ACTRESS BORN IN BRIGG APPEARED IN PLAYS WITH GRITTY PLOTS LONG BEFORE JAKE QUICKENDEN FOUND THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

Brigg Blog decided not to submit an entry to the recent North Lincolnshire Council competition to name its bad weather winter vehicles which will be salting major roads to prevent icing and also ploughing through accumulated snow when bad weather arrives on the scene.
Among names to find favour was Jake Grittenden - a reference to North Lincolnshire singer and entertainer, Jake Quickenden, originally from Bottesford.
Had we opted to put finger to keyboard, our submission would have been Joan Plough Right.
Famous award-winning actress Dame Joan Plowright (Lady Olivier) was born in Brigg and as a young child lived on Central Square before her family moved to Scunthorpe. She went on to marry acting legend Sir Laurence (later Lord Olivier).
She appeared in some plays with gritty plots, including A Taste of Honey - its Broadway (New York) stage version, no less!
Although mainly renowned for stage roles, Dame Joan also appeared in a light-hearted 1993 film about Dennis (the Menace). That's apt in this context, as a company named Dennis is a very well-known manufacturer of gritting vehicles.
Dame Joan, aged 92, is now retired.
Council bosses subsequently renamed Scunthorpe Civic Theatre, on Laneham Street (opened in the late 1950s) The Plowright Theatre in her honour.
If the local authority holds a similar competition in due course, or buys any new gritters, perhaps Joan Plough Right might be considered.

PICTURED: A view of Central Square, with the house where Joan Plowright once lived on the right; Jake Quickenden with the 'Grittenden' vehicle at Normanby Hall and meeting Coun Rob Waltham who grew up just a couple of streets away from Joan's original home in Brigg. Jake once worked for the local authority. The gritter lorry pictures are from the council.

 

FROM NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL

The name Jake Grittenden topped a list of ten names voted for by the public after North Lincolnshire Council asked for suggestions.
Thousands of people submitted names and then voted, with Jake emerging the clear winner.
Rodger Spreaderer and I Want To Break Freeze were the second and third most popular names.
Jake said: “To be fair, I thought that everyone in Scunny hated me, so I’m really happy!
“I’m always going to be a Scunny boy through and through. I was born here, all my friends and family are still here, so it’s nice when something like this happens.
“It’s a bit of fun and I don’t take myself too seriously. Now I’ve got a gritter named after me, it’s brilliant. It’s probably the highlight of my career, to be honest!”
Leader of North Lincolnshire Council Rob Waltham (Brigg & Wolds) said: “It’s been brilliant how everyone across the county has joined in to come up with these hilarious names, and Jake is a worthy winner.
“This is also a good time to thank our gritter drivers, who turn out when the rest of us are asleep, often in terrible weather, to keep the roads safe.”
The winter gritting season has already begun and the council’s fleet of newly-named gritters are now on standby, ready to patrol the streets of North Lincolnshire.
The list of winning names is:

• Jake Grittenden
• Rodger Spreaderer
• I Want To Break Freeze
• Salting Matilda
• Gritasaurus Rex
• Basil Salty
• The Duke of Spreadingborough
• Aunty Freeze
• Thaw and Order
• Ready Salted.