end of the line?

A local lad David Thomas kindly posted  a reply to my earlier posting concerning an article about Penzance being “the end of the line”.  I have read the article and I don’t think it’s particularly helpful or accurate. The article was written by someone living somewhere other than Cornwall.  Now I am not suggesting I am a local as I have only been here 17 years but I think I know a bit more about our locality than Beth Woodbridge. Take a read of her article and see what you think:

http://m.vice.com/en_uk/read/penzance-is-the-end-of-the-line?utm_source=vicefb

Below is a link to an article featured in The Cornishman back in April.  It discusses a display of photographs presented by a local historian Peter Waverly.

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Photos-impact-recession-Penzance/story-18608271-

detail/story.html#axzz2bUmiBMso

Another article from The Cornishman last year featuring Dick Cliffe, chairman of Penzance Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Penzance-street-scene-shabby-chic-historic-market/story-16826051-detail/story.html#axzz2bUmiBMso

And lastly  (nearly) another entry from Cornishman. This time from their letters page:

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Penzance-shops-leaders-wake-crisis-facing-town/story-16568431-detail/story.html#axzz2bUmiBMso

And finally (yes definitely finally this time!) . . . . . . .. .

Last week a car crashed into a shop window in Penzance.  Some kind of protest?

You cant afford that madam

So, billionaire, Oprah Winfrey walks into a posh shop in Zurich and asks to see an expensive bag. The shop assistant says to her “you cant afford that”.  I reckon at the moment if I walked into the Sue Ryder shop and asked about a paperback book they would say the same to me!

On a more serious note there are lots of poor people in Penzance.  Expensive housing and low paid jobs contribute massively to this problem. And can you imaging being homeless? We have all had the idealised romantic dream where we ‘sleep under the stars’, but the reality of not having somewhere safe and warm to sleep is very different.  Ok fair enough it’s warm at the moment but what must it feel like in the Winter? Also those unfortunate people have to run the risk of being robbed or pissed on at night, that’s why a lot of them have dogs. Sensible. 

Of course among the homeless there are some who are either junkies or alcoholics who some would argue ‘deserve’ their fate but that is not a true representation of the reality.  Sometimes things just ‘happen’.  There are many reasons why people lose their homes and it is not always their own fault. Homelessness could happen to anyone. Next time you see a homeless person have a chat and chuck them a quid. You never know that might just save their life.