Perhaps we should start 'White Friday'

Watching Torbay Council’s civic chairwoman Councillor Jane Barnby present DofE certificates to local young people the other evening was a wonderful experience. More than two-hundred young people and their guests had gathered for a glittering ceremony at Beverley Park in Paignton. This annual event celebrates the hard work put in to achieve the Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Councillor Barnby praised the youngsters for their perseverance and positive energy.  In a conversation after the ceremony we both agreed that all too often we hear about the silly things that happen because they provide an easy headline, but lose sight of the dedication of so many.

Councillor Jane Barnby

To gain a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award young men and women between the age of fourteen and twenty-five have to help others, demonstrate leadership, work as a team, follow an interest for a number of months and keep fit. That has to be a wonderful platform for any community and something to be celebrated. Part of that platform will be the huge number of people that also work as volunteers, leaders and supporters. I’ve been part of the Award Scheme for a long time and did make an atmospheric trip to Buckingham Palace forty-eight years ago to receive my Gold from a young Prince Philip! As chairman of the local DofE Network I really would like to thank all those who help and congratulate all the wonderful participants.

I bumped into Councillor Barnby again a few days later at a Torbay Business Forum breakfast event and she once again said how inspirational the DofE evening had been. Curiously this business breakfast had a youthful twist because the speaker was Paignton Zoo’s education officer Lisa Stroud who spoke about the excellent conservation work at the zoo and then went on to talk about the contribution our young people make. Lisa Stroud is soon to become chair of governors at South Devon College and that liaison has to build an even stronger bond between the College and the Zoo offering many more wonderful opportunities for the next generation to flourish.

Looking around at our young citizens I really do think that the future is in good hands. That is, I think, true also in the wider world. The attractiveness of Torbay brings visitors from many different parts of the world. I was invited to spend a little time at the Devon School of English in Paignton a few days ago. During my visit I shared lunch with a couple from Spain, Christian and Anna, working for a year locally whilst improving their business English at the Devon School of English. Again I found two young vibrant people looking to build a better world. One language school locally, EF, is also offering the DofE Award for longer stay students and that has to be a wonderful way of building international relationships in a very meaningful way.

One of the reasons for my visiting the Devon School of English was to gather a little more information for a talk that I was about to give to owners and managers of language schools throughout the West of England. The theme of my talk was about leadership and the impact that leaders have upon business. Basically the thread was whether you brought light into the workplace or darkness. Do you make the place tingle with excitement or suck the joy out of the air? Those who read my words regularly will know that I am constantly banging on about treading lightly on the world.

With that ‘light’ theme it is worth keeping an eye on atmosphere we generate around us as we rocket toward Christmas. For me the seasonal start was rather bleak with the arrival of the new Black Friday shopping phenomenon from the good old US of A. I don’t know whether you saw the television pictures with the demonic frenzy feeding for shopping bargains with people beating neighbours around the head as they fought for discounted shiny goods. The fight was mostly for ‘wants’ rather than ‘needs’ of course. Compare that selfish stampede with the good work evidenced by the young people doing good things for others!

Perhaps we might start something called White Friday where we all go out to do something nice for someone else without looking for a payback or perhaps donate to a local charity. It is just a thought at this stage but who knows it may catch on.

Keep the smile.

Think before you add to the social media bonfire!

I was saddened by a headline the other day. Saddened because the headline reported the fall from grace of a public figure after doing something rather silly. Of course it was simply a headline and the story lacked insight into the personal landscape that brought the individual to that point. I think that so many headlines report dramatic moments in the lives of many and that is the nature of our world. However what really saddens me is the hurtful rhetoric that too often follows a fall from grace.

How quickly we pick up the sticks and stones and throw them! Of course I don't actually mean sticks and stones but the hurtful negative comments that can be made, often without fully understanding an event. Those spiteful comments usually come from comparative safety behind a little barricade of anonymity or pseudonym. The thing is that despite the person in the headline being a public figure they are still, when all is said and done, a man or woman journeying through life: a man or woman with a family and a circle of friends who will now also take the pain.

I don't usually have a problem with headlines reporting an event but I am deeply troubled by the somewhat vigilante mentality lurking beneath many of the comments that follow. Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and William Goulding's Lord of the Flies provide powerful insights into the darkness of spiteful rhetoric. How quickly dark comments can gain a momentum that can tip a community over the edge turning neighbour against neighbour! It can and does happen in the blink of an eye! I have a friend who a little while ago said how beautiful the Syrian city of Aleppo was. The horrors of the Syrian conflict evidence the catastrophic impact of community collapse.

