As readers will know, ever since I first called for a university in Herefordshire in 2008, I have been working to make it happen.

It was three weeks ago. We sat, stationary in my car, on Edgar Street.

The cars did not move. Nor did the trucks, the lorries, the buses. All around us the engines throbbed and hummed, pushing out carbon and particulate emissions.

The universal experience of visitors to Herefordshire is that they leave having had a marvellous time, dazzled by the beauty of the landscape, stuffed with great independent food and produce, and delighted by the warm welcome they have received from the locals. "I had no idea it was so lovely", they say. "We will definitely be coming back."