6th May 2011

Wedded Bliss

I cannot deny that I was sucked in by wedding fever on Friday.  And having watched the great even on the box, I headed out to visit some of the street parties that were taking place all over Ipswich.  Starting at Gatacre Road, I went on to knees-ups at Woodstone Avenue, Constable and Corder Roads, Grasmere Close and Maryon Road, Lacey Street, St Leonord’s Road, and finally Lancing Avenue.

Two things struck me.  First was how different each street party was, each a reflection of the community that had put it together.

And secondly, how enthusiastic everyone was.  At every event the organiser had said that when they had first suggested the idea to neighbours, everyone jumped at the opportunity.  In one road even those who were working on the day had left cakes for everyone else to enjoy.  Of course there were one or two people in each street who wanted to be left alone – that is to be expected.  But there was a real hunger out there for community celebrations.  In every place I went there were already discussions about when next they were going to close the street and get everyone out together again.

It was a great day, last Friday.  I hope we can take a little of what made it magical and repeat it, without having to wait for a royal wedding to make us put out the bunting.

Chancellor Visits Cutting Edge Ipswich

Last Wednesday the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s office rang to say that he would like to come to Ipswich and what would I recommend he should see.  I did not hesitate – the new regenerative medicine unit at the University Campus Suffolk on the Waterfront.

Why?  It employs only a handful of people and has only been operating for a few months.  There are big companies in Ipswich – Axa, Willis, Ransomes – where hundreds work, contributing the larger part of the economy of our town.

But what Professor Brendon Noble is doing at his unit in UCS could well be what brings a new age of innovation and prosperity to Ipswich.  In a few labs at the top of the James Hehir Building he is developing cartilage-repair from stem cells – world-leading science that has attracted investment from major Californian biotech business Geron.  At the moment the money is flowing to a few boffins producing the cures; in time, however, it will attract other businesses wanting to produce the commercial products that are spun out from what Prof. Noble and his colleagues are doing.

Not only is this precisely the kind of science-led manufacturing that the government is keen to encourage, it could also be the first few lines in the next chapter of our town’s long history of innovation and change.

In 1789 an iron-founder called Robert Ransome set up a foundry just north of Tower Street.  His invention there of the cold steel process sparked the mass industry that employed hundreds of thousands of Ipswich men and women for so many decades.

Prof. Noble could well be doing the same for Ipswich, all over again.  Having seen his work, George Osborne clearly agreed.

Obama and Osama

Well, the President has clearly done a blinder.  Not only was the operation to kill Osama bin Laden daring and brilliant, Barack Obama conducted himself with complete decorum through the whole episode – not once sounding triumphalist of vindictive.

I am not so sure the crowds that gathered in New York and Washington took his cue.  I can understand their elation but was I alone in finding the scenes not in the best of taste?