Ahead of Lancashire Day on 27th November the big red BBC Radio Lancashire tour bus, travelling all around the county this week, arrived in Preston with popular Radio Lancashire presenter John ‘Gilly’ Gillmore on-board.

Live from the Flag Market Gilly recorded the thoughts of passing Prestonian’s including a group of school children fresh from a field trip to Avenham Park, a discussion on butter pies and an insight into Preston football from Jonny Ellithorn.

Top subject today, talking ‘Lancashire Firsts’ of which Preston has its fair share. Preston firsts include of course the first KFC in the UK, first motorway, first football double winners etc, etc. Gilly interviewed Peter Wilkinson from the National Gas Achieve who explained that Father Dunn, known as affectionately as ‘Daddy’ Dunn, brought gas lights to Preston in the early 1800s making Preston the first English town outside London to be lit by gas.

Lancashire Day goes all the way back to 27th November 1295 when the first elected representatives from the county were summoned by King Edward I to attend Parliament at Westminster in London. This was said to be the beginning of democracy in Britain.

The boundary of Real Lancashire has not changed since it was established in 1100AD. The tinkering to the administrative boundaries during the 1970s did not change the fact that living in Liverpool, Oldham, Southport, Kirkby, Warrington, Salford, Wigan, Bolton, Ulverston, Cartmel, or even Hawkshead meant you are still a Lancastrian.