Dear readers,
It has been a proper scorcher, and our county is bone dry. Lovely for a paddle at the lakeside, far less lovely when it turns Park Hall Country Park into a tinderbox, which is exactly where this week's edition opens. Please do take care out there, and if you see anything suspicious, report it. A dry Staffordshire is a fragile one.
Elsewhere this week: the biggest shake-up to how our county is run in a generation, a Burslem war hero honoured at last after 108 years, Bucknall Park getting a wilder makeover, and Sir David Jason heading to the Regent.
The reorganisation is on everyone's minds, and if you are not sure what the future holds, you are in good company, because nobody quite is yet. What I do know is that the summer diary is bursting, festivals, science roadshows, storytelling in the parks and plenty more. If you are running something yourself, add it to our calendar for free, that is exactly what it is there for.
One small ask before you read on. The Staffordshire Signal is community-powered and not for profit, written by Staffordshire, for Staffordshire. If you value a local paper that turns up every single week, please consider a paid membership. It is what keeps the reporting independent, the event listings free, and this Wednesday paper landing in your inbox. And whether you go paid or not, do fill in our quick feedback survey further down, it genuinely shapes what comes next.
Until next Wednesday.
Jenna
