YES, MINISTER: BRIGG & DISTRICT SHOULD DO MORE TO CELEBRATE LINCOLNSHIRE DAY

Brigg Blog has suggested a number of times over the years that much more should be done locally to celebrate Lincolnshire Day every October 1.
So it was with great interest that we noted a recent suggestion at government level that county days across the UK should be revived and/or given greater support to boost pride within local communities.
Eight pages of "guidance" have been sent to local authorities across the country with Jake Berry, a Minister in the Department of Communities and Local Government, calling on councils to put things in place.
We think Mr Berry is spot on.
You can see a few Lincolnshire Flags flying in Brigg on October 1 (see the picture above) - but there's not much else to say it's our big day.
In other more southerly parts of the county, some events are held and people are asked to eat sausages, haslet, cheese and plum bred made in, and associated with, Lincolnshire.
Many types of beer are also produced within the county, using locally grown produce.
But Lincolnshire Day is more popular in the swathe of the old county now administered by Lincolnshire County Council than it is in the unitary districts of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.
Historic Lincolnshire - the second largest county in the land - stretched from Stamford to the River Humber at Barton until local government reorganisation created a new administrative county, Humberside, in 1974, including Brigg and most of the the south bank.
It was unpopular with many people, particularly in more rural areas, and was wiped off the local government map in 1996, following which the North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire unitary authorities were created.
But this should have no relevance when it comes to celebrating Lincolnshire Day. Go to the end of Westrum Lane in Brigg and you leave North Lincolnshire and enter Lincolnshire.
The same applies if you visit Brigg Garden Centre, on Bigby High Road.
Marketed with enthusiasm, Lincolnshire Day, on October 1, offers Brigg and district an opportunity to attract visitors to our area and encourage them and local people to buy produce and goods made in the county.
There's still plenty of time before October 1, 2019 to put things in place so Lincolnshire Day is celebrated in much grander style in our locality.
We should take a lead from sporting leagues and organisations which have continued to carry Lincolnshire's name with pride and ignored the boundary changes imposed in 1974 and 1996.
The Lincolnshire Show still every June also attracts people from across the county as it did long before the boundaries were redrawn.
But perhaps we ought to make an exception for Brigg police station, in Barnard Avenue, when it comes to flying our county flag on October 1.
It is still managed and operated by Humberside Police which was established in 1974 but unaffected by the 1996 changes made in local government. Humberside Police still covers the north and south banks of the estuary.