I say the blink of an eye and today that is very much the case. Modern communication techniques mean that an event can be reported globally in a matter of minutes. Texting, emails, social media platforms, television, radio, mobile phones and almost endless apps mean that story sound bites travel at amazing speed. Sound bites lack substance and can be troublesome.

But what is it about our time that has us wanting to heap humiliation on others? I certainly accept the place of righteous indignation but am troubled by the joy that so many find in ritual humiliation. There is, or so it seems to me, a need in many to validate their own reality by savaging others. This simply adds to the avalanche of negativity that can too often thunder through fragile communities. You will probably be reading this either in a paper copy of the Herald Express or viewing an online version. If you want to evidence some of the throwing of verbal insults then do look at the online comments that pop up after many articles! Of course many comments offer balanced opinion but sadly quite large numbers evidence less wholesome rhetoric.

Thinking about the political landscape for a moment and the way in which words are used I was quite intrigued by the rhetoric leading up to the Rochester and Strood by-election and the period immediately after. Party workers from Torbay joined numerous leading politicians in walking the streets of the constituency campaigning for their hopeful candidates. As you probably know the outcome was a UKIP success for Tory defector Mark Reckless, but what caught my attention was the resignation from Labour's front bench of Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry. Emotions were running high at Rochester and Strood which made it a breeding ground for loose comment. Emily Thornberry sent a Tweet about white vans and Union Flags which caused upset to many and provided fuel for the opposition. My point is that this one brief Tweet caused outrage and had her bumped from political office in record time. The Tweet was divisive and a divided community is a worrying place. That is something we must guard against. Hmm. If the Shadow Attorney General is that loose with words what hope is there for the rest of us?

Emily Thornberry

So, the next time you feel like saying something nasty about someone else why not preface the comment mentally with the words "Would you like a cup of tea?" That peaceful mental picture quite often is enough to stop the hurtful words becoming a reality! At the very least think before you add to the social media bonfire or launch careless words into the public domain.

Keep the smile

(Published in the Herald Express 27th November 2014) 

Political manoeuvres on the English Riviera!

Also published in the Herald Express 30th October 2014. For many years I've been up before the dawn walking my dog and thinking. It's a good thing to do because very little moves and at this time of year the darkness provides a feeling of isolation that is curiously comfortable. I think that it is possible to taste the new day and if my walk takes me near the beach the first shards of light add to the delicious tingle of being alive! My dog, Marley, has the advantage of a 'doggy' sense of smell and therefore sniffs the retreating nocturnal wildlife before other hounds pollute the landscape.

Nick Bye and Gordon Oliver a little while ago! Both looking much younger!!

Yesterday morning I was out and about in Paignton shortly after 5.30 and the first thing that struck me was the almost absolute darkness. As I turned into Barcombe Lane it felt as though I was about to disappear down a rabbit hole. The streetlights were off and the darkness was almost a little sinister. In these dark hours I do wear a high resolution vest in the hope of avoiding destruction at the hands of a sleepy motorist staring myopically through a misty windscreen at the road ahead. To date that has been a successful strategy!

The absence of street light is of course a consequence of a local council attempting, perhaps hopelessly, to save money is these hard economic times. As I walked in the darkness that morning two things came to mind. The first was recalling the Spanish Roman Catholic mystic John of the Cross who battled with personal demons so long ago in the dark hours. He spoke of the 'dark night of the soul' and I am certain that many of us may, whilst not being mystical, have tasted the curious loneliness of being awake long before the dawn. I've been messing around with a theory about that time of night that I add to a model which for the moment I simply call a fear index.

The second thing that caught my early morning mercurial mind was a recent event at Preston Conservative Club that was more a 'night of long knives' rather than a 'dark night of the soul'. Our mayor, who also happened to be the leader of the local Conservative Party, faced a challenge to his leadership that night. The consequence, as I am sure that you know, was his loss of the leadership. He remains, at the time of writing, the mayor. I gather that he thought he would weather the storm that night and expected support from members but that turned out not to be the case. Of course describing it as a night of the long knives is perhaps over egging it but Gordon Oliver did seem a little shaken by the outcome.

