A road less travelled.

Biscuit Club cycle humour!

I have now been cycling around the South East region for a little under two years and during that time I have covered many thousands of kilometres across Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork, Tipperary and I have even, dare I say, visited the neighbours in Kilkenny on many an occasion – without the need for a passport may I add.

Who said we are two warring counties fighting over a proposed boundary extension in and around the Ferrybank area? As all seems fine when I peddle my bike through what some would picture is “bandit territory”. If you are to believe some of the rhetoric coming from certain public representatives then you might just need a flak jacket the next time you venture across the bridge!

Anyway, last weekend I took part in another fundraising event. This time for Mount Sion CBS which was an event I participated in last year and hopefully this will now become an annual fundraiser for the school. Make no bones about it? The people you regularly see at weekends, squeezed into all manner of coloured Lyrca, give a considerable amount of their time and money to many of the charity/fundraising cycles around this wonderful South East corner of Ireland.

Already this year we, The Biscuit Club members, have helped raise money for The Cycle for Sarah, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, Solas South East Cancer Centre “Dance for Life”, Waterford Hospice, Kilmacow Wheelers Charity Cycle to name but a few and the calendar for the summer looks equally busy.

There can be no doubt and speaking as a MAMIL only (so as not to upset the fairer sex), that when you get to certain age we either buy; a Harley, a stupid convertible car that makes you look like a numpty, a set of ridiculously expensive golf bats or a carbon racer bicycle with all the bells and whistle in terms of wheels, groupsets, low rolling resistance tyres, GPS computer gizmos and the latest trend a power meter! There is even an App that allows us to record our rides, compare times and keep an eye out on just how many kilometres you are covering every week.

In addition, if you were any way competitive in a previous sporting life, and some say I still am, then your weekend cycles, sportifs and charity events can become very spirited. The fact that you can now be as nerdy as you wish with all the statistics available makes cycling even more competitive.

There is of course a commercial side to cycling and if we are to be honest then there is a whole market out there for road, mountain and leisure cyclists that the South East region is missing out on. As the closest point to the UK, by boat and ferry, there really is a vast untapped market, of potential affluent customers to the South East and yet they do not come.

The opening of the Greenway will of course help us draw this lucrative market, but it will only do so if we are prepared to tell people about what we have to offer. To date our international promotion of the City, County and the greater region have been sadly lacking and I do wonder if we are to forever remain, in terms of international tourists, the Quiet County and forgotten region! Or perhaps it suits others that we remain the Cinderella in terms of our tourism opportunities.

Ideal Greenway companion bike!

Yes, we do have sooooo much to offer and I see this every weekend whilst out on the Penny Farthing. But what I do not see are lots of foreign tourists out enjoying the same fresh air, the stunning scenery, the beautiful beaches, challenging roads and the great hospitality.

My bike has taken me many places and given me the time to clear my mind to allow my creative juices to flow and I just wonder if those promoting this great region actually take the time TO do the same.

A Political Disaster-Class!

Is it just me or is anyone else shocked, annoyed, p@#$*d off and distinctly uncomfortable with the delay in forming a new Government? Was the election not seven weeks ago and yet we are still waiting to hear and read about the make-up of the next Dáil?

We all know that the wheels of Government tend to turn very, very slowly, but they appear not to be moving at all on the important issue of actually governing this country. It just goes to prove that the Humphreys of this world, which so famously amused us during the early eighties in the UK sitcom “Yes Minister”, are the people actually running this country.

Despite no Government, at the time of writing this article, this country continues to run and function efficiently enough. We have not yet turned into a lawless anarchistic state with angry hordes taking to the streets to demonise our political class thus begging the question just what have our newly elected representatives been doing for the last seven weeks?

Have we the tax payer just been subsidising one big Dublin shindig?

Is this not a clear case of demonstrating just how unproductive the political system is in Ireland? Were we to benchmark the productivity over the last seven weeks I am quite sure that the outcomes would not make good reading. Businesses and employees are constantly being told to be more productive, be more streamlined and yet the very people championing this mantra are themselves not practising what they preach. Never have I witnessed such ineptitude and incompetence.

Does it really take seven weeks to get round a table, bash a few heads together, forget historic playground jibes and “barter a better deal for the people for Ireland?”

