More to life than sound bites!.

My column in the Herald Express on Thursday, November 29, 2012


LIFE is more than a sound bite. I'm writing this once again in the dark hours before dawn, a time of quiet reflection as the world sleeps. The thing is that once I am awake my mind kicks in and, for me, the new day has started.​ The quietness of the hour allows me some latitude without the daily onslaught of emails, text messages, tweeting, radio, television and other miscellaneous distractions. That daily modern condition impacts upon us all, of course.

There was a time, or so it seems to me, that I would read rather than skim the written word. Too often now I rely on what we casually refer to as a sound bite, that short burst of information that is all too easily lost within seconds. What is a sound bite? A sound bite is a short verbal burst that often tells too little of what is said, leaving the listener only partially informed. But that is the nature of our world today perhaps, a series of short sound and visual images telling only part of a story.

I don't know whether you have been watching the brilliant television series 'Homeland' starring Damian Lewis (pictured).

If you have then you will remember the start of each episode and the series of stark monochrome news clips. For me there is an echo, some 40 years later, of Simon and Garfunkle's Silent Night which has the famous Christmas hymn threaded with traumatic news clips of the day. Sound bites! So many of us these days exist on the sound bite clips that record these troubled times and that, I suspect, distorts reality. I say that because the sound bites automatically report the all too shocking news and can reinforce the feeling that little good is going on.

Certainly for me the past year has been a roller-coaster that has left me battered by personal events that make me tend to pick up the negative. Then suddenly up pops a flash of light, a moment of abstract amusement or an event that spreads a feeling of positive warmth! Let me tell you about an event that did lift my spirit.

Last week, I attended the 2012 graduation ceremony for the latest batch of locally trained social entrepreneurs. "Social what?" you ask. Some years ago social activist Michael Young set up a number of things that for me and many others demonstrate the power of social interaction in a way that does work for what might be described as the greater good. One of those outcomes has been the establishment of a number of schools for social entrepreneurs. What an odd word entrepreneur is! It is, of course, a sound bite word too often and covers a wide variety of business activity. Do a little homework and look at the dictionary definition and then look at the way in which it is used.

It might bring a smile to your face and make more sense of distorted sound bites. Locally a few years ago a school for social entrepreneurs was established at Dartington and trained folk in developing socially based business activity. So often in the past good schemes that help and build social cohesion were lost because of a lack of business knowledge. Lord Young was very aware of that and his vision allowed the development of training bases that gave a business framework, if you like, to the dream. I thought that the latest graduates — who become fellows of the School of Social Entrepreneurs after a one-year course — reflected the dramatic changes occurring in our world and really gave me hope for the future.

During the afternoon each graduate spoke with passion about their work and I have to tell you that I was hugely moved by each presentation. The graduating social entrepreneurs are Paul Savil (Re-Branch), Rachel Williams (Transitions), Katherine Ford (The Carousel Project), Anna Clarke (R-emerge), Kirsty Mooney (Families Together), Michelle Preston (Simply Dynamic), Alan Whittle (ES-GEN), Robin Causley (Sustain Ability), Sarah Ready (Torbay Food Bank), Greg Meanwell (Village of Kin), Richard Woodall (Unknown Film School) and Hayley Mogridge (Knowing-Me Life Books). What an afternoon and what a footprint these folk might leave as a beacon of light in a troubled world. I have no doubt that they will and if you have computer access do look at www.dartington.org/sse for more information.

My parting words were: "I wanted to say how much I enjoyed Wednesday afternoon. In these dark and troubled times we need more than ever to be looking for the greater good and your journey is already a beacon of light. Keep the faith, good luck and walk gently on the world."

The afternoon presentation offered so much more than a sound bite and as I walked back to the now parking metered Dartington Hall car park I felt hugely inspired and feel that our community will benefit from their vibrant ethical social interaction.

Keep the smile!

What sort of community do we want?



My Herald Express column 15th November 2012

THOSE of you who regularly read my rambling rhetoric may remember that I did actually welcome the arrival of Gordon Oliver's huge bushy palm tree that is now strategically planted in the middle of the Kerswell Garden roundabout.


