Our young can give us confidence for the future

You have to be grateful for our talented young people. They can offer inspiration, encouragement and reassurance about the future, all particularly welcome for the turbulent and uncertain times we live in now.
I was fortunate enough to experience this three times the other week.
First came the Young Chef of 2010 competition in Wells Blue School, where the skill and imagination of the finalists was astounding. Here were schoolchildren already with the ability to land an adult’s job in a quality restaurant.
Also gratifying was seeing the commitment and enthusiasm of their teachers and support staff, whose roles are so important.
The second time came on the Wednesday evening when Wells Cathedral Junior School performed A Christmas Celebration of carols, songs, music and readings.Harp, piano, trumpet, cello, drums and more were played by little children with extraordinary confidence and ability. The audience was entranced.
Then, on Thursday evening, we had our carol service in Wells Cathedral graced by four choirs from local primary and junior schools. It was their delightful performances that made the event so special for me and, I believe, for the 1,200 of our readers who were there.
With young people like these we can face the future with confidence.
Philip Welch

Service yes, smile no

Our daily lives are becoming increasingly impersonal, thanks to pressure for more “efficiency”, driven by demands for more profit.
Some of us are old enough to remember being able to phone your bank directly and speak to the manager. Now you can expect to ring an automated voice at a distant call centre and “choose from the following options”.
What banks prefer are internet accounts. Then you never have to go into a branch or speak to anyone and they can cut staff.
Electricity, gas, phone companies and many big shops have adopted the automated voice answering service.The other week we phoned a big cinema in Bristol and found it was impossible to speak to a human. You could only respond to the options their computer offered.
Vending machines are another impersonal way of saving money, for everyone except the customer.
Now supermarkets and the Post Office have started installing costly new machines so you can scan your shopping or mail something special without communicating with an ever-diminishing number of staff.
This anonymity has also gripped the internet, with real people keying nasty criticisms they would never dare to say face-to-face as they hide behind jokey usernames.
One day, we will all walk around with headphones on excluding people on the street and doing all our business through computers, touchscreens and automated call centres. A depressing and damaging prospect.
Philip Welch

Be yourself - not Peter Andre or Jordan

Young people are often criticised for obsessions with mobile phones, social networking websites and the latest consumer electronics, while lacking literary skills.
So I was delighted to receive a carefully crafted and thoughtful email from Year 11 students at Crispin School in Street. They are doing a citizenship course, investigating stereotyping in the media.
“Our research shows us that young people are heavily influenced by the body image portrayed in the media,” they wrote.“This can lead to some dangerous issues like stress, self harming, eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia.
“The main focus of the investigation is body image and confidence in your own body.” Agreed.
They then asked for my views and our policies.
I think magazines are most culpable in making young people feel they must conform to certain types of body image which are impossible for many, but national newspapers and television also play a part in causing these problems.
Young people are also influenced by the celebrity culture evidenced by the enormous popularity of magazines like Hello and TV shows like I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
Our local newspapers do not stereotype young people or promote any sort of body image. We interest younger readers by our coverage of their achievements, school news, youth sport and entertainment coverage.
Our policy is to seek positive news wherever possible, although we must also report local tragedies like road deaths.
The young should strive to be themselves, not imitate third rate celebrities like the dreadful Peter Andre or worse Jordan.
Philip Welch