My dark 'streetlightless' walk that morning brought home to me the challenges of political leadership these days. Of course our mayor does have enormous power but it should be remembered that he also has a small army of highly paid local government officers offering strategic advice. Whether he always takes that advice is another matter but nonetheless it is something to keep in mind. We seem stuck with the mayoral system for at least another five years after the 2015 elections and the question that we must ask is what is that going to look like? You may remember Nick Bye not getting the support of his backers five years ago and it looks as though Gordon Oliver may be facing the same landscape!  Oddly enough Nick Bye's name has popped up again as a potential candidate. As they say "Watch this space!"

Oddly enough I almost bumped into our mayor at the annual MTI (manufacturing, technology and innovation) Exhibition at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay and he seemed to be a somewhat lonely figure. Perhaps he was still pondering the fallout from the unpleasant meeting that bumped him from the local Conservative Party leadership. I don’t know and didn’t get a chance to ask because other demands got in the way.  What was my reason for being at MTI 2014? I wanted to spend a little time amongst some really positive people. It’s all too easy these days to sit back and criticise. Too often that criticism is simply a pop at easy targets. If we allow that to be the way in which we approach our community then the outcome is likely to be miserable. Martin Foulger chairs the Torbay Hi-tech Forum and is also a divisional director with Spirent Communications. He says “Torbay is home to a successful sector of national and international hi-tech companies and today due to its location and availability of skills, is attracting more such businesses, developing Torbay into a thriving centre of excellence for the hi-tech market.” Now that has to be something to celebrate!

Keep the smile.

‘Greenway – now that is what I call a holiday home!’

Holiday or second homes always make me raise an eyebrow when I see potential first time local buyers being priced out of the market. For so many of our young that first rung in the housing ladder is simply out of reach.  Of course it can be argued that the second home owners bring new revenue to the area and the subletting can boost local business. The debate can and often does get very emotional. That is a debate for another time because one former holiday home caught my eye recently.

Whilst I mention the first time buyer market for housing and holiday homes there are some properties that stand in a league of their own. Last week I went to visit a onetime holiday home that is now open to the public. I’ve been meaning to visit for a long time which given the fact that I don’t live that far away is ridiculous. It’s been on my ‘to do list’ for far too many years and now at last I can tick it off!

The Greenway Estate was at one time the holiday home of Agatha Christie and is now under the protection of The National Trust. I gather that Agatha Christie never lived there for any length of time and simply used it for holidays. The gardens and house seemed atmospheric in the early autumn late afternoon. I’ve seldom seen so many different trees, shrubs and plants in one place. The large house is surprisingly cosy and all the furniture actually belonged to the family which gives the place a ‘lived-in’ feel. It is almost as though the occupants have simply nipped out for a while and expected back for high tea at any moment.

Whilst walking to Greenway I paused for a while at the top of a hill. To my left were the tranquil waters of Galmpton Creek on the River Dart and to my right the distant choppy waters of Torbay. We live in a magical place and it is all too easy to miss the beauty as we rush busily around. Of course the whole Agatha Christie culture is very big business for South Devon and brings thousands of tourists annually to the area.

Recently two Swiss lads came to stay with me and they were very ‘Christie conscious’ and said how popular her books were in their country. Sadly I am not a reader of her books but suspect that is my loss. I remember Carolyn Custerson of the English Riviera Tourist Company returning from a trade show in Berlin and commenting on the enthusiasm for ‘Agatha’s Riviera’ holidays. So much of our tourism offer is themed around Agatha Christie and that certainly is something to celebrate. The uniqueness of many small hotels and guest houses add atmosphere for visitors wanting to touch the spirit of Agatha. One such guest house if the Villa Marina in Torpark Road Torquay where the rooms seemed to link the modern with the elegance of a former time free from mobile phones and wall to wall wi-fi. The Villa Marina does of course have wi-fi!

Anyway before heading down the hill to Greenway I spent a little more time thinking about this world of ours. We take so much for granted locally and although we jump up and down about local issues the wider world can be a scary place. As I meditated a fresh north east breeze ruffled my hair and I simply took as much of that lovely wind into my lungs whilst thanking God for the moment. Far below me boats chugged up and down the Dart. In the distance I could see the puffing smoke from the Dartmouth Steam Railway and listened to the whistle blast echo across the estuary. 

