Keyword Search
Bob's Blog: Dec 2008
17 Dec 2008
I am going to start this blog off by saying the
following: tough times do not last, but tough people do. The credit crunch has
taken its toll all over the world and none of us are going to escape it
continuing effects for some time to come. Yet that time will pass and hopefully mankind may learn
the opposite of those famous words from the film Wall Street Greed is Good.
I
am saying this for lots of reasons but mostly because as I sit and write this I
know that in a far off land our brave men and women are right now risking their
lives on our behalf. The risk they take and the resulting problems that some may experience in later life will need both professional and non-professional help.
In London tonight a man will sit down with his
wife and two young children, with one more on the way, and rest after a long and
hard day at work. He will spend time with his family and then retreat to his
second job of the day. That job is helping to keep our café up and running not
because of some selfish pride in never being involved in a failure, but because
he knows that there are men and women in the UK now,
and more to come, who need our help. The café is our contribution and model
from which we are going to learn how better to help those who are here now, and
will come to us in the future needing help. If he can do that, then it tells me
however hard our lives may be we should never lose sight of those who are far
less fortunate than ourselves.
We have had to make some very hard choices this last
couple of months but right at the forefront of our minds has been the continuing
desire to ensure what we are doing is the right thing for the right
reasons.
Tonight's blog may not be very 'PC' but given where we
are and what we are doing I do not really care much for PC! We have gone past that
point, for what has happened in our banks has had a knock on effect that will
hinder the help that our future apprentices need, if we let
it.
Let us not forget any of us that our future apprentices
will be some of the men and women who gave, so we all will have a future as
opposed to those who have bled the system dry and caused a near bankrupt society
for greed and gain at the cost of others.
British Servicemen and women belong to the 'We We'
tribe, where as those who have near crippled the country belong in the main to
the 'Me Me' tribe. Pryors Bank Café is for the 'We We' People.
That is you because so many of you have so generously
supported this project from the day we opened, and you have been kind in your
words about our little café and it's goal.
To give you an idea of the good that has come form your
support, for the first time in a very long time one of our apprentices is going
to spend Christmas with his family and has money in his pocket from his labour
at Pryors Bank, along with the time he will need to come to terms with the
changes in his life this year, for last Christmas he was living rough sleeping
on trains and in stations many miles from anyone who had the slightest love for
him.
As the New Year dawns, so will his new future; in March
he will complete his NVQ training and become a qualified Chef with a new job, a
chance to plan his life again and live that plan. He knows only too well that in
the past two weeks five brave British Servicemen will never have that chance, so he
knows he is one of the lucky ones.
You have helped to make this happen and so have my
esteemed colleagues Mr Alex Price, Mr Simon Pearson-Miles and Mr Rick Brunwin, all of whom are
fellow directors of this project.
So out of respect for all our brave serving troops,
sailors and airmen around the globe this Christmas, Pryors Bank will continue,
and we will get better at what this project has been designed to
do. Because we are tough people and we do not know defeat in any
form! Yes, it is quiet now and business is tough for all, yet for us in some
respects it is easier because none of us do what we do for profit or greed, but
for the good of our brothers and sisters serving now and for those who have
served.
If we can do it so can you! Come to the café, have a
coffee during the Christmas break, walk off some that food and enjoy a great
coffee and warm and friendly smile.
Sunday Lunch has started at the café and I can testify
to a great cooked meal for all the family; give Mum a break after the festive
time and treat her.
If you are at a lose end and would like to do
some voluntary work why not come along and chat with us about doing a shift at
the café, the worst that can happen is you will lean how to make a great
Cappuccino, and in doing so you will be helping a worthy cause. (Bankers are welcome, after all, we are
Christians!)
When I look back at this year and the events that have
taken place in Pryors Bank I cannot help but be proud of what we have all
accomplished. You have welcomed into your community a group of people who
perhaps at different times you may have crossed the road so as to avoid. You have spent your money and in doing so have helped a very
worthy cause; you have helped to rekindle self-esteem in men who had lost their
way, but thanks to you, they are back on the road to a brighter future.
You
deserve a merry Christmas and lets all pray for a peaceful and good New
Year.
Bob