Olympicitus

I have been on leave from Council business for ten days and am now of course suffering from a serious dose of 'Olympicitus'. I thought I was going to be immune to the emotional stuff but as we as a nation, have progressed up the medal table my immunity has faltered. What have impressed me are the images of London, Surrey and Dorset that are being transmitted all over the world giving a fabulous impression of our 'green and pleasant land'. There must be a legacy affect which will stay with populations overseas as to the fantastic tourism attractions we portray boosting further our visitor rates and subsequent economic benefits for many years to come. I know that being in the right place at the right time is key to political popularity but Boris Johnson has really shined in the ambassador for London role and clearly has to take some credit for the fantastic success of the games. This leads me on to something that happened to me this week and how important it is that we maintain high standards in Christchurch. I was approached by a very pleasant elderly gentleman who was aware of my involvement with CBC and was a visitor to Christchurch from London. He explained that this year he was going to celebrate fifty years of visiting Christchurch, his knowledge of the history of the town was impressive and clearly Christchurch was very important to him. His visits were not just once a year, it was more like once a month for fifty years, quite amazing. The point he wanted to make was that in that fifty years many things had changed in the town but the one thing he appreciated most was how we as a Council presented the town to visitors. His view was that the flower displays, the overall cleanliness of the town had improved in leaps and bounds and this year was as good as he could remember. I know that when the 'Victor Meldews' of this world read this they will scoff about the couple of empty shops or the vacant building sites that seem to blight every town I visit these days, but it is really nice to know the priorities and standards set by this Council are appreciated by the discerning visitor so important to the economic vitality of Christchurch. Just like the Olympics, a lasting legacy.