County can take on all-comers

It amazes me just how many times this county crops up on Britain's 'excellence' radar, with stunning stories of success and achievement.

Take the Malvern Show. Yes, it's not exactly Chelsea but it's pretty damn close in the grand scheme of things. To a gardening novice like me they both have flowers, Pimms and people with walking sticks that turn into seats.

I was trying to grab a word with Gardeners' World supremo Chris Beardshaw about his Best in Show award when out of the corner of my eye I noticed his winning garden had been planted in league with Adcote School.

A chat to teacher Louise Hudson later, and not only did they approach him to design the garden but inspiration for it came from a walk around Adcote's impressive grounds.

Chris, of course, will get the majority of the limelight given that he is to gardening what Lord Lichfield was to royal snaps, but the effort and enthusiasm of our county schoolgirls, some as young as six, should neither be ignored nor overlooked.

The great thing about this is that it's not a one-off. Wherever you go in Shropshire there are quite astonishing stories of endeavour and reward.

I remember meeting Ben and Charlotte Hollins for the first time nearly two years ago when they were in the thick of raising an improbable £800,000 to save Fordhall Farm near Market Drayton.

The bank had given them a year to collect the cash and probably left the meeting chuckling at the very thought. After all, at 21 and 23 there was little chance the brother and sister team could raise £8,000, let alone the rest.

Unfortunately the 'suits' hadn't accounted for their resilience and determination. A year on and they had smashed through the £800,000 barrier after pioneering a project to sell not-for-profit shares in the business.

This was not simply local or regional news. The siblings had coverage and donations from Australia, America and South Africa. A true triumph for them and for Shropshire.

And what about Robert Bowdler, from Heath Farm on the outskirts of Shrewsbury? He scooped the Farmers' Guardian's Dairy Farmer of the Future award and is almost single-handedly responsible for raising the profile of the industry in the county.

At a time when three dairy farmers are quitting every day, Robert and his family are now milking more than 1,100 cows.

I went to the opening of the Fresh Start Academy at Walford College at the back end of last month and Robert won the audience over with his passion and enthusiasm for an industry that has been in freefall for the last decade.

Of course he wants more than 17p a litre for his milk, but he is determined to make it work whatever he's paid. If Robert can make it work I'm sure others like him can follow suit.

We need pioneers, we need success stories and we need to put this county on the map for all the right reasons.

At a time when the county is in mourning over the shocking death of Pc Richard Gray, it is these positives we should be focusing on more than ever.