The DofE - Duke of Edinburgh Award

Sometimes I find myself scratching my head and this morning was such a time. Why the scratching? Well it is all about doing the best that you can for as long as you can. You would have to be a brick short not to have realised that we are living through troubled times. So what of the future? What sort of world is on offer to our young folk and they work their way through the self inflicted financial chaos? Who can know? But one thing is certain and that is things will never be the same again. For me there is another certainty and that is unless we all pull together things will continue to unravel. I guess that is why I have always been captivated by the Duke of Edinburgh Award. I am, in the words of HRH, a 'Veteran Gold'! My journey started back in 1962 and I am still banging the drum today because you cannot achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold without sharing with and helping others. That makes the DofE hugely socially cohesive at a time when all too easily things become unstuck! My message is simple. If you are aged between 14 and 24 Google 'DofE' or 'Duke of Edinburgh Award' and follow the link. Sign up and get stuck in. If you are older then do the same thing and see what you can do to help. School and college people? Well our young folk need every 'leg up' that they can get and for me the DofE should be the cement holding the students together. In business? Well what a great way to motivate a work force! Public Services? Of course you are doing this already! Come on people, let's make this happen!

Education........

South Devon College with the new University Centre

When I had just left school someone asked me what I thought of the statement ‘Education is what is left after you have forgotten what you had learnt’ and to be quite honest at the time I didn’t really think about it at all. I now know that the quotation came from Einstein and oddly enough after all these years it still troubles me.

This month I have a French girl working at Harbour Sports as a business intern and today I took her to South Devon College for a quick tour. Amelie was impressed with what she found, stunned by the view of The Street from the third floor and enjoyed meeting Pat Denham (South Devon College Deputy CEO). We also had a little trip around the new University Centre, which is where I work on a part time basis as a lecturer and business innovation mentor.

I love South Devon College and think that what has happened there is quite amazing in building a community that has become exclusive by being inclusive. Now that may sound a little odd, so let me explain. I have always worried about the huge number of young people who become disenfranchised and marginalised during their school years. Their identity, the way they feel about themselves, may well build a life that becomes hardened by that feeling of marginalisation. You have only to walk around the campus to see how this community pulls together and offers a shared and meaningful experience to all.

So what about all that learning? How do we use that knowledge in a world that is increasingly dysfunctional? What do we do with the skills gathered? Well it is perhaps upon that very platform we build the future. A platform that is indeed the essence of what is left when learning merges into everyday life. After all is said and done learning is so much more than lessons and lectures. It is about the totality of that experience.

Hmm, a shared experience in a caring environment. Is it really that difficult?

Macro and Micro - we're all splashing about!

