Tacky!

[Lex]

Yes, another beautiful corner is going to be uglified in the name of tourism! Didn't anyone learn a damn thing from the Bancroft Gardens debacle?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-30938157

[Margaret]

It's quite sickening. They just might as well let local vandals in show how to trash the place properly and be done with it!
At least it will cost less.
They seem to like concrete, so why don't they concrete the lot and make a parking lot!


I don't think they will get visitor to come and look at concrete everywhere. They pay good money to come to an English town that lovingly preserves its own Heritage, not to see a tide of concrete covering it. The professionals working in Stratford seem to have no real idea how much they have alienated the people of Stratford and others who love visiting the town.
Stratford becomes more like an example of East European or Soviet planning by the year.





.

[Lex]

Yes, they do seem to have studied Soviet and 1950s & 60s British architecture, and nothing else! The tourists can just arrive, turn their noses up at the place and never come back, BUT I WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT! Another good reason to start looking into moving to another town....

[Margaret]

I find it quite sad the obvious rift that's grown up now between what might be called the Shakespeare industry and the ordinary folk of Stratford. It's the same pattern that we see in politics and is one of the reasons why I stopped voting about 25 years ago. The whole country seems to be run by self serving cliques, mates who help one another.
Stratford is a classic case where once the trust breaks down, it's almost impossible to get it back.

[Lex]

At least we'll have one decent attraction out of this, AND IT WON'T BE IN STRATFORD!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-31126142

:mad:

[Margaret]

It is a lovely building i never even knew existed.
We all know that medieval Coventry was one of the most important places in the country.
Richard II and his wife, are connected with at least two existing church buildings in Coventry to this day.
It is also known for a fact that St. Thomas More visited Coventry round about 1519, because he had a relative that lived there. Aslo, there was a strong theatrical tradition in Coventry linked to the mystery plays. And there are fascinating connections which to this day have not been worked out between the acting companies in Coventry and Shakespeare.


.

[Lex]

However much money is thrown at this, it's still going to look nasty: http://www.stratford-herald.com/32999-new-place-projects-banks-government-cash.html

[rebbonk]

The comments under that article are to the point aren't they?

[Lex]

Definitely. The money could've been better spent tidying Stratford up; next time you're in town look up at the building fronts, and down at the state of the pavements - Stratford's really starting to look run down.

[Margaret]

Lex, do you know if the Time Team were there when they excavating? Apparently the Mulberry tree that was in the Garden at the back which was supposed to be there since Shakespeare's day had a preservation on it, but now it's gone.
Had the SBT been lying about the age of the tree all this time? I would be surprised.

Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden was a daughter of a prosperous farmer. For a long time it was thought that a timber framed farm house in Wilmcote (called Palmer's Farm) was originally the property of Robert Arden, Shakespeare's maternal grandfather, but in 2000, a researcher discovered that Robert Arden actually owned the neighbouring smaller house known as Glebe Farm and what had up to then been thought to have been Mary Arden's house, that is Palmer's Farm, and called that for as long as anyone could recall, was just a place owned by a man called Palmer! By a remarkable twist it turned out that Glebe Farm already belonged to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and is now promoted as the authentic Mary Arden House.

[cathidaw]

I am back now after 13 days in hospital --can't walk for 3 months but have wheelchair and can write.
I have nothing but great praise for the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
My son did his first archaeological dig at the east end of the Charterhouse.
I lived near there when I was young ,when it was an old soldiers retirement home and have watched the place crumble since.
Fortunately it was purchased by the community 4 or 5 and is gradually being restored with donations and various grants. Sympathetically restored too, I may say-my sister and I are members of the trust. It's a lovely place, by the river and is open at weekends and longer in the summer.
I'm sure that now it's well on it's way, the council will take the credit, even though they let it rot for 30 or 40 years, and then tried to let it and the grounds at £1.00 a year for 20 years to a school before the community got angry and then involved.

[Lex]

Lex, do you know if the Time Team were there when they excavating? Apparently the Mulberry tree that was in the Garden at the back which was supposed to be there since Shakespeare's day had a preservation on it, but now it's gone.
Had the SBT been lying about the age of the tree all this time? I would be surprised.

Yes, Time Team did make an appearance at New Place - can't remember when, or what they discovered though.

I haven't been to the garden for a few years now - the SBT locked the gates, and locals have to go through the rigmarole of applying for a pass to gain access through the property. It doesn't surprise me that the tree's been cut down, it was a lovely tree and therefore bound to be torn down by the idiots who run the trust (probably to be replaced by something ugly that would be rejected from a landfill site for lowering the tone of the site).

PS Welcome back Cathidaw!

[Margaret]

I don't think they discovered anything significant, Lex. Probably just a few bits of tiles, crockery and old nails, clay pipes and so forth.

Welcome back Cathy, I hope you make a good recovery.

[Lex]

Well, I was enjoying a quiet by the river outside The Bear yesterday evening, and a couple of lorries carrying fairground rides pulled into the road heading towards the Rec.

I was walking through town after work this afternoon, and saw the rides being put up.

Sigh.

[Lex]

Such a shame: http://www.stratford-herald.com/54396-opening-of-shakespeares-new-place-postponed.html