Everyone can share in Shearer joy

Apr 8 2009 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

IT'S April already – can you believe it? As we all know, the first three months of the year have simply flown by and there have certainly been some ups and downs, especially for the business community.

As there has been so much bad news lately, I had traded Radio 4 for a local station to keep me company on the drive to work. I couldn’t help but smile as they announced an April Fools’ day prank that Alan Shearer had been appointed as the new Newcastle United manager.

However, as the day progressed, it became clear that this wasn’t a joke.

Although I am not a devout football fan I turned the television on in the evening and saw the joyous crowds welcoming back their hero – was it possible that one man could make the difference between success and failure?

With all the gloom and doom we have become conditioned to, most people have become somewhat disillusioned.

However we should all realise that we don’t actually have to be Alan Shearer to make a difference.

Yes times have been tough, however not all of the news has been bad and, dare I say it, we may have even seen the worst of the dreaded ‘credit crunch’.

At the company where I work we have seen a huge upturn in orders and a slow but steady return of optimism – which is a huge turn around from December when the phone simply stopped ringing.

One of the great positives for the North East is that we are at the forefront of the Low Carbon Agenda which certainly offers significant opportunities for future employment.

We should not forget that we have the world’s largest producer of electric vehicles in the region, and on the back of this another company has chosen Northumberland as its home.

We should be proud that Europe’s most efficient car plant continues to outperform its industry rivals in extremely challenging times.

And we should remember that the region is one of only two in the UK that is a net exporter of goods and services and delivers a trade surplus from overseas transactions.

The first bank holiday of the year is almost upon us and the sun has even started to shine – let’s hope it continues as the signs of economic recovery sprout like spring flowers.

Jon Aitchison, chairman of the NECC Northumberland Committee