This little effort by me was published in The Herald Express (South Devon) today...They say that money doesn’t make you happy and that may well be true. But what is also very true is the fact that not having enough money to make ends meet can make you unhappy. Very unhappy indeed! Now, I’m not talking about whether you have enough cash to take an annual holiday or to buy another fun toy. I’m talking about the very basic stuff of life, simply having a place to feel safe, to feel warm and enough food to keep you and your loved ones going. The sort of stuff that holds a family and indeed a community together
The “not having enough money syndrome” in Torbay is having a bigger and bigger impact on a daily basis. Of course you may, after reading the Herald Express and listening to local radio regularly, say that is obviously true. If you are the one with not enough money to gather the most basic things together then you will know only too well that it is true. The difference now is that the number of people having sleepless nights and early morning panic attacks about the future is steadily growing and perhaps you are one of them. You see, that “not having enough money “ to make ends meet is impacting on a bigger and bigger slice of the local population. For example you may have recently retired and looked at what your ‘pension pot’ has produced and wonder where all those contributions went. That of course is a rhetorical question that you may want to ask the bankers, the hedge fund managers, the myriad of financial advisers and other fiscal predators. Or perhaps you are a recent graduate clutching many thousands of pounds of student debt, a huge bank loan, punishing credit card balances and no meaningful job prospect– or indeed simply no job at all, especially in Torbay!
My life, so far, has always been an adventure in one way or another. Having started out as a teacher, thirty or so years ago I jumped ship and founded Harbour Sports with my brother-in-law Julian Smith back in 1978. Over that time I’ve watched Torbay go from being an exciting and vibrant community to the curious place that it is now, a sort of topsy-turvy confused collection of folk that increasingly resemble something out of Alice in Wonderland. Of course in these troubled times this perhaps is nothing more than a reflection of what is happening in the wider world. Or is it? It’s not just the physical structure of the place that has changed, it is also the very nature of the community. Hmm, community, now there really is a very interesting concept. I believe so very much in the power of the community, the sharing of experience and the support for each other. You see, without that bond we become a very lonely crowd indeed.
There are changes within Torbay, and of course the wider world, that can be both subtle and shocking. “Subtle and shocking” , what on earth is he talking about? Let’s do the shocking first. In addition to my daily activity at Harbour Sports I also work as a lecturer at South Devon College. One little project that I had a hand in was something for Foundation degree students called Enterprise Exchange. Getting a degree is one thing, making it work in a wider context is quite something else as all too many recent graduates have discovered. My theme for this activity was something that I call the ‘Tsunami of Change’ where disruption in society is so sudden it is very much like a very large tidal wave. This wall of water is hugely damaging on the way in and even more catastrophic on the way out as all sorts of junk washes back to the ocean. That is exactly what has happened and is happening in the financial markets! Being hit by the economic knee-jerk reaction is one thing but then to face the socially damaging dumping of jobs is an evil fiscal tool; and that is what is happening now. The impact on the individual of job loss is emotionally hurtful, on the family debilitating and in the community it causes division.
I think that it was Dr Albert Schweitzer, the founder of the leper hospital village in Africa, who said “The tragedy of life is what dies inside of a man while he still lives.” That has always worried me, and these days I am beginning to see the creeping evidence of that very thing in our society. So what have I noticed?
Well, the shocking changes above in the wider economy tend to grab the headlines and why wouldn’t they? But there are the more subtle social changes that tend to creep up on us. It’s a bit like water dripping on limestone. At first you don’t really notice but as time passes you end up with something the size of Kent’s Cavern!
The first thing is the difference between rhetoric and reality. For example take a look at the change between Gallows Gate and Tweenaway Cross. In the not too distant past there were a number of large holiday camps dotted along the ring road, but today they’ve gone and have been replaced by housing estates. First one went, then another and then all of them. Of course things change and that is the nature of progress, however the nature of that adjustment to change can be a matter of choice. Surely there are things that we can quietly accept and other where we really do need to take action.
As I’ve said, for me much of the past thirty years have been spent working on Paignton’s lovely little harbour. At the time when the Mayor’s Vision for the harbour suddenly popped up I did go into print pointing out that this was a living community rather than an abstract plot for development. Whilst on the topic of visions the question has to be asked whether Nick Bye is a Man of Vision or a man having visions. If it is the latter then it may be a medical condition that requires the help of a doctor or a skilled psychotherapist with an interest in the nature of night time’s dreams. If it is the former then we must have the checks and balances before the colouring book becomes a reality with unforeseen consequences.
Paignton harbour has a rich and colourful history dotted with charismatic characters such as Peter Pannel, Joe Lane and Captain Ron Richards. It has until quite recently been a community of folk woven together by a love of the sea, but we live in curious times and small changes can have quite a big impact. Take as an example the closing of the Post Office not too long ago. This was a community hub, a daily contact point for many and a source of local awareness. When Monica died alone in her flat it was the guy in the Post Office who went immediately to check on her because she had not dropped in for her stamps which, as a letter writer, she did each day. Harbour Sports were able to post parcels rather than do what we do now which is to send a man in a van half way across the town leaving a large carbon footprint.
Furthermore there are other worrying changes around the harbour like the sudden proliferation of prohibition notices, including one in the middle of a little memorial garden, which has angered the North Quay boatmen. The Vision shows a redevelopment of this harbour as a hub for folk that I don’t recognise at all from the artists impressions which show smartly dressed athletic people striding on the east quay (it is worth pointing out that the east quay in winter often ships green waves over the harbour wall) and I wonder where the locals have been relocated!
Now here’s the thing. Most importantly what must happen if you want to captivate a local population is that people have to believe. Occasional success is the catalyst and that too often is not recognised. For example recently Paignton Community and Sports College received ‘outstanding’ from OFSTED inspectors. There should have been dancing in the streets because this is a COMMUNITY school! Young people work through community awards and dozens achieve Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards. The latter requires that they not only work for themselves but also have to work for the community. This sort of thing is socially cohesive and it washes through the community.
Ultimately it is all about community and unless we pull together, stop and pick the paper from the floor, help a neighbour without seeking reward then the future is bleak. These are hard times, very hard times, but that is no excuse for walking around with a face like a slapped kipper. Let’s start by supporting each other, use local amenities like the Riviera Centre as a community hub, swim in the sea, paddle a kayak, walk the coastal path, support local business and keep in good order the living fabric of Torbay. Now there’s a Vision!