It brought a smile to my face at a time when I seemed to have so little to smile about
Yes, it was expensive and, yes, there were doubtless many other things that might have better used the funding, however it really is a very powerful image for the English Riviera.

I certainly thought so when travelling back from Exeter one misty evening and came upon the beautiful floodlit image before me. In an increasingly lacklustre world it made me suddenly tingle and gave the feeling that I was arriving at a special place. It really was quite a statement and, as I say, it made me smile.

It did, therefore, sadden me when some brainless idiot stripped the bark from one side of the palm. Why would anyone want to do that to a beautiful living tree? The bark will not grow back and the scar will become a tragic sign of these troubled times.

You may also have noticed that the bushy palm has a warm winter coat to guard against the cruel northeaster winds and now stands proudly rampant like a giant stalagmite reaching crookedly toward the distant sky. It has now metamorphosed into a hugely powerful signpost for the English Riviera Global Geopark. How clever is that?

Nick Powe, of Kents Cavern (the English Riviera Global Geopark champion), must be jumping up and down with gleeful excitement at this new monolith.

Perhaps this seasonal image adjustment was always part of Gordon Oliver's master plan for Torbay or is it simply just another happy accident? Answers on a postcard!

Oddly enough, I have always been intrigued by the mysterious Kents Cavern. Have you been there? It really is quite a special place and I am so very grateful to Nick Powe for showing me its hidden secrets a little while ago. At one point during the journey he turned off all the lights. I found myself in total darkness and complete silence.

Now numerous readers may well think that leaving me in a dark and silent cave is a good idea. Hmm. No postcards please!

But it's not just the darkness of course but the feeling of being trapped underground in a rocky hole. Years ago I used to go caving on the Cotswolds and have done the darkness bit before but I still find it rather scary. With Nick as a guide I always felt safe but those years ago exploring caves I felt anything but safe.

We always seek that light in the darkness. The thing about Kents Cavern is that it is a journey through time and when you reach the deepest point you know that this is indeed a very special place. It is a moment when, perhaps, you can truly connect with your ancestors. I found myself reaching down to touch a large stone and immediately wondered about the many hands that have done exactly the same for thousands of years. It gave me a sudden spiritual lift and perhaps a brief glimpse of eternity.
I think it is something that we should all experience and when you reach that deep subterranean place free your mind. Touch that distant time as you run your hand over the smooth surface of that ancient rock and feel the endless energy that perhaps connects us all.

Now here is something to think about. Having done the Kents Cavern bit, it is worthwhile taking a good look at where we are now and how this community has developed. This whole area is steeped in history and by understanding that social journey we can, perhaps, start to make sense of where we are going.

What sort of community do we want?

What sense do we want to make of our town centres and the neighbourhoods that surround?


My worry is that we are all so busy rushing around that change may happen that isn't for the greater good.
The dislocation of community is a possible consequence as our once vibrant main streets give way to the proverbial tumbleweed. This is not helped of course by the relentless onslaught of bright blue parking meters sending out an unwelcome message.

Do we really welcome visitors to Torbay or is there a more sinister meaning to be derived from Gordon Oliver's digit on the Kerswell Garden roundabout?

Keep the smile!

The Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn



My column in the Herald Express 1st November 2012.

As I write these words in the early morning a north east wind is battering my house in the dark hours just before dawn and I remember from years ago a song by the Mamas and Papas had the line “…and the darkest hour is just before dawn.” In the distance I can hear the waves pounding the beach and in the garden trees creak against the cold wind.


My daily routine starts before six and as the year trundles I find myself at that quiet time doing numerous things including walking my dog, Marley, to the paper shop. In these days of economic hardship the street lights in my road are switched off and so my journey starts in darkness at the darkest hour. I like the lonely time but do take care on Monday’s not to go base over apex having tripped over the recycling bins waiting for TOR2 collection!

Now this might sound rather glum, but it isn’t for two reasons. The first is that the first shards of light of the new day push away the darkness and the dawn lifts from the distant horizon with the promise of a new day.

