Wilful blindness is a worry

The South West Energy Centre on Long Road Paignton



My stuff in this week's Herald Express.

SOMETIMES I do find myself scratching my head and wondering whether I have missed something or perhaps, like a Philip Pullman story, I have simply cut a slit in the fabric of time and dropped neatly into another world. Philip Pullman is the author of the Dark Materials trilogy the first book of which (Northern Lights) was made in to a curious film starring Nicole Kidman called the Golden Compass. Read the book and give the film a miss.

It may well also be that we have all dropped into the wise monkey world where we see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil, or in this case simply not wanting to see a truth, hear something we don't want to or not speak out when we should. More worryingly perhaps we may have adopted what Margaret Heffernan refers to as wilful blindness. Wilful blindness is a worry because, despite the fact you can probably see the truth, you simply don't want to acknowledge it and carry on as though nothing has changed. That tends to be a more comfortable option in our increasingly restless world.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

This is the English Riviera and has always been a major tourist destination. We spend hundreds of thousands of pounds promoting tourism. Despite a run of several years of lacklustre weather we have been blessed recently with a few sunny days. Back in the dark winter days the local council announced cuts to beach services and as a consequence deckchairs, sunbeds and beach attendants had hours reduced. One local hotelier a few weeks ago was jumping up and down in red faced anger as he looked across a packed seafront without the usual infrastructure. It's a little like having Santa's Grotto at Christmas and telling Father Christmas he's not needed at the moment.

With such an obvious contradiction you would have thought that the announcement of closure of services outside the school holidays would have had folk doing cartwheels down the promenade but it didn't.
Having said that, my hotelier friend did do a very good impression of an Olympic high jumper as he bounced up and down pointing angrily at the seafront!

The other day I had to nip into Torquay to collect something. It was midmorning on a Saturday and the town was curiously quiet despite wall-to-wall sunshine. My short stop cost me £1.30. Again, we are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds promoting town centres and then bang parking meters all over the place to extract cash from short-term visitors. The parking meters have become a 'cash cow' for councils but I rather suspect that a law of diminishing returns will result.

Again for me the whole parking meter fiasco is another obvious contradiction and while most of us can see that we simply plough on. For those of you that sympathetically read my words, you will know that I worry constantly about the cohesiveness of our local community in these increasingly complicated times. We all need to keep an eye on what is happening around us and that doesn't mean attacking every change! We can also act in a very positive way is supporting the things that need a helping hand.
Seek out the community projects but remember to speak out when things are not for the greater good. It is much better to head silliness off before it becomes an unwelcome reality. Now here is some good news. I am sure you have received the cheerful call centre messages which make you wish you hadn't picked up the phone. You may have pointlessly requested that cold calls should not be made to your home number.

One tedious message doing the rounds just now is the friendly voice tells you you probably qualify for the Green Deal and other energy saving money off deals. It just so happens they have a lovely agent not far from your house and an assessment visit is free. Sadly by the end of the visit you can be hundreds of pounds out of pocket for information which was available locally for a fraction of the cost or freely available in the public domain.

So now here is some good news for those of you who like me have been hammered by that intrusive call centre onslaught. The new South West Energy Centre is about to open on Long Road Paignton. The SWEC will offer free, impartial, no-nonsense expert advice on how to cut your business energy bills.

I love this SWEC quotation 'community engagement is a big part of the South West Energy Centre. Everyone wants to save energy and working together as a community can be a great way to reduce everyone's fuel bills and energy use, but it's not always easy to know how best to go about it. Although there are plenty of options — solar power, wind generation, insulation, energy saving devices and the like — it's difficult to find an organisation which supports saving energy as a community in the South West. Coming together to work for the common energy efficiency goal can produce very strong feelings of community cohesion. With good planning, an energy efficiency project can also be an important vehicle for social inclusion too'. The first community open day is on Saturday, August 31. This is a really good thing for South Devon given the need to think green and popping along to the open day sounds like a plan to me.

Keep the smile.

We Can All Make A Difference

My stuff in this week's Herald Express

Marco Cova and Luca Bridgada Villa

 

CHARISMATIC singer Freddie Mercury, while holding the attention of countless thousands in the palm of his hand, hammered out the words 'Nothing really matters anymore!' Perhaps if you are, as he was at the time, sitting on a low wall on the edge of eternity that might be true, but the truth is that things matter very much. The fact that they matter means that it simply isn't good enough to sit back and not pay attention. You see we can all make a difference if we pay attention to what is happening around us and engage rather than disengage. Flopping back in a chair and submitting to the soporific impact of endless streaming multi-channel television while leaving reality outside the front door is dangerous.

Of course, these days there is a temptation to ask: "What can I do?" as the movers and shakers trundle unchecked. The truth is that you can make a difference by simply paying attention and speaking out rather than letting the political gatekeepers remain unaccountable. That speaking out need not be in opposition since it is probably as important to make your views known when support is needed. For example, you will I am sure have been aware of the heated exchange of words over the recent Miss and Mr England competition hosted on the English Riviera. MP Adrian Sanders felt the event degrades the image of our tourism dominated community while Torquay hotelier Linda Hill thought the competition added value.

What did you think? Many folk worked very hard to make the event the success that it was and the English Riviera International Conference Centre was packed to the rafters. Personally, having watched them film the promotional video on Paignton beach in the middle of winter and make it look like a hot summer day, I thought that the whole thing was a boost for our beleaguered tourist industry.

While on the topic of beleaguered places, I happened to walk around Oldway Mansion the other day. It was here that I remember watching the film 'Churchill. The Hollywood Years' while hoping to catch a glimpse of the stunningly beautiful Neve Campbell. I don't know whether you have walked around the central stairway area of Oldway Mansion but it truly is breathtaking. It was until recently a popular tourist destination with coaches regularly dropping folk off to enjoy the atmospheric magnificence of the stairway.
Sadly, Oldway Mansion is closed for redevelopment although nothing seems to be happening at the moment. There was a half-hearted attempt to keep the stairway open this summer by providing access via the small tea room door on the side of the building. That attempt, in my opinion, was pathetic. It isn't just the building, sadly.

As the world fixates on the annual Wimbledon tennis championships, Oldway Mansion's tennis courts have been closed. What happened to the vision of an Olympic legacy? For those who were engaged in community change words of protest sounded, but not loudly enough to challenge the closure it would seem. Does it really matter anymore? I think that it does.

For the past five weeks we've been whooping it up with the Italians at my house. Luca and Marco have been staying with us while on work placements arranged by the Training Partnership in Torquay. The influx of foreign students is, in my opinion, a wonderful thing for South Devon. They bring a much-needed cash boost to many host families, a tingle to the community and, of course, make the world a smaller place.
During a conversation with Marco and Luca one evening, we stumbled upon something almost mystical.
There is a number that connects the whole of the English Riviera. That number? It is the number 12. "How do you get to Brixham?" asked Marco? On the Number 12 bus. "How about Newton Abbot?" asked Luca. On the 12 bus. What about a visit to Torquay? Hop on the Number 12. Paignton Zoo and South Devon College? This time you need the 12a.

So now, thanks to these two vibrant Italian young men, we have found a number to connect our community and all we now need to do is translate that into a cohesive strategy. How good would that be as joined up thinking in action? Like the 12 bus route and bus routes in general, we need something which will connect all parts of our sprawling community. Finding that common unity or identity theme is something for us all to seek. The thought immediately lifts my restless spirit.

Keep the smile.

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.