“Golden Circles” and "BIG Tubes" everywhere!

Was it any real surprise the UK voters gave Theresa May’s Tory Government a bloody nose and, if truth be told, a damn good kicking last week in the UK’s surprise general election? An election that was supposed to increase the Tory majority to such a size that May could, quite literally, steamroll her policies through the Westminster Parliament with gay abandon. 

May’s so called “Dementia Tax”, ensured that thousands of traditional bedrock Tory voters would jump ship, for fear of losing their homes, farms or property. This, along with many other “Stupid” manifesto promises, well and truly put several nails in her coffin.

In the meantime, that wily old fox that is Jeremy Corbyn, promised young and old voters, the earth, moon and the stars. In terms of what he would deliver, for FREE, if he and his Labour party were given the mandate to govern the UK. Let us not forget that it is always easier in opposition at election time, to guarantee voting nirvana, when you don’t actually have to make the books of Government balance. The same, back of a fag packet economics, goes on at the moment with FF, SF and the so called Independent Alliance. Their economic policies as individual stand alone plans, probably do stand up to individual scrutiny. But, as a combined fiscal strategy, these are as watertight as a sieve.

It is also worth pointing out, that there was a huge amount of arrogance within the May campaign. That could clearly be seen on her battle bus’s shrink wrapped blue colour scheme and campaign slogan, “Theresa May for Britain” – no mention of the Tory party! There was very little acknowledgement of the actual Conservative Party, but lots of references to what Theresa May would do for the voter.

In the end May lost the trust of the voters and Corbyn gained the trust, albeit temporarily, of many others. Nobody really expected Labour to win, but many were prepared to give May a handicap to impede her run towards another “Solid” term in office. Her majority Government is no more and a rather uncomfortable alliance is now being sought, with that “Most stable” of parties the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)! I just wonder if Arlene Foster will ask for too much and that the Tories will be back to the people in a few months time?

It would seem now, that both UK and our own Irish politicians are much more remote from us, their paymasters. I put this down to the “Golden Circles” that they inevitably surround themselves with. After all, if your Cabinet, committees and work teams are all made up of “Lovies” and people who are prepared to “Lick arse”, then you are going to always get a consensus of opinion. There will be absolutely no buffer against someone standing up and saying “A hum, excuse me, but maybe, just maybe this is not what our voters want?”

To put it another way and to use a cycling analogy. Supposing you are unfortunate enough to get a puncture on your bike, whilst out on our Greenway and replace the inner tube with the wrong sized tube, i.e. you put on a bigger tube, then you are in real trouble. Whilst all may look well on the outside, whilst you cycle the bike, the ride will be extremely unstable and well, downright dangerous. The fact is that Governments are, in far too many instances, putting on “Big tubes”, instead of finding the right and correct size in the first place. They are guaranteeing themselves a bumpy ride by being downright lazy in not doing the right thing in the first place.

“Golden Circles” are here to stay. I fear that they are now becoming accepted, as part of our everyday lives in terms of politics. You can be sure that during the FG leadership election campaign, groups of the chosen few, from each camp, would have been sitting in darkened rooms paying tribute to their own efforts to get their man elected.

Unfortunately, we in Waterford don’t even have access to the “Bronze Circle”. For the foreseeable future, we will be outside of that circle, unless we find a real political heavyweight. 

For the love of (insert your Deity here)!!!

I spent nine wonderful years working in London during the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. During that time I earned and lost heaps of money. Bought property and got weighed down with massive negative equity debt. Had some great jobs and was lucky enough to work with some great bosses. I worked with and for Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Protestants, Catholics, Jehovah’s, born again Christians, Rastafarians, Islamists, to name but a very few.

I lived in areas predominantly populated by Jews, Indians, Pakistanis, North Londoners and Cockneys. Whilst living in these areas I deliberately mixed, went out of my way to become part of the community and “That cheeky Scotsman”, “Sweaty Sock”, “Jock”.