The second is the memory trigger that song lines allow and the Mamas and the Papas for me somehow capture a sunny time in my life during the summers of ’70 and ’71 working in camps in the good old US of A. Everything seemed to sparkle then, or so it seems now !

It is all too easy, of course, to look back and say that the world was a better place but then, in the words of L P Hartley "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there" we are reminded that indeed the past is indeed a different place.

There are excting things happening and last week I pitched up to a consultation meeting about the proposal for the new South Devon University Technical College for Engineering, Water and the Environment that is, if the bid is successful, to be built in the Newton Abbot area. The new university technical colleges will provide vocational education for the 14 to 18 age group and will be a partnership between employers, educational establishments, local authorities and other organisations.

The meeting was charged with energy and despite feeling a little battered beforehand I left with a new spring in my step! For those of you who surf the cyber world do Google the name and follow the various links to see how good this is. It was enough to have local MP Anne Marie Morris jumping up and down in the House of Commons! Once you’ve had a good read of what is on offer then you will understand why she needed to get her message across!

Mayor Gordon Oliver is so often under attack for decisions that he has made, but then so was his predecessor Nick Bye. I guess that if you seek public office then it is to be expected, but as I have said before no one has the right to insult. One thing that has come under attack recently is his whopping great palm tree at the bottom of Hamelin Way. Have you seen it? It stands rampant on a pile of pebbles in the middle of one of the busiest roundabouts on the English Riviera.

I happened to be driving back from Exeter early one misty morning and there it was! Whatever you might think about the cost it really is a bit of a statement. I am probably going to regret saying this, but I love it! My worry is that the poor thing may not survive having been happily growing in warm sunny Spain before being transported to a valley bottom in wintery Torbay. By the time you read this it may have its special coat on to keep out the cold. My suggestion for a palm tree warmer would be an ‘attack’ from the yarn bombing Guerilla Grannies! Have you come across their work? I happened to be walking on the Goodrington rock walk the other day and found these colourful little figures knitted to trees, handrails, seats and other fixtures. What fun! So my suggestion is to have them knit Gordon’s palm tree a warm winter coat! Of course it is not a serious suggestion but I do wish the majestic palm tree well and hope that it celebrates the fact that South Devon really is a wonderful place to live.

Keep the smile.

Shake to send negativity flying

My column in the Herald Express 18th October......

WHENEVER I write publicly it is my intention to end each time on a cheerful note, which sometimes, sadly, does take an effort.

I happened to call on a friend the other day who commented that my words were perhaps a little on the dark side. Of course, I pointed out the bit about always ending on a positive note to which he replied: "Not everyone gets that far!" A good point well made.

Of course at this time of year actually being cheerful can be a little elusive as the days get shorter and dark evenings seem to arrive too soon after lunch. Add to that the seasonal dampness after a shockingly soggy summer then indeed that cheerful grin becomes even more elusive.
Then I remember the daily message from my wonderful dog. I'm the first one up in the morning and there to greet me is the tail-wagging Marley.



We jog (well sort of jog) to the paper shop regardless of the weather. Too often these days the short paper run is horribly wet, but that doesn't bother Marley in the least. So how does he deal with the damp before entering the house? By a really rigorous shake of his coat which sends spray in all directions.
In so many ways I feel we should all do the same as the pressures of daily life seem to soak the spirit. Just give yourself a good psychological shake (you could do it physically as well) and send the negativity flying.

I'm smiling as I write this, so there must be something in it, or so it seems to me. Although I've taken a battering recently, as regular readers will know, the wallowing in self pity is not an option.
It must never be an option because it serves no purpose. I used to coin the phrase 'walking around with a face like a slapped kipper' at times when the smile is hard to find and yet a happy face is so pleasing. But gosh, it's hard at times.

So there you go Michael (he's the man who worried that people wouldn't get to the positive message at the end of my script), a positive start.

Mind you, I've seen some good stuff locally recently that really has lifted my spirit.
I had to smile the other day when visiting Hallett's the Bakers, with Adrian Sanders MP, when we came face to face with a giant pasty. This pasty is a real beast and it is now my ambition to get it into the House of Commons canteen. It was big enough to feed two and might in some way contribute to the slowing of endless torrent of empty political rhetoric.

