Mentioned Part 41

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 09/02/2003 (Last updated: 17/01/2026)

  

"No disrespect to the likes of Grimsby..."

Grimsby Nets a 'Pizza' the Action

From the BBC.

The traditional English fishing port of Grimsby has become an unlikely record holder. There are now more pizzas made in the town than anywhere else in Europe - and that includes Italy.

It is part of a strategy to overcome the economic disaster faced by Grimsby after drastic reductions in the East Coast fishing fleets.

After the loss of the majority of the fishing fleet in Grimsby, firms in the town had to diversify into new markets.

Food was still the core business but pizzas, processed fish, and selling fish from elsewhere has put the town back on the commercial map.

Grimsby now imports 70% of its fish from elsewhere in the country to be sold at the towns' new fish market.

Frank Flear, from the firm behind the market, Grimsby Fish Enterprises, says the town's tradition of providing quality fish has helped despite the fish not being caught locally.

"What having a facility like this market does is make people want to bring their fish here. It's a brand new building and in Grimsby we have a very strong buyer base, that's what people want."

The traditional skills of fish preparation have also helped the economic recovery.

Fish that have been filleted are worth more and when the fillets are frozen they increase in value again.

Million of pounds have been invested in fast-freezing systems and one firm even pre-cooks some fish for use by take-away restaurants.

This new investment has so far paid off. Unemployment in the area has fallen and new companies are coming to the area.

One of the most surprising successes has been the manufacture of the popular Italian pizza. Thought of more as a taste of Umbria than Humberside, the town now makes over 1m pizzas a day.

Jim Cane, the managing director of McVities Prepared Foods, rejects claims that Grimsby is an odd place to make pizza and says that it has proved to be a good choice.

"We knew we had a work-force here that understood the modern food standards that the food industry requires."

In a town that was written off after the death of trawler fishing, Grimsby now employs 27,000 people in the food industry and that is likely to increase in the near future.

Spotted by Grim Rob.

Forget Rio

From the Guardian.

Forget Madrid, Rio and Sydney as the fashionable locations in which to usher in the new year. If, on the evidence of this turgid affair, the monster hangovers seemingly nursed by the two sets of tiptoeing players are anything to go by, then Barnsley and Grimsby must be noted as the places to head for in anticipation of 2003.

Spotted by Pat Bell.

Paolo di Canio

From What the Papers Say:.

Who: Paolo di Canio
What: Blasts West Ham board after transfer falls through
Where: Upton Park, LONDON
Snippet: "It's obvious that the club intends to sell the best players and replace them with cheaper, mediocre versions," the volatile Italian said yesterday. "I keep hearing this excuse of the new stand, but what good will it do if we have a beautiful new stadium but are playing Grimsby in the First Division."

Spotted by Dave Whincup.

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