Musee du Debarquement, Arromanches

Hungerford Arcade will be commemorating the 75th Anniversary of D Day (6th June 1944) with a special window and a display of military vehicles on Sunday 2nd June 2019.

My late father, who was in the Royal Engineers and could always recite his Army number,  never voluntarily talked about the War, save to tell funny stories like the time he and his best friend marched so quickly from the railway station to the barracks that they had time for a couple of pints in the local pub before the rest of the troop caught up with them!

I recently spent a few days in Normandy and was able to visit Arromanches.  It was fascinating to see the sections of the Mulberry Harbour still there off the coast after so many years.  Dad was one of the men who built it.  There is a wonderful Museum on the front – talk to Gary on Sunday, he can tell you all about it.

Inland Normandy is beautiful – rolling hills and small fields with hedges and tree-lined ditches (bocages).  You can’t imagine the horror of war in this scenery but we came upon the British Military cemetery at Saint Charles de Percy, where 800 men are buried.  Two of the first memorials I saw were for Royal Engineers aged 18 and 19.  It was a very sobering thought that that could have been Dad.

“For your tomorrow, they gave their today”  It is fitting that we honour all who served and commemorate the milestones in the passage of time.

Hungerford Arcade not only welcomes human visitors, we also enjoy our four legged friends as well.  Very often, with the owner’s permission, they will get a tasty treat and have their photograph taken.  This particular day, I saw a very cute little girl inside a special bag, sitting up and taking in the new surroundings.  

I spoke with her human mummy and she told me that this beautiful, cute little girl was born paralised and couldn’t walk on her back legs so she has always carried her around in a special bag and takes her everywhere.  They love each other very much and you can see that she is really happy and likes to have a fuss made of her, which she certainly got plenty of.  I couldn’t believe it when I was told that her name is Bebe as I have an adorable Springer Spaniel with the same name.  Have a look at their photographs below.

                              Beautiful visitor Bebe looking up at her mummy

My Beautiful Bebe trying to have a nap!

Hungerford Arcade has many fantastic friends.  Geoff and Val are a fabulous couple and every time they come in, it is a very jolly time and to top it all, when they leave, I get a great e-mail from Geoff with a photograph he has taken outside the Arcade.  When you see the attachment, you will not realise until I reveal exactly what it is, that your brain has been tricked .  So hang on to your hats!

This fantastic Yamaha motorbike is in fact …………. a very small scale model.  How Geoff does this is a complete mystery to me!

Sometimes when I am browsing through the Arcade, I come across the most unexpected items.

Today, I had a little time on my hands so I decided to pop into the Arcade to see if I could find any ballet related items for my granddaughter who has commenced ballet lessons in her home town.  On this occasion I could not find anything on ballet, but I did find an old cardboard tube and four certificates which aroused my interest as they had once belonged to a Irene Hewitt and are dated between 1938 and 1944.  They were just four random certificates sitting next to an empty tube amongst many other items in the Junk Shop, as it is affectionately known.  The ticket price was all of fifty pence, but what I had found was a window into the life of a woman during some of the most turbulent years of the last century.

In date order, the first certificate was issued to Irene by The Institute of Commerce on the 4^th of April 1938.  It informed her that she had been awarded a first class certificate in Handwriting  This certificate had been issued in Birmingham but noted that Irene was from Warrington.

The second certificate was issued on the 18^th January 1939 by the Pitman’s Shorthand Institute in London.  It tells us that Irene had been taught her shorthand by The Business College in Warrington and that she been examined by Pitman’s and was able to copy shorthand at a rate of one hundred and fifty words a minute.  One might have thought that Irene was destined for a career as a secretary and that she might have passed other similar examinations at the time.  But, the two remaining certificates that I found showed that Irene had appeared to have changed direction in the years after 1939.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Grand_piano_and_upright_piano.jpg

The certificates in question were issued in 1943 and 1944 by the same institution namely The Royal School of Music in London.  The 1943 certificate notes that Irene had achieved a Grade Seven Advanced on the pianoforte under the instruction of a Miss Fry.  The 1944 certificate is similar but notes that Irene had achieved a Grade Eight Final on the pianoforte under the instruction of the same teacher.  And that was it.

I met Irene in 1938 but did not see her again after 1944.  Her life was contained on four certificates which are rich in detail but shrouded in mystery.  Had she changed her ambitions after the war started, although it is quite a big jump from the office to the pianoforte?  Or, was the office only a filler whilst she pursued her main ambition?  After all, I only have four certificates in my possession and for all I know, there might have been many others detailing her achievements in both fields.  It is unlikely that I will ever find out unless I engage in a forensic examination of her life and times.

Looking at the dates on the certificates I would hazard a guess to say that Irene was born between 1910 and 1920 so there is a chance that she might still be with us.  This said, as you are aware, I purchased these certificates from the Arcade which does tend to indicate that they were part of an estate.  I am not an expert, but I have seen this type of ephemera show up there before as the result of house clearances and the like.  In a way I do not want to find out as I am satisfied with this small window of Irene’s life.

I would like to think that Irene excelled on the pianoforte and lived (or is living) a long and happy life and that she did not sink in the boredom of office life as many of us do.

Music is a gift from the Gods but sadly shorthand is not a gift from the Gods, however brilliant it is.

If you knew Irene or are/were related to her please drop us a line.  The Arcade will be glad to hear from you.

Happy Hunting

Stuart Miller-Osborne   

L-R, Hannah Warner, Jeanette Kearsey and Jennie Rochford sell cakes for Speakability

Hungerford Arcade were delighted to discover fresh homemade cakes on our doorstep this morning when the local branch of Speakability held a cake stall on the Town Hall steps.

Speakability is a national charity dedicated to supporting people with Aphasia and their carers.  Aphasia is difficulty in communicating following a stroke, head injury, brain tumour or a neurological disorder such as Parkinsons.  Judy King, the local organiser explained that it’s all about encouraging speaking and building confidence. They meet regularly for a range of activities. Singing is sometimes easier, as it uses a different part of the brain, and our local group are supported by the Rock Choir who produced a workshop where everyone sang music from each decade.

We can vouch for their cake baking skills – the display was superb and we are very pleased that we got there early as they were doing a brisk trade!  The lemon drizzle was a particular triumph!