Tempted

Tempted, very tempted, but holding back. That's our position. The national press want a slice of this... they would. Polzeath holiday destination of the PM and Harry and William, you bet they want the story...we're just not quite ready yet. We're a big surf school, but a small business. And that's the way we like it. We have no illusion of grandeur, not looking for an opportunity to get beyond our station. All we actually want is to be able to continue to run our surf school as we have done for the last 18 years, on a safe beach.

Of the 500 + emails sent to the council that I've seen.... one came through yesterday that was short, but to the point. It reads as follows...

Thank you for your generic response.

Perhaps you could answer a straightforward question. Has the control of the number of surfing students on the beach at any one time been addressed in the tender documentation?

If it has, then tenderers will be able to take a view on the prescribed number of clients it may be able to attract and therefore price its bid accordingly. If it has not, then, without doubt, the safety of the surfers and thereby the public is being compromised as you are giving the green light for each of the surfing schools to maximise the number of students in the water at any one time.

Do not be fooled that 'Establishing the new licensed framework for surf tuition from the Council’s land will enable the authority to set minimum standards to ensure a quality experience for the user in line with the historic standards within the former WAVES scheme.'... because that simply is not true. What the council have chosen to omit in this statement is that there will now no longer be any restriction on other surf schools using Polzeath as a teaching venue and there will no longer be any restriction on the number of surfers any surf school can teach at one time. High tide on a hot summer's day? Oh my God! Oh my God. This is absolutely not in line with the former Wave Scheme. It couldn't be further apart.

Anyway, it's business as usual. Van off to get sign written next week - whether we stay where we are or move two yards away... we'll still be here and we're resolved to make it the best year ever! 

We were going to give this the 'One more night' tag line..... but we've been using that one for the past nine years! No one buys it anymore!