A love song for Suffolk

Terry Hunt thinks Suffolk’s place as a wellkept secret is being consigned to history

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THERE’S an old, well-used saying about Suffolk hiding its light under a bushel. It refers to our reluctance to shout about how brilliant our county is.

Yes, we all know Suffolk is a great place, but telling everyone about it? Well, that would be rather showing off, wouldn’t it? This seems to be quite a widely-held view. While part of me loves such modesty, it also frustrates me.

I had a conversation with some people the other day about their village not having any signs to tell visitors they have arrived. You could drive through this charming little place in the blink of an eye and not realise where you’d been.

Wasn’t this rather irritating? I asked. “No, we like it that way. We don’t want to be discovered!’’ I suppose those few words rather sum up the situation. I have heard people go further: “I think we should block the A12 at Stratford St. Mary so people can’t come here from London.’’