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Nothing like a nice fierce debate to warm the blood when there's a south-easterly blowing. Unfortunately, due to further incompetence from the editor the Spooky St. Ives site was reduced to pure gibberish for a couple of days due to his making a complete rickets of uploading the updated new year version. However, Alan Spencer somehow managed to locate it and spot my New Year's Eve rant. As you can see a rather lively exchange of e-mails/views/intercontinental ballistic missiles ensued! Who said democracy was dead (apart from roving US Ambassador Tony Blair)? Alan Spencer 07 January 2002 Fantastic new year in St. Ives
Judging by your cutting remarks regarding new
year's eve in St. Ives, I take it you stayed in by the fire at the stroke
of midnight.
Personally, I had a fantastic night in St. Ives
dressed as a seagull, mainly dancing on the beach and meeting many
people, young and old, who were having an equally good time, which I don't
agree actually makes me a stupid person.
I think you should get out more and don't be so
precious over the town you live in. There are millions of visitors in
London every day but you just have to accept that beautiful or interesting
places are going to attract tourists, just get over it. I love St. Ives
and visit frequently so I do share your concerns about crowd congestion
(especially with the tide in) and the dangers of launching the lifeboat, but
this is a problem for the town council to sort out and not for your little
chip on your shoulder.
I also take it you were down on the harbour beach
helping clean up the rubble on new year's day with the rest us, or were you
too busy taking photos to go on your website?
Cheer up
Vile Jelly 08 January 2002 09:23
Really?
I'm so sorry that you have been upset by the views of a St
Ives resident. I am sure that the authorities will be delighted to accept your
proposal to have the indigenous population irradiated to leave a nice
user-friendly theme park for you to visit whenever it's convenient.
For your information:-
Finally, due to some technical oversight you failed to
supply an address. If you would be so kind as to do so (you're obviously a man
of principles) I will be delighted to pass this on to any interested parties,
such as Lanham's and Moby's who might want to send you a bill for their
windows broken by you and your fellow good-timers. Also, some St Ives
residents may be passing your way in the future and may want to return the
compliment by climbing over your house, filling your garden with trash,
scratching your car and piddling through your letter-box.
I'm sure that you would agree that it would only be fair.
To paraphrase Charles Kinglsey - do as you are done by.
PS. I have cheered up. It's been lovely down here since
last weekend. I wonder why?
Alan Spencer 08 January 2002 15:58 Thanks for your informative reply, I have obviously hit a raw nerve!I don't condone smashing windows, bottles or anything else for that matter in St. Ives or anywhere else, so obviously I don't appreciate being tarred with the same brush as the mindless small minority causing damage around St. Ives. I don't believe drunken behaviour on New Year's Eve is exclusive to St. Ives though. I have even heard of people going out up and down the country getting very drunk in towns in which they don't even live! If you've ever been to London, the Lake District, Cotswolds or indeed anywhere else outside of Cornwall and been in a pub then you must have, in your own words, an IQ of zero. Where I live in Twickenham we have 70,000 drunken rugby fans invading the town and leaving chaos behind on a regular basis. However, I don't take this as a personal insult when my local pub is full or someone throws up near my house. The St. Ives event simply needs to be sufficiently organised and policed, as is the rugby. Maybe you need to get away from St. Ives if you really do feel that bitter. Due to it's natural beauty St. Ives has attracted visitors in abundance since the Second World War and this is not likely to change during your life-time. I know of a good job on an industrial estate in Milton Keynes that you might be interested in, guaranteed to be absolutely 'tourist-free.' Whilst I admit that the town was overcrowded, several locals I've spoken to actually enjoyed the night and, yes, I enjoyed the quiet time after New Year myself as much as I will enjoy coming down this weekend for a further few days. I can't really apologise for enjoying spending my time in St. Ives but I do sincerely apologise for not being a St. Ivean. Sorry. Perhaps see you at the weekend!? Vile Jelly 08 January 2002 18:30
Who knows. If you're in The Sloop at the weekend our paths
may well cross. You won't be able to miss me, I'm the one with the big chip on
my shoulder!
Anyway, no hard feelings, any debate about the relative
merits/demerits of New Year's Eve in St. Ives should be encouraged at this
stage. It has to be better then blindly hoping 'it never happens'.
Actually, if you'd read the whole of the website
(particularly the e-mails section) you'd know I'm not a St. Ivean, I'm just
someone who came down here and loved it like it was and would rather it stayed
that way as far as is possible. I mean what's the point of making Downlong a
Conservation Area and then letting it get trashed every New Year's Eve? I was
born in London, schooled in Lancashire and Liverpool, went to university and
worked in Manchester and ended up in the offshore financial business on the
Isle of Man, so I have been out and about a bit. The one thing about St. Ives
I do know is that they aren't making any more of them so why not try to keep
its character instead of turning it into just another bit of the UK?
Still, enough ranting, it's time for my medicine and primal
scream therapy. Attached is an article from the Times & Echo [see
next page] for no other reason than to show that it's not just me
who is concerned about recent developments. I am hoping to use it briefly on
my website as it is far better written than my effort which was done in haste
and outrage (the latter due to the damage to my car, it's hard to be
philosophical about waiting for the bill from the bodyshop).
PS. Don't fancy Milton Keynes much. I hear that they have
concrete cows which might put a serious crimp on my sex-life!
Alan Spencer 09 January 2002 12:47
Absolutely
no hard feelings.
I
think we're basically in agreement that we both enjoy the beauty and character
of St. Ives, as we frequently consider making the move down there to
live having enjoyed visiting for many years. However, as we both as
television graphic designers in London it would obviously require a dramatic
change of career for us both, which could be quite scary- any ideas?
Enjoy
quiet St. Ives over the winter.
Hell, if there's a job going in St. Ives it's news to us. It's you lot who've got all the money, most of the actual indigenous population here is so poor an EU commission designated Cornwall as a third world country. We're hoping that if President Blair has any of his American food parcels left over from Afghanistan he will take pity and air-drop some on us. One thing we can tell you for sure is that there is no money to be made from amateur websites. All you get is moaned at!
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