At the end of last summer somebody from Looe made the comment "thank you tourists for giving us our town back!" It is now the last days of school holidays and Looe is a very different place to what it was last week. There are still a good number of visitors but it is fair to say that they are very different to those who have been here for the last 6 weeks or so. As I walk around the Banjo Pier and quay at night the average age of holiday maker has gone up dramatically. There are less sandcastles on the beach and certainly far fewer brave souls swimming in the sea.
The holiday makers are in the process of giving our town back to us!
It has gone from this to this:
Solitude and peace at last some might say but it is worth our while at this moment to assess the reality. Looe is largely a fishing town but fishing provides a living for a small proportion of the population. It is the holiday makers that bring the most money into our community. It is with that in mind that we really ought to take stock at times and appreciate the good that they do for our community. Without them there would be great poverty in the town which in turn would cause people to move away. Therefore as we are inconvenienced by pedestrians and noise etc. we should thank those who chose to come here for relaxation instead of complaining, criticizing and carping about them. We really all need to live together for this most important time of the year. I never hear of a farmer complaining about the harvest all coming at the same time, it is the fruit of his years labour. Holiday makers are to some extent the fruit of what Looe is and as such should I believe be appreciated.
Looe is a beautiful place for which I am beginning to appreciate more as each season changes, it is a place for me to reflect on the important things of life and as such people from far and wide choose to come here to get away from the busyness of life and take time out to relax and enjoy themselves. The problem with that is that some people choose to enjoy themselves in ways that are alien to my ideal relaxation and as such we need to learn to live together. Patience with each other is necessary especially as we try to drive into the town in our daily routine amongst the hoards of pedestrians who would like to think that we have no right to drive down "their street!" Patience with them is a small price to pay for all of the good that they bring into the town. I have to admit to losing patience at 2:30am when the rowdy "Boscarners" turn out to ritually bellow and fight outside of my bedroom window and as such am not sure how they can learn to respect our needs above their demands but I suppose we need to say that it is not every night and so ................................
A quote from Winston Churchill here seems to be appropriate:
As we re-enter normality (whatever that might mean) it is good to remember that we have had a fantastic summer and have entertained many guests, given them great memories. We have affected the lives of young and old simply by being the people that happen to live in the place that they have chosen to holiday in 2014. We ought to be proud of both that and them and as we look forward to regaining control of our town let us keep a right perspective. Holiday makers:
A quote from Winston Churchill here seems to be appropriate:
As we re-enter normality (whatever that might mean) it is good to remember that we have had a fantastic summer and have entertained many guests, given them great memories. We have affected the lives of young and old simply by being the people that happen to live in the place that they have chosen to holiday in 2014. We ought to be proud of both that and them and as we look forward to regaining control of our town let us keep a right perspective. Holiday makers:
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