Taken from the Impartial Reporter, 29th May 2008

Less public eyesores, more public art

e-mail: rodney@rodneyedwards.co.uk

Waterways Ireland’s new Headquarters in Enniskillen is a bit of an eyesore. There’s something slightly hypocritical about an organisation that’s very much up for the nurturing of water, nature and the environment; ripping up the ground along Lough Erne’s edge and replacing it with a pile of bricks. The colossal waste of space on the Sligo road looks big and bulky; a multitude of construction overlooking the busy road blocks out the rather nice view of the town and lake behind it. (If of course, you ignore the back of the Lakeland Forum which isn’t exactly postcard material). It’s a similar obstruction on the opposite end of the river too.

But Waterways Ireland’s HQ isn’t the only building that infringes on Enniskillen’s picturesque landscape; the recently built Fermanagh House commanded quite a large chunk of the much liked Broadmeadow - previously home to dog walkers or thugs drinking cider. It may just be a plot of grass but it, like a lot of the County’s prominent areas are the real local gems and slowly but surely, getting torn apart and replaced with unsightly buildings. Remember the Clinton Centre row anyone? The controversial design was panned by locals and has still yet to be endeared to by most.

I like the idea of innovative buildings, just not when they are at the cost of something more valuable to Fermanagh – like its lakes, which are part of our global success. Without them, Fermanagh would be one big traffic jam, sandwiched in between fast food restaurants and dozens of money-grabbing apartment blocks. So, shame on Waterways Ireland for forcing tourists to walk further to find that perfect holiday snap.

What Enniskillen needs more than suitably placed revolutionary structures is imaginative and original public art. I like art a lot and the scope with displaying art in the public domain is far greater than the constraints you get with other forms of the subject. With public art, you can site, stage or exhibit any works to be accessible to all – monuments, statutes, lighting, seating, fountains and even graffiti – although I quite duly, “draw” a line at offensive scrawls across public buildings.

Typically ingenious, public art can say more about a place than anything else and there are many places in Enniskillen that art in some form would, benefit, refresh and brighten up the area – it just needs a bit of thought, planning and of course, permission. Bear that in mind, before you grab your paper, paints and sticky-back plastic, eager to follow in the illustrious brushstrokes of Michelangelo, Picasso and modern day public artist; Banksy.

Although, I can’t help thinking that through the artistic trend of “surrealism” in capturing the element of surprise and liberated imagination, creating a 20ft papier-mâché Siamese-cow in purple wellington boots and placing it on the Diamond would look more appealing than some of the ridiculous offerings currently cluttering up Fermanagh. Any public art suggestions on the back of a quaint Waterways Ireland postcard please. Incidentally, they don’t actually “do” postcards to my knowledge, but there’s nothing like concluding an opinionated piece with a cheap cynical dig…

Rodney Edwards presents the Bigger Breakfast Show 7-11am, Mon-Fri on Vibe FM 105.3FM

So, yesterday I called up a few lucky winners of Backstreet Boys tickets live on-air, only, it didn’t really go to plan. Listen below to how it all went pear-shaped; including wrong numbers, no answer and nuisance business calls.

By the way, well done to the lucky winners; Niall Cox, Julianne Williams and Catherine Curley - all get to see the Backstreet Boys live in Belfast on Monday, thanks to Vibe FM and Wonderland Promotions!

Taken from the Impartial Reporter, 7th May 2008

Why bypass the need for a bypass in Enniskillen?

e-mail: rodney@rodneyedwards.co.uk

The roads around Enniskillen are really starting to irritate me, to the point I’d much rather down ten pints of broken glass than waste another second of my life sitting in ANOTHER mind-numbingly tedious queue. And it’s getting more and more unbearable.

Work at adding another lane along Henry Street / Sligo Road is underway, much to the aggravation of us motorists that now have a daily ringside view of lorries, diggers and yellow high-visibility vests. As I write this, I’m resisting the urge to use one of the traffic cones on the individual that dreamt up the whole sorry thing.

Am I the only one that’s realised that the only thing an extra lane does is fill up with even more traffic, resulting in more, er, traffic? Without an actual bypass in Enniskillen, no extra lane anywhere is going to solve the immense traffic congestion in the town – take note Fermanagh Council. Certainly not on the Sligo bloomin’ road that’s for sure. If I had a pound for every text I’ve received from a listener stuck on that road in the mornings, I’d have enough money to buy a hovercraft for commuting. And don’t get me started on those lumps of tar they call “speed bumps” – an appropriate name, because once you’ve passed them all, you have to speed up a bit after spending half the day going over them. However, I digress.

