By Isle of Wight Observer
“Cheer up, Holmesy, try and keep a sense of perspective,” writes Yarmouth-based Matthew John Pomeroy Leeming. I love feedback and criticism, although I consider myself a realist. Unbridled optimism is often misplaced.
When I’m out and about, people come up and say, “I read your column, but I don’t always agree with you.” Very rarely, they’ll say, “You’re an absolute idiot; why on earth do they give you that space?” Thankfully, I’m thick-skinned, so it’s all water off a duck’s back.
Indeed, one of my favourite jokes is about a Broadway theatre show that closed as the curtain came down on opening night. Someone asked if it was closed due to critical reviews. “No,” said the producer, “word of mouth.” Or have you heard the one about the man who called the doctor when he heard his wife had been taken ill and was in hospital. “How is she, Doc?” he asked. “I’m afraid she’s extremely critical,” said the doctor. “Don’t worry about that,” said the man, “you’ll soon get used to it.”
My day-to-day life is fine; I’ve a lot to be grateful for. For example, I haven’t been flat broke since my teens. In my book, being properly skint means having insufficient money for the bare necessities of life – food and fuel. People like me who had a tough start in life often fear a return to those grim old days. I’m always aware that many other people are not as fortunate. Food banks didn’t exist in my day, so many people would try and get a bit of credit or ‘tick’ at the corner shop. I was often sent with a modest shopping list to ours, and occasionally, the shopkeeper would frown as she reminded me that we hadn’t paid for last week’s groceries yet. These were awkward encounters for an 11-year-old boy. I really didn’t want to go, but my hungry after-school belly seemed dependent on the mission’s success.
Optimism isn’t easy when there’s so much suffering around the globe. Poverty, conflict, tyranny, and people being generally horrid to each other, often for territorial or religious reasons, seems never-ending. Presently, the horrors in Iran are constantly on my mind. Our own country is a mess too; we all seem to agree Britain’s public services are simply not good enough, while taxes are at record highs.
Previous governments made a mess of things, and the current lot are locked on the same stupid path. They’ve made some terrible decisions around Britain’s agriculture industry. The UK’s two major ethanol plants have closed thanks to Keir Starmer’s one-sided US trade deal. We’re importing ours from the USA now. Labour’s decision-making around farming is woeful. We’re growing far less food and importing more. Gordon Ramsay says that for every £100 the restaurant industry takes in, £55 goes on paying various taxes. I suspect he forgot to count the local council’s parking taxes. Think of that next time you eat out.
I am fairly optimistic about Visit Isle of Wight’s new board, not just because I became a director. Dom Wray and Steve Wells are leading the charge, and both are a breath of fresh air. I’ve attended several board meetings, and everyone seems determined to increase our visitor numbers. The Island really is one of the world’s great destinations. If you live in London, we’re far more accessible than Cornwall. There hasn’t yet been enough discussion around ferries as a factor in our tourism challenges. As ever, it’s the elephant in the room, but the new tourism board won’t shy away from awkward conversations.
We’ll certainly need to do more than talk, but our success will be everyone’s, including the ferry operators. Despite the rain and endless roadworks, life is good here; we must fight to make it better still.