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Original poster

What is the most exciting thing that has ever happened in your village or small town?

229 replies

Puffinshop · 01/10/2023 18:00

Obviously when you live in a big city, newsworthy stuff is happening all the time. If you've lived in small towns you know that it's often slim pickings for the local papers and it can be quite exciting when something happens close to you. What's the biggest local news story you remember from your town?

The most dramatic thing that ever happened where I live now (in my memory) is the body of a whale washed up on the beach. Sadly it was already dead so there was no rescue possible but so many people went to see it - quite a grisly and depressing sight but also impressive to see an animal of that size I suppose. I didn't go, partly because I had the kids with me and I didn't think a dead animal was something they'd enjoy (or me tbh) but loads of people took their kids Confused It was certainly quite an event and everyone was talking about it.

In my childhood village there was once a man running round at night dressed in a gimp suit and frightening the villagers.

OP posts:
CupOfTia · 01/10/2023 21:21

A few police raids for some of the more... 'expert' gardeners in the village.

Oh, and a tractor caught on fire and exploded. The farmer just rushed back to the barn to get some buckets of water instead of calling the fire brigade. No one was harmed.

Oh, there was recently a farmer who went missing. Despite a massive police search all over, it took a week to find that he had passed away accidentally in one of his barns :(

Dolly567 · 01/10/2023 21:22

I live in Bradford, where do I start BlushGrin

StrawberryPavlova · 01/10/2023 21:25

Martin Clunes was once (probably about 30 years ago) passing through the village I grew up in, and had lunch in one of the village pubs. He left them a signed picture which was on the wall in there for years and years. In fact I bet it's still there.

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 01/10/2023 21:29

I suppose the most recent excitement was Tyson Fury viewing a property in our village when he was looking to move. He didn’t buy it but he does live in my old village, which os technically not Morecambe (and neither was his old house).

Not quite in my village and not exciting but sadly, our area will forever be synonymous with Nicola Bulley.

NoraLuka · 01/10/2023 21:35

The pub/shop owner was selling cocaine, arrested, disappeared for a while and was the subject of wild rumours about how he’d escaped to New Zealand/had guns in the back room of the pub/was going to come back with a gang to seek revenge. This is all bollocks, but if anyone new ever comes to the village it’s only a matter of time before someone tells them about Pablo Escobar the ex-pub/shop owner.

Eybyegum · 01/10/2023 21:36

The headline on the local newspaper ad board outside the shops this week is “digital advertising sign planning appeal” which will cause uproar on fb if anyone bothers to read the paper

Rockschooldropout · 01/10/2023 21:37

I live in a tiny Cotswolds town .. more a village but has a “tiny” market place making it a town but
lots of “well known “ faces regularly shop here . Andrew Lincoln likes to pop here to shop (fan girl moment)
kate Moss lives nearby and is seen regularly in our local shops.
Bob Geldof stayed in the local pub last year ..
A few years ago an archeological dig for a new park in front of my house uncovered a very important Bronze Age chieftain grave which still continues to be talked about as it was a very significant find ..
There have been a few unpleasant things and tragedies that have made the news .. it feels like an odd place to live a lot of the time

Original poster
Puffinshop · 01/10/2023 21:39

Dolly567 · 01/10/2023 21:22

I live in Bradford, where do I start BlushGrin

Not sure Bradford comes into the category of village or small town! Isn't it about half a million people?

OP posts:
PatchworkElmer · 01/10/2023 21:42

Escaped raccoon.

TrainspottingWelsh · 01/10/2023 21:43

We also had a murderer. Well, he was entirely innocent but the local rumour mill concluded that he was despite any valid reason and over 15yrs later it’s still no smoke without fire.
A man that was a massive arse, liked to fling his weight around and had frequent interactions with the police. Probably poaching related/ illegal use and possession but ended up with multiple police vehicles and a house search for something to do with firearms.
Naturally in a small quiet village this became a search for a murder weapon and the police digging up his garden for a body, which soon became the police finding his ex wife’s body. Even though it was widely known she had left him years before and was still in touch with local friends.

GlamGiraffe · 01/10/2023 21:44

I currently live in Central London. More things go on in my tiny narrow dead ended street with a dozen residents than in the average tv soap or drama. It's a bizarre epicentre. You literally never know what's going to be happening when you open the door 🤯

HerMammy · 01/10/2023 21:45

Outlander was filmed here as was Good Omens

MissingMoominMamma · 01/10/2023 21:48

Someone pinched a decorated Christmas tree from outside the pub and dumped it in the canal.

Callipygion · 01/10/2023 21:49

Talk in the Co-op this week was the roadworks, which have been ongoing for weeks now, partially blocking the entry to the car park, and people turning left out of it instead of going right and following the diversion.

Also noted was 6 workmen in the large hole they have already dug. 5 sitting around the edge watching the 6th doing a bit more digging.

Original poster
Puffinshop · 01/10/2023 21:51

GlamGiraffe · 01/10/2023 21:44

I currently live in Central London. More things go on in my tiny narrow dead ended street with a dozen residents than in the average tv soap or drama. It's a bizarre epicentre. You literally never know what's going to be happening when you open the door 🤯

Yes, London is pretty much the opposite of village or small town. It's bigger than many countries.

OP posts:
MetaverseMavis · 01/10/2023 21:53

A neighbour died from an overdose of carrot juice. He reportedly drank up to eight pints of carrot juice daily.

He was bright yellow according to the coroner

GlamGiraffe · 01/10/2023 21:54

But I'm talking about a street of less than 20 tiny terraced houses, not even a general area of London. It's a mad place to live, ( but I like it).

mathanxiety · 01/10/2023 21:55

A park near the village where I grew up was the place where a murderer met his victim before taking her to the place where he killed her.

Seiheiki · 01/10/2023 21:55

Not exciting, horrific. 4 soldiers lost their lives in very suspicious circumstances. Also frequently used as a film set location.

CupOfTia · 01/10/2023 21:56

MetaverseMavis · 01/10/2023 21:53

A neighbour died from an overdose of carrot juice. He reportedly drank up to eight pints of carrot juice daily.

He was bright yellow according to the coroner

Just..um.. what?? 🤣

YolandiFuckinVisser · 01/10/2023 21:57

A man crashed a pickup truck into a shop, then ran away from the police. He was caught shortly afterwards when he was attacked by an emu after climbing into the animal sanctuary.

sleepismyhobby · 01/10/2023 21:58

The buffalo escaped a few years back and cased carnage damaging cars and ripping gardens apart . Luckily didn't make it down to my house
Also Sean Connery used to spend summers here as a child as his grandad stayed in the outskirts of the village

WhoWants2Know · 01/10/2023 21:59

YolandiFuckinVisser · 01/10/2023 21:57

A man crashed a pickup truck into a shop, then ran away from the police. He was caught shortly afterwards when he was attacked by an emu after climbing into the animal sanctuary.

Now that is a story I would like to see re-enacted.

Frith2013 · 01/10/2023 21:59

A 15 year old girl went on holiday with her "boyfriend", who was a police officer in his 20s.

It was all over the TV news until they were found on a beach in Scotland with his car stuck in the sand.

plominoagain · 01/10/2023 22:00

We had a cluster of armed burglaries and robberies going on around us - like several a week for months . They would turn up, wave a shotgun at the occupants , then steal their belongings . People began putting handy weapons round their homes and on one occasion , shots were actually exchanged I believe . It all came to an end when their vehicle was pursued by police , and they decided to try and drive through a flood area to escape . They had to swim for it - and discovered our local police dog loved swimming . So he went and got them one by one . Very substantial sentences they got .