Manager Rita with Arcade co-owner, Adrian Gilmour

Hungerford Arcade is home to the weird and the wonderful not to mention the extraordinary.  Arcade co-owner, Adrian Gilmour spotted this red indian headdress as the dealer Louise Browne was taking it to her unit.  Well, who could resist?  Not us.  So we borrowed it and had some fun!    

Hungerford Arcade was full steam ahead this evening for the 26th Hungerford Extravaganza.  We and all the other shops in the town stayed open until 9.00 pm.  The town looked beautiful with the huge Christmas tree and lights up and down the High Street added to the atmosphere.  There was great excitement when the fabulous Extravaganza took off at 7.00 pm with the Grand Parade lead by the exceptional Reading Scottish Pipe Band, the Hungerford Theatre Company, Churches, Lanterns and of course, Father Christmas on his magical wheels and much, much more.  There was street food, lots of stalls and the fantastic fun fair.  Arcade stallholders, Trevor and Jane Elliman had their Christmas wreaths and garland stand and Rafters Cafe had delicious hotdogs and burgers sizzling away.

Take a look at our pictures (this is just a small part of the Extravaganza) and you will see why it attracts thousands of people many of whom travel considerable distances every year to come to this event.

                                                      Kelly and Tim – Rafters Cafe

                               Trevor with Holly and Jane Elliman  (The Vintage Garden)

By William Heath Robinson – books, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31114550

Since I wrote my last article, I have run into problems with my computer and like a car, it looks like I will need to trade it in for a newer model.  However, I have managed a Heath Robinson fix and have decided to write a few words about my latest visit to the Arcade.

Christmas is not far away and Caron and I are scouting antique shops and the like for those extra special presents.  But as normal during our searches, we have unearthed things that we like and have purchased these items for ourselves.  Caron today found the most wonderful Poole vase which she fell in love with instantly and it now has pride of place in our cottage.  I have found various odds & sods the most interesting being a couple of Hoover letter stamps dating from the late fifties.  These were sent out to approved suppliers so that they could use these rather heavy stamps for their customer correspondence.  One of these stamps shows a single tub washing machine much of its time and the other illustrates a rather bulky Hoover. They are original retro items and although not at all valuable are great fun to own.

As normal, today I gravitated towards the book section and after casting longing glances at a 1763 book of poetry,  found an Indian copy of Kipling’s Soldier’s Three priced at one Rupee.  This small soft backed booklet dated from 1890 and was in its sixth edition.  I purchased it for a pound which was good value.  It is really a collection of short stories about British soldiers in Afghanistan during the fading years of the British Empire and their views on a number of subjects including war and their superiors.  But what I find interesting about Kipling’s stories are the social observations that he shared as the Empire faded.  Although still deep in our blood (even though most of us do not admit it to ourselves), the feeling of Empire never really vanished from our thoughts and this is quite evident at present with the Brexit negotiations and the infighting within the Tory party.  This is great fun to watch and almost worthy of Shakespeare at his best.

I wonder what Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris would have made of it all with this country of ours much divided and infighting when a little common sense would have gone a long long way.  They would probably have said that nothing has changed much.  After all, the war in the Crimea was fought for the thinnest of reasons and could have been over after Alba if the unexpected allied victory had been properly followed up.  It was thought that the vanquished Russian army might have been defeated there and then and everybody would have been home in time for Christmas.  But as normal, we messed up and snatched defeat (I use this word in a wide sense) from the jaws of victory so not much has changed really in a hundred and sixty years. This said, at least Brexit (whatever your views) has not claimed any lives as yet, although the infighting between Europe and ourselves and within our own shores reminds me of the confusion that existed between Cardigan and Raglan and to a lesser extent, Captain Nolan that led to the madness of the Charge of the Light Brigade.  Learoyd, Mulvaney and Orther is would have been aware of this and the many other failings and this is what makes Kipling’s fiction so

entertaining.

History travels in circles and although chameleon like, still shows the same colours beneath.

I will stop here as this short article was supposed to have been about my sickly computer and the joys of early Christmas shopping, but has descended into a rather non festive historical discussion.  Caron and I plan quite a few more visits to the Arcade and other establishments in Hungerford before we brave the larger towns.  Who knows, we might pass you in the street unknowingly.

Even in Newbury away from the main shopping centre, there are a couple of antique shops which are worth looking up and there are many in other towns near and far.

I will finish now and apologise for the staccato nature of this article which I created using another media.  Hopefully, by the time we meet again, my computer will be well (or replaced) and I will be able chat for a little longer.

Happy Hunting

Stuart Miller-Osborne

Hungerford Arcade is very proud of the Rose of Hungerford.  She was launched in 1982 and officially commissioned on 6th March 1983.  The Rose of Hungerford carries approximately 6,000 passengers a year and contributes around 40,000 pounds to the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust.  She is run entirely by volunteers.

INTERESTING FACTS AND FIGURES FROM 2017

The Rose did over 200 trips and carried about 6,000 passengers

She travelled 660 miles which is roughly the same as Hungerford to John O’Groats

She navigated through 772 locks, a total rise/fall of 5504 feet over 1 mile, about the same as the depth of the Grand Canyon.  These trips took 487 hours, which, with the total crew, equals 2555 mans hours; the equivalent of one person working 7 hours a day.

It seemed that the whole of Hungerford turned out today for the Remembrance Day Parade which started in the High Street at 10.30 am and went on to the Bridge Street War Memorial where a service and the two minutes silence was held.  There was a lone bi-plane which flew low over the town as the Town Hall clock struck on the 11th hour, the silence on the street as people, young and old stood reflecting on the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI was very, very moving.

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Hungerford Arcade wish to thank Gary, June and all the wonderful men and woman (June with her vintage Land Rover) who brought their vintage military vehicles to Hungerford Arcade and raised lots of money for the Royal British Legion.  Thank you also to our fabulous Dad’s Army Platoon which included Mrs Pyke!  Everyone was fantastic.  Here are some photographs of the event.

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Hungerford Arcade is very proud to let you know that we have just heard from the BBC that their brand new show, “Make Me A Dealer”, filmed here at the Arcade will be transmitted on  BBC1: 4.30pm on Wednesday 7^th November & Friday 9^th November 2018.

Don’t forget, you can always catch it on iPlayer for 30 days after its transmission date if you miss it or just want to watch it again!