Was it just “Pete Tong” - cue the reviews!

On Sunday night the much anticipated “Redwater”, started on our national broadcaster RTE. It will be screened at a later date, on the BBC, in “Old Blighty”.

Stimulating much Facebook chatter, airwave media interest and lots of other social media attention. You could not avoid the fact that you just had to be in front of the goggle box, settled with a cup of tea, just after Jean delivered her Sunday night weather forecast. The families of Waterford sat around their “Custard and jelly”, like the good old days, and eagerly tuned in to see who they might recognise as an extra on the drama and what scenery they could identify, being a place they might have visited, walked or have swum.

The village of Dunmore East would broadcast the show “Live”, on the biggish screen outside the Strand Inn’s very own “Rub-A-Dub”. From one of the exact spots, where we would be introduced to the very characters who will fill our Sunday nights for the foreseeable future. Namely, Kat and Alfie, aka Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie. These two “Eastenders’ Royalty” would be bringing, in no doubt equal measure, their Cockney charm, “Porky pies” and lots of “Catherine Zeta Jones” to the Sunny South East. Would you “Adam and Eve” it anyone?

Remember folks that this drama is an offshoot of that BBC institution, screened mercilessly, many times a week on the national broadcaster of the UK. Did we expect to see a different format or were we going to be delivered the very same old, just with an Irish twang? There were rumours that the whole series could have been filmed in any number of other European destinations, Portugal or even “Bubble and Squeak”, they were all in with a shout.

By “Friar Tuck” the location team chose the area around the Suir Estuary. Namely, Dunmore East, Passage, Crooke and so on. In fact we recognised all these areas in the first episode. The opening village fun run, linking all the streets of these villages and that “Bottle of Sauce” running seamlessly from beach to beach, what a talented beast!

Right from the starting title sequence, we could see that this was not going to be a run of the mill “Eastenders’” spin off. There was “Barney Rubble” from the opening scenes, which would set a rather dark sinister feel to the programme. There was an early edge, that I am sure will be carried throughout the whole drama. Who knows what “Tony Blair’s” will unfold over the next few Sunday nights?

With our national broadcaster’s Nationwide programme, featuring Waterford very heavily in recent weeks, we have not seen such levels of interest in all things Waterford for some time now. It will be vital that the millions of people who will ultimately tune into “Redwater”, to realise that like “Walford”, “Redwater” is a fictional place. Admittedly, a “Tutti Frutti” of a place and the weather gods appear to have done their bit as well, “Shabba Ranks”.

The location is a beautiful place on the coast of our Waterford County and as such there will be a huge effort needed to absorb this message and deliver additional tourism Euros across the whole county. If we are to hear the tills ringing, “Cab Ranks” being filled on the back of this drama, that will reach millions of people both in Ireland and the UK, then we must develop a strategy and a “Jackie Chan” that works for us.

All the stakeholders involved in these projects, must now work together to capitalise on this unprecedented free publicity we are securing on prime time viewing slots. Coupled with the new Waterford Greenway’s impetus, we have a unique tourism message that will surely draw many more “Billy Bunters” to our “Roger Moore”.

I suppose that the secret would be the many, many independent operators, should push towards developing their own marketing and awareness campaigns? To this extent they need to be encouraged to do so.

With a bit of luck we can all get “Sheffield United” at just what “Redwater” might bring to us. Who knows we might even see more “Bees and Honey” coming to Waterford?

Greenway is up and running, or cycling or walking!

On Saturday 25^th March, to be exact, the much anticipated Waterford Greenway officially opened. Encompassing Waterford City, in the East, to Dungarvan Town, in the West, along the full 46 kilometre route.

The use of this old, decommissioned railway line has been in planning for many, many a year and a number of sections have been accessible for some time now. Saturday marks the opening of the “Full Monty”. A 46km coastal/inland route, which will simply blow your socks off. Sharing some stunning vistas of sea, mountains, hills and glens.

Some parts of this coastline have for far too long been hidden gems, known only to a select few locals, quietly spoken about in the corners of bars and coffee shops. Now we can ALL shout from the rafters, that at long last, we are to have an alternative tourist attraction, which really does rival those dotted around the various corners of this wee green island.

In particular, the Waterford Greenway will rival the explosion of this type of development. Examples of these, can also be found in places that link Athlone and Mullingar, Westport and Achill Island, Abbeyfeale and Rathkeale. There are also plans to open a Greenway in Connemara, between Cloonbeg and Athry, later this year.

