Where the Meerkat Harborough money is going

When the twinning of Market Harborough with Meerkovo was announced with only a day's notice it was always likely to prove a bit of a damp squib.

And that is how it turned out. As the Harborough Mail reported at the time:

The Meeerkat Harborough road sign erected in town as part of a publicity stunt had to be taken down early after it emerged it had been put up without permission. ...

The sign at the Kettering Road entrance to the town was changed to Meerkat Harborough at 9.30am and was meant to stay up all day.

But it emerged this afternoon that organisers of the stunt did not have permission to put up the sign and it was taken down as a result.

Anyway, the way the £5000 the town got from Compare the Market as part of this PR stunt has now been announced.

Again from the Harborough Mail:

A total of £2,000 will be donated to the Harborough Screen project which is working towards bringing a cinema to the town.

£2,000 will be given to community radio station, Harborough FM. The remaining £1,000 will go towards the Carnival and Arts Fresco committees.

These are all good causes, and at least the Meerkat Harborough sign has been preserved. The Mail says it will be displayed in the town's Market Hall (Shurely "Meerkat Hall"? - Ed.)