Of course it should not.

The people, on 26^th February, gave a mandate for a new type of political representation and yet those elected seem to have forgotten this and now seem to be once again ploughing their own furrow for the betterment of who? There was just one chance to sweep the political map clean and start afresh? But we are back once again to sweeping the same dirt round and round the room.

Being openly pro all things Waterford, these delays are not doing our City, County and the greater South East any good what so ever. The longer the negotiations, (or should that read child’s play?), go on, the more and more we lose focus, on the very issues that need to be fixed to get us back to some sort of viable economic stability.

Wander around our City on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and even a Thursday and you will see very few people out spending money in our retail heart. We are still in that third tier of Ireland’s economic recovery and our disposable income is one of the lowest in the country. This elephant in our room will not go away and longer the procrastinations and childish bickering that goes on in Dublin the more our economic issues will fade as a distant election manifesto memory.

So who should we blame for the delay in getting on with governing? Well, I would blame ALL politicians for not sorting this mess out. People need to swallow their pride and find a solution that suits the county and not a solution that suits the politicians.

 

I wonder if we paid our politicians based on results, actions, productivity and delivery would we be in a different place? I do not know of any business or organisation for that matter, that would pay staff for what has in actuality been seven weeks of inactivity and downtime!

Finally, I must say that our TD’s are all looking extremely smart, save one or two exceptions, with new suits, perfect hair, and new gunas, on that satellite channel Oireachtas TV. Clearly, they have been spending their time wisely, seeking the advice of Gok Wan.

Though some have evidently engaged Trinny and Susannah for styling tips!

Today’s headline - tomorrow’s fish supper wrapper!

“Today’s headline - tomorrow’s fish supper wrapper” is a phrase often used back home, in Scotland, when referring to the millions of fish and chips, or deep fried mars bar takeaways, that are still wrapped in the previous day’s unsold national and local newspapers. Both the broadsheets and redtops are recycled for this very purpose and for some reason your fish supper always tastes better wrapped in newspaper.

This much worn phrase implies that no matter how good or bad a printed headline is, in the vast array of news print we have available, it undoubtedly has a very limited lifespan. The sensationalism of a newspaper headline is more often than not extremely short lived and therefore all too easily forgotten!

It is without doubt our ability to forget that has Government, aided by their very clever PR gurus, that regularly and without challenge allow contentious and controversial issues to be “shock news” for a relatively short period of time as they are aware that we all literally “forgive and forget” in the space of a few days.

We can see clear battle lines being drawn when unpopular decisions are about to be made. With a quantifiable time period for the bad press fallout and social media pillorying in place. Rest assured there are advisors upon advisors acting on behalf of the many Government departments, working away into the wee small hours calculating just how long a bad news story will run and last, and working out how to “ride out the chorus of protest and disapproval”.

It is these risk and reward calculations that allow Government to make unpopular choices and deal with a plethora of embarrassing headlines. Even though we have no official word as to who or what will constitute the makeup of the next Government we have already seen, read and forgotten the recent headlines over the retaining, recharging or ditching of water charges!

We will read with regularity over the coming few days and weeks claim and counter claim as more and more insider inter-party negotiation information is leaked to the press from all mainstream political parties, alliance interest groups and independents, who could well be holding the balance of power of the next Government – a throwback to the “good old days!”.

This in turn will create sensational and often spurious headlines with a view to creating shock and astonishment for the reader. However, we must be prepared to dig deeper beyond the initial headline to get at the truth of the story to formulate our own opinions.

Sometimes we can and will be swayed by headline grabbers who cynics might say are published by newspapers to increase sales. After all bad news seems to sell many more newspapers than a good news story headline.

To tackle the various hot ticket issues in the next few weeks we need in turn to voice our own opinions and concerns to those who will making the decisions behind closed doors and in the corridors of Dublin. After all did we not go to the poles to vote for change? This can of course be done on a very local level through our four newly directly elected members.

But be warned the clock is ticking on our opportunity to have our say and voice our opinion. But it is never too late to make that difference.

We are all responsible for creating our own headlines and making the printed news matter to us. The last things we need in Waterford and Ireland Inc is a whole series of newspapers headlines that will simply disappear into our green refuse bin. Ultimately biodegrading or being recycled into another sensational newspaper headline.

