03
Dear Reader,
What a summer.
I broke my sunglasses in July and haven’t bothered to replace them.
Somehow the weather has conspired to create a miserable backdrop to
a miserable time for the economy. The constant stream of bad news and
gloomy predictions from forecasters economic and meteorological alike
is enough to drive one to drink. Except we keep hearing that we already
are the biggest boozers in Europe. Is it any wonder?
And yet…
For every person I meet who either has a tale of woe, or knows someone who
has, I meet another who is upbeat, positive and frankly sceptical that disaster
has struck. Yes, there will always be those who find gold in the mud and silver in
the clouds and the Lord be praised for that. But I cannot help feeling we truly
enjoy talking ourselves into trouble, that our national animal should not be a
lion rampant but Eeyore.
Of course it is ingenuous to suggest that all would be well if only we stopped
being so damned pessimistic. There are real problems afoot and many
businesses and individuals are suffering accordingly. But perhaps the length
and depth of the downturn might be mitigated if businesses began to act
more positively (but still with all caution, of course). Britain’s Nervous Nellies
always wait for someone else to act first, but in the majority of cases, the spoils
go to the bold. And there are plenty of opportunities to be had when times are
bad. It is just a case of knowing where to look and having the courage to act.
Regular readers will know this is our third quarterly issue and will have noticed
that we are always ready to change things about the magazine where
necessary. Some have suggested that the Knowledge section, which carries
informative and helpful articles from our resident experts, would sit better
nearer the front, along with our news section, so that is where you will now find
it. The feature articles and profiles that we are so noted for form the meat in
the middle of the magazine, while you will find our First Class section in the
later pages. Business First Entertains, which details all the main sporting and
entertainment fixtures in the last quarter of the year and how to book them for
your clients and staff, finds its new home right at the back.
Finally, we are proud to present a special section on the regeneration of Kent.
It is the start of a series of features in coming issues on locations around our
region where exciting developments are underway. Present times may be
tough but there are some out there striving to make the best of the future.
Kind regards,
NICK PETERS
Editor-in-chief and Publisher
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