OLD HEADS MEET YOUNG MINDS

On Tuesday 8th February 2005 nearly 90 people gathered at Bestwood Lodge Hotel. Organised and
funded under the banner of the Arnold Local Area Forum, the purpose of the conference was to bring together representatives of the younger generation and representatives of the older generation of Arnold people.
Pupils from Arnold Hill School, Redhill School, Colonel Frank Seely School and Derrymount School joined around thirty older citizens of Arnold for a day of discussions and fellowship. The overall result of the day was a deeper awareness and understanding of the old by the young and of the young by the old. It was a great pleasure to see both generations working so well and so positively together in their tasks.

In the morning mixed groups of participants examined carefully the situations, the opinions and
the prejudices that tend to separate the generations, and discussed ways in which they could help to
understand each other more. In the afternoon the groups looked together at the things about Arnold which they like and the things which they do not like.
In the light of their discussions they made some recommendations for possible action by the authorities.

Young and old like Arnold as a shopping centre; they appreciate its parks, its leisure facilities, and its convenient position set between Nottingham and countryside of north Nottinghamshire. They thought highly of the community spirit in the town, and praised the schools, the medical facilities, the library, and the transport system (although more co-ordination of bus routes was called for). Things that were high on the list of negatives were litter and graffiti, Arnold‘s reputation for crime, a shortage of good quality shops, traffic congestion, and the urgent need for one or two youth centres in the town.

During the day the conference was entertained by a piece of drama presented by Redhill School and a dance performance by a young group “Pink Twirls” from Calverton.
At the end of the day a panel of councillors, the police, the youth service, and the development worker for older people’s projects answered a variety of questions.

A few comments worthy of note from the group reports include the following: “People are more precious than money”. “The media have much to answer for, for giving the younger generation a bad name”. “We should never judge a book by its cover; we always need to read the pages”. “It takes five seconds to jump to a hasty judgement, but years to correct it”

N.B.
The local Area Forum wishes to thank everyone responsible for organising this event as well as the participants who each contributed to the success of the day itself. The thoughts, conclusions and suggestions that emerged from this conference will be shared with relevant organisations operating in the Arnold area and will help to shape future activities of the Forum.