TV star Neil Morrissey has sent a personal ‘Love Letter to Staffordshire’ to help launch a new campaign aimed at marking the county’s annual day of celebration.
The Stafford-born star – known for his work in The Syndicate, Line of Duty, and Men Behaving Badly – has thrown his weight behind a new way for people to show their pride in the county for this year’s Staffordshire Day, on Saturday 1 May.
The Neil Morrissey Pub Company also owns two Staffordshire pubs, The Plume of Feathers at Barlaston, near Stoke-on-Trent, and The Old Bramshall Inn at Bramshall, near Uttoxeter.
His video, available to view at the Enjoy Staffordshire YouTube Channel (https://youtu.be/yLc0iArnt8Y), reveals the actor’s love for all things Staffordshire – from Spitfire inventor Reginald Mitchell to singer Robbie Williams and from Trentham Gardens to the Cannock Chase area of outstanding beauty.
Now organisers of the ‘Love Letters to Staffordshire’ campaign, Enjoy Staffordshire, – alongside Staffordshire County Council and other local authority partners – are hoping many more will follow in his footsteps to record their own video message.
Normally Staffordshire Day offers a host of events, competitions and activities right across the county, but as in 2020, this year’s annual promotion will be online-only, taking place on social media and the Enjoy Staffordshire website.
A celebration of all that’s great about the county, its people, heritage and culture, as well as stunning locations and places to visit, ‘Love Letters to Staffordshire’ offers a new, and fun, way for people to tell the world why they love the county.
Messages can be on video, or written in a social media post, and just part of an online programme of activity, which will also include a virtual market, a film festival, and a series of live and pre-recorded events.
Videos can be filmed on a smartphone or video camera, and no longer than 60 seconds. Once recorded, they should be shared on social media on Saturday 1st May, with the hashtag #StaffordshireDay.
Staffordshire Day itself began in 2016, marking 1,000 years since the county was first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and became an annual event to celebrate Staffordshire’s rich heritage and culture, as well as stunning places to visit.
The date, decided by a public vote in 2015, also marks the anniversary of Josiah Wedgwood setting up his world-famous Staffordshire pottery company in 1759.
More information on this year’s Staffordshire Day can be found at www.enjoystaffordshire.com/staffsday