Time to stop over-reacting, Newport.

 

In the past there was exaggerated optimism about the beneficial effects of city status and the location of the Ryder Cup. Now there is exaggerated pessimism about current problems. 

The city centre is going through a very rough patch. A debate in parliament recently proved that almost every city in the UK is suffering the same flight of shops from centres to out-of-town sites. One malicious TV programme on a minority channel has caused upset. It took eight weeks of filming to collect revolting scenes of drunken low life. A similar picture of Cardiff was broadcast two years ago.  By deliberately accentuating the negative, the same awful scenes could be found in every city in the UK. 

Come on, Newport. It's time to stop beating ourselves up. This was a tiny slice of the worst of local life. We still have a great city. There are hundreds of pubs and dozens of restaurants here that are comfortable, well-run, safe and first class. Today I had a great meal in the historic, gastronomically adventurous and thriving Priory. The wooden Mabinogion figure outside was decorated with a fall of snow. I have dined equally happily in dozens of other pubs or restaurants in Newport. 

BBC Wales had a bleak phone-in on the city. I had never heard of any of the commentators in the studio. They were grossly under-informed on the city. There was no invitation to any of the city's MPs or AMs to take part. Good to hear callers reminding them about the city's treasures of Tredegar House, the Roman Amphitheatre, the Transporter Bridge, the Ffwrwm, the views from Christchurch and Ridgeway, the Roman baths and the burgeoning new boulevard that includes the new bridge and the splendid University building. 

Newport is a city rich in its proud history, its robust unique character and a lively musical and cultural life. At each of three nights of the schools musical festival in the Albert Hall, groups from Newport and Gwent were selected as the best in the UK.  I was proud to witness the marvellous skills of the city's youngsters. What a shame Channel Four does not wish to present the positive virtues of Newport life.

 

Bleak news from Fukushima

 

Researchers working around Japan's disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say bird populations there have begun to dwindle, in what may be a chilling harbinger of the impact of radioactive fallout on local life. In the first major study of the impact of the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, the researchers, from Japan, the US and Denmark, said their analysis of 14 species of bird common to Fukushima and Chernobyl, the Ukrainian city which suffered a similar nuclear meltdown, showed the effect on abundance is worse in the Japanese disaster zone. 

Leaks of radioactive water have become more frequent at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant less than two months after it was declared basically stable. The problem underlines the continuing challenges facing Tokyo Electric Power Co as it attempts to keep the nuclear plant under control. A massive earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant last March, resulting in the melting of three reactor cores.

Municipalities and farmers in Fukushima Prefecture are furious at the national government for ignoring the state of local farmland in extending subsidies for decontamination of areas tainted with radioactive substances.

 

Comments

[Monasticdave.wordpress.com]

Th priory is in Newport city centre yeah? Honestly, it is this sort of bewildered thinking that profiles you people out of touch with the reality of the actual situation.

[Paul Flynn]

Caerleon is as much part of Newport as the city centre is. There are good pubs in the centre that are well-run and do not have the atmosphere of menace of those selected by Channel Four. the Murunger and Weathersppons are obvious examples.

[DG]

I was in the city centre having a quiet drink and boardgame in the Murenger on one of the nights that Channel 4 were filming, about 25 yards away from the areas that they focussed on. I remain of the opinion that the worst scum in town that night were the exploitative, Mail-baiting lowlife behind the camera. It's worth remembering that at the time this was filmed - August 2011, I believe - there were actual riots happening in other parts of the country. And we're supposed to feel shamed by a couple of drunken weekend scuffles? A sense of proportion, please. Newport's not perfect, but it's certainly not the hellhole it gets painted as, either.

[Paul Flynn]

That's great information DG. I certainly did not know that. But as you rightly say, whatever happened was far less serious that the English riots that passed up by.

[John Gale]

Mr Flynn thank you for presenting the positives about Newport
I have lived here for 65 yrs and am proud of our City
I was encouraged recently by Young people who said that they like Newport

[Harold Evans]

Quite right, Mr Flynn. Let's all put our fingers in our ears, tell ourselves everything about Newport city centre is perfect and it will all be OK.

[DG]

No room for anything inbetween "perfect" and "Chavtown from Hell" in your philosophy, Mr Evans?

[David Mclean]

I think most sensible people realise that this was simply car-crash TV, constructed to be entertaining and shocking. Many others have over-reacted and taken the programme as an insult, as if they really expected a programme called 'Bouncers' to be anything different. However, while Bouncers was a bit of fun and misrepresentative titillation, Mr Flynn's list of things Newport should be proud of - "Tredegar House, the Roman Amphitheatre, the Transporter Bridge, the Ffwrwm, the views from Christchurch and Ridgeway, the Roman baths and the burgeoning new boulevard that includes the new bridge and the splendid University building" are nearly all architectural. It is hard, if not impossible to point to anything social or cultural Newport can be currently proud of. We don't have much in the way of a theatre or fine eateries, night life is limited to a handful of average pubs, a shrinking group of tatty nightclubs, a VERY poor community of restaurants, very little in the way of a live music scene. It wasn't always this way, but we should not gloss over the cultural demise of Newport in recent years.

[DG]

That "bit of fun" has cost two people their jobs, lost the security firm their biggest customer and given the whinge-brigade yet another opportunity to drag Newport down. I'd argue that the Murenger and the Carpenter's are above average pubs with great, though very different, atmospheres. Your average Newportonian doesn't have a lot of cash to flash around at the mo, so no, there aren't many fine dining experiences to be had, but you can get a perfectly decent meal in any number of places. Haven't checked the Riverfront or Dolman programs lately, but you must admit that two theatres serving a population of less than 140k isn't bad going.

