December 2008 Archives
Recession, depression and turkey dinners
Posted by North Wales Weekly News team on December 23, 2008 2:57 PM
By Judith Phillips, reporter
WITH Christmas less than 48 hours away it seems there is very little joy and goodwill on the high street.
Believe it or not, as journalists we really do hate having to report doom and gloom, but during these past few weeks there has been little alternative, as the economy dives into recession, and the threat of redundancy hovers on many doorsteps, including our own (eight journalists are to be made redundant at our group of newspapers here in North Wales).
This week alone we've had to report how the Woolworth stores in Llandudno, Colwyn Bay, Abergele and Conwy are to close with the loss of 100 jobs, and the Jaguar dealership in Llandudno Junction has become the latest victim of the dramatic plunge in car sales as people rein in their spending.
Our hearts go out to those with mortgages and families to support who must now look for alternative employment in a very restricted job market.
On a personal note, a ray of light was cast by the work done in Llandudno town centre over the Christmas and New Year period by so called "street angels", members of three local churches who are giving up their Friday and Saturday nights and Christmas and New Year's Eves to try to ensure revellers get home safely.
They embody the true Christian spirit of the festival as do the members of the Gloddaeth United Reformed Church who are sacrificing spending Christmas Day with their families to cook and prepare a slap-up turkey lunch for the town's homeless and lonely people.
Our heartfelt thanks should go out to them for reminding us what Christmas is really about and that among all the worry and stress caused by the financial crisis there are people who genuinely care about others.
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The C-word
Posted by North Wales Weekly News team on December 11, 2008 2:46 PM
By David Simister, Reporter
CONTRARY to what you may have heard, we at the Weekly News haven't lost any of our staff; in fact we gained one this week. Unfortunately he's plastic, less than a foot tall and rather than helping with the reporting his sole job seems to be singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas in increasingly sick-sounding tones. As our resident ambassador for festive frolics he's doing a sterling job... at winding the rest of us up.
Yet it seems even our Santa tribute act isn't the only worrying bit of tat that's gracing streets from Kinmel Bay to Conwy this month. One reader was so incensed by the steel-fencing finishing off the Christmas trees in Abergele he actually wrote to us, describing them as having "all the charm of a crime scene".
Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, especially as it gives me something other than the credit crunch to talk to people about. In fact I've actually embraced Christmas so much that I'm subtly attempting to get the C-word into almost every article I write (and I've managed it four times in this one already!).
It's just that, at a time of year when things are supposed to be jolly we shouldn't be decorating the county with cold, grey fencing and yard upon yard of red tape (in both senses). I'm sure some of you will point out the security reasons but if it's really that bad, why not be more seasonal and surround each tree with a herd of angry reindeer?
I did ask our newest colleague for his thoughts on this but he wouldn't comment. He was too busy singing about Christmas instead...
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This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Working Week in the December 2008. They are listed from oldest to newest.
November 2008 is the previous archive.January 2009 is the next archive.
Many more can be found on the home page or by looking through the archives.
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