Stone is totally ignored again

I am furious. For years the 'old hands' have warned me about the passport controls at the top of Yarlett Bank - the dividing line between Stafford and the other side of the world. They say that the powers that be in Stafford, whether Borough Council or County Council, believe that life only exists in the county town and that the towns and villages beyond are good for collecting council tax but should be otherwise ignored. Many of these views stem from a deep seated feeling that Stone UDC was 'shafted' when local government was reorganised in the 1970's.

To begin with I listened to their comments with good grace but I am now firmly coming round to the view that they are right. I could ( and over the next few postings probably will) make mention of several examples of Stone being treated unfairly but for the moment let me rant about a leaflet which I picked up this morning in the Library issued by the County Council and entitled "A Canal County".

Stone is, of course, the canal town of the Staffordshire. Josiah Wedgwood and James Brindley signed the contract for the building of the Trent and Mersey canal right here in our beautiful Crown Hotel. We have the oldest canal hire boat company in the country. We have another boat building yard. We have a canal side pub even older than the canal itself. And we have a Town Centre one minutes walk from the tow path with scores of pubs and restaurants waiting to greet our canal visitors. And over 30,000 visitors pass through Stone each year on the canal.
And yet the County Council's leaflet makes no mention whatsoever of Stone! Oh yes, it claims the dubious attractions of Stafford town centre are "as short walk from the canal" and that Lichfield, likewise, is a walkable tourist attraction from the canal! Numerous other places to visit are mentioned - though many are miles from a canal. But no mention of Stone!
No wonder we get angry.

This leaflet must have cost thousands to produce and will no doubt be circulated around the region's Tourist Offices and elsewhere. But Stone is going to be penalised because some buffoon in an office in Stafford isn't fit to be employed in the job he (or she) is doing.

I am going to write to the County Council demanding that the person who produced this outrageous leaflet be sent to Stone for a day. I'll offer to provide transport here and back. Clearly the person has no idea where Stone is and I would not want them to get lost. And when they are here I'll arrange for a comprehensive inspection of our canal and show them the importance of the canal to the town's economy.
And, in the meantime, I'm demanding that the leaflet be withdrawn until it has been rewritten