Outside looking in

23 October 2005

Standing on the riverbank, arms on the railings looking at the ducks I got into a conversation. "There's a great huge fish in there" he said indicating with his hands a fish about eighteen inches long.

I looked into the water and saw a mature pike floating serenely - waiting for his next meal. "It's a rich river this," I said - my knowledge of fish limited to those in batter or tins - "it's famous for pike".

It turned out the visitor is from Whitley Bay - in Brigg by chance - being on the way to Skegness to look for a new place to live. He fished for pleasure off the seafront at Whitley Bay, but problems with local troublemakers is forcing him to move out of the North East to somewhere safer.

"My van's been broken into twice recently - the police caught him and they made him pay me compensation for the damage at £10 per fortnight. It's been several months but I haven't got the first payment yet."

"I want to get out of there now. I live near the big shopping complex and the whole area is really bad. I've been to see two bungalows in Hib-", - and here he struggled with the name of Hibaldstow - " and I couldn't believe it. The first was alright but the second was like a palace. The couple are moving back down to Kent to be with their family."

The peace and quiet of Hibaldstow was the main draw for him - even more than the price advantage. After living for years in a place he didn't really like, he felt at home straight away here: "The people here are so friendly and talk".

We chatted for a few more minutes and then that was it - I had to make a move to get back for my Sunday lunch and the visitor got back to wandering down the bank of the Ancholme.

Yet it made me think as I went past the supermarkets and then past the Catholic Church where in both places were people doing 'just' the ordinary things of Sunday. It is easy to take life in Brigg - and the surrounding area - for granted.

Think, though, about what there is to offer: good and affordable places to live, a wide range of shops and pubs, good schools, social and sports clubs and an active community with busy market days and regular events. Not bad for a town which is little more than a village in size.

Sometimes you have to be an outsider 'looking in' to appreciate what there is to offer in Brigg.