Harry and Sally, David and Goliath – all famous duos, but not quite as impressive as Grimsby and Grimsby.
Separated by the Atlantic Ocean, the two towns are not too dissimilar to one another. Situated on Lake Ontario, Canada, the town was founded in 1790, originally named “The Forty”.
It wasn’t until around 1816 when it became known as Grimsby which was common practice for towns during this time, with many others being named after areas in Lincolnshire. For example, around 10 miles South of Grimsby is a place called Lincoln.
Fast forward to modern day and the similarities still exist. They too are currently undergoing a “once in a generation” regeneration project which is looking to reimagine the centre of their town. To further relationships and help each other with projects like this, Mayor Jeff Jordan and Chief Administrative Officer Sarah Kim paid a visit to North East Lincolnshire.
Meeting Mayor Janet Goodwin, Consort Barry Goodwin, Interim Chief Executive Sharon Wroot and Leader of the Council Philip Jackson, the group exchanged stories of their towns as well as discussing what makes their Grimsby so great.
For Mayor Jordan, this was his first time visiting our Grimsby, something he was very excited about. “I really love the history that this Grimsby has. All the old buildings and the heritage it has is just fascinating.”
He added: “I’m also a fan of plants and wildlife and it’s interesting to see the different things that can be grown here that we can’t grow over in Canada. I’m hoping this trip can go some way to helping us understand how we can help each other as we move forward with this relationship.”
Mayor Janet Goodwin added: “It’s great to finally meet someone from Grimsby Ontario. We all talk about there being another Grimsby out there but it’s intriguing to find out what it’s actually like and how it differs from the one we know.
“I’m hoping this is the first of many visits to and from the two towns as we look to strengthen our relationship with them.”
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