December, 2014

Christmas Social & Quiz

Please try to get along on Friday 5th December. Say the usual prayer for good weather and in your own inimitable way provide us with some Christmas fare and something for the raffle. I am sure our good Dr. Rerrie will once again supply the wine, although I haven’t seen him to check this. Coffee will be provided. The quiz is not too hard this year, so make a good evening of it. Love to see you there.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION ARE NOW DUE

A gentle reminder that Annual Subscriptions are now due. Please send them to John Potts, Treasurer. Many Thanks.

Kington through the Photographer’s Eye

A talk by David Latham

Dave Latham is a one time resident of Kington – formerly in the recently redundant Station Master’s House in Sunset, but when the area was upgraded to the more sonorous “Hatton Gardens Industrial Estate”, wended his way elsewhere. Needless to say, life thereabouts gravitated around the ‘Tavern in the Field’ under the direction of the omnipresent ‘Miss May’, and pre bypass Kington there was a centre of activity – Butts’ Meadow opposite, prior to the Railway closure being the site of massive sheep sales, 22,000 on one occasion, most subsequently transported elsewhere by the railway. Butts’ Meadow was also the site of a Fair Ground – I suppose the approach via Titley was less hazardous than trying to get that lot through the town, and at the very end of Victoria Road was a well remembered Friar’s Garage, with a motley collection of vehicles on display – and said to be one of the four petrol outlets in the town. We also saw the Foundry, with a section of staff on display, said to be identifiable jobwise, according to their dress code.

Moving nearer town, we saw Morgan’s Building Works, later bought by Deacons – and the Tanyard, with some serious looking pits for preparing oak bark for use on leather. The Police Station provided seven men for their picture (we must all be angels nowadays by comparison). And so into the town centre pre bypass – in grid lock sometimes, but in contrast a happy group of cyclists on tour. A curiosity – the result of individual enterprise – a war-surplus ambulance bought and modified (transmogrified) becoming by necessity either a taxi, a furniture van, a cattle truck, or even providing live-in accommodation on occasion!

And so through the busy streets and shops up to the peace of Hergest – only to see it being ploughed during World War I by a steam traction engine – driven by a lady, (the chaps had all gone off to the war, as we heard in another talk).

The abiding impression was of how nicely most people were dressed, and how interesting all the shops looked (but we didn’t go inside). Review by JR

Dates for your Diary

An early reminder for January, 2015. On January 16th, Alan Stoyel will give a talk with the intriguing title of What the Tourists missed in Southern Spain. In February, Lesley Hunt will give a talk on Titley Railway Station. More details of these talks in following issues of the Bulletin.

A very HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all, Vera Harrison.