So who is coming to town?

Photograph Quiz:

Photo no. 96:- Who is this Olympic Walker who joined Godiva? Which club was he in before he joined Godiva? In which Olympic Games did he walk? What record does he hold concerning the Olympic Games??

Dear Blog,

         Am I a bigot, Blog or am I not? I am not.

Newspapers tell a good story especially if they have a vested interest. Local radio also plays its part. The officers of local councils are paid a good salary, a very good salary. Local councils spend an awful lot of money in employing ‘advisors’ to perform various functions … save the council money through efficiency savings, select the most appropriate design for a new development within the authority, help with an  ‘overall development plan’, and so on and so forth. You know the kind of thing Blog.

Coventry is the thirteenth [or is it 11^th?] largest city in the UK, I believe. You may know differently Blog?? Invariably, Coventry underperforms relative to similar sized authorities (e.g. the ‘Guardian’ survey two Saturdays ago referring to house values … Coventry did not even rank) Sport fares little better; look at the performance of the football, rugby, athletic results for confirmation, Blog.

From the announcement that London had won the Olympic Bid, the chances of Coventry benefitting from being the base of a National Team has been talked up in all the appropriate areas. Specific personnel have been appointed by the City to further Coventry’s claim for a piece of the action together with attendant staff to publicise the benefits of the City to any interested Country. The local football stadium being selected for some of the football tournament games was a tangible result but not quite the juicy prize envisage in the publicity material which has been produced in volumes over the last five years. The prospect of a high performing nation being based in the city was the carrot which was dangled in front of the citizens of Coventry.

So …. Birmingham gets the USA and Jamaica. No surprise there. Look at who is based in Loughborough. Look who is based in Manchester.

Coventry gets the wrestlers and boxers of Bhutan. Bhutan??? Now I’m not racist and I cannot claim that one of my best friends is a Bhutanian. But Bhutan?? I will welcome the Bhutanians along with the best of the rest of the citizens of Coventry, but I am sure that everyone did not expect to have to rush to an atlas with a magnifying glass to find where the nation the City was to host actually came from. The impression fostered by those doing the City’s P.R. work was that a high profile country was on its way to enjoy the facilities of both Coventry’s Universities and the City’s sports facilities.

So a lot of money spent on 5 years of P.R.. Money well spent?? If not, why not?? Prospects delivered? If not, who carries the can?? Promises fulfilled?? If not, should someone fall on their sword?? Have the City come up a little short?? If so, how short??

It depends on the viewpoint …. Is the glass half full, or is the glass half empty?? If it the glass is half full, there must be time to fill it??? Football base??? If the glass is half empty, there must be time to fill it???? Football base????

Come on Blog, use your influence!!

                        Colin