Whooping it up with the Italians – Part 2 Super heroes!

Luca Bridgada Villa and Marco Cova

For Marco Cova and Luca Bridgada Villa their English Riviera five week adventure continues! Both are really enjoying the work placements arranged by Torquay’s Training Partnership.

The evening meal at the Sobey house last night was a riotous affair as we were joined by son Sam and his fiancé Sophie for a huge baked ham feast. Our evening meals with our two Italian super heroes always seem to last for hours and it makes a refreshing change to live life at a more Mediterranean rate!

We had a surprise the other day when Marco's parents (Paolo and Marinagela Cova) and sister (Francesca Cova) arrived for the evening. They had flown from Turin on the Sunday then came to see us on Monday evening before hopping back on a plane to Italy on Tuesday. They are wonderful people and we loved meeting them.

Both Marco and Luca have taken an active part in life on the English Riviera including having a traditional cream tea at Cockington Village.

Of course what we didn't know is that they are both super hero characters which is obviously good news for local residents in need of cosmic help!

For anyone thinking about offering accommodation to overseas students I would certainly recommend it. In these lacklustre times they bring a special vibrancy to the area and much needed boost to the beleaguered tourist industry.

Marco is working at Preston MOT and joined his new friends last Friday for a lunchtime chip butty.  Now that really is super hero food! Luca's placement us at It's Your Money in Torquay and he says "They are really nice. I like it there."

frank sobey

Simply Sitting Back Is Not An Option

My words in this week's Herald Express

 

 

Bird song bumped me from a restless sleep shortly after four this morning. Grey light crept into the house as I stumbled to the loo scratching hay-fever fuelled eyes with my mind ploughing the remnants of a dramatic dream-scape. I've always been fascinated by a dream world where time and location seem to have no limitation. My kaleidoscope mind captures all too often the dream memory and gives reality a curious twist.

 

Climbing back into bed I made a hopeless attempt at sleep but by then the daemons were already snapping and so I've been shuffling papers since then in the hope of hammering down a few loose ends. That exercise has had limited success but at least an attempt has been made. In these troubled times the number of loose ends seem to grow on a daily basis.

 

Talking of loose ends I was asked by a group yesterday whether I would consider standing for mayor! This is the second time I have been asked but this time by a different group of folk. Sadly I know that I would make a hopeless mayor since my mind is fractured and my body aching. It's not just that of course. To do that job you need to have the skin of a rhinoceros and that is also something I lack. I am aware though that quite a number of people locally are already gearing up in the hope of becoming the next head honcho in 2015.

 

I have also gone on record as saying that Torbay is too small for an executive mayor and that much power is therefore in the hands of one man (or woman) which goes, it seems to me, against the local democratic process. Gordon Oliver was also against the concept of an elected mayor and at the time of his election had sought clarity as to how the post could be terminated. It seems to me that this might be a time for an update followed hopefully by abolition! What do you think? Of course we would have to have another referendum to undo what has been done in creating the office but perhaps it is time to do exactly that.

 

Something happened the other day to make me smile. As many of you will know I have become increasingly concerned about the future of the multi million pound Parkfield Centre in Paignton. The new parkfield Centre with its international standard BMX track, for those of you who don’t know, is hidden behind the old Parkfield House at the north end of Paignton Green. That concern had me writing formally to Gordon Oliver and Director of Children’s Services Richard Williams. The response was immediate and at 0800hrs the following morning I found myself meeting Torbay’s cheerful Localities Service Manager Gail Rogers at Parkfield. Gail walked me around the grounds and paused for a while in front of the old Parkfield House. The grass had been cut and the estate tidied! That brought a smile to my battered face and her balanced view of what was happening buoyed me considerably. As I say these are hard times and therefore every reason for trying harder rather than simply shrugging drooping shoulders!

It’s all too easy to let things slip because it all seems so difficult and yet to be quite honest simply sitting back really shouldn’t be an option. It’s a bit like accepting the empty tennis courts at Oldway Mansion. Wimbledon is kicking off and the UK is about to go tennis mad. Work hasn’t started at Oldway yet the numerous tennis courts stand empty! But there you go, that’s the state of play. Or not!

This is your community and your time. We all need to engage in what is happening locally rather than waiting for someone else to make the running. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Get to know your local councillors. Help them to do what they have been elected to do. Attend if you can the occasional council committee meeting and perhaps a full council meeting. Write when you feel the need to comment, not necessarily just to point out what is making you unhappy but also to praise what is making you happy. For starters you can have a think about whether we need an elected mayor and make those views known. Why not drop your MP a line and get his view. Perhaps our mayor would also like to hear your views. Remember you do have a vote. At least you should have and so perhaps this is the time to check that your name is on the electoral roll!

