Sunday 16 March 2014

It doesn't do to rock the boat!

My column in the Herald Express 6th March 2014



Sometimes I simply want to hold my head in my hands and weep with frustration. I suspect that many readers often feel the same way. The frustration, for me, is usually watching events unfold over which I have no control. World events obviously fall into that category and in this age of 24/7 news escaping from that reality is hugely difficult. These days even events on my doorstep too often happen that have me scratching my head. In this case it is not the overwhelming catastrophic happenings that dominate world news but the smaller things that occur without the community questioning events.
Perhaps I have always taken it for granted that those in positions of leadership are working for the greater good of all and yet in truth my trust is perhaps misplaced too often. But then I ask myself whether it is a trust or more worryingly my failure to fully engage in the hope that someone else will pick up the sticky stick and sort things out! Of course if you don’t hold a position of power then attempting to make sense of a situation is often difficult because you simply cannot gather all the facts. For those that do hold power locally speaking up can also be a worry, especially when you rock the political stability of a particular group.
Two events locally made me reflect upon the impact of speaking up when others would rather that you did not. The first was a public meeting which included local councillors and council officers. Something was said by a speaker that seemed untrue to me. I didn’t have all the facts and asked later whether what was said had been fact or a spinning of truth. It was at it turned out a misunderstanding by the speaker but it worried me that neither had spoken out to balance what was said because of the political landscape. The point is that decisions had been made about the fabric of our community based upon that misunderstanding. How often does that happen?
The other was the chopping of Nick Bye from the list of folk seeking election as a councillor locally. From what I have read it seems that the decision was made because of views that he publically expressed that didn’t reflect the political appetite. It is for me always a worry that balanced opinion is too often supressed because it doesn’t fit the agenda of a particular group. Of course it doesn’t do to rock the political boat unnecessarily but when points have been well made it is a worry when they get stamped upon. Whilst I may not have always agreed with Nick’s opinion I have always thought his words to be balanced.
It seems to me that in these seemingly troubled times we all have a duty to make our views known without fear of taking a hammering! It is hard to do too often and that is a shame. Of course I am not talking simply about being critical of something or someone all of the time. If we are not happy with something that is happening then what we have to say must be balanced and factual. Gossip tends not to work that way but neighbourly debate does, if allowed to flourish!
This brings me neatly on to a new acronym that popped up the other day. I was sharing a meal with a friend when he told me that he was now an IMBY! Now I knew that a NIMBY was an acronym for not in my back year but IMBY was a new one on me. He then told me that an IMBY meant that something was in his back yard! As it turned out what he was talking about was also not quite in my back yard but was now impacting upon my view across Torbay.
What is in his back yard is the new huge block of flats and the giant crane at the edge of the Oldway Mansion estate. This development is located where once the little Furnham Wood nestled next to the derelict council owned retirement home. He wasn’t too worried when under the redevelopment of Oldway Mansion because the thickly treed Furnham Woods stood between him and the new building that would replace the small demolished retirement home. In the past when he had wanted to lop limbs from trees that crept over his garden he had to get the permission from the council. You can imagine his surprise when many of the trees suddenly got the chop removing the woody screen. He also hadn’t quite got his head around the actual size of this new build and nor had I! That is why he has now become an IMBY!
I did read the other day that the folk redeveloping Oldway Mansion have yet to sign the lease and so sought confirmation. I’m still waiting to hear but did read that the signing has yet to happen. I guess that means that Torbay Council still pick up the tab for keeping it all together for the while. The only development that has happened is the new block of flats and ownership of that plot seems to have changed hands a few times. Hmm.
So sadly in the home town of former tennis star Sue Barker the numerous tennis courts at Oldway will remain closed for another year. It saddened me that as Andy Murray dominated Wimbledon in 2013 Torbay’s contribution was to close twelve tennis courts. I’ve been given all the reasons for that but the fact remains is that they were closed. New courts were to be opened at Oldway Mansion for the summer of 2014 but that seems unlikely now. Frustrating! Hopefully the Oldway Mansion lease will be signed soon; but what happens if it is not?
Keep the smile!