I was even in the City of London, with two friends, celebrating something to do with Japan, in a Japanese multi-national’s karaoke basement bar, in July 1990. We were quite literally around the corner from the London Stock Exchange, when the IRA set off a massive bomb. Destroying many a building and luckily injuring nobody. We knew absolutely nothing about this blast, until we exited the building, bleary eyed from one too many warm Sakis. It was like walking onto the scene of an H-bomb apocalyptic movie set, where we were apparently the only survivors. The City was empty – no taxi cabs, no buses, no cars, tube station shutters closed....!! We hadn’t a clue what had happened, until approached by a member of the City of London Police. Boy did we sober up very quickly after that, as we had to somehow make our way home!

When I worked in Wembley Stadium, in the borough of Brent, only 30 odd years ago, we were the “Ethnic minority”. I was one of the first people to secure a “Bollywood” type concert for Wembley Stadium, on that most hallowed of turf. I dealt with ALL manner of promoters regardless of race, creed or colour. Everyone was treated as an equal and much more importantly, treated the very way I would wish to be treated as a customer.

During those nine years in London I never felt unsafe. Never felt that there was a risk to my health, whilst being out and about late at night. Never felt in danger of a terrorist attack. Never felt threatened by speaking to, or being in the company of someone who was different.

Maybe these were completely different times? Or perhaps I look back on those youthful days with extra strength rose tinted glasses? Either way, I don’t think I would recognise the London that has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week.

It now appears that gone are the days when you would be able to walk in the footsteps of Dick Whittington, feeling safe and cosseted. As the horrific attacks of recent weeks hit home, showing just how vulnerable we now are.

People immediately started blaming Blair, May and even Thatcher, on social media. Take this blame game to a logical conclusion and we should start holding historical people like Victoria, King Billy, Attila the Hun, Hannibal, Nero, the Egyptians, Adam, Eve and even that damn serpent culpable!

No one individual from history, past or present, can possibly be responsible for these current heinous acts. Where one human being painstakingly plans to kill, murder or mutilate another. All in the context of a misguided religious belief.  

Our “PC world” has gone bonkers mad. Why are we allowing such known individuals to undertake such cowardly acts? It is because of our Western World’s freedoms, that these people use this liberty to plot, scheme and kill with targeted precision.

Surely, the time is now right to balance the scales, if we are to live our lives without fear of a terrorist attack?

We live in a predominantly Christian country. We unconditionally give freedom of speech and freedom of movement. We have laws and rules that we ALL abide by, or accept the consequences for breaking these. The primary language spoken is that of English. We live in a democratic society. Freedom to vote is a constitutional right for all citizens.......

If you do not like these rules, regulations and more besides, you have the freedom to leave!

It is official – “Summer’s here!!!!”

The June Bank Holiday weekend is once again just around the corner. Boy does this come around quicker each year, or am I just getting older?

This of course means that we can forget for a few days at least, our woes, the political bickering of the FG leadership campaign, the effects of Brexit, the shenanigans surrounding the funding of our SDZ, our missing catheterization laboratory, our representatives’ empty promises and so on. As the City Centre will be buzzing with all manner of musical delights and a not insignificant hint of colour, over this June Bank Holiday weekend.

Returning to our streets will be the annual “City in Bloom”. A collaborative project between Waterford Council and Waterford Business Group (WBG), which has made a noteworthy contribution to additional Tidy Town points for the City. This, cross city project, has grown literally from few very small seeds, i.e. a handful of window boxes, to over 300 floral displays! In truth, there is no limit to this projects growth potential.

Start looking up at buildings and business shop fronts in the city centre, O’Connell Street, Ferrybank and Ballinakill Shopping Centre. Soon you will start to see the hint of the riotous colour which will soon engulf Waterford’s main footfall areas. City in Bloom will deliver once again for Waterford. In 2018, there could well be an exciting application to “Tidy Towns”, for Waterford City. Plans are afoot, to launch a bid as part of a “Bigger and better Tidy Towns”, supported by WBG. There is even consideration being given to the introduction of specific “Pollen bee friendly flowers!”, to make the application unique. The seeds have well and truly been sown (pardon the terrible pun)!

To launch the 2017 City in Bloom festival of flowers, there is an excellent competition for businesses to take part. WBG have teamed up with one of their members, Morris’s DIY on the Cork Road, to offer a €1000 voucher to the “Best 2017 improved shop/business front”. Some say that the best competitions are the simplest. All businesses have to do is post a before and after picture on www.facebook.com/WaterfordCityCentre/ Pictures must be posted before the August Bank Holiday and the winners will be announced in mid September. Businesses are allowed to post pictures retrospectively, provided the facelift/improvements took place from January 2017.

