Miles Collins

When is Lincolnshire Day I hear you cry!

Get your diaries out, Lincolnshire Day will soon be upon us once again. October 1st is the day when the civilised world unites to honour the greatest county on earth (subject to opinion) and the planet will be awash with the colour yellow, oh yes!

Okay so it’s not exactly July 4th or New Year’s Eve but for Lincolnshire yellow bellies as folk in this part are known it is intended to raise the county’s profile and that can’t be a bad thing. My relationship with the county has had a somewhat chequered past. I was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire but then somebody decided that I no longer came from Lincolnshire but South Humberside instead and then they changed their mind and I came from North East Lincolnshire. No wonder I’m confused. Shamefully, I neglected my home county for the riches (other people’s) of other countries and counties for a number of years but the lure of those fields of yellow became too much and I returned to reclaim my title of ‘corn cruncher’ back in ‘97.

All joking aside I have been celebrating my home county in my own way over the past year or more. Writing this blog has helped to develop my interest in the areas around me and it has been a very rewarding experience. I drove through the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds today and the scenery is quite something and certainly demands a closer inspection.

As summer draws to a close the fields are full of interesting subject matters and it’s just a question of knowing where to look for photographic opportunities. I found a number of fruit trees and bushes not long planted in the most obscure ‘off the map’ place you could imagine but within a couple of years this will be a fantastic place to revisit. Lincolnshire is a county where farming can be seen in full flow and at close quaters. Farming is what Lincolnshire is all about and we should do more to promote it’s fabulous produce. One of my favourite ‘quick walks’ is along a field of spinach beet, as far as the eye can see it is glorious to look at in the early evening when the resident wildlife are at their most active.

October 1st might be officially Lincolnshire day but why not make it a day for you to rediscover your own town, city or county? I do think we are often guilty of taking where we live for granted and it’s nice to pay our respects every now and then.