olympic medals

I was born in Nottinghamshire and so I have had to put up with years of cricket boasting from Yorkshire folk up the road.

I have talked sympathetically to people from Hull who felt cut off from their home land during the era of Humberside, I have supported people  from Middlesborough making it clear that they are not from some abstract North East geography, I have fumed with Sheffielders at the prospect of being seen as part of the Peak District and the biggest town Derbyshire just didnt have. I once even watched a whole episode of “Where the Heart is” – but in this olympic mad time I draw the line at the county claiming sporting thralldom over Australia! I also wonder how many medals rural England can lay claim to – perhaps actually a futile reflection!!! The article setting out these grand claims for what is to be honest a grand place tells us:

For more than a thousand years Yorkshire has considered itself more than a mere county.

It wasn’t until 1972 for example that the cricket club dropped the “nationality” condition for its players while White Rose diehards even celebrate their own national day on 1 August.

So it will come as a little surprise to those of us blessed to live within its 600 mile boundary of glorious hills, stunning coast and vibrant cities that Yorkshire has joined the top 10 of the Olympic medal table.