The City of Norwich is my favourite English City and it was no surprise to me when it was voted the friendliest City in England.
Norwich is 120 miles from Ollerton, the mining village where I lived and worked for 19 years, 1968-87. It was during the Miners Strike 1984/85 that I first discovered how friendly the people of this East Anglian City were. Norwich adopted Ollerton striking miners and raised funds weekly to support them and their families throughout.
Invite
I was invited by the Norwich Labour Party early on in the strike to speak at a rally in support of the Miners. I was due to speak at the University East Anglia (UEA) the next day and had to stay overnight. I was invited by a fellow Scot to stay at his home. My host for that evening was a local University scientist (blood cancer specialist) Dr Ian Gibson, who thirteen years later (1997) would become MP for Norwich, and as we say, the rest is history.
Ian Gibson formerly headed a research team at UEA investigating various forms of cancer including leukaemia, breast and prostate cancer. He was made an Honorary Professor at UEA in 2003.
The reasons for Ian Gibson resigning his seat were obviously a factor in Labour’s hammering at the polls last Thursday. The Tories understandably are celebrating their capture but keeping it at the General Election may prove more difficult than winning it.
Friendly Norwich
The City of Norwich is my favourite English City and it was no surprise to me when it was voted the friendliest City in England.
Norwich is 120 miles from Ollerton, the mining village where I lived and worked for 19 years, 1968-87. It was during the Miners Strike 1984/85 that I first discovered how friendly the people of this East Anglian City were. Norwich adopted Ollerton striking miners and raised funds weekly to support them and their families throughout.
Invite
I was invited by the Norwich Labour Party early on in the strike to speak at a rally in support of the Miners. I was due to speak at the University East Anglia (UEA) the next day and had to stay overnight. I was invited by a fellow Scot to stay at his home. My host for that evening was a local University scientist (blood cancer specialist) Dr Ian Gibson, who thirteen years later (1997) would become MP for Norwich, and as we say, the rest is history.
Ian Gibson formerly headed a research team at UEA investigating various forms of cancer including leukaemia, breast and prostate cancer. He was made an Honorary Professor at UEA in 2003.
The reasons for Ian Gibson resigning his seat were obviously a factor in Labour’s hammering at the polls last Thursday. The Tories understandably are celebrating their capture but keeping it at the General Election may prove more difficult than winning it.