Making more of what we've got

During a week beneath our upturned coracle on the Norfolk coast we had lots of thinking time on our hands.
One of the things that impressed us most about our stay was the incredible enthusiasm that local people have for the area in which they live.
Almost every shop you go into has shelf upon shelf devoted to local topics; there are books, videos and DVDs galore; models, novelties, T shirts, and ingenious ideas to get locals and holidaymakers to work together in the spirit of fun.
One such example was in Cromer, where the fairly mundane fact that they catch crabs and lobsters for a living was turned into a massive competition cum treasure hunt, with shops, hotels and guesthouses, displaying 3ft and 6ft crab and lobster models in a "Crustacean Crawl."
We contrasted this ingenious promotion and ongoing display of localness with what we see in Boston.
A handful of local titles in Ottakar's and W H Smith and that's about it. Plus a few bits and bobs in the Stump and Guildhall. The Tourist Information Centre used to sell a few dusty remnants of Boston souvenirs, but we think that fell into abeyance.
So what's the problem?
Collectively, we appear to lack a love for our locality. We take what few attractions we have in Boston for granted and expect people to come to visit them as a matter of course.
When that doesn't happen we lament our plight instead of thinking of ways to change things.
Certainly Boston doesn't get the coverage it deserves in the county tourism leaflets.
All of the above got us to thinking about the lamentable waste of the government grant money designed to address the issue of empty shops in Boston ... more than 25 of them.
Slightly more than £52,000 is to be spent "to improve the appearance and vibrancy of town centres" in a scheme that was scheduled to have started last month.
The first part of the plan is to bring these shops up to a "common standard" by using sticky backed plastic graphics to decorate the shop windows at a cost of £12,000.
Then the dreaded "third sector," get a couple of shops for "community use" at a cost of £30,000, and the small change will possibly be spent on trying to attract new business.
Our time away got us thinking...
Why not - instead of letting the great and the good have a couple of shops for peanuts - don't we use at least one of them to celebrate Boston.
Selected items from the basement in the now closed Haven to show something of our history, and a full range of local books. Richard Kay publications has been helping Boston writers for decades and could surely provide a selection, and local historians have covered many of the surrounding villages.
Why not run a photographic competition for people staying in the area, with a weekly prize for the best picture across the summer. It might even make a Boston calendar.
Let's draw up a series of trails for people to follow ... historic, gastronomic, nature ... the list is endless.
All it needs is enthusiasm and will - two things that seem lamentably lacking around the place.

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