Editor’s Letter
. . . to our summer edition. It seems almost inconceivable that, between us planning this issue and publishing it, so much in our world has changed and with such speed and such ferocity.
As we go to press, we’re still in lockdown, with no idea of when we might come out. Our news is filled with frightening, incredibly sad and also inspiring stories. It’s also filled with statistics that just seem to be heading in the wrong direction. Our churches and shops are closed, our roads are quiet, our skies are empty and our Prime Minister is in hospital. Community spirit, though, is strong and even HM the Queen has delivered a rallying cry with echoes of We’ll Meet Again to steady the ship.
The This England team is working from home and thanks to the wonders of technology we are able to carry on and bring you this issue, which we hope will lift the spirits. It’s worth saying here that there are several places we have mentioned which we’re sure won’t be open when you receive this, but are perhaps good to put in the diary for later in the year.
As ever, though, we’ve got some real gems of articles and one of my favourites is Dave Joy’s look at Liverpool’s cowkeepers, a band of urban farmers who made their fortune bringing milk to the masses of Liverpool in the 19th and 20th centuries. It’s a fascinating slice of life, and Dave’s passion for this lost way of living is compelling. See p66.
Thank you so much for sending us your VE Day memories, p38. You told us fantastic tales of parties and exuberance and one particularly poignant memory, too. We have published a good selection but didn’t have room for all of them. It is possible, too, that if you’ve sent letters to the Fleet Street address, we haven’t seen them yet as the office is closed. We look forward to seeing them when we’re back at our (proper) desks.
The inspiring Florence Nightingale is our Great Briton, p52, and how apt in these times, with the Nightingale hospitals opening across the country and our nurses (and of course our doctors and all our other key workers) being such heroes on the frontline.
I’ve particularly enjoyed going out to clap for them on Thursdays and in our village people are finding ever more inventive ways of making the loudest noise possible.
We also have a great piece on the history of aviation on the Isle of Sheppey, p34, and London’s first airport in Croydon. Plus, Sara Emslie has written about the intense rivalry on display in village shows, p48 – we hope some will go ahead this summer. We have fabulous English boat trips to plan, p54, and some exceptional gardens to visit in Shropshire, p72, when this is all over.
We very much hope that you’re managing to stay safe, get food, medicines and, importantly too, stay optimistic. Until next time . . . when we sincerely hope some sort of normality will have returned.