Report from I.W. Councillor John Nicholson

Posted by Admin on 24 April 2018, 11:17 pm

COUNCILLOR JOHN NICHOLSON

Ward Member for Northwood & Cowes South
Chairman of Policy & Scrutiny Committee for Adult Social Care & Health Committee

SUNNYSIDE

PALLANCE LANE

NORTHWOOD

PO31 8LT
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Tel: 01983 209642 (evenings best)

Mobile: 07918 757843
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Email: cllr.john.nicholson@btconnect.com

See the I.W. Councillor’s section

WARD REPORT – APRIL 2018

The Report appearing in the May 2018 edition of Northwood News:

Northwood is Moving

People remain in and move to Northwood because they like its surety, its quietness, the fact that nothing much changes. When I go around speaking with people, they tell me that they just don’t want things to change – but, Northwood is moving!

Some, at this point, may start to question my sanity (it wouldn’t be for the first time, nor would they be the only ones – I do it myself at times!), but do bear with me. There is no such thing as standing still, for if you do the rest of the world moves on, leaving you behind, so in effect you are moving backwards – a fact certainly very apparent in business, particularly in recent times.

So, thinking that you are standing still, that change is not happening, is a delusion. What is that thing about illusory effect – the more sound you think you are can be testament that you are not, and the more you question yourself, the more sound you become? The message being that if you think you are stood still you are not seeing all the movement that is passing you by.

This inherent blind spot is a really significant point for me, and I have been explaining to colleagues, experts in their field, who have a vision but cannot understand how others cannot see the same, that you cannot expect someone to understand that which they have little or no concept of. Everything that we see and understand is a representation in our minds, a representation that is interpreted through our experience, understanding and values; what is real to one person may not hold the same form of reality to another, especially if their experience and values are different.

So, what am I talking about, with all this? Well, I see Northwood as a sleeping giant potential, it has a wonderful population, with many talents and potentials that generally go unappreciated, except by a very few, and, largely all too little. We also have a wealth of businesses, ranging from the likes of our very own enterprising Milky to firms that operate in large arenas, even on a national or international scale, all contributing to employment and the economy in their own way. But, like the person who believes that things are standing still, we as a community know very little about these resources on our doorstep, or even the assets that lie within our own population. Whether it is business or community, the same applies.

But, as I say, Northwood is moving. The sleeping giant potential is stirring. Northwood is starting to wake up and realise its potential. The Parish Council has signed up to pilot a Regeneration initiative that will tell us about the businesses that reside here, about their needs, frustrations, resources and aptitude. The enthusiastic new management at the Travellers Joy is holding Meet your Neighbour Thursdays, where people that live in the area come to the pub to meet others who also live nearby and that they may not have spoken to before. Tea and biscuits are provided, and some participants now bring homemade goodies to share with their new friends. How great is that!

Of course, the Community Partnership perform a similar function, and have brought people together for years, to great benefit, as does the Parish Church, too. And, there may be other organisations, such as Age UK, who draw on members of our community to help and selflessly associate with others, that also bring people together to make friends and do useful things to help each other and the community, and I would like to know about them too, so that we can communicate, link and raise awareness of all the good works that makes Northwood quite a moving community.

You cannot beat human contact, getting out and talking to people, and when one of the smartest companies in the Country, that brings people together and gives them what they want as their business, decides that human face to face contact is still the best, better than uncontrolled remote media, then that is a statement that reaffirms that our humanity is the most important asset that we have; and we should use it more, that if other process does not serve, it does not serve, and that we must never forget the real value of real human contact and interaction, whether in business or in community, and when we do, it is enough to cause all sorts of problems that in a less politically correct society would be called what they are – lack of healthy perspective!

With best wishes to all …

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John Nicholson
Ward Member for Northwood & Cowes South.