[Rachaelphillips]

I was one of the commentators in the studio on the BBC radio Wales phone in. I have to say the “I’ve never heard of them” comment is not only insulting but extremely patronizing. No, you may not have heard of me and why should you ? But I am a resident of Newport and therefore my opinion SHOULD matter to you. I have tweeted you about this, I’ve emailed you {upon your request which may I add was ignored} and you have the nerve to turn around and state that I am uninformed about the City?

I could fill this comment section over and over with stories of crime and anti social behavior on my street alone. If you had listened carefully to my comments (and the comments of Dan who is VERY passionate about his City) then you’d have heard that we spent the majority of the time trying to think of reasons why people maybe acting like that and talking about what could be done to improve the place.

Yeah, we’ve got Caerleon and Usk etc but people want a city centre and its not about people coming in from the outside its about people who are living and breathing Newport every day. I believe Newport has some great things going for it but you go in to the town and you’ll see a dying, ghost town – no channel four documentary is going to fabricate that.

Like a previous commenter has said, you continue to put your head in the sand and wax lyrical about what a great city it is without seeing the actual truth and making big changes then it’s going to get worse!!

Newport Council has a huge part to play (and note that on the radio show they were asked to go in to the studio but refused).
They’re handing out licenses left, right and centre and yet people who want to start businesses and open shops are being priced out of the City because of extortionate business rates and rents.

The bottom line is of course you’ll go to any town or city centre and see the same scenes but we’re not any town or city and ignoring the views of your constituents Paul is rude, arrogant and insulting.

[D.G.]

I'm surprised that a woman from Newport is defending the program that showed a "typical Newport girl" being described as one who was happy to perform a sex act on a man while defecating in a public lavatory. If this isn't a fair representation of you, your mum, your girlfriends, daughters or nieces, you should be bloody outraged.

Nobody's saying Newport doesn't have problems like any other city in Britain, but that doesn't give a TV producer the right to drag our city's name through the mud. We deserve better than to be constantly portrayed as either mindless louts or helpless victims.

[Paul Flynn]

Thank you Rachael. My blog is clearly new to you because unlike 13,000 others you had difficulty getting back to me. I repeat, the radio discussion was disappointing. All negative with many inaccuracies.

That afternoon I had a meeting with the Council, Jessica Morden and Newport's two AMs. The Council did not refuse to take part. They were informed only half an hour before the programme and could not get anyone in time. None of the rest of us were invited. As it happened I was the only one who heard the programme.

I believe it was you who criticised me for having a house in Newport but spending my time in London! That's where I work, make speeches, ask oral questions, cross-examine witnesses on Select Committees etc. I cannot do the job without spending my working week in London. But I live in Newport and use the pubs, schools and restaurants.

You also mentioned my books. Had you read any of them you would know that they are full of good news about Newport, which I shamelessly plug. All royalties from the books go to charities. The books are an important part of my work as an MP.

You were wrong on my knowledge of the town centre. The difference between us is I know what it was like 10, 20, 30 and 40 years ago. 25 years ago I went on a briefing and all-night patrol with the Police. Now I regularly see the police and the Newport centre is a regular topic.

It was a shame that there was no-one in the studio who had a balanced view of the city. Thank goodness for those who rang in.
I can find only one e-mail from a Rachael Phillips, about a health matter. I received it around a year ago and it was dealt with promptly and efficiently.

On tweets. I cannot answer all those who tweet back. There are hundreds of them.

Of course there are serious problems in the city. How does an hour-long negative moan on BBC Wales help? None of you highlighted the great things about the city. I was immensely proud of the Gwent musicians (mostly Newport) recently. But I had to be in London to hear them.

A far more balanced view is provided by the Argus today.

[Rachaelphillips]

DG I don't condone the documentary at all. Of course it was a sensationalist piece, it had to be, if it was showing all unicorns and rainbows then it wouldn't have been commissioned. This isn't a new topic, especially not amongst the people who live in Newport.

Paul, your blog isn't new to me but being busy I don't have time to check in on a daily basis. I will respond to your email in a moment so I won't bother writing it all out here as well.

[OfADifferentView]

I think a lot of people have got the total wrong idea about what this programme is actually about. Is it not about the difficulties that the door staff have to put up with on a daily basis? Of course people will laugh at the public in the show, but they would have the same reaction regardles of who they were or in which town it was set. It's the same situation as Party Paramedics. A recent episode was filmed in Colchester but the viewer isn't expected to have negative views of the town; but rather negative views of the impacts that alcohol and drugs can have on what are otherwise normal people from normal backgrounds. These programmes are a jab at our drinking culture, not the towns they are set in.

[DG]

@ Rachael if it's unacceptable to show all rainbows and unicorns, why is it OK to show pure bile?

@ OfADifferentView Unfortunately the show's participants were shown waxing lyrical about Newport, not society's drinking culture.

[Tim Morton]

When I suggested to my AM that Wales should copy the Portuguese model , treating "drug" mis-use as a medical issue, and introduce Dutch style coffee-shops selling cannabis etc., my MP replied that we do not know the impact that may have. True of course, if we don't try we will never know. The programme clearly shows the mis-use of a legal drug, serving drunks is also illegal, when was the last time you read a court report of someone convicted for doing so? So cannabis use bad, alcohol use good. For whom?