengagement. So I have an issue with the suggestion that we, the people, are apathetic!

The second point is the level of engagement. Who do we actually expect to pitch up at these focus events? One observation from someone in my little gathering was the fact that most of the people there were older citizens and that was sadly an obvious truth. We were given maps to play with and the area in question was outlined with a large black line. It was immediately obvious that important parts of the town have been ruled out. Our hosts said that they were simply following instructions. I think that we might want to question those instructions.

The meeting was held in a room under the Paignton Club on the edge of Paignton’s lovely little harbour. That venue is not frequented by many local people and it seemed to me that the library might have been a better location. For those that prefer to use public transport the library in Paignton is next door to the bus station.

The public meeting for the Paignton and Collaton St Mary master plan was the previous day and I gather that only sixty people attended. That is a very small cross-section of the local population! Given that these meetings seem to attract older people it might have been an idea to use South Devon College and Paignton Community and Sports Academy. Both can be reached easily by bus and have campus populations of many thousands.

These plans will potentially shape the future community for generations to come. I worry about many things because that is my nature but an increasing concern is the platform that we are building, or not building for our young citizens.

Thinking about our younger citizens I have to record my disappointment over the semi-closure of the wonderful Parkfield building. I was so excited when this £4.5 million centre opened a few years ago. For a while I thought it would become the beating heart of South Devon for youth but the draconian funding cuts have left the facility somewhat beleaguered. Hmm.

On a more positive note you will be pleased to know that the six wonderful tennis hard courts at Oldway Mansion have been re-opened.  A big thank you goes to Torbay Council for taking the decision to re-open them. Three of the six are floodlit and the playing surface is really excellent. I have no idea where the Oldway Mansion project is heading but watching families playing tennis again is a real tonic.

Finally something I want to share that will to make you chuckle. A few mornings ago I had to nip over to St. Marychurch. I parked my vehicle in the car park and found that parking was only £2 for the whole day. My time there was likely to be less than an hour but sadly the option for a short stay wasn’t offered. Now, about that joined up thinking when it comes to parking policy!

Keep the smile.

We seem to live in a time of master plans.

My column in the Herald Express 16th April 2014

The 2008 Mayor's Vision - a master plan

That feeling of déjà vu sent a shiver through my body the other morning when I pitched up at the Torbay Business Forum AGM in the Riviera Centre. One part of the event was a presentation from two consultants tasked with producing town master plans for Torquay and Paignton. Why the feeling of déjà vu? Well sitting in front of me at the gathering was Nick Bye, a former mayor of Torbay. You may remember Nick Bye’s Mayor’s Vision and because I’m that sort of bloke I had recently taken the trouble to look through the large colour book that had been produced at the time. This of course was also a sort of master plan and so here we are a few years later going through a similar costly consultancy process once again.

We seem to live in a time of master plans having recently had sight of the Torbay Port Master Plan looking at the future of our three harbours and the surrounding area. Doubtless you can probably list many other master plans, focus groups, forum meetings, partnerships et cetera. Anyway the little gathering of local business people, councillors and other folk at the Riviera Centre listened attentively to the consultants as they told us many things that we already knew but also humbly pointed out that they were still getting to know the area.  It also seemed that there is a process of public engagement going on and yet many of the people attending this meeting had not been aware of that, which worried me. Hmm. I’ve just looked through the Torbay Council website and have failed to find the dates for consultation. You might have better luck.

So my next question might be as to why people that should know about consultation meetings don’t. Well one reason might simply be the almost continuous deluge of local consultative meetings. I tend to keep my eye on local events but actually attending them all seems an impossible task. I once produced a simple model in an attempt to explain why certain folk pop up at all the meetings. It seemed to me that you might draw three circles and write the word retired in one, rich in another and restless in the other. To be a regular attender you must be retired with ample time available, rich enough to have the financial latitude not to be in the work place or simply restless and therefore on a bit of a mission!  

My point is that to attended many gatherings you need time and understanding. The time to actually sit through often lengthy meeting and that therefore becomes the bailiwick of those not having to work. Add to that the ability to differentiate between the meetings that matter and the meetings that don’t matter. Sitting through hours of pointless rhetoric is mind-numbing and probably psychologically damaging!

Curiously this was the second Torbay Business Forum event that I attended that week. The first one was a breakfast event, once again in the Riviera Centre, at which the selected developer for the Torquay Pavilion and surrounding area explained what was planned.  You couldn’t fail to be impressed by the stunning architectural design but of course there were a few raised eyebrows at the potential transformation of Carry Gardens into a car park. Admittedly the car park had the facility to be used for other purposes, such as a farmers market, from time to time.  All very complicated and emotionally charged of course faced with the loss of that lovely green space.

One thing is certain and that is the fact that we cannot object to every development whilst still watching the fabric of our towns deteriorate on a downward economic slide. Any objection and indeed vote of support must be balanced. But to do that we must all engage. It is therefore absolutely essential that local councils find a more efficient way to ensure that information is easily available. Perhaps ultimately that may be by simply banging on doors and talking to people!