Keep the smile.

 

The need to disrupt and then captivate

My stuff in the Herald Express 31st May 2013

 

I’m writing this with cold fingers having braved the cold north-west wind on Paignton Beach. Walking the beach on the Friday 24^th May should have been, in my opinion, a warm and sunny experience. But it wasn’t. Yet two days before I found myself sitting on a grassy bank near South Devon College’s lovely university centre on the outskirts of Paignton as warm early summer sunshine washed over the campus. Perhaps by the time you read this the heat will be hitting the ground like a hammer!

So what has happened to the weather? Is there something that the Meteorological Office in Exeter is not telling us? I remember a story about an ancient battle in which some poor soul had been taken prisoner. His captors abused him and part of that distressing scenario was a quiet voice whispering that help was on the way. Of course it wasn’t but that didn’t stop him living in hope. It seems to me that anyone connected to tourism must feel much the same. “Don’t worry next summer will be better!” Sadly the past half a dozen summers have been pathetic and that does little for ‘Brand’ Torbay and the English Riviera!

So what if the Met Office really does know something that they are not telling us? Of course if we now face years of poor summer weather then that has a huge economic impact on an area which is hugely dependent upon tourism. Anyone with a sunshine reliant business will lose hope as the promise of “It will be better next year!” suddenly becomes empty rhetoric. Hotels, restaurants and guest houses will immediately see a decrease in sun-seeking visitors. I can see why a beleaguered government would not want that news out in the community. But course it is nothing more, I am sure, than a silly conspiracy theory!

My crooked thought process did make me think about the offering generally in South Devon and in particular about the local town centres. It also made a friend of mine who has travelled widely think about our town centres and about Torquay in particular. As we sipped our hot drinks in a local independent coffee shop he spoke with passion about the Fleet Walk commenting upon the expensive re-paving of the pedestrianized area. He described a scene that was for me so reminiscent of the mayoral dreams and visions that had Fleet Street with a gently flowing stream running into the harbour. Either side of the sparkling stream were quirky little shops, cafes, restaurants connected by clever little bridges.

Whatever we do, whether the sun shines or not, we must captivate the imagination not just of the visitors but also of the local population. What makes anyone want to engage? There are two things that must happen in my humble and perhaps fractured opinion. The first is the need to disrupt and the second is to captivate. It is all too easy for the endless stream of rhetoric flowing from consultants to produce a sort of wilful community deafness. Something has to happen that produces a shared feeling that there is better stuff out there coupled with being captivated by a common objective. Sadly I don’t have an answer but what I do know is that whatever we do has have some serious joined up thinking.

My walk on the beach also had me thinking about the resources that we have at our finger tips. At the end of Paignton’s sandy beach is the lovely little harbour. It is the only harbour locally that dries at low tide leaving it clean twice a day! Yet although we spend countless thousands on tourism that beautiful little harbour seems to have a proliferation of lines and signs telling visitors what they can and cannot do! There is even a huge sign with all the byelaws printed. How scary is that? The road surface and walkways are plastered with painted lines and curious council street furniture dominates. Although I didn’t particularly like the high-rise flats that were shown in the Mayor’s Vision for Paignton Harbour I did like the colourful energy described in the general plan. I was captivated by that and doubtless others were too. What also caught my attention was the fact that what had been suggested didn’t really rely on wall to wall sunshine and that was also true of my friend’s almost mystical description of a new Fleet Walk in Torquay!

My last article here was about, amongst other things, Carl Rogers concept of genuineness in how we respond to each other. If we do want a more vibrant community then part of that has to be genuineness in the way in which we engage with each other. There has to be a feeling that the things that happen are for the greater good rather than the selfish gain of a few. Selfishness produces a feeling of a community being dirtied. Ah yes, the greater good! When we all feel that what is happening is for the good of all then we can start to move toward being both disrupted by positive change and captivated by a better future. That inevitably generates hope.

Keep the smile.

 

 

'Waste of a fab opportunity'

Carl Rogers

 

 

My stuff in the Herald Express 16th May 2013 

American Carl Rogers was, in my opinion, an interesting bloke. He was one of the pioneers of modern counselling but his research has a much wider application. A main thrust of his work was the concept of three core principles; genuineness, empathy and unconditional positive regard. To be honest I have been captivated by Carl Rogers and his person centred approach for many years and now run a thirteen week course twice a year very much based upon his research.

