Worrying effects of economic change

My column in this week's Herald Express...........the restless pen...

"STANDING on the east quay of Paignton harbour as the sun lifts from the distant horizon against a clear blue sky is the most wonderful spiritual experience.

I'm not talking about religious spirituality here but about the essential essence of us all. That special part of you and of me that is so intensely personal and private.

It is the core of all our fears hopes and aspirations. The shards of cold salt spray touching your face is the stark reality of a winter dawn and of your own actuality.

I say not religiously spiritual, and yet long forgotten prayers on that golden dawn can provide a platform for quiet meditation.

Perhaps that is the nature of prayer in that it allows a moment of personal reflection and a mantra against the dark days which seem to be creeping around us.

I must admit that for me often when life becomes a little complicated that mantra can provide a barrier between you and the demons of the night. That moment of reflection is now lost from council meetings now that the courts have ruled against it.

The BBC news of that morning carried the Moody's credit rating agency warning about the possible downgrading of our AAA status, and it made me reflect on what that actually means to you and me.

The rhetoric is confusing but the outcome is, with this Government's economic policy, likely to have an impact on the streets of South Devon. The changes tend to be a little like toothache, in that the pain at the moment is random.

It is not until, as we are seeing in Greece, the pain gathers a momentum all of its own that you can see the worrying outcome, as families put their children in care because they can't afford to feed them.

The gap between those who have and those who have not is getting scarily wider by the day.

South Devon is without doubt an unemployment black spot, where wages in our predominantly service based industry tend to be minimum.

A recent change in government policy is very worrying. Many local people work on a part-time basis because the full-time jobs are simply not there.

By working a minimum of 16 hours tax credits kick in and allow a sustainable lifestyle. The threshold is about to change to 24 hours!

A small hotel locally may employ a number of folk working 16 hours, thereby allowing a flexible business model which is sustainable in these challenging times.

So for a business that is only just holding its head above water, where do the extra hours come from?

Talking of hours and wages, it was an eye opener the other day to see mayor Gordon Oliver is to donate half his annual salary to charity.

He, of course, is earning much less than many of the council officers he leads, and one has to wonder whether his example will catch on.

Probably not, and in truth there can't be that many of us who could survive having given away half of the annual household income.

But nevertheless it is very good news for the deserving causes who will doubtless benefit from his generosity.

This neatly leads me on to another curious blot on the Big Society landscape.

We were told that localism is important, and that communities could do much of what government, both national and local, had been doing more efficiently.

That may or may not have been true. But a consequence of funding cuts to local organisations has been catastrophic.

I worry about local services which have also been chopped, like youth services where we have brilliant developments like Parkfield without the infrastructure to support it.

The trouble is, like the loss of local shops, once this stuff has gone we will then start to understand what we have lost.

The words of Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek) come to mind: "I was happy, I knew that. While experiencing happiness, we have difficulty in being conscious of it. Only when the happiness is past and we look back on it do we suddenly realise — sometimes with astonishment — how happy we had been."

Why I think the Channel 4 series The Hotel is good for The English Riviera!

I don’t know whether you have watched the Channel 4 series The Hotel on Sunday evenings but if you have not then in my humble opinion you have missed a treat! Of course it is not for everyone and indeed some folk have been jumping up and down with rage claiming that is dragging down the image of The English Riviera. I take a more positive view and see it as a breath of fresh air across an increasingly dismal landscape.

First and foremost is the fact that it is a peak time programme televised as entertainment. The eight programmes track the summer season in a hotel that is fighting for survival in an unfriendly world. Anyone working in tourism these days the fact that the economy is flat, the summers have been bleak and footfall light is a given. As Chris de Burgh sings, “There is nothing quite so sad as a holiday resort in the rain!” But at The Grosvener a summer barbecue goes on despite torrential rain and soggy hot dogs seem to go down well. So British..........

The hotel owner manager is Mark Jenkins and his boundless energy is a tonic each week. Come rain or shine he is buoyant and always looking for new ways to make people happy. For him customer satisfaction is the most important thing. Keep in mind that all the guests have agreed to bedroom camera shots, being followed by a film crew and to take the rough with the smooth.
It is for many of them their five minutes of fame and a digital immortality.