Another smile radiated after Viv and Pete Fisher of the Villa Marina Guest House in Torquay won an award at the recent hospitality awards. They work hard and offer a brilliant service which is why people come back to them time and time again. I love our guesthouse culture because it celebrates exciting individuality and sparkling variety of choice. If you ever get the chance do have one of Pete's breakfasts and you will then know what I am talking about.

So, with all this in mind I found myself flicking through the Herald Express and attempting to find a common theme that somehow captured the essence of our community. Of course it is all too easy to take pops at those things that annoy and that is, I guess, human nature.

But here's the thing. If you are going to comment just make certain that you have something to offer s an alternative. It's so very hard when you've been beavering away only to have your efforts rubbished by a negative comment. Most of us are quite happy with supportive criticism but wince when the words are spiteful. I guess that the bottom line is that if you have nothing good to say then be quiet.

The other day I happened to be at a South West Innovation Centres breakfast event at Cockington Court where Dirk Rohwedder of Dartington School for Social Entrepreneurs was speaking.
The thrust of what he was saying was about building a platform for business development that was for the greater good of the whole community.

I noticed that the folk attending included Mark Green of Fruition, Nicola Fox of the Riviera International Conference Centre, Angela George of IMS (local Woman of the Year) and knew that I was in good company. The energy within the building was atmospheric and that really did bring a smile to my face.

These are hard times and recent energy price increases tend to be like a punch in the stomach.
Perhaps we can all fight back by adding an extra layer and reducing the amount of bonus revenue being extracted by the gatekeepers. We still have the small few taking too much from too many.

Hopefully, despite my friend Michael's comment, you are still reading and will face the morning mirror with a smile.

South Devon University Technical College Consultation

There is a public consultation meeting at South Devon College on Thursday 25th October. To gather more information and to book a place please follow this link:

http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/utc/

The detail above will give you some idea of what is on offer, so please do try to make the time. Your view does matter!







Not a time for sitting back

My column in the Herald Express this week

I've taken a battering over the past few weeks with one thing and another and find myself writing this with very little energy left for anything more than simply touching the glass screen of my iPad.


Big stuff has been going on including the fact that the company I founded with my brother-in-law has ceased trading. Harbour Sports is yet another retail casualty in the deeply troubled fiscal landscape. We live in curious times with daily reports of folk falling off the edge and that hurts.

A few years ago I featured in a video made for a local legal firm offering advice for people facing redundancy. My take on the subject was that we always need to be positive, which given the catastrophic impact of job loss is hard to do. Having to face the fact that you are not needed in the team, telling your family and those around you that you have lost your job is not easy. The interviewer said that it was all very well for me to say that because I had my own business. My answer was that in these uncertain times that couldn't be taken for granted because everything could change in the blink of an eye, and change they did! Harbour Sports fell over.

In the words of Biblical text, that time had come to pass and I found myself telling staff that their jobs had gone, closing the doors and going through an insolvency process which is still going on. All emotionally draining and curiously also physically challenging. It's not the way I thought things would pan out, but then I guess that is true for many these days.

Harbour Sports, after 35 years, had become something of an institution and messages of support have arrived from all over the world. People can be very kind.

So why am I telling you this? Well, it made me reflect upon changes locally and, in particular, a comment made by a lady who lived in Torbay many years ago and has recently moved back. She couldn't believe how the place had changed and how the vibrancy seems to have seeped away. I have a certain empathy with that feeling since I remember times when the area seemed to share a common heartbeat. Certainly in the early days of Harbour Sports the community energy was highly infectious and the English Riviera seemed to sparkle.

Ah, you might say, everything looks better when you look back and the sun is always high in the sky. Perhaps it does. But if her observation is correct then I think that we need to worry. These are difficult times as our political leaders keep telling us. Certainly, personally, at the moment I feel that the gradient is a little too steep. Hmm, and so it is.

So do we simply hunker down and wait for the pain to pass? I think not! This is not a time for sitting back and quietly waiting until the gentle heating of the lethargy pool that leaves us all struggling to swim. What's a lethargy pool? Of course, it doesn't exist but I want you to think about the changes around us that create a feeling of lethargy. The things that seem to drag you down and like Harry Potter dementors suck the life energy from you!

