Is Norwich The Most Godless Place In Britain?
The 2011 Census results have started to be published and this report on the BBC, asks if Norwich is the most godless place in Britain.
This surprised me, as I always thought the city had more churches than most conurbations of its size.
But then there are plenty of people from Suffolk, who would suggest reasons for this statistic. Many would not be repeatable.
Is Suffolk The Curious County?
Apparently, some idiot has come up with the idea of calling Suffolk, the curious county. It’s reported here on the BBC.
I don’t like it. The two words that sum up Suffolk for me are independent and forgotten.
Independent because Suffolk people go about their own business and do things their own way. Look at any list of those born in or associated with Suffolk and you won’t find many team players, but you’ll find people like Thomas Wolsey, Bernie Ecclestone and Boudica and a fair selection of artistic greats like Benjamin Britten, Peter Hall, John Constable, Elizabeth Frink, Edward Fitzgerald, Charlotte Rampling, Maggi Hambling and Thomas Gainsborough.
The independent streak has also shown itself through history.
- Ipswich was always losing its borough charter, as they’d always sell food to the other side in the various civil wars.
- My father knew more than he revealed about the defence of the county during World War 2 and said that no-one bothered that Suffolk wouldn’t fight to send the Germans home. Even if some of the stories I’ve heard paid scant notice to the Geneva Convention.
- Suffolk is one of the few counties in England which bucked the trend to fizzy lager in the 1970s and could be described as one of the mainstays of real ale and cider.
- It’s the only county in England with its own breed of horse, cattle and sheep.
- I was conceived and partly brought up in Felixstowe and have watched a sleepy dock, grow against the odds into one of the most important ports in the world. Could the success be down to Suffolk independence, as they never received the assistance and government money that other ports did?
But then all Suffolk’s successes are always down to the people’s own ends and vision.
Forgotten because that is how government and many people in the UK, treat the county. Just look at how they fought to get decent roads to connect the county to London and the Midlands, or how Suffolk has only got a University in recent years.
So Suffolk is independent and forgotten! But curious never!
25 Years Since The Great Storm
Today marks twenty-five years since the Great Storm. I wrote about my personal experiences of the storm here.
One point, is today the BBC is reporting from Sussex. In Suffolk, we probably got it as bad as anywhere, with a lot of the county without power for two weeks and forests like Rendlesham were completely devastated.
But of course, at the time, the BBC didn’t have a local radio or television station in Suffolk. Yet again, another example of Suffolk being left to its own devices.
Ipswich Launches Campaign Against Cheap Super Strength Alcohol
Ipswich is an independent town in the very independent county of Suffolk and it has always been thus for both of them. Today though it is reported, that they are launching a campaign to ban cheap super strength alcohol. It’s all here in the East Anglian Daily Times. I heard of it on Radio 5 and they said it was the first town in England to do so.
Let’s hope it all succeeds in its objectives.
I suppose the real problem is to get all of the small off-licences to comply.
An Insult To Ipswich and Suffolk
The Tour of Britain cycle race starts this morning in Ipswich. The BBC radio traffic reports placed Ipswich in Norfolk.
They did correct it later. Or in fact, they didn’t repeat it again.
But yet again Suffolk is treated badly by the media. As it is by government, where more funding always goes to North Anglia.
The First English Beans Of The Summer
Today I bought the first English beans of the summer. From Suffolk of course! I used them to cook fish with beans and peas.
I used Carluccio’s lemon olive oil again and it gives a subtle lemon flavour to the fish.
If Scotland Votes For Independence, Where Do Orkney And Shetland Go?
Only now, with the referendum on Scottish Independence now being seen on the horizon, do people start to think about the real problems of the vote and what happens afterwards.
This article in the Guardian lays out the problems of the northern islands. This quote is given.
All the Shetland ever got from Scotland was dear meal and greedy ministers.
It may be true and I have heard something similar all over Suffolk, as people always feel that other areas of the UK get better treatment. In Suffolk’s case that usually means Norfolk.
Somehow, we must find a better way to spend taxes all over the UK.
Twoses and Threeses
I was on a bus today and thought a family opposite had triplets. They were actually a pair of twins and a singleton.
I was reminded of the old Suffolk words of twoses and threeses for twins and triplets respectively.
Does anybody else use these words?
Was The Torch A Day Late?
Yesterday was July the Fourth or Darrell’s Day in Suffolk, when the Dutch tried to invade in 1667.
So surely the torch should have visited Felixstowe yesterday, rather than today.
Danny’s Vision
Danny Boyle‘s idea for the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony will probably work and it’ll certainly be different.
But I have one gripe. The horses doing the ploughing should be Suffolk Horses or Punches. As someone, who has spent probably three-quarters of his life in the county, could I say otherwise. I think though, that the colour of all chestnut might be wrong, although of course they are slightly smaller than Shire horses, but probably with a better temperament for the Olympic stadium. Have a look at this Suffolk Punch parading at Portman Road, before Ipswich against Burnley.
The Anonymous Widower 