As tax payers and voters we must not be frightened or concerned about contacting and lobbying those very people we ultimately employ. We are all responsible for making change for the betterment of Waterford and the wider society in general.

Don’t let today’s headlines be tomorrow’s fish supper wrapper!

“I was there!”

Throughout our individual journey on this wee Island of green there will be many, many events that you will look back on in your own life’s history and remember fondly and then there are those seminal events that you might just have been lucky enough to be part of to be able to say to your family, children, grandchildren and friends that “I was there!”

Max Boyce, the Welsh comedian, entertainer and singer, would reminisce about being in the old Cardiff Arms Park watching his beloved Welsh rugby team sweeping all before them and creating many a rugby legend in the process. Max would recall these days in his shows, on television, and retell the associated stories around him being at such great matches that are now part of rugby folklore.

Luckily, in my short life I have been extremely fortunate to have been at a number of events that I too can proudly say “I was there!”

1990 Grand Slam

On the 17^th March 1990 a brilliantly dogged Scottish rugby team walked very slowly onto “God’s Golden Acre”, in Murrayfield, lead by the brilliant Captain that was David Sole. This was also the very first occasion that we sang “Flower of Scotland” as our own rugby anthem. Despite not being given one iota of a chance, by any of the national media and rugby pundits, a certain boyish Tony Stanger scampered down the right wing to score the games only try and by the end of the 80 minutes Scotland were Grand Slam Champions and “I was there!”

To mark this, our only third ever Grand Slam, I commemorated the occasion with a tattoo so that I could, every weekend and at every training session thereafter, annoy all my English rugby playing teammates, at the various clubs I played for in and around London.

I was also very lucky to have been invited to take part in the historic occasion that was the visit of Elizabeth II Regina to Ireland. Better still I was invited to meet and greet her in the Dublin Convention Centre along with other members of Irish business and various sporting stars. I duly travelled to Dublin, suitably dressed in my beloved kilt, and was part of this momentous occasion that befitted this modern day Ireland that we now live in. Who would have thought that this was at all possible when I first came to Ireland in the year 2001.

This was perhaps one of those one off events that truly deserved the phrase “I was there!”

Only a few years on from this event I was once again counting my blessings to be invited to travel to Dublin to take part in the 1916 Centenary Commemorations, this time as a member of the hard working voluntary group that is the 1848 Tricolour Celebration Committee.

In many ways being asked to be outside the GPO on such a significant occasion was very humbling. To be part of my adopted Nation’s remembrance of the 1916 Rising and the events that ultimately created the Ireland we now live in was to say the very least a great honour and something I will never ever forget.

GPO Dublin 27 March 2016

There are very few opportunities to be a part of an historic event and there are even fewer opportunities to attend such an event as a guest of the State. I am sure that every member of the Tricolour Committee felt the same way as I did as we sat outside the GPO. We would also attend all the events in Dublin Castle later that evening.

A substantial Waterford contingent was representing the City on Sunday the 27^th March. As we travelled back down the motorway I have no doubt that everyone who attended the historic event last Sunday will in future years be saying loudly and proudly “I was there!”

As a footnote, I always wanted to add to and refresh my Grand Slam tattoo but after 26 years I have failed miserably to do so. Maybe next year?

“It’s the way we tell ‘em!”

In business it is how you tell your business' story that makes the most impact and the honesty to which you are prepared to open up to your client or potential client that will make all the difference in securing new business.

“I wanna tell you a story” was a phrase used by Max Bygraves, an English comedian, singer, stage performer and sometimes actor. Max had his own TV shows when I was growing up as a wee boy in Glenrothes, Scotland and I also remember him on a very successful TV programme called Family Fortunes as well. He would always start a comedic section of any TV show with his well know catchphrase. It was almost like he was inviting you to sit down with him in a familiar place to listen to a bedtime story, it really was that familiar. As a result he tended to get his audience's attention and thus people became accustomed to knowing exactly when to listen.

“It’s the way I tell ‘em!” was another catchphrase I remember from my dim distant youth that was used by the larger than life Northern Irish comedian Frank Carson. He would tell very short punchy jokes and add his catchphrase to the end of the punch line to reinforce that fact that he had finished telling his story and it was now time to laugh and appreciate his joke or series of jokes. Frank would use his catchphrase as, I suppose, a call to action in that the audience had become so accustomed to him rolling out this phrase that they were almost conditioned to laugh at the catchphrase rather than the punch line of his jokes.

