Robins Nest Egg!

Has anyone seen this on the SABC website?

The mind boggles!

1) Creches for 6 to 12 years old children :blink:

2) Saturday morning flicks presumably at the Old Market Hall :rolleyes:

3) Businesses in the town that have not yet gone bust giving away freebies left right and centre. <_<

4) Only good news printed in the paper B)

5) Swimming competitions at our clapped out swimming pool :(

6) Darwin's birthday party. Wouldn't a wake be more appropriate?

Seems like an honest attempt to attract more shoppers to the town centre between January and March 2009, a traditionally quiet three months which may well be particularly challenging next year for independent shops trying to make ends meet.

Would you rather that shoppers go to the mega Tesco in Harlescott, or perhaps to Telford instead?

1. 'Creches for 6-12 year old children'. To quote the document that you linked to, the idea of this is to give 'parents the freedom to shop in the town'. The creche would take the form of a Saturday morning cinema club, a concept which was popular before about 1980. Stay at home and watch 'Saturday Kitchen' if you'd prefer.

2. 'Saturday morning flicks at the Old Music Hall'. Why not? It's a great facility, let's use it more. I would rather see a film at the Old Market Hall than at that hellish multiplex place near Asda.

3. Which recent business failures are you blaming on SABC? Woolworths?

4. 'Only good news printed in the paper'. My understanding is that he is asking for a few positive headlines about Shrewsbury to go into the Star. Since the Star appears to have a long-running campaign to portray Shrewsbury as a cross between Beirut and The Bronx, and this is unlikely to attract many shoppers, I think he may well have a point.

5. 'Swimming competitions at our clapped out swimming pool'. Thus attracting competitors, parents, visitors, etc., who may then go into the town and use cafes and pick up a bit of shopping. Sounds fine to me.

6. 'Darwin's birthday party'. So many people worldwide are fascinated by Charles Darwin. We have loads of places with Darwin connections all over the town. On the 200th anniversary of his birth, it is right and appropriate that the town celebrates.

I notice you've said nothing about the free/reduced-cost bus travel, free parking, Wednesday late-night shopping, offers for coach parties, civilised evening pub promotions, and all the rest.

The word creche is associated with very young children. ie: 0-7yrs

That sort of facility has been tried by Safeways, remember? It is very expensive to staff and would be unfeasible without some pretty high tech equipment for that age group like games, computers and so on. Would you be happy leaving a 6 year old with a bunch of 10 to 12 year old children you have never met?

I went to Sat morning flicks as a child, my children did too up at the new Potts Way cinema. Like I did as a child they found the sort of behaviour that took place very OTT.
The income lost from the OMH cafe which I spent a pleasant (and quiet) couple of hours chatting to a friend in last Saturday morning would out weigh any gain IMO.

I have not blamed any business failures on SABC but I have been in town a lot this week, it has been spookily quiet. At a shop in the Market Hall I did not have to queue unlike previous Xmases and the owner was discussing his worst year wth a regular and that he would not be there next year. I should not imagine he will be happy to contribute even more than the huge business rates he is already paying when he is struggling now.

The interference or otherwise of the news in the press is a very worrying concept. What are you trying to create, a Trumans World or Stepford Wives?

The swimming pool is not a positive draw for the town. It is run down, tatty and on top of that the arranging of competitions and supervision of events and participants is yet another very expensive venture especially at W/Es.

The Darwin birthday party sounds great will any of us be invited or like with Shrewsbury in Bloom just be paying for the councillors to have a ball? I was merely pointing out that it is usual for the person for whom a birthday party is held to actually be present. Will someone be dressing up as him ? Will we be extending the invitation to all the religious fundamentalists for a massive street party in the middle of February?

If I remember rightly the wonderful collections in Rowleys House are no longer there they have been put in storage! What perfect timing.

As I said the promotions mentioned are dependant on the generosity/assets of the town businesses. Like most people I know in the town I haven't got the money to spend in Tescos, Telford or Timbuktoo! No amount of 'smart or not so smart' ideas by somone hoping to get a very highly paid job in a New Unitary Council that he spent a lot of our money trying to stop happening is going to change that.

This looked more like it was put together by a GCSE Business Studies class.

Of course, if we all have redundancy money to spend.....

To be fair, you're right that it sounds like a list written on the back of a fag packet after a particularly good lunch.

I think I'll miss Trumpton Town Council a bit. Jobs for the boys it certainly has been :rolleyes: