Reading my Facebook news feed at the moment, some people seem to be under the bizarre impression that the County Council and the Highways Agency do roadworks just for the sheer hell of it. OK, so sometimes it could be better coordinated and better communicated, but, y’know, mostly they’re actually trying to fix things. Things that people complain about, like potholes, invisible white lines and dangerously worn road surfaces. How long were we fighting to get the funds for a rebuild of Evesham Abbey Bridge? What would have happened if we’d just let it crumble into the Avon?

Yes, it’s tough at the moment with the roadworks on and around the bridge, and it gets worse when other works unavoidably take place elsewhere nearby. But the prospect of what would happen without the work is far, far worse than what we’re suffering from now.

As it happens, Evesham isn’t particularly badly off in the roadworks stakes anyway. Go to roadworks.org and have a look around the county. Compare Evesham with a few other places. Apart from the bridge works itself, Evesham has fewer roadworks per square mile than some of our neighbouring towns and cities such as Cheltenham and Worcester.

The thing is, you only notice roadworks when they’re happening on a road you use, or when they affect a road you use. And everybody in Evesham, or very nearly, uses Abbey Bridge and the A46. But the bridge works won’t go on forever. Even with the delays caused by the weather earlier in the year, we’re now more than halfway through the re-jigged schedule. A few more months, and it will all be over.

So, please, folk, have a bit more patience. How about filling my newsfeed with stories of the good things that are happening in town, like the new greengrocer in Bridge Street, or the Vintage Festival, or the new Fish and Chip shop in Hampton, or Asparafest. There’s plenty to celebrate, even with the roadworks going on. So let’s celebrate it.