Of course it is not a typical English Riviera hotel and has the look of a neo-Faulty Towers about it, which is doubtless the intention. There are folk who love that sort of hotel which is why it has, I gather, suddenly become fully booked! Others would not want to go anywhere near the place, but still head this way having looked at the area via the programme. One local four star hotel has reported bookings as a result of people watching the programme and seeing how attractive the English Riviera is!

So for me I think The Hotel is a wonderful programme for the English Riviera and brings a special sunlight all of its own. After all is said an done it is where Mr Tickle comes for his holiday!

Waving.......

Stevie Smith's words have been banging around in my head today and I feel the need now to let them go.

But I can’t.

The words?

“I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning…..
…………
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.”

So much is changing and the world that we knew seems to be shrouded in a mist that gets thicker by the day. In that murky swirl the worry about making ends meet becomes ever more present for so many.

The bounce and buoyancy of a community is challenged by the draconian changes that threaten, as always, the less well off.

So perhaps when we look back and thought folk were merrily waving we might see that they were in fact sadly drowning.

Smile, you're in beautiful Torbay

My words in this week's Herald Express.......................

CANADIAN poet singer/songwriter and former Buddhist monk Leonard Cohen was recently honoured for his work at the Prince of the Asturias Awards in Spain.You can find what he said on YouTube, and I strongly recommend it to you.

In his moving speech he spoke about the soil and the soul of a people saying: "An identity card is not a man and a credit rating is not a country!" That made me reflect upon how easy it is to use convenient labels to stereotype people, and indeed communities. We all too easily think of a nation in terms of credit worthiness in these days of confusing financial statements, yet a nation is about its people.

It also made me pick up on the word 'identity' having recently attended a SW Innovations Centres breakfast meeting at the revamped Cockington Court. I'd not been to Cockington Court for a while and so the new little craft/shopping centre came as quite a pleasant surprise. The whole complex sparkled in the early morning January unseasonal sunshine and seemed to have a mystical energy all of its own.

The speaker at this early morning meeting was Peter Redstone from the Barefoot Partnership, who romped through a quick introduction to creative thinking. In doing so he mentioned in passing the identity of a community as part of a creative thinking process. Sitting next to me was Mark Green from Fruition Design, and Jim Thompson from the FSB. Both, like me, believe strongly in community cohesion and have already established some creative thinking focus groups around Torbay.

Getting people to look at things differently and constructively is hugely important. You see, the thing is there are lots of good things going on in Torbay all the time, but all too often they lack community engagement. Even in the middle of January we have an event like the Health and Fitness Show at the Riviera International Conference Centre, which was designed to offer a platform for good living and positive thinking. What a great way to start the year to see so many local businesses offering a huge range of healthy lifestyle services and products.

In the theme of exciting things, have you been to look at the new Parkfield Centre in Paignton?
What a stunning arena with its international standard BMX track, skate park plus perhaps one of the best indoor climbing walls in Devon — and an external traversing wall which made me realise how unfit I am after only a few minutes of hanging off the grips. Outstanding stuff!

Then, of course, for entertainment you have the pure joy of bumping into the Channel 4 programme The Hotel. What a blast of fresh air in a busy world! Eight programmes on prime time television with loads of lovely shots of the beautiful English Riviera. How good is that? The series is being followed by English Riviera TV (www.englishriviera.tv) featuring the main characters plus a brilliant interview with Cllr Dave Thomas.

The programme comes hot on the heels of Sky Atlantic's Brixham-based series, Fish Town, and of course will attract many more viewers because it is a Channel 4 programme rather than a pay to view. It is also elegantly narrated by Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonnevile! One of our four-star hotels reported a booking as a result of The Hotel because the visitors watched the programme, thought Torbay looked fantastic and came to stay.