There was something about the need for comedians to attach themselves to a catchphrase during the heady days of variety TV that blanketed our screens during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Perhaps it was a way for the many comedians to distinguish themselves from other comedians or was it just another way of them selling you their own USP (unique selling point or ultimate selling proposition).

This tradition continued throughout the early nineties. But as programmes and audiences matured and changed we have seen a move away from catchphrases altogether and we now have comedians who are simply brilliant at telling funny stories. And it is the way that they can tell these funny stories that allow our modern day comedians to fill venues that accommodate 10,000 to 15,000 seat arenas around the world.

To play to such large audiences and yet make each and every audience member feel that the comedian is literally in their living room, speaking to them in an extremely intimate way, is testament to the skill of the individual and their storytelling prowess of our most successful comedians that tour Ireland and the UK.

People like Billy Connolly, Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Brendan O’Carroll, Brendan Grace, Bill Murray and his Pub Landlord, to name but a few, are some of the very best storytellers around – fact.

But can our businesses learn from these comedic storytellers? Yes of course businesses can. In fact I would go much further and say that if a business is not telling its own story, through its staff members, then a business is not operating correctly and that business will find it very hard to survive and prosper.

Like a modern day storyteller your businesses' promoters must be delivering every single message with honesty, integrity, passion, openness, enthusiasm and most important of all a SMILE.

This mantra can also be replicated by villages, towns, cities and regions and over the last two or three weeks it would appear that Waterford has a better story to tell than most. What with TF Meagher the creator of the Irish Tricolour, the first Tricolour being raised at 33 The Mall and with Luke Wadding “inventing” St. Patrick’s Day.

To make Waterford appeal to a much wider audience maybe we just need a better catchphrase!

St. Patrick’s Day – Made of Waterford!

Spraoi, Waterford City, St.Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day is often seen, in many circles, as the start of the tourism season. After all this is the first big event after the traditional celebrations of Christmas and New Year.

Certainly in my past life, at Waterford Castle, this day would be seen by champions of the mashie niblick as a date when you could look forward to better golfing weather and the promise of lots of course work, with much hollow tining, to make the greens as smooth and velvety as the proverbial baize on a billiard table. This by all accounts is the Holy Grail for many a good and bad golfer, as you “drive for show and putt for dough”, when chasing that infuriating wee white ball around the 18-holes of a golf course. It is the greens that spoil a scorecard and never the actual golfer. Like the modern day formula one driver, all golfers have a myriad of readymade excuses that tell the story of a bad round of golf.

Luke Wadding

When I first arrived in Waterford City I was not sure what to expect from my first parade in March 2001. But I was pleasantly surprised and I believe that I have attended nearly every parade since that date, missing 2014 to march in New York with the 69^th Infantry Division. I even used to get invited to sit in the posh seats, but hey-ho times have changed and I now happily stand with the madding crowds waving my tricolour and rather proudly wearing a sprig of Shamrock.

Surprise, Surprise, no not a reference to that hideous programme, I did plant last year’s Shamrock in a pot and despite having not a scintilla of green in my fingers the sprig has miraculously survived for twelve months and we will be wearing our own home-grown Shamrock this year at the parade.

My interest in all things relating to St. Patrick’s Day grew when I would later discover, probably around 2002 or 2003, a small statue of a certain Mr Luke Wadding, an Irish Franciscan Friar, outside a rather derelict old religious building in Greyfriars. On closer inspection of the statue we can read that Luke was quite literally responsible for putting St. Patrick’s Day on the religious calendar, after apparently lobbying Pope Charles I, and therefore it is he who is responsible for the celebrations we see around the world on 17^th March.

A green Sphinx!

Such is the global phenomenon that is St. Patrick’s Day all manner of “wonders of the world” are now turning green every 17^th March – Edinburgh Castle, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, One World Trade Centre, Christ the Redeemer, the Colosseum, the Sphinx and even Nelson’s Column have all succumbed to the charm of the Irish and been bathed in a green hue to honour St. Patrick’s Day.

