The second Suffolk Day was celebrated on June 21st 2018 with events across the county. The official launch was held in Sudbury where town mayor Sue Ayres was joined by fellow Suffolk ceremonial leaders, councillors, public figures and special guests outside Sudbury Town Hall, as … Continue reading
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Real Lancashire Boundary Walk
Philip Walsh, Chairman of Friends of Real Lancashire, has set off on his one man walk around the Palatine of Lancashire’s boundary at total of 417 miles. He will be joined by members of FORL at various stages along the route so if you see … Continue reading
9 June 2018
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Wiltshire Day Celebrations
We are delighted to report that Wiltshire is the latest county to adopt a county day. Wiltshire Day is held on 5th June and is a chance for Wiltshire people to celebrate the county’s people and places, its rich history and heritage, its remarkable and beautiful … Continue reading
9 June 2018
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British County Flags in Review
Britco Flags publishes a growing number of YouTube videos featuring British County flags. Their latest is a review of the currently registered flags of Great Britain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-XQvdQesUI&feature=youtu.be
27 March 2018
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East Lothian flag competition launched.
A competition has been launched to design a flag for East Lothian http://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/15694243.Your_chance_to_design_a_flag_for_East_Lothian/
5 December 2017
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Warwickshire Society launched
The Warwickshire Society is a new organisation which aims to promote pride in the great county of Warwickshire, celebrate its traditions and educate people about its history. Initially the Society will focus on promoting the Warwickshire flag which was registered on August 15th 2016. The flag … Continue reading
16 October 2017
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Oxfordshire flag registered.
The Flag Institute has added the Oxfordshire county flag to its registry. The body agreed to register Oxfordshire’s flag in May 2017 but only recently finalised a design which it deemed satisfactory. The original registration request was submitted in February 2017. The design of white … Continue reading
9 October 2017
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Suffolk flag registered.
The Flag Institute has today added the flag of Suffolk to its registry. A banner of the traditional arms of Saint Edmund, the county’s patron saint, the Flag Institute agreed to register the design in September 2017, following its display by Suffolk County Council on … Continue reading
9 October 2017
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Sutherland flag competition.
The county of Sutherland conducted its flag competition in September 2017. The county is now set to become the fifth of thirty-four Scottish counties to secure its own distinct flag and the third mainland county to do so, following its neighbour Caithness in January 2016 … Continue reading
7 October 2017
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Doom-mongers have been predicting the death of county cricket almost since it was first established. However, its willingness to re-invent itself every generation has kept it a key part of the English (and Welsh!) summer. After a period of declining crowds, the introduction of twenty-twenty cricket in 2003 re-established county cricket as a mass spectator sport. Fourteen years later it continues to thrive and grow. The T20 Blast competition recorded record attendances in 2017.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/20531121/blast-attendances-record-883000
Many commentators see the buzz around the 2017 county competition as a reaction by fans against plans by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to stage a new twenty-twenty competition from 2020, based around 8 regional teams. The ECB wants to fill the big grounds with a new audience for cricket. It hopes to emulate the mass popularity of such competitions in Indian and Australia. It’s a risky strategy. The whole culture of cricket support is totally different in those countries. Can you create an audience for contrived regional teams? How can you replace a sold-out Old Trafford for the roses clash? Will the crowd which fills Lords for Middlesex vs Surrey really show up for ‘North London’ vs ‘South London’?
The new competition will not replace the county-based T20 Blast though. Whilst the new competition will be played in August, the T20 Blast will be played first, from June to mid-July, a much better slot in terms of the weather and the lack of competition from football. Is there a sufficient audience for both? Which will fare better?
Given the record crowds in 2017, the ECB would be well advised to revisit its plans for a regional competition. A less risky approach would be to build on the success of the Blast. So much could be done. Learn the lessons from counties like Surrey, Middlesex, Somerset and Nottinghamshire who attract capacity, enthusiastic crowds. How do they market their games? Play no international cricket whilst the Blast is on. Allow the England players to play alongside the world’s best stars, especially the biggest stars from the sub-continent. Play some games on smaller grounds where locals rarely get the chance to see top quality cricket. Above all, get the game on terrestrial TV. The ECB’s decision to sell all rights to domestic and international cricket to satellite TV was short-sighted, robing it of a huge audience and its status as our national summer sport. Put the promotion and marketing into the Blast. It’s already a great competition. Some imagination, some proper planning and marketing could make it truly huge.