Torbay is fantastic and it upsets me when people focus on the negative when so much good stuff is going on! The big question, to which I have yet to find an answer, is how we generate a Torbay identity which is attractive to all sectors of our kaleidoscope community. I guess, in part, it is thinking about others and looking at things in alternative ways. While we all want to be happy, that should not be at a cost to others. We could start with a sharing and caring attitude, plus a warm smile even when smiling is the last thing you want to do!

There you have it, a new strap line 'Smile on the day – you're in Torbay!'. Well, it is at least a start and a good way of avoiding walking around with a face like a slapped kipper...

Clangers and Clangers......

My scribblings in the Herald Express 21st December 2011.......

Last week I pitched up to a breakfast business networking event at Richard Haddock’s Churston Farm Shop, which was good fun. I think the farm shop concept is hugely important and, just to hammer the point home, as you drive in there is a whacking great big sign recommending that people shop locally. It was my first visit and I felt a little guilty about that because the whole enterprise is quite brilliant. I have to say that the farmer’s breakfast is really outstanding!

Curiously as I drove in through the gate John Humphrys and his Radio Four Today programme colleagues were banging on about town centre shopping because good old Mary Portas was once again waxing lyrical about the catastrophic state of town centre shopping. Of course I have a vested interest with Harbour Sports shops in Paignton, Plymouth and Exeter, which meant that the harbinger of gloom (John Humphrys not Mary Portas) had my full attention!

But you know the localism thing isn’t just about shopping. I do worry that we are becoming a nation of Clangers. Do you remember the iconic children’s programme, The Clangers, about a strange people who popped out of their holes in the ground made a funny noise and then disappeared back into the comparative safety of the hole- home?

The advent (good choice of word for this time of year!) of multi-channel television, the internet, game machines, smart phones, an eclectic mix of other devices and rising unemployment that actually seems that leaving home is almost optional. Home delivery of neatly packed food and cut price alcohol allows us to slump in a heap on the sofa before drifting into a soporific hypnotic state in front of a shimmering screen. Outstanding!

Miles Kington years ago made the slightly amusing comment about understanding the difference between knowledge and wisdom. What he said was that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit but wisdom is knowing not to put it in the fruit salad! If we really want to hold our communities together then the preservation of local shopping and neighbourhood services is hugely hugely important.

One simple example close to home was the loss of the popular Post Office on Paignton harbour. We had all the pointless rhetoric about slimming business made by highly paid executives but they gave scant attention to the pivotal role that the Post Office played in community life. It was a meeting place for so many, a place for basic shopping, a place where views were exchanged and a source of cash for pensioners. Oh yes it is all very well to have your pension paid by direct debit but it now means that a trip has to be made to the nearest bank for cash.

Ah yes, the nearest bank. Well that is usually in the town centre and here comes the next bit about knowledge and wisdom. This one really is for Torbay Council! Knowledge is knowing that parking meters can generate a very good income which would seem to make sense in these horribly challenging times. Wisdom is knowing that people will only go where their car is welcome and so the short term parking meter income is soon lost as folk abandon the town centre. The local economy and neighbourhood identity will simply wither like un-watered fruit on the vine.

Here is a little bit of advice for Torbay Council. Go and take a look at those big big supermarkets on the edge of the town. Look at the crowded car parks and just think why do people park there when they have to spend £3 for the privilege? Oh yes, of course they don’t pay anything! You simply flop out of the car, prop yourself up at the end of a trolley and slide around the aisles before wheeling your goodies back to the car. Lovely! But in the town centre you have to have a pocket full of change and for a short visit to the shops (less than ten minutes for 20p) you need the sprinting ability of Usain Bolt to make it back to your car before the hovering civil enforcement officer stuffs a ticket under the windscreen wipers. First hour free boys and girls, first hour free!

Happy Christmas…………………….

Nothing stops a bullet faster than a job....

My column this week in the Herald Express 24th November 2011.....

This past week has been Global Entrepreneurship Week when globally folk come together to celebrate enterprise, innovation and that sort of thing. I always found the word entrepreneur somewhat daunting although these days it seems to pop up time and time again. Of course it has been around for many years and indeed try “Googling” (what an amazing computer search facility Google is!) and up pops a huge list. ‘Young Entrepreneurs’, ‘Famous Entrepreneurs’, ‘Entrepreneur Ideas’, ‘Entrepreneur Exchange’; the list goes on and on. Of course it is, as I am sure you know, essentially about business.

