As you or may not know - and if you are a Rovers' fan you almost certainly will - Blackburn's motto is "Arte et Labore", which translates as "by art and by labour", and sometimes "by skill and hard work". Plenty of that on show at the weekend in that fine win over Bolton.
It's a fitting motto for the footballers to wear on their chests, but it also sums up the town itself neatly. It captures very well the qualities which saw the town develop into one of the powerhouses of the industrial revolution. Without the hard work and skills of the town's forefathers and its workers who toiled so hard in the days when cotton was king, we wouldn't be in the position we are today. But our motto also lives on as a phrase which remains in tune with modern day Blackburn, of which there is so much to be proud.
It's been skill and hard work, for instance, which has led to Blackburn College receiving a glowing report from the Ofsted school standards inspectors. And when I say glowing, I am underplaying the achievement. The Ofsted people have four grades when it comes to assessing a school or college's performance - from "outstanding" to "good" to "satisfactory" and finally to "unsatisfactory".
And they mark on things like effectiveness of provision, capacity to improve, achievement and standards, quality of provision, leadership and management and equality of opportunity.
The Blackburn College report came out well. Very well. Top "outstanding" marks in fact in every category. Good team work, outstanding exam results, effective links between the college and employers and the wider Blackburn community, great opportunities for staff and students alike, and a fantastic environment in which to work - I could go on but you get the idea. It's a magnificent achievement and everyone who works there, and the students, deserve all the plaudits for their hard work and enterprise: their "arte et labore".
So that's good news from those who look after the future of our town's young people. What about the news from those charged with trying to keep us all safe?
I did another well attended residents' meeting last Friday - covering Corporation Park and Beardwood. Yet again, the local constables, community support officers and their sergeant were spontaneously applauded by the residents for their work. You can see why.
As Chief Supt Mallaby told the meeting, antisocial behaviour incidents in the wider area of north-west Blackburn are down 20% year on year, violence 22%, burglary 24%, criminal damage 35% and vehicle crimes down a whopping 55%. Lancashire Constabulary is top (with Surrey) in the whole of England and Wales, and their Eastern Division (covering Ribble Valley, Hyndburn and Blackburn) top on public satisfaction and public confidence when compared with 13 similar police divisions - like Oldham, Rochdale, Keighley and Halifax.
I know from my travels around the town and across East Lancashire that there are many more success stories out there. A few years ago the newsreader Martyn Lewis argued that sometimes the news programmes should concentrate a little more on good news. He had a point, in my view.
Sometimes we forget amid all the challenging, heart-breaking and even evil things we read about or see on television, and there has been a fair bit of that recently, that the great mass of mankind is generally engaged in the pursuit of a better life for themselves and the people around them.
The Telegraph is very good at highlighting the great achievements of people in the town, at speaking up for Blackburn. I thought that I'd do the same this week, inspired by those great reports for the college and the police. As for the other Blackburn success stories, get your thinking caps on and let the Telegraph know. We should shout about our successes - it's the least we should do after all that "arte et labore".