Dublin Road to Town Centre to Queen Street to Henry Street to the Queen Elizabeth Road – you name the area, and these days, a usual short journey has turned into a 30min + nightmare. I should know, I’ve just had one whole week of sitting in my car every day, going nowhere. I was even able to eat an entire sandwich one morning, while waiting and waiting on the Wellington Road and not moving an inch for 20 long maddening minutes.

An unpleasant undertaking, only made worse by those that barge into your lane without asking you or change lanes without there being room for their vehicle, so they sit diagonally across the road, waiting to move and blocking you in the process. Before changing back into your lane once the traffic flow has moved up a bit and then flashing their hazard lights to thank you for allowing them to ruin your life even further by making you even more late.

Some say, public transport is the answer to stress-free roads, and that we should ditch our cars for the bus or even a taxi. I’ve spent years taking buses and taxis. They can be unreliable, noisy and grubby. It would take a substantial increase at running my car or a substantial decrease in cost of public transport to force me out of using the comfort of my motor. Others think the government should limit the number of vehicles per family, to about two or make neighbours “car share” trips, like the school run. And the most common cry from friends of the earth is that we should all cycle or walk everywhere instead - which is about as useful as my car without any fuel.

Surely the only answer is a big ‘ole bypass. So come on, when are we going to have one? Your thoughts please.

Rodney Edwards presents the Bigger Breakfast Show 7-11am, Mon-Fri on Vibe FM 105.3FM.

Taken from the Impartial Reporter, 1st May 2008

Money is only funny, in a rich man’s world

e-mail: rodney@rodneyedwards.co.uk

For the majority of us not lucky enough to have millions in the bank; money is something that we must borrow. And for the last ten years, more and more of us have notched up a sickening amount of debt.

Last week, the Archbishop of Canterbury slammed schools and colleges for their lack of financial education – which is a fare point. For years, many student loans have been handed out left, right and centre to teenage layabouts that end up spending the cash; drinking their body weight in Barcardi Breezers of an evening. It never seems logic to hand out thousands to those that can barely work a calculator, but it’s all, apparently, in a bid to boost their education as they go of and study something prolific. Before coming back six months later with debt coming out of their ears, a massive hangover and an application form for the local supermarket. It’s the same old story, year in, year out.

Some students make a go of it and the loans are a lifeline, a helpful hand to furthering their career. But the majority mess it up and borrow more and more, with no regard for the real cost of meeting their aspirations. It’s not just teenagers or twenty-somethings that have money worries; between the rise in fuel, food and home prices; everyone, it would appear, is in the same boat. Add credit card bills, overdrafts and mortgage repayments to that mix, and you have a recipe for a mighty lasting headache.

Take the ever publicised “rise in property prices” for example. It turns the notion of buying a home into nothing more than a childhood dream. Well, for those of us who aren’t multi-millionaires or gangsters, anyway. It’s a somewhat difficult process for everyone else and means years of sleepless nights and microwavable dinners. A colleague of mine recently told me that he heard Fermanagh house prices have been compared to house prices in Dublin. It’s quite flattering to think, that us local folk are situated in such a property goldmine but quite daunting that for most of us, it means if it’s not a shed, then it’s probably out of our price range.

When Labour came into power 11 years ago, they promised to eradicate child poverty but the gap between the rich and the poor has never been so wide. Thousands are claiming child benefit, the dole and disability allowance. Most of them are entitled to it – but let’s not beat around the bush, a lot of these people are sponging off the tax-paying public and sitting on their backsides. How many times have you spotted a good-for-nothing slacker in Enniskillen and ridiculed that person, mentally, for making you work so they can be kept clothed in traky bottoms and medallions? It’s absurd.

Britain now owes over one and a half trillion pounds; making it one of the most debt-ridden countries on the face of the earth, a shocking fact. And sooner or later, we could be preparing for a complete financial meltdown. Before that happens, perhaps I could use this opportunity to ask the great Sean Quinn if he’d be kind enough to give me a few quid? A million should do, I’m not fussy. There’s a caravan in Portrush with my name on it.

Rodney Edwards presents the Bigger Breakfast Show 7-11am, Mon-Fri on Vibe FM 105.3FM.