In conjunction with the launch of City in Bloom, Summer in the City makes a very welcome return to our city centre. On the main stage in John Robert’s Square we will see live acts performing across the opening weekend and right through, the hopefully long balmy summer weekends, to late August. The programme promises to deliver some age old favourite tribute acts, a smorgasbord of local singing talent and then there’s ArtBeat. This will once again showcase some of Waterford’s best emerging young talent. Bailey’s New Street will host ArtBeat every Saturday afternoon.

If we can now ask the weather gods to shine down upon us this summer, we are sure that all the programmes being launched this weekend, will help to get our city rocking, over the months of June, July and August.

There is much to look forward to around the wider county as well. You will find that there is a festival taking place somewhere, to undoubtedly suit any interest, hobby, or pastime. In terms of the bigger national and international picture, Redwater is flying the PR flag for our pretty, attractive coastal villages. We have already heard stories of people coming to the locations, where this drama has been filmed. Long may this continue and we hope to exponentially see more and more coming as the programme develops its fan base.

Our city should bloom during the Summer of 2017. As we get ready to sow some very strong roots for future growth and better news, in terms of our economic recovery.

There is much to look forward to on our horizon. In the meantime please do take time to look up at our wonderful quirky, higgledy piggledy buildings, sporting the colours of summer. Enjoy the free entertainment being provided across the city centre.

Above all “Live local, love local, shop local”.

Who’s battling for Waterford, now that the leadership contest is heating up????

“In the blue corner” we have Simon “The Cork” Coveney. “In the other blue corner” we have Leo “The Lion” Varadkar. Two Fine Gael political heavyweights about to slug it out in a leadership contest. After the long and protracted retirement of Enda Kenny, we can now say for certain that this is a two horse race for the leadership of FG. Perhaps a new Taoiseach of this wee green isle as well.

With two contenders having been announced, each protagonist’s fight team, will start to prepare their “Big fight plan” on just how to defeat an equally youthful opponent. The two combatants are only 38 (Varadkar) and 44 (Coveney). They are literally “Babies”, in terms of a political career. It will certainly be an interesting few weeks ahead, seeing just who matures enough, in the eyes of the FG party cohorts, to take the majority of votes and therefore Kenny’s still warmish leader’s seat.

Mind you, age seems to be no longer a barrier to political immortality. You only have to look east, to France and Emmanuel Macron, who is 39 years old and now the President of France. Sacré bleu!!!

Coveney and Varadkar have held various senior cabinet positions, in the last and current Government. In fact, in equal measure, they have tried to tackle some of the toughest ministerial portfolios. The FG faithful will have marked these times in office as roaring successes. Yet for many, perhaps the majority, there will be a very different definition to success.

Just how do we measure the success of their ministerial office?

Varadkar has held the keys to the offices of; Transport, Tourism and Sport from 2011 to 2014, Health from 2014 to 2016 and currently Social Protection.

In the other corner Coveney has been letting himself in and out of the offices of; Agriculture, Food and the Marine from 2011 to 2014, Defence from 2014 to 2016 and currently Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.

Interestingly, both sets of localised FG party supporters, will ultimately claim that each candidate has some form of affinity and love for all things Waterford. Coffey is now battling for Coveney’s corner and Deasy, miraculously reappearing from the depths of the “Wild wesht”, has declared for the Varadkar corner. It will also be captivating to see just which way our FG councillors vote? Perhaps we should be party to who they might place their “Paddy Power” wager on?

What of Waterford when all the dust has settled?

In order to answer this question, you need first of all reacquaint yourself with each fighter’s past portfolio.

Has our regional airport not been crying out for money for a runway extension for donkeys’ years? It’s University Hospital Waterford’s plight, to be at the heart of a south east hospital grouping, without the much needed catheterization laboratory or the implementation of the conveniently forgotten Higgins Report, very well documented by now. These game changers for Waterford, with the stroke of a pen, could have been signed off many moons ago. The one consistent factor with these not being delivered seems to have been the Minister in charge at the time, in these Government departments, namely Leo “The Lion” Varadkar!

