Dear Athelstan
I am quite involved in educational matters and my training in industrial psychology and advertsiing has left me with the firm view that one should never talk down to children. Nor should one ever under estimate them. I could not draw until I was 35 yrs of age becuse my art teachers did not really know that the main impediment to anyone drawing is that they think they cannot. I can now teach folk to draw in 30 minutes.Whereas at Manchester Grammar I got 1 out of 100 for drawing it is now  a powerful start point for many of my deals.

When we had the Landscape Day Mike Steade set up a modern bit of computer kit so we could show the hundreds of pictures taken a few weeks before of Whitchurch. What we want to celebrate the output of the young (and older) is on-screen images.

I do like competitions ( is it old fashioned in school speak ?) Our millennium gates were th result of a competiton I think I have said this already .The winner is great but so much other good stuff is hidden in one file that no-one sees.

A sensible shop could have such a screen as part of their shop window, it would attract people and they would possibly become shoppers.

When it comes ot the landscape we are rooted in history so we should have very good examples of that, its value is perceptible to all age groups. Entertainment and recreational elements are subject to short-term fashion so it is more difficult to include them. There is the negative correllation that if one generates a high level of creativity and output one cannot express it in limited space.

Re your name I have just published a book on the real meaning of the letters in the English alphabet. Go to Lulu.com and in the section under alphabet page three you will find it. It is only �5.00 Why is the letter A at the beginning of the alphabet ?

The ancients said that if you were lucky you grew into your name so it was considered very unlucky and bad karma to hide your name or even shorten it.My book hints that the latter is definitely true.

I agree about those dead businesses. I have thought about re-opening a shop, I had one once where the kebab house is. Prince Charles was going on about a special window treatment so Itried it. For years you could have thrown a bucket of mud over the windows and it just fell off.

tangent.  Anyone interested in development shoud read Charles Landry.
Regards
Graham

Dear Athelstan,
I do not object to anyone having anything on a plaque but plaques have the inherent problem of taking up a lot of room which we do not have also they are costly.Another problem is that they must be robust and by definition last a long time so you will have plaques in place by "children" who will grow up and not be children for long.
A long time ago they were in use but Moses only took ten of the batch he had had made up the mountain.Plaques are not the best way to reveal the wide range of creative energies of current inhabitants.If their work could be displayed via the website and onto mobiles that would be different.
I think I have said before we had this marvellous competition for the Millennium Gates and the results from the schools were amazing.We could have had several sets of superb gates all with different innovative designs.

The process was not inclusive and had we had a better way of recognising their creative skills one or two might have been moe inspired and gone on to be very good designers.

Various groups will be meeting soon and some key decisions will be made.I have been fortunate enough to have had meetings with the key officers and feel they are open to sensible comment on what we actually want to keep and what we might want to have put in place.
You have in the past expressed interest in these matters so this is an invite to a constructive walk around the town centre.The aim is to get together a set of documents that will be of use. I can collate all this and hand it to the Steering Group.

I attach an image as a sample. It shows the key things one should acknowledge and celebrate at one place, namely leaving Bell Street Car park.

If you are interested we will gather at Bell St Car Park 10am Sunday 18th November.
I have asked Phil Cooper to put this on the website but not everyone reads it I know.

That's exactly what is in the plans for the community bollard proposal with the bollards telling stories, being themed, or possiby leading a 'route'. They would be regularly changed through on-going competitions/sponsorship/adoption (this also makes them self-maintaining).
They could of course contain elements of Whitchurch history, events, local life or whatever is deemed suitable.

It is not only schools which are in the plan, but any community groups, as well as businesses or even individuals. The idea is to allow potential involvement by anyone.

The plans that Hampshire CC officers have drawn up, based on the guidance they have been given by the Steering Group, will be put on display in the Town Hall on Wednesday.

They will there until 15 Jan and you are welcome to go and have a look and make comments on them.

Phil

I've put the latest version on the web at http://www.thewhitchurchweb.org/TCIP071212.htm



Phil

Unfortunately, the Communuity Centre is only open at times when the library is open or when there is an activity on.

I'm negotiating with the library for space - but that is only open 4 days per week

Phil