My local community website - an outsiders view

In response to this thread on Sydenham Town Forum http://bit.ly/r1U4XN

I have lived in Sydenham for nearly 9 years and first discovered the Sydenham.org.uk  website a few years ago. Even though I’ve lived in the area for the best part of a decade, work has meant that there has been little time left to investigate my local area.  So when my lifestyle changed a little I was at first a reasonably regular visitor to the site, taking an interest in local developments, community events etc etc. I often perused the forums and on a couple of occasions found useful recommendations for tradesmen. I was really keen to try and get to know my local area better.  

But more recently, I’ve become less inclined to look at the site. Although it is intended as a forum, rather than a “news” site, the fact that it has a news section, history, info etc is an added bonus. But if you are going to carry those sorts of pages, then the news should be up to date and the other pages should be updated, kept fresh, new information added. Otherwise there’s little point.

But I digress. Going back to the forum. I agree with what some of the posters say about some of the other regulars: whilst most are interesting, mildly amusing and have something constructive to offer, others are aggressive and bordering on offensive. Personally, I don’t tend to get easily offended and take what people say with a pinch of salt (or give the benefit of the doubt to a sarcastic side which hasn’t come across in electronic format). That said, I’d rather not get embroiled in those types of debates and so have never got involved with the forum. I spend enough time on other forms of social media as it is, both for personal enjoyment and for work purposes.

I’m such a late comer to the site – I understand it’s been going for years, will have had its own agenda which no doubt has changed over that time, and the regulars enjoy using it for what it is. From an outsider’s point of view I think you could entice more new people not by radically changing the forum – but by revisiting the rest of the site. How about updating the news pages, with details of upcoming events for example. Yes, these can be announced in forum posts, but surely those posts are more about discussion, debate, sharing of ideas and information. Specific announcements are one off statements (which can always be followed up in the forum of course). A recent example: I live close to Mayow Park (the Silverdale side) – I understand there was an open air showing of The Italian Job last week. I knew nothing about this (even though I’d recently been on the site) and only found out about it by overhearing 2 people on the train home who were part of the organisation. Maybe there was something lurking about on the site – but as forum posts work on a “real-time” basis and many don’t have time to go digging about, that type of thing can be easy to miss. I liked Tim’s recent post on the playscape opening in Mayow park – but I probably would never have seen it without him posting the link on this thread (which incidentally I came across on Twitter).

By small developments to the site, just to keep it fresh and relevant (without turning it into a full-blown news website) you will entice more passive users to the forums – hopefully getting them engaged as more active users. I’m not proposing that it would need to compete in the same way as some of the other community sites out there, but if you want to mix it up a bit, get some new blood in and hopefully create a greater collective voice against all those proposed train timetable changes, shocking redevelopments or introduction of permit parking, or just getting more people involved in local events, then making it an overall more user-friendly site would be a good start.

There is definitely still an argument for still having forums such of this, as opposed to traditional media, blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc. But whether you’re a local site or a multinational organisation, someone somewhere still has to make a decision about what the site is trying to achieve and make it work to the best of its ability within that remit. So if the intention is to just be a forum, get rid of the other stuff (out-of-date info doesn’t appeal to anyone) and stick to the formula already in place.

I initially intended to post this on the Sydenham Town Forum itself - however I feel I've droned on a bit, gone a little off track and will probably be accused of sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong, but if I bring myself to voice my opinion on something, I guess I must be at the very least passionate about it. Bring it on I say!

Penny Pinching

A few times in the last couple of weeks I’ve been short changed. It’s by a pitiful amount, literally a penny or two, but still, it’s my penny or two and surely it’s up to me to decide whether I want it or not. I must stress, this is does not appear to be some “honest” mistake – when I question them, they sort of look at me, shrug and mumble something along the lines of “it’s just a penny” or “oh right, I didn’t realise you wanted it”. WTF is usually the first thing that springs to mind.

It’s not just independent “corner shop” type outfits that seem to be adopting this practice  - today a major national card retailer made this choice for me which obviously I am incapable of making for myself.