During the week events were held across South Devon by the various organisations tasked with encouraging people to be enterprising, to think about business, business start-up schemes business success award ceremonies and so much more. During the week I found myself spending an afternoon as a business mentor with a group of people who will soon graduate from the Devon School of Social Entrepreneurs based at Dartington. This was for me a good thing to be doing because I am fascinated and perhaps even captivated by the concept of social enterprise and, if you like, social entrepreneurship.

For those of you who bravely or foolishly read what I write will know that community action has always been near and dear to me. We live in hugely troubled times and the daily news brings a torrent of worrying detail about economic distress, financial inequality, rising prices, unemployment and perhaps a creeping loss of hope. But there is some good stuff going on, people doing special things, folk working for the good of all and more importantly refusing to be beaten down by the negative.

Of course much of the distress is about the loss of jobs, the worry about losing a job and the fear of running out of money or the reality of having no money. That is where many of the local entrepreneur start up schemes can be so helpful, especially when it comes to building social cohesion. You have only to look at what happened in London and Manchester last summer to see what happens when things tip over the edge.

In California some years ago Jesuit priest Greg Boyle coined the phrase ‘nothing stops a bullet like a job’ and that caught my attention. People, especially the young, need to be valued. Getting and hanging on to a job is being valued. Not getting or losing a job is catastrophic for the individual, for those around him/her and for the community as a whole. Enterprises and especially social enterprise can create jobs within a community and build a sustainable platform. One of the Dartington SSE students was in the process of developing a concept that had the fledgling title of ‘Crime to Career’ and looked at building individual talents into a meaningful career rather than slipping into crime. It is, at the end of the day about captivating a community and building hope.

Now one of the shadows of our time is the rise of unemployment amongst the young. We also live in a time of catching acronyms. One such acronym is NEET. Of course when you hear the word neat then all seems well but sadly NEET isn’t well at all! NEET is the growing band of people who are not in employment, education or training. That is needlessly to say very unhealthy for a society. It is here that the need for enterprise training and building social enterprise is huge. Enterprise is not, in my humble opinion, just about being able to run your own business. It is about collecting life skills that will also be of considerable benefit to breath fresh life into businesses that already exist and indeed to larger public sector organisations.

There are good things happening here on the English Riviera, Torbay, South Devon, Agatha’s Riviera, but they need nourishing. We mustn’t simply roll over and feel that there is nothing to be done because events like Global Entrepreneurship Week and organisations such as The Devon School for Social Entrepreneurs CAN make a huge difference. We simply need to be receptive to the message – said the voice too often ‘crying in the wilderness!’

Parking Meter Highway Robbery!

It’s dark. It’s raining. It’s Wednesday 16th November. It’s just after five in the evening. Paignton is a ghost town. Hyde Road has a handful of cars parked. My wife, who has reached retirement age parks and pops 20p into a parking meter before walking briskly to quickly look in a shop window on the corner of Victoria Street. The expire time on the ticket is 17.12hrs.

Having looked into the window my wife walked briskly back to her car and noticed a civil enforcement standing by her car with ticket machine in hand! The road is deserted, the rain lashing down yet there he is in all his soaking glory! The penalty ticket is timed at 17.16hrs. My wife is 4 minutes late!

At 17.16 the civil enforcement officer has already made out the ticket? So where was he? Hiding in a doorway just waiting for a victim? At least Dick Turpin used to gallop up to those he was about to rob and so everyone knew what was going on!

So here is the irony. I’ve been campaigning against parking meters for a long time especially when they are for revenue collection rather than traffic control. For small towns like Paignton they are catastrophic and do untold damage to the economic viability of the town centre. Certainly my wife is now saying that she has no intention of visiting Paignton town centre again and she was born in Paignton!

If Torbay Council feel that they really really do need parking meters then THE FIRST HOUR MUST BE FREE.

You really couldn't make it up!