I talked with many people who had come specially to Ulverston for the Furness Tradition Folk weekend about how they felt about their experience.
They replied that they loved the friendliness of the town and the people here.
Someone from Leicester said that he people back home were all grumpy.
They prefer our festival over other similar festivals elsewhere because it's smaller and they can easily meet up with their friends, it reminds them of how festivals were fifty years ago.
This to my way of thinking is our strength and a very important quality we have.
It shows in lots of ways. Lots of people greet each other with a "Hi , how are you?" followed by a little chat. What impressed me when I came to Ulverston was that if you walked around town there were lots of clusters of two or three people chatting to each other. If we are going to preserve this we need to continue taking to everyone we know if only with a very simple greeting. For me this is something I love doing and because I do it a lot, it has become easier and easier to make a quick comment that provokes a return comment.Now when I walk into town I try to say "Good Morning" to everyone that might appreciate it a"Good Morning" and usually get one back. I'm convinced that this is very important. Because people are starved of people contact through use of technology like email and Facebook,people more and more are valuing real face-to-face contact. In the long term this is why Ulverston will benefit.
aAnother excellent way we have here is to thank each other with a wave if someone has given way for us in the car. I can get as many as twenty faves as I cross town through our over parked roads
People will enjoy returning here over and over again if we keep it up.
If you feel that talking to strangers is too demanding then try just looking everyone you meet in the eyes as you pass.I find this often provokes a smile from others. The most receptive are very young children who are still very open and curious about others.
So over to you and give me a smile and maybe even a "Hi" when you see me next. This will keep the town friendly :something that is good for all of us in the long term
3 comments:
What a tool? People are generally polite and will tell you what you want to hear. I know several people who make a point of leaving town or not going anywhere near the dreadful screech of Furness Tradition. Walking around town is, for me, an ordeal as it sounds more and more like Eastenders being, as it is, full of southern offcomers. I abhor these people who in my view will ruin Ulverston. They come to live here as they like its alleged character then by virtue of their numbers ruin and destroy that character. They force out locals by raising property prices and I predict that in a generation or two Ulv will be peopled by people who have no link or affinity at all with the place other than its cheaper than
Surrey. I truly wish we could be rid of all the "Ulverston is Special" bullshit and restore a toiuch of sanity, practicality and normality.
I'm not surprised at your comment Peter, it's typical of the very few negative people that live here.
The point that you may be missing is that our friendliness at a time when people elsewhere in Britain are being negative to each other, can work to our benefit not only for us all to enjoy but aslso if offcomers and visitors come regularly . I agree that there is the down side that they may decide to want to come and live here resulting in higher hose prices.a tough one)
I disagree that the "Ulverston is Special" is bullshit, though I regret the way it has been expressed in the passed. and I believe there is a very strong argument in favour of stopping large companies, dictated by share-holder greed from taking over local businesses. What we need avoid is losing excellent businesses like locally ownedArmstrongs Insurance from selling up to an uncaring chain ash as happened and to preserve if at all possible our locally owned quirky shops like Smith and Harrison (which is sadly about to disappear having provided a service far beyond low priced goods thanks to Graham)and Loopy and many others like them that make Ulverston a unique place;totally different from any other in Britain.
Our town benefits tremendously from its friendiness and lets be part of this, while the rest of the world tears themselves apart- as in thnes recently. Please open your eyes to the tremendous benefit of having such a friendly place and stop moaning.
.
I'm not surprised at your comment Peter, it's typical of the very few negative people that live here.
The point that you may be missing is that our friendliness at a time when people elsewhere in Britain are being negative to each other, can work to our benefit not only for us all to enjoy but aslso if offcomers and visitors come regularly . I agree that there is the down side that they may decide to want to come and live here resulting in higher hose prices.a tough one)
I disagree that the "Ulverston is Special" is bullshit, though I regret the way it has been expressed in the passed. and I believe there is a very strong argument in favour of stopping large companies, dictated by share-holder greed from taking over local businesses. What we need avoid is losing excellent businesses like locally ownedArmstrongs Insurance from selling up to an uncaring chain ash as happened and to preserve if at all possible our locally owned quirky shops like Smith and Harrison (which is sadly about to disappear having provided a service far beyond low priced goods thanks to Graham)and Loopy and many others like them that make Ulverston a unique place;totally different from any other in Britain.
Our town benefits tremendously from its friendiness and lets be part of this, while the rest of the world tears themselves apart- as in thnes recently. Please open your eyes to the tremendous benefit of having such a friendly place and stop moaning.
.
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