I admit, I’m not a fan of having a load of coppers jingling in my purse (I much prefer the gold shiny ones), so generally, if there’s a charity box around, be it Guide Dogs for the Blind, Poverty in Africa, or Save the Lesser-spotted Grumbleweeble, someone, somewhere will benefit from my extremely modest levels of philanthropy. But like I say, that’s my decision to make and if I wanted to take all my coppers home, save them up and then take a truck load along to annoy my local bank (if I had one), then that’s my prerogative.

So why then, Mrs Shopkeeper, have you determined that you will decide where my left-over pennies will end up (i.e. your till)? Sure, it’s unlikely it will leave me unable to pay may mortgage this month, but the way I see it, you’re actually diddling those charities out of money. I’m pretty sure we’re all familiar with the saying “every little counts”.

My level of frustration is totally disproportionate to the amount of money we’re talking about, but it’s the principle that counts.

The bravest girl in the world - for one day only

I did something really brave today. I didn’t save anyone’s life: no rescuing people from burning buildings; no saving old ladies from being mugged. But something perhaps only I will consider really brave.

Today, July 2^nd 2011 at 12.30pm, I swam a mile in the Thames. It’s not the most strenuous feat in the world, but to me, it was possibly the biggest mental challenge I have ever faced.

The “race” distance is 1 mile. That’s 64 lengths of my local 25 metre pool. I could do that without too much trouble, in around 45 minutes. After signing up in January, months passed and I didn’t really think too much more about it.

Saturday July 2^nd – race day. A bowl of pasta for breakfast, a last check I had all my equipment and off we headed.

At 12pm our “wave” (i.e. the 12.30pm swimmers) was allowed to enter the acclimatisation zone – a separate area of the dock with just enough space to get in and have a quick swim around. A quick organised warm up at the start line and then we were off.

One mile in open water. In the Thames.

Given the drag of the wetsuit, the avoidance of other swimmers and the (very) slight current, I expected it to take me an hour, maybe a few minutes more. I completed it in 46 minutes – I was ecstatic. I crossed the line, climbed out of the water and happily received my winner’s medal. Job done. My training had obviously paid off – it wasn’t as hard as I thought.

It doesn’t sound that much and I guess it might sound like I completed it with relative ease. But for me it wasn’t that easy.

You see I’m a decent swimmer, so the distance wasn’t a problem; never really a concern. But I suffer from panic attacks (not often, but enough) and my biggest fear was not being able to start in the first place. The water would be cold, dark, deep and non-chlorinated. Everything I wasn’t used to and everything I feared. I won’t even swim in the sea. That’s what made me most nervous beforehand. If I had a panic attack in the water, that would be dangerous for sure, but not being able to finish the race was something I couldn’t comprehend. I would be letting down my charity (Macmillan), but most of all it was a personal battle for myself. I didn’t really let on to anyone about this – it’s a personal battle, something that embarrasses me. I find it impossible to explain so sometimes it’s just easier not to. The morning before the race, I woke up and cried. I was petrified.

But, I had my own secret weapon. I was doing it for Macmillan, a charity that I have utmost respect for. I have friends, parents of friends and even people I only know on Twitter who have battled with cancer. Some have come through, others haven’t, but Macmillan is a name I keep hearing constant praise for, so my decision was easy. And how was that my secret weapon? Mind over matter. As I got in the cold, murky water and looked as far in front of me as I could see (which was only the half way point) I thought about those I know who have suffered from cancer. If they have been able to face the pain, the sadness, the treatment, the rehabilitation, the not knowing and the knowing the inevitable then panic or no panic, I could stick my head in that water and swim. It was a strong emotion – I actually cried as I crossed the start line (but I haven’t told anyone that, so keep it to yourself). And I did it. I just kept swimming, took it in my own time and finished the race. Tired, emotional but elated.

So that’s why, for one day only, I’m going to nominate myself as the bravest girl in the world. Tomorrow it’s someone else’s turn.

p.s thank you to all my friends, family and Twitter pals for your support. And a special thanks to Mr Tizz who thankfully waited till after the race to tell me about his nightmare!