ONCE upon a time it was ‘Deus Dat Incrementum’, roughly translated as ‘God Giveth The Increase’, and it served our Victorian forefathers as well as a lesson in life.

But ‘Rebuild and Regroup’ might well by the modern-day Warringtonian motto, in more ways than one, or God helps those who help themselves.

When the new year dawns, the first spade will hit dirt for the new £52million overhaul of Bridge Street and Bank Street.

Definitely not before time, in a belated attempt to realise that more than one quarter makes a town whole, this corner of the Guardian has been steadfast in demanding urgent progress on this project.

I’ve not really made much secret of the fact recently that I’m firmly believe that we may be collectively circling the seventh ring of hell, with Black Friday, Monty The Penguin and Mrs Brown’s Boys set for a theatre run.

Even bloody Russell Brand, who’s apparently watched every Michael Moore film back-to-back or rediscovered his sixth-form Marxism essays, is touting himself as the saviour of the common man.

Leafing through the pages of this very organ though (161 years old and still sprightly) triggered a minor epiphany (apt for this time of the year) and balanced yin with yang in my cluttered little world.

An update on the Shannon Bradshaw Trust, as the Guardian’s charity of the month, started the ball rolling. How the ambitions of Shannon’s mother Patti and the late Mary Bonner had resulted in the construction of a centre in Meeting Lane and a leg-up for local families.

Then you turn a page and read of the latest effort for Molly’s Memories, linked to Shannon’s trust, with brothers Harvey and Parnell Groarke raising more than £4,300 for cancer sufferer Holly Beechall’s charity at the Hook and Jab gym.

That thread of resilience is the key – Warrington is also home to the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball international peace centre and the base for the Newlove Foundation.

Each of these organisations may have been formed out of tragedy – but with a steely determination to maintain a forward momentum, even in the darkest of hours.

In the same vein, rugby players compete for the Tom Sephton Memorial Trophy each year, in memory of the Great Sankey soldier who gave his life aged 20, serving with the Mercian Regiment in Afghanistan.

Similarly the efforts of Lymm’s Emma Skett and Dave Thompson, in campaigning for cystic fibrosis research and disability rights, have always stuck with me since being a junior reporter.

No-one should be under the impression that endeavour in the face of adversity isn’t firmly written in the Warringtonian DNA.

Arthur Bennett, the early 20th-century Alderman and Mayor of Warrington, overcame serious childhood illness to carve out a civic career which played a central role in creating Victoria, Orford and Bruche parks, as well as the front half of St Elphin’s and the acquisition of Queen’s Gardens.

Hunt down his memorial plaque at Bridge Foot – or remember him if you’ve ever played on his eponymous recreation ground in Padgate.

Forgive me, I wandered off there for a bit – though I can only imagine that Bennett would have been intrigued by his successors’ grand plans for Winwick Street, the old Cabinet Works and the buildings surrounding his beloved Palmyra Square, never mind Bridge Street and it near neighbours.

Already 2015 is shaping up to be a significant year – let’s hope those contractors are raring to go in January.

  •  I’m not sure if the cold snap is starting to affect people’s mental faculties in Warrington but last week’s column hit the heady heights of third spot on the Guardian’s ‘most read’ online ratings.

Stirring stuff, as I know my family’s not that large.