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An Englishman, an Irishman and a Cornishman…

OK, so this week has actually seen quite a momentic (word? Possibly not) change in our rather little but rather marvellous corner of the world. The fair residents of Cornwall (including at least 6 of our lovely suppliers) woke up on 24th April to the news that they have now been granted official minority status, bestowed on it, via several committees and frameworks, by Europe. Hoorah! The Cornish can now officially refer to themselves as Cornish. I’m sure they would have done this without some committee telling them they can, but still, anything which recognises and celebrates Cornwall’s unique position among other UK regions in terms of language, history, culture and character can only be a good thing.

So congratulations Kernow! You truly are unique and minoritnous. (Non-word number 2), and we loves ya for it.

And that’s not all – there’s also exciting news Eastside this month; the South West is now connected to the mainland again! Yep, that’s right, rather unexpectedly, the train line at Dawlish was actually finished ahead of schedule (Rio Olympics committee, take note) so west of Exeter is now not completely inaccessible to everyone without a car and/or private jet. And on a personal note – hoo-bloody-rah! No more replacement coach services, no more standing on the platform at Tiverton waiting to get on a train to take me the last 10 minutes of my 2 hour journey to Taunton and (sadly) no more free drinks vouchers as compensation for the whole ballache.

But seriously, it’s fantastic news for all those local businesses who risked losing oodles of income due to reduced tourist numbers. So well done to Scoop, Muck, Dizzy, Bob, Wendy and whoever else was responsible (that’s one for the parents); perhaps now we need to address the bigger problem of making the South West more accessible and not entirely dependent on one solitary rail line in and out of the region for the future. After all – we’ve got a protected minority down ‘ere now. We’ve gotta look after them.

 

 

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Message from the Westcountry to the Mainland…

Can you read me…Over…?

Message reads:

FOR GOODNESS SAKE INVEST IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE (stop) – IT’S AWFULLY QUIET DOWN HERE (stop).

On this cold, rainy miserable evening, this rather chilly Plymothian is sat listening to the Proclaimers and drinking a glass of wine, wondering if I could indeed walk 500 miles (and then 500 more) to reach the heady heights of “up north” (aka Bristol and beyond…).

You would have had to have lived in a cave with earmuffs on this last week to not know what I’m talking about – the devastating storms that have hit the UK have been all over the media, particularly the pictures of the beautiful coastal train line running through Dawlish, or at least where the beautiful train line used to be – half of it is now hanging precariously a few feet above the water. Whilst it’s a blessing that no one (as far as I know) has been seriously injured (or worse) by the damage, the focus has now shifted and the devastating effect the complete lack of transport infrastructure into the Westcountry is going to have on local businesses is becoming apparent. Plymouth and Cornwall have, quite literally, been cut off from the rest of the UK in terms of rail links, which leaves us 2 options: road (the lack of a motorway west of Exeter leaves us at the mercy of the rather optimistically named “Devon Expressway”) and air (which has been significantly affected by the closure of Plymouth airport – now we rely on the reduced service at Newquay, or, the extremely expensive flights from Exeter – and in any event, that’s now only any good if you have a car…).

And devastating really isn’t too strong a word – tourism really is the life blood of the Westcountry. The head bod at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce has estimated a loss of over £500 million to the South West’s economy as a result of the newly amphibious train line. Which begs the question: why has no one ever considered the implications of this before, or if they have, why weren’t they taken seriously? As anyone who has tried to catch a train heading for Penzance on the Friday before a Bank Holiday weekend and ended up sitting in the loo in order to get a seat can attest – they come in their tens of thousands to the region. Business, pleasure, relaxation, stimulation, culture, kicking back or zoning out – they come and they spend. I shudder to think what will happen if the train line is not up and running by the Easter weekend.

And getting out of Devon & Cornwall is proving almost as difficult. I was due to attend a meeting in Reading in March, and it has now become apparent that my best option is to drive from Plymouth to Newquay, fly from Newquay to Gatwick and get the train from Gatwick to Reading. (Quite literally, Trains, Planes and Automobiles).

So – to sum up. I dare say that one of the reasons so many of us love the South West is it’s remoteness, it’s quiet, laid back pace of life. But whilst we may occasionally tut at the tourists when we can’t get a seat in our Local on a Saturday night, we need them like a cream tea needs jam, like a pasty needs a pint and 2 indigestion tablets. Lets hope the Grockles don’t stay away too long – we miss them when they’re gone.