Job losses, rising utility bills, increasing food prices, poor weather, the harbingers of economic gloom and those that walk around looking so glum all add to a feeling of communal lethargy. I have many reasons for feeling glum just now but don't want to lose the smile.

I remember chatting with Debra Searle, soon after her epic solo paddle across the Atlantic, about setting your day. Doing what she did required huge inner strength and we can all learn from that.

In another part of my life I teach people who will go on to become counsellors, mentors and life coaches. My starting point is to get them to celebrate each day and to 'set' each day first thing in the morning. It's about deciding what sort of day you want to have.

Now it is more than likely that things will happen to knock you off course, but that shouldn't worry you too much because often it simply adds to the excitement.

Have a go at this tomorrow morning. When you reach the mirror do check for a reflection. That is always, in my opinion, worth doing. If there is no reflection you've either dropped off the edge during the night and it your spirit looking for you or you have become a vampire. If it is the latter then a whole new career awaits you.

Of course you will see your reflection and, hopefully, you will recognise what you see.

Now smile and get on with the day.

Don't let the dark side spoil your journey.

Can alcohol take away worries?

My column in the Herald Express 20th September 2012

SOME years ago I spent a little time at Buckfast Abbey in quiet mediation. I have always enjoyed the spiritual ambiance of the abbey where somehow the detritus of daily life simply falls away. Why am I telling you this? Well, the other day I happened to be chatting to a bloke with a well-developed social conscience about the things that were happening locally. He had recently walked around our local town centres and had also the misfortune to be caught up in the drunken maelstrom that is Torquay's Strand on a Saturday night.


He asked me why I thought our town centres seemed devoid of vibrant life and totally lacking in energy.
Now that is not an easy question to answer even though many take regular pops as to why that might be.
The usual cry is that it is all down to parking meters, the weak decisions of local councillors, dull shops, out of town supermarkets et cetera et cetera. Hmm. If only it was that simple.

But his second point made me spend a little time pondering about Saturday night drunkenness. Alcohol, of course, has always been a very effective social anaesthetic and given the nature of our 'Big Society' you can see why it is becoming increasingly popular today particularly among our young folk. For that brief moment the worries of day-to-day life can be obliterated by an alcoholic daze that transcends the here and now. It is that moment of atmospheric immortality. But eventually the cruel reality of the dawning of a new day as the downward despairing spiral takes a merciless hold.

His telling of these two events is connected, although I don't think that he had actually made the connection.
They are connected by an increasingly sinister malfunction that is eating away at the fabric of our society.
What is that malfunction? Well, in truth, I think that it might be the loss of hope. Hope, after all, is said and done was the last thing left in Pandora's Box.

The closing of so many small shops in and around the town signals the loss of hope by the independent traders coupled with the dislocation of the local community. That sort of hope has an energy that cannot be seen, yet when it has gone you certainly know it.

Each of those closed shops is usually a shattered dream, a loss of work and yes, a loss of hope. Add to that the closed guest houses, businesses and other employment sources and you start to get a rather sinister toxic mix. The trouble is that once the community energy seeps away, as it did with the closing of the local Post Office, it is so hard to get back. A little like goodwill, I guess.

It saddens me that the loss of hope is also creeping through the next generation and headlines like that over one-million young people are out of work make me shiver. Just think about that. One million. The population of Torbay is around 134,000, so that is like having seven lots of Torbay made up of young people out of work. That is a disgrace.

So my friend with the well-developed social conscience asked me how we could change this feeling of hopelessness. When you are being battered by daily life that is a difficult question to answer or even fully understand.

But taking yourself out of the daily detritus in the quiet of an abbey or distant hill top does give you a chance to take stock. For me, the starting point is about identity and how we see ourselves and those around us.

The second point is the willingness to share this life journey and avoiding the selfish greediness that is very much part of our fractured community.

Now find me leadership that isn't shaped by a political agenda but will simply represent the people working toward a greater good.

Perhaps now is the time to open the windows and let the light come in.

Keep the smile!