Now here is something to think about when we think about the future of our towns. Two speakers at the end of one of the events I attended spoke about a technological master plan. South Devon College’s Simon Friend offered a view of such a town and Grant Grafton of Sub10 Systems gave it strategic balance.  In post-Nortel Paignton many of the highly skilled staff set up dynamic technology businesses in South Devon and perhaps this is the time to drive forward the ‘Silicon Valley’ concept.

One thing is certain and that is repeating previous experience in the hope of a better outcome is dangerous.  Albert Einstein was a clever chap and once wisely said that if you do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result then you must be insane. Food for thought when it comes to the future of our community.

Keep the smile.

Anyone For Tennis? Unlikely At Paignton's Oldway Mansion!

My words in the Herald Express on 3rd April 2014

Hmmmm. The closed tennis courts at Oldway Mansion

As I started to write I felt a shiver run through me and I am sure that you have experienced similar feelings. They are, mostly, inexplicable but often seem to herald events. Perhaps that is how the prophets of old felt when they were in the business of foretelling and foreseeing. You have to wonder where the prophets of today exist; certainly not amongst our political elite and probably not amongst the broad spectrum of religious leaders.  In truth you might argue that the business of foretelling is not prophetic at all. Too often it is simply stating the obvious to people who refuse to listen. For example saying that parking charges, parking meters and enthusiastic enforcement officers will drive people away from the town centre is really stating the obvious. That sort of foretelling quite often makes prophets of us all!

It amused me, or at least I think that it was amusement, the other day when Torbay Council decided to remove a number of yellow lines to encourage folk to use the urban area. That news came shortly after I paid 70p at a parking meter to pick up my £1.10 Herald Express. Hmm. I’ve had my say on local traffic management over the years but too often felt like the proverbial lonely voice. That doesn’t worry me but the lack of joined up thinking by the decision makers does. Understanding the difference between traffic control and a parking tax (for that is what a parking meter does) is important. It is one thing ensuring that the flow of traffic is efficient but continually taxing visitors to a town centre to raise revenue is another. Bleating on about the death of town centres and then hammering another nail in the coffin by taxing all motorists attempting to visit is, it seems to me, ridiculous!

So here we are in April already with longer daylight hours and the promise of a sunny summer ahead. In a couple of months we will all be cheering on the annual tennis adventure that is Wimbledon. Last year we had the joy of Andy Murray’s stunning victory that had us all cheering. Tennis took on a life of its own as the joy of Andy’s win spread far and wide. Aspirant Wimbledon champions attempted to find court space and even the least athletic of us felt the urge to knock around uncontrollable tennis balls.

Of course locally we watched Torbay Council close the twelve lovely courts at Oldway Mansion because of the anticipated redevelopment there. So for the summer of 2013 those expensively built floodlit courts were ‘de-netted’ and locked. But as far as I know the lease has still not be signed and so the courts will again be empty for the summer of 2014. If and when the lease is signed I am told that there is a plan to build six new hard courts that will be open to the public. Hopefully the charges will not be prohibitive. To me keeping the courts closed for another summer is madness but there you go. I did write about my disappointment last year and was saddened by the comparative lack of interest.

Talking about madness do pay attention to the increasing volume of political rhetoric as we get caught up in the period of headline catching promises whilst rocketing toward the 2015 elections in little over a year. Of course the European elections happen before then and so being ever vigilant is hugely important. Listen to the words and balance the possible outcome. Too often the promise is given with the right hand and then taken with the left. The trick is not to take the headline at face value. There are many changes happening on a daily basis and as usual the people already taking the financial pain take the hit first. That has been evidenced by the recent hurtful local government funding cuts. That worrying socio-economic gap is getting wider on a daily basis. I used to worry whether we were lemmings or hamsters when it came to the economic landscape. Being a hamster might be a worry at times but lemmings have a bit of a reputation for self-harm and that my friends might be a bigger worry for us all!

I’ve said before and I make no apology for repeating myself that we all need to keep in contact with our local councillors and our elected mayor. You have a voice and a responsibility to make your views clear. Without your input too often decisions will be made that might make you feel uncomfortable. If that is the case you have to ask how that happened without you having your say. These are challenging times with it seems to me many opportunities if we keep an open mind.

Seek the positive rather than the negative and of course keep the smile!

Swiss Students Take On The Fearsome Devon Chilli!

Philipp, Gilles and the fearsome chilli!

One of the nice things about living in South Devon at this time of year is the arrival of foreign students heading this way to improve their already high standard of English. They herald a fresh energy sweeping through our local towns with their youthful enthusiasm for life.

So many host families, in these hard economic times, find the additional income from providing accommodation for our new young friends is more than welcome.  The laughter and shared story telling about home during meal times make the word a lighter place and that has to be a good thing for all. Many become lifelong friends and their families often boost tourism with family holidays here in Devon.

Gilles Nikles (18) and Philipp Mumenthaler (17) from Switzerland are spending two weeks in Paignton on an advanced English course at the Devon School of English. They bring a special vibrancy to meal times and have already to grips with a spicy meat dish made with home grown chilli. Our local climate favours chilli plant growing and despite saying how they like spicy food this naughty little chilli brought tears to Philipp’s eyes!