It’s something of a hoary old newspaper cliche to begin any report of an outdoor event beset by foul weather with the phrase “rain failed to dampen the spirits...”

But in the case of the Positive Bradford event in the city centre yesterday, sometimes the tried and tested is the best way of getting the message across.

From early morning, through the day, and into the evening, the rain came down incessantly, but the Positive Bradford event went ahead anyway.

No-one could have blamed the organisers for cancelling or rescheduling to another day having seen the forecast, but that would be against the spirit of what Positive Bradford is all about.

The event was first dreamed up as a counterpoint to the negative stories about Bradford that were becoming prevalent in the national media and the public consciousness both inside and outside of the district.

Yes, Bradford has its problems, but there’s a lot of good here as well, as exemplified by all those companies, organisations and individuals who gave their time and energy to put together this day-long event to promote the best of Bradford.

Besides, co-founder of Positive Bradford Jane Vincent could be described as a ray of sunshine herself, so optimistic and buoyant is her outlook and so seemingly unending is the energy which she – along with Saleem Kader – have put into spreading the word about Positive Bradford.

Yes, it would have been lovely if the rain had held off and if the weather had been more like what we – perhaps foolishly these days – expect to get in June. But those who took part in any way and those who went along to support Positive Bradford deserve our applause.