Giving people a reason to smile is simply wonderful.

My column in the Herald Express 4th February 2015

The Monastery Berry Drive Paignton

As a bright-eyed student, so many years ago, I thought that I might have a vocation for the Catholic priesthood. By the time I had escaped from college it was clear that I didn’t have a vocation and so I lurked quite happily in the secular world. People who know me then asked why I didn’t test my vocation and all I can say is that I found it hard. However as part of my course I spent a month or so teaching at Saint Cuthbert Mayne School Torquay and whilst there bumped into a newly ordained priest from the Marist House of Studies that was then housed in Monastery Road Paignton. As a consequence of that meeting and my possible vocation I spent a little time visiting what we now refer to locally as the Old Monastery. At that time it was the home of some very clever academic priests and a simply stunning library.

The Marist priests and nuns had a long association with Paignton with many local ladies educated at the Marist Convent School Paignton in the building that is now occupied by Tower House School. Indeed until twenty or so years ago Marist nuns were still providing teaching staff at the Sacred Heart School in Paignton under the leadership of Sister Monica O’Brien.

A few weeks ago the nuns running Stoodley Knowle School announced that it will shortly close ending over eighty years of teaching in sixty-five acres of picturesque woodland overlooking Anstey’s Cove. Times change and so much of what we have always taken for granted quietly slips into history as fewer people seek the celibate life within the religious world.

Recently I've become engaged with a number of people who have been looking at old church buildings and how they might be used for the good of the community. One leader in this field is Andrew Richardson of W4G (Working for Good Communities (http://www.w4gcic.net/ )). He has been actively looking at the development of socially inclusive entrepreneurial system that is ethically based within unused or under used church buildings. These buildings tend to be in the middle of communities that have often been battered by the economic downturn and therefore offer an excellent hub for community re-engagement.

The other day I happened to be walking around the gardens at Oldway Mansion and looked over the valley toward Winner Hill. I noticed the statue above the Old Monastery sparkling in the afternoon sunshine. It seemed to call me and so I nipped over for a long overdue visit.

The chapel at the old Marist House of Studies is now the home of Anode (http://www.anodecharity.org.uk). I had recently been in contact with Anode’s founder Nigel Williams and had been captivated by their mission. This is what they say about themselves.

“Anode is a Charity that provides a holistic service to help an individual through challenging times by engaging with one or more of our programmes. We look to build a foundation that encourages self-belief, independence and responsibility. Our Motto is ‘Changing Lives, Giving a Voice & Fighting Poverty’ and we are passionate about helping out where needed. We recognise that each individual is unique and we are committed to helping people connect with HOPE!”

A member of the Anode community gave me a quick tour of the chapel building showing me the food bank store, the meeting rooms, kitchen and counselling area. The last time I had been in the lovely chapel building was back in 1970 and at the time was hugely warmed by the spiritual energy of the chapel which was at that time a house of prayer. I have to say that what Anode is about still captures that magical spirit but in a very different way.

We live in troubled times and those on the margins of our society seem to be being pushed over the edge on a daily basis. The crushing deprivation that drains hope from so many has to be stopped and to do that it needs all of us to pay careful attention. Look out for those around you who might be in danger.

Organisations like Anode, W4G and others help to bring hope. Building communities by developing employable skills from within seems to me a way to create a more hopeful future. The Anode Smile Maker programme is such a platform and giving people a reason to smile is simply wonderful.

Keep the smile.

Helping homeless would be a start

My column in the Herald Express 22nd January 2015

Kate Humble is an interesting girl! Recently I watched her abseiling down the inside of an active volcano toward the bubbling molten lava lake on the island of Tanna in the southern Pacific. That is a very scary thing to do.

Two things struck me about this dramatic event that had been brilliantly filmed by the BBC. The first was Kate’s obvious anxiety. Someone told me years ago that if we weren’t living on the edge then we were taking up too much space. I’m not sure about that but Kate was certainly on the edge and you could almost taste the fear in her voice as she slid down a rope to a narrow ledge above the hostile lava lake. That has to be one of the scariest places in the world.

The second thing that struck me was the molten lava lake itself. How easily do we forget that this world of ours is a ball of fire covered with a thin crust? Occasionally we get a glimpse of that destructive power when volcanoes suddenly spew molten material high into the sky. Do you remember back in 2011 when aircraft were grounded as a dust cloud drifted across Europe after the eruption of an Icelandic volcano? Kate’s slide toward that molten lava lake is striking evidence of how delicate it all is. That boiling cauldron spews noxious gas high into the atmosphere on a daily basis.

Whether you are a creationist or an evolutionist you have to be very aware of how fragile our existence is. Whilst we worry about daily things that trouble us it is good to be grateful for whatever we have and to hang on to this life with both hands.