We live in complicated and increasingly uncertain times and it seems to me that those three core conditions offer a framework for all of us here in South Devon if we really want to hold our community together. Can we demonstrate genuineness when dealing with each other? Does what we say match what we do? Do we actively listen and respond a genuine way?

Displaying empathy is a little more complicated because we really need to see the world from your neighbour’s point of view! People often confuse empathy with sympathy and they are not the same. How often do we really try and feel the way another might be experiencing something? It is actually hard work but worth the effort.

The big one for me is unconditional positive regard! It would of course be hard to display unconditional positive regard without genuineness and empathy. Just think about those three powerful words. To be unconditional is very hard as you say “It’s all very well but…” To respond in a positive way again is a big thing. Do you engage or simply make the ‘right’ noise! For me the core of community cohesion has to be regard for one another. For without it we are lost.

Engaging with those three core conditions outlined by dear old Carl Rogers will make stereotyping and labelling less likely. It is hard to label someone as “One of those!” if you try and see the world from their position. Of course that is hard to do and yet if a community really engaged that has to happen! One other thing that Mr Rogers used to bang on about is the ‘prizing’ of a person. Prizing is another way of celebrating the uniqueness of an individual. Every one of use is unique and we must never lose sight of that. When we pass each other in the street do we notice the energy of the individual? I often wonder whether we really do. Here’s a little test for you first thing tomorrow morning. Stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at the reflection (seeing a reflection is a good start to any day!). Try and extract a smile from that reflection and carry an amusing grin out into your day to share with those you pass.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend a simple event made so many people smile. That event was the arrival of wall to wall sunshine on the Sunday. We had pirates leaping around in Brixham complete with eye patches and fluffy parrots attached to shoulders. The town was packed with crowds of folk having a good time. Torquay’s seafront also seemed busy with families enjoying the day and the beach suddenly sprouted numerous sandcastles! Meanwhile in Paignton the annual BMAD bike festival brought thousands to the town. All that also brought a smile to my face as I wandered around!

As part of my wandering I dropped in to see how things were going at Paignton’s £4,000,000 Parkfield Youth Centre on the seafront fully excepting to see it heaving. It was closed! How can that happen? Folk who masochistically regularly read my words will know that I am a Parkfield supporter. Sadly anyone walking though the facility will have noticed how unloved the landscape is with muddy tracks, brambles and the old house which has started to look very tatty.

Parkfield really should have been a beating heart on that Sunday with young people and their supporters packing the facility. I did get a response from a councillor who said that the BMX track and skatepark were both open. Hmm. That’s a bit like nipping out to a village pub and sitting in the beer garden only to find the pub is actually closed! A bigger worry was a comment by a local businesswoman who said “Parkfield has turned into an expensive shambles - such a waste of a fab opportunity.”

 

What worries me is that so many people connected to Parkfield are still working very hard to do what Carl Rogers suggests in prizing individuals who need a potentially vibrant facility and safe communal place. It is the demonstration of obvious genuineness, empathy and unconditional positive regard that is a much needed role model for our young folk. It seems that closing on Sunday and Monday is the new pattern which, in my opinion, is not good. That facility needs to be open seven days a week and find an identity that makes it a magnet for the whole area. The number 12 bus route which runs from Brixham to Newton Abbot via Paignton and Torquay stops at the end of the road to Parkfield. How easy is that! Why not drop in and say hello.

 

As I mentioned above I was able to express my concern about Parkfield to a local ward councillor. Your local councillors need to hear from you otherwise nothing is going to change. It’s not about ranting because that doesn’t help at all but is about commenting in a positive way on what is happening in your community. Do you know who your local councillors are? They are all listed on the council websites and in local libraries. Why not drop them a line or give them a call and help them to build a stronger community by engaging with you!

 

Keep the smile!

Visions Dreams and Masterplans!

My column in the Herald Express 2nd May 2013.

Paignton Harbour on a sunny day!



I guess that I am a little sad because I still have copies of two very glossy publications. The first is a large coffee table edition of ‘The New English Riviera – Action Framework’ which has page after page of beautiful photographs, colourful maps and stunning architectural drawings. The other is a smaller version of the other and called ‘The New English Riviera – The Mayor’s Vision for the future of Torbay’. Again this smaller book is packed with stunning colour images, plans and clever little sketches.

 

Both publications give detail of former mayor Nick Bye’s vision for Torbay. Even in the day his vision seemed a little optimistic given the local enthusiasm for change but a number of good things did happen. But goodness knows how much the consultancy cost, but doubtless it ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds. These things have a habit of doing that.

