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?

“The heat is on”

No, not the lyrics from that old Glenn Frey karaoke classic, from the mid nineteen eighties.

The Irish weather seems to have finally decided to turn up the thermostat. We are at long last beginning to see what many would constitute as summer! There have been blue skies spotted around the “Sunny South East” and temperatures, are eventually, ever so slowly creeping into the higher teens. This will all be very good news, for the many thousands of people coming to our hills and coastlines over the next number of weeks and months.

There can be no doubt, that the BBC drama series Redwater, a spin off from “Dum, Dum Dum...” Eastenders drama, filmed in and around Dunmore East last year, will attract additional interest in all things Waterfordorian. There are even rumours that one of the stars, Shane Richie aka Alfie Moon, is seeking to purchase a holiday home in the village? This of course might just be some good old fashioned PR, coming from one of our friendly, local auctioneers, to drum up even more interest in that village and what it has to offer? But who cares as long as it works!

Being showcased by both the national broadcasters of Ireland (RTE) and the UK (BBC), is priceless in terms of the exposure we will be given. It is up to the “Powers that be” to be ready to piggyback on this FREE publicity and push our region, as a destination of choice, to our biggest tourism market. This is of course our neighbours across the water, in the UK.

With all matters Brexit and the small issue of a General Election, becoming all consuming across the UK, we urgently need bodies such as Tourism Ireland, to get on board, pushing our region to the British holiday masses. These will be unparalleled levels of FREE, exposure. It may well be that the people of the UK will look West rather than South or East for their holidays in 2017, as the falling out with the rest of the EU continues at a pace.

We ALL need to be ready for a possible influx of UK visitors, looking to explore what Waterford has to offer on the back of this BBC One drama.

Just look at what the series Games of Thrones and Outlander have done to the local economies of these two locations. There has been extraordinary interest, in people exploring the very streets and sets, where their heroes have walked and talked. The power of a national broadcaster filming in a specific identifiable location cannot be underestimated.

It would be great to have the odd Cockney Pearly King and Queen walking around Waterford, being introduced to the rasher Blaa, our local craft beers and even Waterford phrases like “Well Boy”, “Well Girl” and “Would you look at the scut of him!” Can you just imagine the conversation they would have when they returned home to Blighty?

A “Warm Waterford Welcome” would be essential if we are to get those much vaunted TripAdvisor, five circle reviews.

At long last, we are now moving very quickly from a heavy industrial economic past, to that of a tourism economy. Having said that, our manufacturing capacity is actually still very healthy here in Waterford. We’ve many, many innovative multi-national and pioneering indigenous companies based right here. This new manufacturing is now modern, automated clean and lean.

Waterford is ever so slowly and surely beginning to reinvent itself. Quite rightly, there is so much to look forward to. Despite this, so many people have asked me over the last few weeks, about the Government’s fiscal monetary intervention, needed for the infrastructural works on the North Quay (our SDZ). There is now a realisation that if the exchequer purse strings are not loosened and €50,000,000+s are not forthcoming, the two identified game changing projects for Waterford City, may NOT materialise.

These first Swallows of Summer divert our eyes from the longer term goals. We must keep the heat up on our six national public representatives, to deliver our SDZ Euro.

The clock is well and truly ticking towards that pay day!

Yippee, the summer is here!

Yes, yes, yes!!!! It was officially the start of the meteorological summer on Wednesday 1^st June and some say that we have much to look forward to over the next weeks and months.

The recent run of Mediterranean weather has set us all off on a “happy footing”, unless of course you are about to sit Junior and Leaving cert exams! It always amazes me that the weather, since records began, is at its glorious best just as we imprison our kids in stifling exam halls and subject them to two or three hours of trying to unpick the complex grey matter that resides between their ears. Good luck to all concerned!

The City and its wider environs have seen some positive stories recently. For example the berthing of the huge cruise ship, Celebrity Silhouette, just off Dunmore East and the thousands of day-trippers who visited the City Centre, giving a much needed boost to many a thirsty, dehydrated shop till. Of course the continued location filming of Redwater in this village, will undoubtedly add to the “Sunny South East” mantra and I am sure all involved in this production will be relishing the summer weather that currently betters most of continental Europe.

With many a festival also on the horizon for the City and wider afield there should be plenty to get our teeth sunk into and lots to do for residents and visitors alike.

“City In Bloom” will shortly burst into life and draping the Waterford in a magical multi-coloured coat of wondrous joy that will stay with us right up to September. Spraoi will be back before we know it and then there is Day Tripper, admittedly in a new venue, not the traditional City Centre location, but still promoting a line-up, that has once again something for everyone, whether you are young or an auld one! The much vaunted Summerval has much to live up to if it is to validate all the promised hype and we hope that the festival can deliver on its €138,000 funded budget. Actually adding significantly to the City Centre footfall? We will keep a close eye on this one.

If festivals are not your thing, then you only have to travel a few miles out of the City Centre to find the type of scenery that would whet the appetite of Allsopp and Spencer. “Now here’s a view!”, we could all confidently boast to this pair of presenters.

Our region has the best of both sea and mountain views. Depending on which way you drive our coast road, you get two completely differing panoramas and two vistas that would grace the cover of any Lonely Planet guide or a Michael Palin travel book. We really are spoiled for choice.

Sea swimming is of course a must and we have kilometre upon kilometre of hushed, unspoiled beaches just waiting to be discovered.

These, mostly free attractions, should and could be the envy of many another county. But sadly, once again, we seem to be possibly sinking to the bottom of the league when attracting these much vaunted International Visitors who seem to be spending many a Euro outside of the South East.

This has always puzzled me and bewildered many more besides. When so many citizens of Waterford, are aware of just what we have to offer, why oh why is this message not being spread, by those promoters of Irish tourism? 

Are we now finding ourselves, a regional tourist area, that has literally fallen between the two stools that are the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East? Are we the furthest away point from both of these behemoths and therefore seen as “just off the beaten track!”

Are we happy to be once again feeding off the odd crumb indignantly tossed to us by the powers that be?

If we are to compete with the other more established tourism brands then we must differentiate our product.

“People Make Waterford” so let’s make that happen!