Daily news bulletins bring the chaos of our world into our living rooms. The conflict in Syria, the bomb blasts in Baghdad, the broken villages still rebuilding in the Philippines after that dreadful storm and many other epics must make us appreciate how lucky we are. So let us be aware of that when we want to moan about the small things and at least look for something nice to say each day.

Keep the smile! 

‘Maid Moses’ and her Mobile

The road junction at Lawes Bridge in Torquay is a scary place. I say scary because the proliferation of traffic lanes, traffic lights, confused traffic, wailing ambulances and environmental distractions can muddle the mind.  As a pedestrian crossing that junction is, or so it seems to me, a case of literally taking your life in your hands as you place trust in the sanctity of the ‘little green man’! The fact that both the hospital and the cemetery form part of the local landscape should sharpen the mind but sadly that isn’t always the case.

The other day I found myself in a queue of traffic waiting for the lights to change. A girl walking down from the hospital caught my eye because her behaviour seemed a little erratic. It soon became obvious that she was chatting away on her mobile phone and the conversation appeared somewhat heated. Then horror of horrors she started to cross the busy Newton Road without a moment of hesitation at the kerb! This reckless behaviour should have ended very badly but it didn’t. Like some modern Maid Moses she cut a path through the braking traffic and crossed to the ‘promised land’ on the other side quite oblivious of the shocked faces around her.

Some days later I listened to the angry sounding of a car horn via my daughter’s mobile phone as she crossed a busy road in London on her way to work. She too was chatting away whilst crossing a road and had not taken note of a busy filter lane. Quite shocking for me as it brought back the picture of my ‘Maid Moses’ crossing the Newton Road and gave it a curious more personal twist. Hearing a loved one in harm’s way via a mobile phone is stressful for any parent.

The invasive use of mobile phones and other smart mobile devices has started to interest me. I would suggest that you might want to share that interest. Just spare a little time looking at the amount of time you spend ‘surfing the net’ or simply chatting to friends and acquaintances via a mobile phone.  Walking down Union Street in Torquay the other day I noticed a couple of motorist’s texting away on their phones whilst driving slowly in heavy traffic. Can you text and drive safely? I don’t think so and that is probably why it is illegal! At the same time numerous fellow pedestrians were chatting away on hands free mobile phones giving the impression that the village idiot was on a shopping trip and nattering madly to himself.

For me too many hours are now lost staring myopically into my computer screen or iPad whilst drifting endlessly through cyberspace. What is sad for me is the level of distraction. I might have something specific in mind when I start the cyberspace journey but too often something catches my attention and I head down some remotely interesting path and become totally lost. It is often with surprise that I suddenly find myself in a curiously dislocated world without any idea as to how I got there! That isn’t always a bad thing because I often add to the eclectic collection of interesting things that lurk in my dysfunctional mind!

For those who follow my ramblings you will be aware of my constant message about the importance of community life. Too often in these busy times people walk the streets oblivious to those around them whilst gazing at or playing with mobile devices. You could argue that this is the nature of modern community and that we are all in touch with each other but I don’t think that is the case.  The other day whilst enjoying a meal at TJ’s Restaurant on Paignton’s lovely little harbour I watched a group of four friends sitting at a table in silence whilst all tapped away on their smart phones.  Does that matter? Well I think that it does because it gives the impression of a shared experience in real time without actually sharing. We must use the Internet and mobile communication devices as tools rather than becoming a slave to these invasive time thieves.

Councillor Alison Hernandez has recently championed a rather interesting series of events that mix cyberspace with a shared community experience. She and a number of friends have created something called the Torbay Social Media Café.  This a is useful event for those who want to learn more about modern communication and still meet at easy to reach venues like Dot’s Pantry in Union Street Torquay. This seems to me a way of embracing the virtual and the real by being part of the community rather than mindlessly tapping endless keystrokes on a mobile!

Keep the smile.

Palm Trees and Great Minds.

I like Gordon Oliver’s palm tree and during a recent trip to London I bumped into its little friend! There in the middle of a roundabout at the Milbank end of Lambeth Bridge is a spectacular palm tree. I was heading to Waterloo Station for the train back to Torbay but paused for a while to photograph the beast complete with a London bus in the background. Can it be that Torbay’s mayor is indeed a visionary? Great minds thinking alike and that sort of thing perhaps? Hard to say but obviously Boris Johnson has a similar empathy with the palm tree.

