YOUR HARLOW has just published its 30,000th story.

We launched on July 1st 2013 and so we are very pleased we have reached this landmark before our tenth birthday on July 1st.

We are proud to be part of an unbroken link of news that began with the Harlow Citizen in March 1953 and has continued via a number of paper outlets including the Harlow Herald and the Harlow Star.

Our main hope is that perhaps in fifty or a hundred years time, if someone is researching life in Harlow from 2013 onwards, then our stories may be of some use. It is as simple as that.

A few months ago, our editor delivered a lecture to journalism students at the University of East Anglia.

He said: “Let me describe January. January 1st, 8am: Walking around a pond that became a murder scene. January 31st, 8am. Walking around another pond that was part of a murder scene.

In between those dates, we published 320 stories that we think gave a flavour of life in the town of Harlow”

Thank you to all those who have helped us produce those 30,000 stories.

It truly is one journalist in partnership with 100,000 residents.

We will look back a bit more on your tenth birthday on July 1st.

Right. Enough of this navel gazing. Let’s get to 30,001!

Thanks again.

Michael Casey