Star comment: Small steps will help with big economy problem
Nobody is cheering very loudly at today's news that Britain avoided a triple-dip recession, achieving 0.3 per cent growth in GDP in the first three months of this year.
It is slightly better than some experts predicted, but the reality is that the economy is virtually flatlining.
Against this backdrop, the fact that a new gifts and home interiors shop called Nellie Bluebells is about to open in Market Drayton, creating a couple of jobs, may seem like small potatoes.
Britain dodges triple-dip slump
But this is the sort of enterprise and initiative which will drag Britain out of its recession and, when all the jobs created by small businesses are added up, they will bring down unemployment and play a leading role in getting the nation back to work.
So well done to Jemma Poyntz in realising her ambition to open a shop and best of luck to her in her venture.
"The sky's the limit – we have got to be positive in these tough times," says Jemma in what might be a message for us all. There are further reasons for good cheer from Hobsons brewery in Cleobury Mortimer. A team is taking along its Old Henry ale to feature in an Italian town's food and drink festival so that they can have a taste of Shropshire – and a change from all the wine they will be supping.
It will further cement the goodwill which underpins the twinning of Ludlow, itself a regional centre of gastronomic excellence, with the town of San Pietro.
And then there is the official launch of the Shropshire Star's new Tourism and Leisure Awards, designed to showcase best practice across a wide range of the county's tourism and leisure industries.
Salopians tend to take the jewels on their doorstep for granted, but the county is a treasure chest in terms of heritage and tourist attractions, leisure opportunites and, of course, the incomparable landscape which is the envy of those who can only dream of having the variety that we enjoy here.
If none of the above encourages you to take a positive outlook it might be because you are one of the many whose main concern is to find yourself a job.
Here too we can give you a lift. There are five pages of jobs in your Shropshire Star tonight.