It occurred to me that our mayor might well be hanging on to things with both hands just now when I listened to him speak at the Torbay Business Forum breakfast a few days ago.  The attentive business community listened to him talk about the good things that have happened in Torbay whist he has had the reigns. Of course many good things have happened and we must celebrate that. At the same time there have been draconian cuts in public spending. So many services have been forced to the very edge financially and others simply sank without trace.

So many of those cuts hit people with the least power first and it seems to me that the gap between those that have and those that have not is getting horribly wider by the day. Many families face increasing hardship as things like energy prices climb ever higher.  The increase in the number of food banks must have many people scratching their heads. It worries me and I hope that it worries you too.

One of the outcomes from this troubled time is the increase in homelessness. As I walked the icy roads just before six this morning with my dog I thought how hard the night will have been for those sleeping rough. That penetrating cold made me shiver and be thankful that I wasn’t clutching a damp blanket under a bush.

Later in the morning I joined a group of people attending a training session at Saint Paul’s church in Paignton. We had gathered to listen to Rachel Makin from Housing Justice speak about running night shelters. You may like to know that under the direction of THE HAVEN (http://www.haven-torbay.org.uk ) seven church halls will become overnight shelters for the homeless during February.

Being lonely and homeless has to be a scary place and whilst I might have been impressed with Kate Humble’s bravery it seems to me that members of our community have to face those demons of fear on a nightly basis.

Homelessness, in our fragile world, is something we must face and act upon. Our prime minister says that we are all in this together but sadly the evidence seems not to support that. Rachel Makin made an interesting point when she said that with overseas aid we attempt to offer people access to water and sanitation. That, she says, is something that our homeless often cannot access.

As a community we need to pull together in the hope of building a future that includes everyone. What we do should be for the good of all and hopefully offering hospitality to the homeless is a start. I will be staffing one of the night shelters during February and am a little worried about to be quite honest. One thing I will do is what I tell others to do and that is to keep the smile, hard though that might be. Please remember that when it comes to being homeless; there but for the grace of your god go you.

Keep the smile!

The Bonus Culture Trundles On...

My column in the Herald Express 9th January 2015

Sunrise over Singer Court

Recent research reveals that if you worked at the sharp end of Goldman Sachs in 2013 that the annual monster bonus event was a time of celebration! Those intrepid risk takers each received £2,570,000 bonuses on average. Meanwhile the poor old risk takers and senior staff at RBS over the same period only received a tasty £600,000 on average. Not a bad income boost when all is said and done.

I don’t know whether you noticed that news sound bite over the Christmas period and if you did what was your reaction? Probably, like most of us, you simply shrugged your shoulders. The problem is, or so it seems to me, that so much sensational news is too often received with a shrug of the shoulders. Why is that? It is quite likely because so much of what is happening to us seems to be outside of our control. If that is the case then perhaps the occasional raising of an eyebrow is all that we can hope for.

These monster bonus decisions tend to be decided by the financial gatekeepers and despite the turmoil in the money markets the bonus culture trundles on. Of course it isn’t only the money men that expect a bonus for doing what they are paid to do efficiently. Many of the higher echelons of the Civil Service, NHS and other similar bodies also anticipate huge annual bonuses. Many senior posts have a large cosy bonus as part of the contract of employment but at least one, Network Rail’s Mark Carne, may not take his this year after the Christmas rail chaos. Hmm. We’ll see.

You might ask why I use the word gatekeeper in this context. An accountant once told me that he who controls the quill controls the money. Those with the power have a habit of protecting themselves and the people immediately around them. They toast the system with the words “Here’s to us and those like us” which immediately excludes those not part of this exclusive world. That is why the word gatekeeper offers a glimpse of why little is likely to change. If you guard the gate then you decide who comes in and who stays out.

If we simply accept that the self-appointed gatekeepers decide to reward each other little will ever change. Part of our reluctance to change is I suspect the worry that rejection may threaten our own socio-economic stability. You will be aware of the political rhetoric surrounding the payment of huge bonuses but since so many of our political elite benefit from the system there isn’t, despite the rhetoric, really that much appetite for change.

2015 is election year and so if you have an appetite for change then this might be your chance to come up for air. Once again you might find yourself facing the gatekeeper mentality and so take a good look at the names on the ballot paper. Comments like “They’re all the same” may have some validity but doesn’t really help. This is the time to engage with the people making the decisions and has to be an excellent reason for hopping down from the fence!