I do however wonder if yet again Waterford is missing a trick and an opportunity here!

As we all should know the Irish Tricolour was flown for the first time on 33 The Mall by Thomas Francis Meagher, a Waterford born native, and we can also lay claim to “inventing” St. Patrick’s Day, albeit as a religious day and not the parade day we celebrate now, but invent this day a Waterford born native did.

So, two “things” that speak of the essence of Irishness, recognised and identified around the world as being integral to one’s Irish roots have a direct connection to Waterford City. Yet we are still better known for glass and crystal and not these two iconic images that tens of millions of people hold dear to their hearts on 17^th March every year.

Edinburgh's magnificent Castle

Surely, we have an unbelievable opportunity to put Waterford at the very heart of all these celebrations of Irishness and it is a prospect not to be missed.

As I have said many times before we just need to be a wee bit more imaginative and creative in how we promote this ancient City that has shaped modern day Ireland.

Nobody does it better!

Richard Kiel from The Spy Who Loved Me.

Last weekend Waterford City hosted the sixth annual 1848 Tricolour Celebration event and I am very proud that as one of the hard working voluntary Committee members I have taken the opportunity to write, this week, about the huge effort, commitment and sacrifice given to this event by a relatively small Committee of nine and a half good men and women of Waterford (well Scotland for me if the truth be told!).

Over the last twelve months this group have been working tirelessly away in the meeting rooms of The Granville Hotel, to deliver not only the annual gala dinner, historic talks, schools programme and Flag Raising ceremony but the programme was expanded this year to acknowledge the very important 1916 Commemoration in a way that will NOT be replicated anywhere else in Ireland during this year.

This committed band of brothers and sisters produced a weekend's worth of events that could have graced any national event calendar and in recognition of the magnitude of the professionalism of the events delivered our Waterford City held centre stage with our national broadcaster on Saturday evening on both of the main news bulletins. It is these small wins and PR opportunities that are firing a warning shot across the bows of others cities that Waterford is not prepared to lie down and accept the occasional crumbs from the top table that are so often fed to us every now and again.

Great picture from Noel Browne.

Quite simply we want a bigger slice of the cake!

A summary of last weekend shows just what a significant programme this committee delivered. On Friday 4^th March 100 people, from 50 different nationalities, were naturalised as Irish Citizens, in City Hall, opposite the very spot where TF Meagher raised the first ever Irish Tricolour flag on 7^th March 1848.

On an unusually sunny afternoon, on Saturday 5^th March, 2,500 people watched as over 90 re-enactors staged the Easter Rising battle for the GPO, on The Mall, outside the Bishop’s Palace. This 40 minute historic re-enactment included forces from both side of the conflict and a period British armoured car with a Vickers and a Lewis machine gun. Whilst this event captured the public’s imagination the ticketed gala dinner that followed was really the corporate flag waving event that delivered the goods for Waterford City.

Over one hundred and fifty people attended the sell out gala dinner in The Granville Hotel. This event was attended by Mayor John Cummins, Ambassadors from the United States and Canadian Embassies, representatives from Government, members of the 69^th Infantry Division in New York, American film production companies, and 45 guests from the Twin Cities of Minnesota to name but a few. Keynote speakers were Vice Admiral Mark Mellett and Lt Col Sean M Flynn Commander of the 69^th Infantry Division New York, with musical accompaniment by the Island of Ireland Peace Choir and the Hounds of Fin.

The gala dinner was one of the best attended and certainly one of, if not the most positive, corporate events I have experienced in my time here in Waterford City. The City was sold to our guests in a glowing light and I am sure that no other City or committee could have put on such a noteworthy event.

Another action shot from Noel Browne.

On Sunday 6^th March the weekend’s events were wrapped up with the Flag Raising Ceremony on The Mall. Again this event was attended by a significant number of dignitaries and representative counties and despite some cold and damp weather, around 1200 people watched the proceedings and listened intently to the speeches. This event was supported in great numbers by local bands, the Civil Defence and of course the Waterford Naval Reserve providing all the pomp and ceremony which befitted such a symbolic event.

So Waterford City take a bow.

To the voluntary committee of Ann, Eddie, Paul, Janet, Mags, Jonathan, James, Cian and John you ALL played a blinder – roll on 2017!