Age of Insecurity: too much negativity
Harry McQuillen
Health is the basis of an active life, but nobody beats the years. I’ll admit to a regular routine of walking five times round the pier, the breakwater, the prom, and the Great Wall of Amble (about 3 miles) in 50 minutes, but I haven’t been on the moors out of Wooler for months. A dodgy toe, failing eyesight, and other signs of old age ensure that I almost always come home to roost.
It’s cheaper that way, and I know what’s in my own cooking It’s so easy in old age, or at any age to focus on one’s own life and interests, but it’s much more interesting and thought provoking to look at the thoughts and concerns of others.
Mind you, I prefer to hear these things from the horse’s mouth rather from social media. When you look somebody in the eye you have a lot more chance of knowing if they really mean what they say.
There’s so much NEGATIVITY these days. We question the things said by politicians and other public figures. We often feel that so-called experts have a hidden (or not-so -hidden) agenda. Politics is a funny old business, or it would be if it wasn’t so serious. Our recent general election is a perfect case in point.
Will the expression “to do a crosby” enter the Oxford English Dictionary next year? Cleverly the said Lynton Crosby managed to demonise both Labour and the SNP. The result would no doubt give him and his employers a great deal of satisfaction.
It’s so easy to DIVIDE people, but much harder to UNITE them! Many of us remember the times when we had no Welfare State, or NHS, or decent infrastructure. I can see the viewpoints of different groups, but I can’t help thinking that compromise and concensus have a lot to commend them.
Our Harbour Village is a great improvement on what was there before. Let’s all give it time to bed in before we pronounce on its financial viability.
Many visitors have told me that they like the look of our town. That’s a very good start. We must now have about 3330 businesses selling food to take out or eat in. That shows confidence in Amble. We can all help by being helpful to our visitors, by keeping our town tidy, and by taking a pride in our locality.
I’ve always liked Amble: Perhaps that’s the natural prejudice of a native? Nobody knows what the future holds.
Let’s all think POSITIVE thoughts. Here’s to a lovely summer.
Harry McQuillen
