Well, This Is What I Think

Many, many moons ago, my mother’s family, on my grandmother’s side, (and we are talking about years with an 18 in front of them – imagine! People I actually knew!) hailed from Lincolnshire. From a town called Boston, to be precise. And today, one of my closest friends is from that country, entirely coincidentally.

So when Simon sent me news of this wonderful story, it was always going to end up in the blog.

Louth. Which for one glorious summers day, was not very couth. See what I did there?

For some time, the banger-munching burghers of Lincolnshire have been petitioning the European Community to have their famous Lincolnshire sausages declared a special species of snag – much as champagne can now only come from the actual area called Champagne in France, and so on, otherwise it must be called “Sparkling wine”.

And very wonderful they are too.

Sadly, the EC turned the Lincolshire-ites down, which given the EC is happy to regulate just about everything that happens within its borders without fear or favour seems slightly unfair. But undaunted, one local Mayoress nevertheless decided to dress up as a sausage when the Olympic torch rolled through town, to keep up the fight to publicise the wonderful local porky offering.

Never mind that sausages are commonly, in rough and ready yokel language, often used as a cipher for the male appendage. Never mind that the outfit she chose, (see below), looked uncommonly like, well, see for yourself.

It’s a, er, sausage. Honest, guv.

Louth Mayor Cllr Makinson-Sanders, for it is she, and her alter ego, the “happy sausage of Lincolnshire”.

Anyhow, the Mayor of Louth has made national headlines after an Olympic Torch Relay stunt – with many people saying her novelty sausage costume was mistaken for – OK, let’s say it – a penis.

As “This is Linconshire”  reports (whose server must surely have melted down overnight) Bill Nicholson, from Kidgate, wrote to every town councillor objecting and demanded that the mayoress be stopped.

He said: “The council chamber must put a stop to this embarrassment and restore some dignity to the people of Louth who do not want the local Olympic event hijacked for commercial reasons.

“To insult the whole spirit of the Olympic movement and the modest people who have carried the Torch is not in Louth’s interest.”

Despite this plea,  Makinson-Sanders secured the ‘phallic’ costume and stunned many residents in the Lincolnshire town who branded it ‘obscene’.

Mum-of-two Sandra Ellington, 38, said: “She probably thought she was being quite fun and quirky – but it backfired a little bit.

“People couldn’t take their eyes off her because it looks so rude. Her outfit certainly gained a few titters among the crowd.”

Comments on Wednesday’s story on This is Lincolnshire included: “The costume makes her look like a gentleman’s appendage,” and “she is clearly deluded if she thinks that costume looks anything like a sausage.”

Councillor Makinson-Sanders defended her actions, claiming that Louth Town Council had not been officially invited to have anything to do with the Olympic Torch or to meet the Torch and welcome it into the town.

“I was not attending in my capacity as mayor. I serve the town as mayor but only when invited to do so,” she said.

Some local residents have defended the mayoress – even praising her for being bold and imaginative initiative.

Patrick Neville, chairman of Louth Food and Drink group on Louth Town Partnership said: “She is doing what Louth richly deserves – getting us recognised as a food town of excellence. Rather than complain, these people should welcome the Mayor’s actions.”

Another commenter on this website added: “I think it is wonderful that people in higher places can prove that they are human. What a load of miserable so-and-so’s and total snobs we have. I think that she’s doing more for the Lincolnshire sausage than a bunch of Mayor’s chains could do.”

Some of the positive comments on the website really were delightful.

“Dress up like a sausage? Wrong or right, the girl’s got balls.” opined bwvixen.

Referring to a badge at the top of the story, opinionhated asked “Is the “trusted source” Brown or Tomato?”

smorrisey was clearly thinking things through. “I think the problem was that it was pink – maybe if they’d made it brown… oh, hang on!”

And the story duly reached the national press, undoubtedly the first time Louth ever has …