Torbay in Bloom...perhaps

I guess one of the big things that does worry me, despite the new Conservative government's best attempt, is the gradual erosion of community. You have only to pass homes in the early evening to see that folk now face away from the window and toward the television or computer screen.

But that is not what I want to talk about. Take a good look at the picture above. Torbay Council have planted this prohibition notice on the edge of this lovely little garden on the western edge of Paignton Harbour. No planning permission is required by Torbay Council for notices and if you take the trouble you will notice loads of similar signs polluting the most beautiful places.

The story behind the anchor is that it was fished up some years ago by Tug Boat Captain Andy Ricks and brought back to the harbour. The anchor was dropped by a 19th Century sailing ship and therefore has considerable history. The anchor has become something of a memorial to all the past fisher folk of Paignton who will, like the rest of this community, be saddened to see this ugly notice now polluting this little garden. I did get the Herald Express to take a little picture and said what I have been written above, but sadly story didn't run. It seems that they had spoken to the local harbour superintendent who said that it was not an official monument. Oh dear oh dear.

Sadly, for me, this is another example of the systematic erosion of community life and the careless attitude to things that local people cherish.

Pain and little gain....?

Well he seems happy enough, which is more than can be said for many. In point of fact too many. It's a tough old world and getting tougher by the hour. I didn't vote for this new Conservative Government ( I voted Lib DEm!) but I guess that is democracy - or is it?



I am still a believer in representation by the the people, that those who live in an area represent their neighbours at a national level. Now many say that nothing would ever get done, nothing would be achieved, too much would never get to a vote. I somehow doubt that because the fact that perhaps a majority voting freely doesn't pass something that a political faction wants is often a good thing.



We all know that times are hard, but the comments made by George's boss yesterday did little other than scare ordinary folk and probably slowed the economy yet again.



.....and it's raining again....

Taking the time to vote

Last week we had the joy of the first ever televised debate between the three main leaders dominating the parliamentary landscape. Most people seem to agree that Nick Clegg stood head and shoulders above the other two and managed to captivate viewers. Certainly the Lib Dem ratings lifted considerably.

I've been out and about supporting Adrian Sanders who has done a fantastic job as Member for Torbay and is now seeking election once again. Adrian is a 'local lad' with a clear understanding of what it means to live in Torbay. It is a shame that so many parliamentary candidates seem to be "imports" rather than local!

What I really wanted to say is that most people seem to have only one man in mind as the next Chancellor of the Exchequer - VINCE CABLE and I am sure that this is also a contributary factor in the surge of Lib Dem popularity. Back in 2006 I made myself quite ill worrying about where we were all heading economically. I worried that we were more like lemmings rather than hamsters. You see a hamster simply spins the wheel and is safe from harm. We all know about lemmings.

Vince Cable wrote a brilliant little book called The Storm : The World Economic Crisis and What it Means. Dr Vince Cable is a clever man and clearly understands the way ahead. By the way you can help the economy by supporting local bookshops and I know that Torbay Bookshop has this book in stock (http://www.torbaybookshop.co.uk/).

As a Lib Dem I hope that power shifts that way, however whoever forms the next government l pray that they have the wisdom to make Vice Cable the next Chancellor!

Frank Sobey