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I’ve scrapped was I was going to write about this week.  My original article will have to wait another 7 days, because I’m more angry than i’ve been for a very long time.
The reason is simple. The unbelievable selfishness of some local dog owners who let their pets run free in local playing fields and don’t pick up the mess they leave behind. This is not an ‘anti pet’ rant. We have a dog ourselves, and there are many many owners who diligently carry a ‘poop-a-scoop’ and bag when they take their animals out for a walk.
But there are some who have no regard whatsoever for others, local by-laws and, quite frankly, any public responsibility.  They are putting the health of others, particularly children, seriously at risk, because of their wanton selfishness.

My lad, who’s 7, plays for a fantastic local youth football club called Central FC. It’s home pitches are on the Topsham Road side of the King George 5th playing fields. It’s a wonderfully run club, which has a fantastic policy of giving all the youngsters a chance to play whatever their ability.
They train and play on Saturday mornings.  What greeted the kids and parents last weekend was truly shocking.  One of the training pitches had so much dog mess on it that it was deemed ‘unplayable’.  It took parents armed with several plastic bags 20 mins to clear the second pitch and make it good enough for the teams to play on.
There can’t be many people who don’t know, but for anyone who is still unaware, dog faeces can pass on Toxoplasmosis which in worst cases can lead to blindness.
So, not only is it unpleasant in the extreme, but any child coming into contact with the mess when they fall on the grass, risks consequences serious enough to badly affect the rest of their lives.
The biggest frustration is that wherever you look in this ‘health and safety’ age, there are so many potentially less serious hazards that have safety rules rigorously enforced. How many times have we all said some restrictions are way over the top...and correctness has ‘gone mad’.
Yet this serious health issue continues unresolved.

The Council,who run the pitches, have erected signs about disposing of dog mess, and there are fines for anyone seen flouting the laws. But of course it’s impossible to patrol the large playing fields all the time, so we’re totally in the hands of the dog owners themselves.
I wonder if some even think twice about the risk they’re subjecting our children to. Perhaps if they saw the state of the pitches last Saturday morning they might just begin to realise what they’d done.  However what depresses me even more is knowing that many just wouldn’t give a damn.

As one of the new owners of Exeter FM radio, perhaps it’s only right and proper that i’m constantly thinking about music, particularly some of those great tunes from what i consider to be ‘my era’, the late 70’s and early 80’s !
I promise you that i won’t be mentioning my favourites in this column every time, but following my reference to the ‘Jam’ last week, another classic from 30 years ago came crashing into my head a couple of days ago. Ghost Town by the Specials is one of those songs that really transports you back to another age, but if you’ve walked through the Harlequins centre in Exeter in recent weeks you’ll understand why it’s so appropriate right now. I couldn’t believe how many empty shop units there are there. At a rough estimate I’d say that 50% are currently vacant.  We all know that this centre has had its up and downs over the years, particularly in its lower shopping area down the stairs, but it shocked me to see how much of the top area is now going to waste too.  Much of this middle section is totally uninhabited apart from a nail salon and one of those places where you stick your feet into a tank of fish (this seems to be a very popular pastime, although i’m not rushing to have a go).
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand why the units are empty. I have no idea what the rents are, but clearly retailers are not reaping sufficient profits to make trading viable there. The footfall is considerably less than the nearby Guildhall for starters, and, in my opinion, the Harlequins Centre demise is a direct result of the Princesshay development. The shopping heart of the city has shifted along the High Street, and I suspect that many shoppers do what i do when they drive into the city, use the car parks in Princesshay and Southernhay, and then, for the most part, stay and spend their money up there.
I hope that somehow this situation can be put right. The powers that be really need to come up with a plan to get the Harlequins full again. Major incentives will be needed to make it work, probably financial, and I hope there’s enough flexibility to make it happen.
I’m not confident. Wherever you look in the main part of the city centre there are enormous contrasts. For a long time now there has been a clear division between the High Street and the roads that lead off it at either end. If you cross the traffic lights into Sidwell Street you move into what seems to be a completely different world. To say it looks tired, outdated and in desperate need of a lift, would be a massive understatement. John Lewis will do much to invigorate the area, including Paris Street which has also compared poorly over the last couple of years to the brand new, modern, shiny Princesshay next door.

It’s all very well for planners to welcome the big name stores with open arms, but please let’s really make more effort with the rest of the city centre. Fore Street has some wonderful, eclectic shops, but is another example of a street that cries out for massive investment.
Clearly, market forces will play a huge part in what’s going to happen. I’m just making a plea for some joined up thinking and creativity to ensure that the success at the heart doesn’t come at the expense of the surrounding areas.

So a press release arrived in the Exeter FM office this week.  The headline went something along the lines of “£17 million comes into the region thanks to three major events”. They were the Tour of Britain Cycling, The Americas Cup and Agatha Christie week. Apparently the pro cycling stage between Exeter and Exmouth...via Dartmoor...accounted for £5 million of that according to Devon County Council. Now forgive me if i’m being extremely thick, but how on earth do they work it all out. Are all the extra visitors and anyone connected with the event issued with an expenses type sheet as they leave the region so that they can detail their expenditure...adding receipts as final proof... OK I know i’m being flippant, but, really, please explain to me how it stacks up. Or, dare I suggest it ... it’s all a bit of a guess !  I don’t blame the Council. It cost them £175,000 to bring the race here and there are plenty who feel that money should have been spent in others areas and certainly not on a bunch of cyclists who closed off roads across the region and then had the audacity to speed by in seconds without so much as a wave.  The Council clearly needs to prove it was excellent value for money.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not for one minute suggesting we shouldn’t have staged the event.
It was fantastic to see the riders like Mark Cavendish as you walked through Princesshay. This was the base for the team trucks and warm up areas, and I can think of no other sport where you can get so ‘up close and personal’ with top international sports stars just minutes before the start. You could literally smell the riders as they pushed their machines down to Cathedral Yard. The stench of deep heat certainly added to the unique atmosphere as thousands gathered to cheer the race off. It was a great ‘free’ show, but I would have gladly paid good money just to watch Devon County Councillor Stuart Hughes flag the riders away in typically flamboyant style. His old Monster Raving Looney union jack outfit got dusted off especially for the occasion !

People keep telling me that they’re still not that thrilled at the prospect of the Olympics coming next year. I know we’re not going to be at the heart of the action down here, but seeing the reaction of Exonians last week makes me confident that we will be excited next summer.  What made it extra special was that it wasn’t just your seasoned sports fans who were there cheering. The majority of the crowd seemed like casual observers who got dragged into the drama of it all. That’s the power of sport.

I suppose my point, and I knew I’d get around to it eventually, is that you really can’t put a monetary value on something like this. We may, or may not, have got more back than it cost, but it’s left a legacy of memories and inspired many of us to oil our chains and get back into the saddle. How refreshing to hear all those youngsters talking about Cavendish and Renshaw rather than Carroll or Rooney! You don’t have to read that press release...because it’s priceless !