Talking about fences, I have to say how impressed I am with the new pathway through what is left of Oldway Mansion’s Fernacombe Wood. The new huge apartment block called Singer Court (see picture) is now towering above that part of Paignton and a little woodland walk has been constructed outside the newly fenced grounds. I recommend this short walk as a way of accessing the Oldway Mansion gardens that are still being beautifully maintained by Torbay Council. I was however a little curious about the ‘No Horse Riding’ sign since it a long time since I have seen any horses trotting down the busy Paignton to Torquay road!

Thinking about local developments in general I have to say how impressed I was the other day when I made my first visit to Living Coasts in Torquay. It’s been on my list of things to do for quite a while and so during the Christmas holiday I made the effort. It really is an interesting place and the knowledgeable staff made sure that visitors had every opportunity to learn. I timed my visit to include lunch at their terrace café overlooking the whole of Torbay and found the whole experience quite atmospheric. Recommended!

That little jaunt has prompted me to produce a list of other South Devon places of interest for 2015 visits including Torre Abbey, Torquay Museum, Kent’s Cavern, Bygones and the Model Village in St Marychurch, Coleton Fishacre and Brixham Heritage Museum. I plan to add steam trains and river trips to my rapidly expanding list. We live in a stunning part of the world and that has to be something for us all to celebrate.

Keep the smile!

Platform For A New Energy.

My column in the Herald Express 23rd December 2014

I’ve not looked yet but I rather suspect that the film Love Actually will pop up at least once over the Christmas period. Love Actually and another Richard Curtis film, Notting Hill, always make me smile. Both have quite serious themes but also have a lightness that lifts my battered spirit. What really does it for me is the last scene in Love Actually that ends with a huge storyboard of people being united at an airport because it seems to capture the essence of Christmas; that wonderful joy of reunited friends and family coming home for Christmas.

I love Christmas and always have. That statement may be slightly overegging the truth because sometimes things can become a little bumpy as the reality of life too often makes us less than happy. Christmas Day for me has always started with the first church service which I suppose is the nature of the day. It is an acknowledgement of the Christmas message for the Christian Faith, which is the birth of Jesus. But the winter celebration itself of course predates Christianity and emphasises the long dark night coupled with very short cold days. A time when folk gathered in the icy semidarkness around a fire as the night world outside shivered.

There was a time when that first Christmas Day service was a collective family event shared with the community. In these unusual and too often confusing times the need for family and community is huge. Christmas traditionally is a time for heading home, for sharing, for caring and perhaps capturing a little of the seasonal magic. Sadly for too many these days, Christmas will not be a time for family or friends. For those struggling to put food on the table or indeed to find food at all the wall to wall commercial invitations to feast will simply bring pain. Too often that pain will also be a place of intense loneliness. In the helter-skelter run up to Christmas Day it is important to remember that we are a community which is hopefully inclusive.  

Keeping all that in mind I do love the idea of a friendly Santa Claus travelling the world bringing a sparkle into lives and occasionally granting special needs rather than simply satisfying superficial wants.

This Christmas I will look to the heavens in the hope of catching sight of that famous speeding sled pulled by celestial reindeer high above Torbay. During the past year I have found myself wishing for a few special Torbay ‘presents’ and perhaps this Christmas some of Santa’s sparkling fairy dust will fall from the sleigh like golden snow settling on those dreams.

A light covering of Santa’s golden fairy dust on Oldway Mansion would be wonderful. Seeing that now exhausted building suddenly spring into life as bright lights shine from the windows, excited people walk the beautiful halls and atmospheric gardens, newlyweds showering rose petals on the terrace and a community energised by the reawakening. To bring that iconic building back to life will send a tingle through the whole of Torbay.

That magical dust might also fall lightly on the Parkfield Youth Centre where beleaguered youth workers suddenly find that their prayers have been answered as endless streams of young people ride the BMX track, clamber up the stunning climbing wall, skate endlessly on the ramps, swing from the trees, play games in the sports hall, make music in the garden and bring a smile to the most battered faces. This wonderful £4.8 million pound facility has lost its way and seems in the words of a young local accountant “To be a waste of a fab opportunity” as the consequence of funding cuts cast a sad shadow over the estate. Will Santa listen?

Hopefully a few flakes from that golden shower might flutter over Torquay Pavilion and Cary Green bringing hope for an amicable future that will capture the magic of the past in a union with a vibrant future. Perhaps part of a new harmony will be a change from the collective mayhem of the drunken night-time madness in the harbour area into a place that generates a new energy of hope.

But most of all I pray that the energy of Christmas will bring joy to the whole community and lift the spirit of us all. In my last article I wrote about developing a ‘White Monday’ for the good of all rather than the demonic ‘Black Friday’ evidenced by greedy grabbing. Perhaps Christmas can be a platform for a new energy working for the good of the community as we rocket toward a more meaningful future!

Keep the smile.