 

As for Simon “The Cork” Coveney. He cannot be absolved from blame for stymieing Waterford’s progress either. Our coastal fishing industry remains unprotected and many believe devastated. Regional defence bases in the region closed. The “Gifting” of the LE Aoife to the City, as a centre piece to a maritime museum, rejected. Expansion of the City boundary, to the north of the River Suir, dismissed. Despite the recommendations of an impartial independent review committee.

 

So there we have it. The two contenders do NOT have any real meaningful track record of supporting this blue and white city and county. Both could have made a significant difference to where our economy finds itself today. Right here, right now!

Unfortunately, if the last six years are anything to go by, Waterford appears to be on the ropes once again, with both these contenders.

I for one won’t be throwing in the towel.

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!

“Keep it clean and keep it green!”

“Keep it clean and keep it green!” could very well be the motto for our wonderful new Waterford Greenway.

I ventured with my trusty steed, onto a very wee part of this 42km ribbon of regenerated old rail track, on a quiet Friday afternoon. My unicycle, shod in its skinny unforgiving road racing tyres, is not really suited to most of the surfaces to which its rubber would be exposed. “Slowly, slowly catchee monkey”, were the wise words of wisdom ringing in my ears.

As two Lyrca clad MAMILS, gingerly accessed this amazing piece of tourism infrastructure at Kilmacthomas, we’d carefully wound our bikes up to nowhere near their top speed. Very conscious that we could meet walkers, joggers, buggies, dogs and other bicyclists. In fact we only met three walkers on our small excursion. But, as the surfaces went from smooth tarmac to rather rougher stone and chip, we decided that egress at the next junction, was the wisest budgetary option.

 

There is no doubt that the Greenway is more suited to chunky mountain bikes, hybrid bikes and the new cyclocross bikes. All of which have wider tyres and better frame clearances than regular road racing bikes. We all of course knew this, but I just had to try out for myself, on that quiet overcast Friday afternoon.

I am pleased to report that the section tried, appeared almost litter free. I could see no significant signs of the dreaded “Doggy poop”, which seems to afflict all manner of public realm spaces, across the whole City and County for that matter.

Another reason I tentatively introduced my Cube to the Greenway, was to see and sample, for myself, the current rumpus about people using this newest of tourism experiences. You could not have helped noticing, that “Bad Greenway practices” have been splashed across social media, given vast column inches, in the local newspaper print and lots of on air chatter on WLR FM. In fact, on a very recent local radio programme, a listener had text in to effect that basically, “All cyclists should be banned from the Greenway!!!!!”

Well these few words, caused an avalanche, agreeing all cyclists are simply the reincarnation of Satan. Should you be unlucky enough to be caught in wearing cyclists Lyrca, you must be hung, drawn and quartered immediately. Or be sent to jail, “Do not pass go, do not collect €200!” This hatred, shown by many hiding behind anonymous profiles, never ceases to amaze me.

But the simple fact, for all our naysayers, is that our new Greenway will attract more and more people on two wheels. Something to accept if we are to reap the success from this amazing revenue attractor. Already making such a difference to the fortunes of places like Kilmacthomas, Durrow and Dungarvan. Once there is a real and indisputable connection to Waterford City Centre, we will see further benefits coming to more businesses from the “Pedalling Euro”.

I was interested to see if our world leading capacity to moan, groan and grip about positive news was catching. Low and behold it was!

The new roof, which is nearing completion on the Apple Market, is getting an equally bad press.

This very large public realm project, will provide a covered space generating so many opportunities. Yet the roof design and cost are both being pilloried by I suspect, the same people complaining about those using the Greenway.

Too expensive (paid by commercial rates etc)! Money should have been spent on the hospital Cath Lab (different budget centres)! The metal work (despite not being finished) looks crap! Will attracted undesirables (will be properly policed)!.....and so on.

Our ability to mock, deride and engage in diatribes, about our positive opportunities needs to stop.

You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Let us embrace these positive changes and wait to see how things work out, before we start shouting, bitching or criticising.

In the meantime, ALL users need to start looking after our shiny new crown jewels. Everyone needs to ensure that we “Keep it clean and keep it green!” for future generations.