 

Sources tell me that when Nick lost the election the publications were tossed to one side by his successor. I guess therefore that the ‘Mayor’s Vision’ also disappeared at the same time. Whether you think the visions were a call to action or simply an optimistic aspiration might now be something to debate. What cannot be argued, as I say, is the huge amount of money invested in ‘The Mayor’s Vision’ at the time.

 

Mayor Oliver seems to have dreams rather than visions which include amongst other things the construction of an extra quay to accommodate visiting luxury cruise ships and a skyline of cranes as investors flood into the English Riviera. As was the case in the ‘Mayor’s Vision’ the new dreams inevitably attract large consultancy fees. The latest scheme doing the rounds at heaven knows what cost is the Torbay Harbour Authority Port Master Plan. The document giving full details of this coastal assessment is 59 pages long and is actually an interesting read. The consultancy legwork has been done by Royal HaskoningDHV one of Europe’s leading independent project management, engineering and consultancy service providers. Based in Amersfoort in The Netherlands, Royal HaskoningDHV has a turnover in excess of euro 700 million! The Port Master Plan is in the public comment stage and is worth reading. You might also like to have your say. As a voter it is your right and as a resident you really ought to make the effort.

 

What they have to say about the Paignton bit of the Torbay Harbour Authority Master Plan is quite interesting. “Paignton Harbour is remote from the town centre, railway station and bus station which are all approximately an 800m walk. Walking routes between the harbour and town centre are numerous and poorly defined and cycling is entirely on road. Signposting is poor. At Paignton Harbour there is an existing multi storey car park which is currently underutilised.” Hmm. I can remember a time when Paignton Harbour was a major tourist attraction and hugely popular with locals also. Yet now it seems to have been forgotten by Torbay. This Port Master Plan tells an unpleasant truth and indeed highlights a worry when you consider the hundreds of thousands spent on tourism attracting folk to Torbay for holidays! A little joined up thinking might be useful.

 

When Gordon Oliver picked up the batten from Nick Bye he said that he wanted to end the mayoral system. It seems now that he has had a change of mind and is seeking re-election in 2015! That is a worry I feel because the mayoral system places too much power in the hands of one person allowing visions and dreams to become a reality with too often unintended consequences. One obvious consequence is the complete waste of thousands of pounds by flip-flopping policy.

 

Personally I would like to see an end to the mayoral system here in Torbay. I can just about see the benefit in larger cities but we are simply too small and lack the administrative resources. Even though we elect local ward councillors their power to influence is marginalised by a system that gives one person almost absolute power.

 

This is your community and you do have a say in what happens. Perhaps this is the time when we should start to look around and decide exactly what we do want for Torbay. Look out for the public consultations, bang on the doors of local councillors and let our mayor know how you feel.

 

Certainly reality checks rather than mystical visions and dreams might be a step in the right direction. Building a better future has to start with sorting out the here and now!

 

Keep the smile.

But what happens when goodwill is lost?

 



This is my column script published in the Herald Express 18th April 2013.

 Sometimes things slip quietly away and you don’t really notice until something that you expect to happen doesn’t! The nature of the missing ‘thing’ too often is almost intangible. That is the problem with things that we too easily take for granted.

These are curious times and much is being asked of people as the throttlehold of economic hardship grips ever tighter. We hear on a daily basis of job losses, of folk being bounced from employment and of the increasing number of people looking for work. Those that still have jobs in a workplace being ‘downsized’ tend to have a common wide-eyed look about them.

I’ve always believed that we should work toward a greater good and do whatever we can to make the world a better place. That process inevitably brings with it a curious commodity. What is that commodity? Why, it is goodwill. Goodwill, in my opinion, is a sort of social cement that often holds the fabric of a society together.

In times of organisational stress it seems to me that even when the tension of administration is tightly stretched the goodwill of that community tends to keep things going. You don’t have to look far to evidence this. NHS funding cuts place ridiculous pressure upon nursing staff, for example, yet their goodwill keeps the unwell safe. Youth workers struggle on, despite draconian funding cuts, to provide a service that offers a platform for the disadvantaged and marginalised. Exhausted care workers labour a little longer voluntarily because they can’t leave without making an old lady comfortable for the night.

Things are far from easy and as the fund holders handle reduced budgets the consequence is an increasing reliance upon goodwill. But what happens when goodwill is lost? Suddenly the social cement that was holding the structure together crumbles into dust. Then we are all in trouble. I’ve written before about community cracks and it seems to me that the loss of goodwill may be something that is slipping into the widening gaps.

