It was a bit of a squash, but the many and varied stalls were set out in the main hall, and performances took place in the upstairs space and one of the downstairs rooms, while some things still took place outside the hall, at moments when the weather permitted. It was crowded and noisy inside, but everyone who was looking after a stall, and everyone who visited seemed to be having fun! At one point Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert popped in to enjoy the festive occasion of their 200th birthday!
The rain has been such that at the end of this week, into this weekend, and Queen's Park is pretty waterlooged, with ducks paddling on the paths, the swan maze having an added dimension and the grass drowning. The park is riddled underneath with little streams that meet up with the Wood Brook in various places (I did find a map once, but, of course, I can't find it now).
Last Sunday I spent the day in Birmngham, singing with the CBSO and a number of community choirs and individual singers. We had quite a long break, and so off I went in search of Loughborough connections! Near the venue was an arts and crafts house called Winterbourne House and botanic gardens, so I popped in to have a look to see if it were anything like Stoneywell Cottage, the house in Charnwood that Ernest Gimson designed for one of his brothers. Of course, it wasn't. In fact, it was totally different! Stoneywell is constructed of the local stone, and Swithland slate, whereas Winterbourne is of red brick construction. There was, however, an interesting use of slate for sculptures in the garden, upon which quotes had been carved. Inside I learned that Annie Oakley who had come to Britain with Buffalo Bill praised the firm owned by the owner of Winterbourne House for their ammunition.
The extensive gardens were beautiful and I was keen to see if the greenhouses and orangery might have a connection to share. Of course, they didn't! No Messenger conservatories here! In an area so close to the city of Birmingham where at one time there were extensive factories and foundries, it was always going to be the case that any ironwork would be produced there!
Back on the University of Birmingham campus, on my walk round I spotted a lovely building that reminded me of Towers on our own university campus, allbeit a little smaller!
During the week I headed off to the New Walk Museum in Leicester to catch the Mods exhibition. Wow! That was fabulous! I was rather taken with the pinball machine they were auctioning off for charity, as it reminded me of my misspent youth!! And the beautiful scooters reminded me of the bike show in Loughborough market place, which I blogged about last year. Also on display was a bit of Loughborough memorabilia.
This weekend I spent Saturday in Market Harborough and Foxton, attending wedding celebrations. The connection with Loughborough that I was immediately aware of was me, as I had my wedding meal at Foxton Locks a few years ago!! And then, as I was walking around the village hall, I spotted some photographs which included some familiar names (Guy Paget, of the Ibstock Pagets, Hazlerigg, and Colonel Martin) and on the way home, we drove along a road in the village called Swingbridge Street, and over the swingbridge which crossed the canal, which, of course, reminded me of Loughborough's own Swingbridge Road.
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| The happy couple! |
Today I managed to dodge most of the rain showers and headed down to the market place to see the cars on show - and what a show!!! Loads and loads of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, and so many people too!!
To round off the day I walked over to Rosebery Community Centre (formerly St Peter's Community Centre) to view artworks created by local folk. Talented artists showed a huge variety of their work, from pottery to jewellery, paintings to wirework, and tyedye to printing.
Gosh, a busy 10 days! And as if that weren't enough, I got myself a new car! Oh, and preview copies of my new book arrived through the post for me!
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Dyer, Lynne (2019). Picnic in Queen's Park and more. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2019/06/picnic-in-queens-park-and-more.html [Accessed 16 June 2019]
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