These large infrastructural projects are being designed to bring new life to otherwise unused, huge tracks of land. The restructuring of old railway lines and tracks is a good idea and one that should be welcomed by all. We need to find and source new tourism markets for Waterford, if we are to drive the County and wider South East, out of the third tier of recovery we find ourselves in. The recent Sunday Times Rich List report shows Waterford County has the lowest level of wealth, when compared to the other 32 counties on this island. This is something that we must quickly address and correct, if we are to ever regain our status as the fourth city of Ireland.

Waterford’s Greenway, must now be sold to the people of Waterford and further afield, to a National and International market. What cannot happen is that we open this wonderful attractor and sit back under the age old adage of “We have built this and now they will come!”. Not insignificant sums of public, Council, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland money must be spent on PR, marketing and promotion of our Greenway. There will be plenty of competition fighting for these additional resources and we must make sure that we get our fair share.

There will also be an onus on the Council, to make sure that the eastern end of the Greenway actually connects to the heart of Waterford City. We created a wonderful Viking Triangle and the connectors to the City Centre have been an awfully long time in the making! This cannot be allowed to happen with this project.

At present, the western end connectors are ALL in place, with access right into the very heart of Dungarvan. The eastern access points seem to be taking rather longer to be put in place and we have the very real prospect of yet another east/west split. Our “Full Monty” has to be delivered and delivered in a timely fashion.

Hopefully, from Saturday 25^th March, tens of thousands of people will be coming to Waterford, with the sole purpose of travelling our Greenway. We must at the very least, ensure that they leave having been absolutely stunned by what they have seen. We want these people to return in their hordes, bringing more and more family and friends. Repeat customers are the very best customers and we need to encourage this culture.

 

I do hope that we, the local citizens, look after this important piece of new infrastructure for our future guests. We cannot allow the Greenway to become a cycle race track, a scrambler track, a pony-trekking route, or a convenient place to let your dog poop or a place to dump rubbish.....!

Waterford’s Greenway is another jewel in our crown, so let us keep it shining bright. 

You know it is Summer when Spraoi arrives!

As you get older the years come more and more quickly and 2016 is no exception. It seems like it was only yesterday when we were all getting excited, ready for last year’s festival and low and behold the 2016 event is now upon us.

“The Spraoi Weekend”, as it has now become known locally, takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is so good to see that the Festival programme is bigger and better than ever. This has to be one of those very special events that Waterford people actually come out in hordes to support and I, for one, am delighted that TV and their wonderful crew are once again reconnecting Spraoi with the very heart of the City.

To me, the event works so well, with the parade winding its way down the very spine of the Waterford City. The fireworks exploding over the River Suir and of course spontaneous street theatre right across, and I mean right across, the City Centre and not confined to the VT, our leaning tower of investment!

Other organisers take note. The very best Waterford has to offer, starts by incorporating the whole of the City Centre, which in turn means the event is supported in huge numbers. Squeeze or concentrate your event(s) into the wrong areas and you get very little support. The businesses who get behind Spraoi, support Spraoi and “love” Spraoi, for it gives them back much needed footfall across the WHOLE City. It truly is a pan-City event that has, to quote James May, “the fizz” and somehow manages to capture the imagination of young and old.

We have a model for event organisation that has developed organically here in Waterford. A format that works and has adapted to changing and challenging times (financially). The event has weathered the political storms around national funding and has, I have no doubt, managed to steer through the maelstrom of local politics that is needed to ensure continued support from City Hall and the wider Council remit.

Spraoi is a Waterford success story. But sadly it is only one of a lesser breed and we need to make sure that if we wish to compete with the Galways of Ireland then we need to drag, pull and elevate our other events to a similar high level of excellence.

As I have said many a time, in print, we have the people, with the skills, we just need to get the powers that be, to make brave decisions, and actually employ the right people to deliver.

We are a small City that sometimes demonstrates a village mentality. This mould needs to be cracked and we need to step away from using the same old broken formulas, regurgitated time and time again, seeking out the right people to bring our other events up to the high standards set by Spraoi.

In fact it is not only Festivals that need our attention. Many other projects around the City need that injection of “new blood”, with innovative and creative ideas, which will drive events to another level. Yes, it is very hard for originators to let go, but to build a better brand, a better City and County, we need to do just that. If that means paying the right people, then we must find the means to do so.

When I look at the potential of where we could take Waterford, in terms of being an attractor for investment and tourism, I often wonder if I am seeing these possibilities through rose tinted glasses. Yet, when I speak Waterford people, they too can see this potential. They just do not yet have the leaders or facilitators they feel that they can follow, to deliver on what is an untapped latent potential.

Urban renewal, Michael Street Shopping Centre, SDZ on the North Quay, footbridge across the River Suir, Ireland’s Ancient East.....etc are all potential game changers for Waterford. But do we have the “drivers” in place to actually deliver for the people of this great City and County?

Enjoy Spraoi and remember to look after your City this weekend!