One example, for me, of a community crack is the withdrawal of funding by Torbay Council from the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE is its new corporate name – for it has become, in my opinion, a little corporate). I’ve always seen the Award as a socially cohesive activity and have been active since 1963! Last year Torbay Council decided that funding cuts meant that they could act as the coordinating agent which rather cut everyone adrift for a while. A little funding at the new Parkfield Centre provided a hub for those not part of uniformed services or an educational establishment participate. But now that funding has gone. The goodwill of many still provides a service but for how long?

You see we have a growing number of young folk who are not in education, employment or training. They are the ones who will benefit from support but that platform cannot simply be provided by goodwill. My worry is that like the morning mist on a warm summers day goodwill will suddenly evaporate. In all likelihood we will not even notice its passing until we reach out for the helping hand that isn’t there anymore.

Hmm. Well here’s something to think about. Have you heard the story about the frog in a pan of cold water? He’s swimming happily around without a care in the world only slightly aware that the water is warming. It not until the water is hot and sapped his energy that he discovers that he hasn’t the strength the hop out of the pan!

You may remember that I was jumping up and down with excitement when the new development for our young people opened at Parkfield in Paignton. My concern at the time was that although millions had been spent on the wonderful facility that perhaps insufficient thought had been given into funding the infrastructure. The recent financial battering at Torbay Council has reduced the number of staff working with young people and one consequence, as I say, is the loss of funding for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Goodwill will keep things going for a while but as the numbers of young people becoming disillusioned with this changing world I think that we all need to pay more attention.

We can shape the future but that very much requires an understanding of the present. We must engage as a community and not ignore the increasing water temperature!

Keep the smile.

 

Spring sunshine is the very best

SPRING! I have always loved this time of year for all sorts of reasons. The spring Equinox signals the arrival of longer days, hopefully warmer days and new life.
Easter has a very special place in both the religious and the secular worlds as a time of celebration.

For Christians, it is the very cornerstone of belief and for the less religious it is a time for seeking the Easter Bunny with an almost endless supply of chocolate goodies.
As I write this column the sun is streaming through my study window and a cobalt blue sky covers the English Riviera.

It really is a stunning day after many months of mostly dismal damp weather.
Bright sunshine is without doubt a much needed tonic and immediately encourages reluctant bulbs to spring from the 'terra firma' at long last.

For me, the Easter period has always been an atmospheric and quite magical time.
It is an interesting fact that Easter weekend appears to drift around the calendar confusing the unsuspecting. Do you know why the date changes? Well, curiously it is actually subject to heavenly movements! Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the spring Equinox. How magical is that? Of course, there are many that would like to see Easter Sunday as a fixed date but it seems to me that would take away from that magic.

I think that in a 'previous life' I might have been a grizzly bear because I have always found the winter months hard on the mind and suspect that may be true for many.
Summer sun lifting over Torbay really is a tonic and I would recommend finding the time to sit near the sea one early morning on a sunny day and watch to sun lift from the distant horizon.
It really is the most breathtaking experience and will make you tingle from head to toe.
Sunset over Dartmoor viewed from Marldon is also equally therapeutic. All we can truly know is this exact moment, of course, and sunshine can be such a tonic if you allow a moment of quiet reflection as it washes over you. The past is the past. It has gone and whatever happened cannot be changed.
Many great writers talk about things past and two immediately come to mind.
The first is Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek) who said something about only when the time is past that we realise how happy we were. The other is L P Hartley (The Go Between) who made the comment about the past being a foreign country and that they do things differently there!

But it is a fact that we cannot change the past.

The future, as the famous song goes, is not ours to see and so all we can do is make the very best of the here and now! The other evening I was running an evening class for folk who want to develop the skills to help others. The room we were in faces toward the west and looks out over the distant hills on the edge of the Dart. For a little while the setting sun washed the room in the most wonderful reddish golden light and it sent a lovely shiver through us all. For a moment we were filled with the same spirit. Spring sunshine! It has to be the very best.

These are hard times for so many and yet there is so much to celebrate. You see there is a propensity locally to talk things down or to spin the negative and the trouble is that it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy! The public spats between our political elite tend to turn folk off which isn't helpful.
Too often the consequence of discord is that good people simply walk away and that has to be a loss for all of us.

It would be wonderful, as the sun lifts higher in the sky, to feel that we all have common purpose is lifting the energy level throughout the community. Perhaps a good start would be simply to stand on a harbour wall in the early light and let the first rays of sunshine wash over you. Let the light lift your spirit and fill you with new purpose and a desire to work for the greater good.

This is your community, your time, your life and in the words of singer songwriter Tom Paxton: "My own life is all I can hope to control so let my life be lived for the good of my soul!"

Not a bad philosophy, in my opinion.

Keep the smile.