Those who brave the Kingskerwell journey will know that the famous palm tree is now missing, but we shouldn’t worry because it is going to reappear when the super-roundabout at the Torbay end of the new road is built. Now I know that many people started to jump up and down when the palm tree first appeared saying that it was a waste of money and of no interest. I have to disagree! For me it is a brilliant statement and a spectacular welcome to the English Riviera. In these troubled times to have something that lifts the spirit is simply brilliant and the palm tree does that for me. For those heading along the new road the palm tree will stand proud offering an almost exotic welcome.

More palm trees have appeared locally of course and recently a couple popped up at each end of the Hollicombe pedestrian refuge on the busy Torquay to Paignton coast road. Once again this little display adds a huge amount of atmospheric ambiance to what was once a dull stretch of road. Of course a new housing estate is about to spring up on the site of the old gasworks at Hollicombe and the pedestrian refuge will provide an oasis of safety as residents head to the beach whilst seemingly endless traffic thunders between Torquay and Paignton. The additional greenery is more than welcome.

The thing is that at the moment large chunks of green space seem to have a habit of suddenly disappearing and it isn’t until they’ve gone that we sadly realise what we have lost. One such event is the proposed redevelopment of Armada Park in Torquay which is likely to be a less accessible green space as a local football club seek permission to expand. This will inevitably mean car parking, clubhouse facility (toilets, changing rooms, food et cetera) and playing area screening. Armada Park is a hugely popular open space and much used by the local community. This is something to think carefully about as I feel certain local councillors Nicole Amil, Michael Hytch and Mark Poutney will be doing. I gather that the Cockington, Chelston and Livermead Community Partnership will be holding a public meeting at 7pm on the 7^th October at the Saint Peter’s Centre Queensway to discuss the possible lease of Armada Park. You have a voice and hopefully an opinion! I’m pleased that the meeting is being held at the Saint Peter’s Centre because this is a focal point for the local community.

Thinking about community focal points I came across an interesting place recently whilst wandering around the streets of London. Age Exchange is a community space in Blackheath which has somehow managed to unite the young and old with common purpose. The building has a little café, computers, a small library and meeting rooms. When I was there the people mix included older folk, teenagers, working people popping in for a break, mothers, toddlers and an assortment of others all enjoying the pleasant atmosphere. It seems to me that somewhere like the Saint Peter’s Centre might offer that potential. We need these days to find things to pull communities together. People bang on about social media and the Internet but it seems to me that cyberspace can in point of fact be a very lonely place. It gives the impression of friendship but lacks the vibrancy of face to face contact.

Curiously there is a flip side to the loss of green space and that has to be the huge number of weeds popping up in once cared for urban areas! Cutting back on urban care is one consequence of the economic downturn. However there is nothing stopping us from doing a little neighbourhood weeding, litter clearing and sweeping of course.

Keep the smile!

Paignton United!

You would think that as a community we would have some sort of common purpose. Yet when you consider that when the Paignton BID (Business Improvement District) trundled into life our beautiful harbour and its business community wasn’t included. Now why was that? Well it seems that some bright spark said that the business rates were paid to the Torbay Harbour Authority! Not true of course but enough to have Paignton telling half its story. Just to add salt to the wound I think that might have been the same year that the English Riviera Tourism Company (ERTC) left Paignton Harbour out of the annual tourist brochure. Hmm.

There is a new initiative being on the horizon and consultants have been employed to guide the decision makers Torbay Council). The initiative is the new TTR-BID (Torbay Tourism and Retail). This will be the first ‘super’ BID of its kind in the UK. In a BID area all businesses pay an additional fee via the business rates to fund area improvements. The payment is legally enforceable and so if you’re in the included area then you have to cough up your share.

In these financially challenging times we must all take great care when spending hard earned cash. With that in mind it is important that you pay careful attention to what is going on. We’ve have already demonstrated that the BID in Paignton isn’t fully inclusive because a major asset, the historic harbour, had been left out.

If this new TTR-BID becomes a reality we need to ensure that it is something we really want and that the money collected is spent wisely. It has the potential to unite the community and we can then welcome a more ‘united’ Paignton. How lovely that would be!

Keep the smile!!