Arcade Stallholders on Holiday

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When stallholders Adrian and Jane Jefferies went on holiday to Laos in December, they kept us informed and entertained with an email holiday diary of their adventures. Please excuse the bad jokes as I share with you the messages I received from the other side of the world.

Part 1

Dec 14th 2014

Hi all,

I am sat in the exercise yard of cell 23 D block (the hotel used to be a prison) in Luang Prabang listening to the 4:00pm temple drums from the local temple. We are feeling very relaxed as is the way of life here. Bangkok was good, we got upgraded at the hotel to a room with an electronic toilet (the bumwasher 2000) which combined the comfort of a heated seat with either a colonic irrigation or an enema depending on the water pressure.

In Laos we have been to umpteen temples, given alms to the monks (pre dawn….), visited the spectacular Kuangsi waterfalls and visited the Pakou caves after a 2 hour trip along the Mehkong.

Weather glorious and the Laos food very good especially the riverweed and the local sausage. Off for another massage soon followed by dinner at a Laos-French restaurant……

Ventiane tomorrow for 4 nights before embarking on the cruise.

Keep the sales going, they help us suffer these long holidays…!!!

Adrian and Jane

With the exception of the washroom facilities, Adrian really knows how to make us jealous!

Dec 16th

Two monks taking pictures of each other at the waterfalls

Hi All,

We have been released on parole from Luang Prabang prison (aka Hotel de la paix). I got time off for good behaviour and Jane bribed the warden with a half eaten jelly baby. We flew down to Vientiane on a new airbus which was slightly better than the Sopwith dromadary (had two propellers) we flew to Luang Prabang in. Ventiane is the smallest capital in the world. Makes Hungerford look like a metropolis…..The hotel is quite nice, now the air con is working, and the mango jam at breakfast was worth travelling 6000 miles.
I have a strong body according to my Nepalese masseur and very handsome according to my laos masseur. Unfortunately the latter was a chap so perhaps that might not count, he did have good hands though and my feet really appreciate his touch.
The weather for the next few days is …….”Scorchio!” – bright blue skies and temps around 30 degrees C (oh the hell of it!!!).
I have attached a photo (taken by Jane) of a couple of monks taking each others photo at Kuangsi waterfalls, its so typical Laos.
Tour of Ventiane tomorrow, more temples and a Buddhist statue park.
Food is still terrible, Jane had homemade pork pate last night. Just a starter but was a massive slab. My crab gratin was just as terrible as was the duck in mango and pepper sauce!
Must go, its gin on the balcony whilst we count the number of bird species (so far 2, sparrows and a little brown one), the Lao catch and eat the rest.
Sabaidee
Adrian and Jane

Dec 18th

A smug adrian having a pedicure on the banks of the MeKong

Hi all,

Just had dinner at the restaurant…..terrible…frozen mango and lime daiquiri, pork and eggplant red curry and pineapple in palm sugar caramel with coconut ice cream…..how i suffer to keep you amused. The attached photo is moi having a mobile pedicure whilst watching the sun go down over the Mekong. How enterprising these Lao are, my feet were scrubbed, pumiced and my toenails cut and filed to perfection…..I rejected the nail polish bit!
The tour of the city was very good yesterday although Jane did manage to vandalise one of the temples and then told off a tourist for touching a buddha statue…..our guide nearly died laughing when the tourist said sorry in a high pitched whine!
Tomorrow we are heading off across the river back into Thailand to board the cruise ship (I think its the Black Pig) for a week of plundering and pillaging along the Mekong…..I don’t mind the plundering but the pillaging……I’m getting too old!
We may be out of wi-fi range for a week but if we can we will let you know of our latest adventures.
Sabaidee
Adrian and Jane

Watch this space for Part 2 of the journey in a couple of days.

Alex

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Hungerford Arcade: Hungerford Town Halls

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I hope you all had a fabulous New Year!



Our resident author, Stuart Miller-Osborne has written a wonderful article about the history of the Town Halls of Hungerford.  A great read.  Thank you Stuart.
Rita

Imagine this if you will.That in the days leading up to Christmas 1871 a farm labourer (let’s call him George) was slowly walking down the High Street in Hungerford after falling victim to the many inns resident in the town at the time. 

George was about opposite the quite recently built Methodist Church when he looked up and to his astonishment, saw two Town Halls. 

He turns to his equally inebriated dog, Francis and vows to give up the demon drink as one Town Hall is enough but to see two is just bizarre.

He crosses the road and enters the Methodist Church where he and Francis pray for their sobriety.

If you hop forward some one hundred and forty years, the Hungerford that George and his dog knew is, for the most part, still there. The shops have changed but the buildings are roughly the same and the trains still do not run on time.

But the second Town Hall is long gone and no matter how hard you look, there is no trace of it. 

Our magnificent 1871 Town Hall is still there, is well cared for and is accepted as the centrepiece of the town.

It was when I was researching its history that to my astonishment, I found that Hungerford had had at least four Town Halls.

Some thirty years after the report the second “Elizabethan” Town Hall was built in 1573 and lasted until 1786 and like its predecessor, was used for a variety of purposes including commercial activities as well as being sometimes used for billeting soldiers (in the prison cells). Nearby there were other fun items such as Stocks, Ducking Stool as well as a Whipping Post. The first one existed from maybe as early as 1267 and was also known as the Courte House and according to the excellent website on the internet, was most definitely being used in the 14th century. It was used for a variety of purposes but by 1543/4, a survey by The Duchy of Lancaster noted the building as being ruinous and utterly dekeyed .


It appears that during its lifetime it also gained a clock (c1687), the grandfather of current clock which if you consider its position, can be seen from many areas in the town. 

I cannot find too much evidence to suggest that this Town Hall decayed that much but it was replaced in turn in 1786 by the third “Georgian” Town Hall of which, incredibly we have a photographic record.

This would have been the Town Hall that George and his dog would have seen if my story was true. This building was a much more substantial affair and stood in the middle of the market place (slightly away from where our present town hall stands) and had an impressive octagonal cupola.

As with the previous building there were prison cells included which became very handy during the Swing Riots of 1831. There was a place for a fire engine although this was later used to enhance the prison cells which suffered from poor sanitary conditions.

With Hungerford Victorians being like other Victorians, it was decided during the 1860s, that a new Town Hall was needed as a bigger Corn Exchange was required. The arrival of the railways had taken away the towns coaching trade and people began to drift away from the town.

The next ten years were quite odd with the 1786 building slowly decaying (and in need of frequent repair). A Mr Hall (The Magistrates Clerk) offered in 1861 to fund half the cost of building a new Town Hall but, his offer was rejected. 

However, in the June of 1862 this kind man gave the town a magnificent clock which caused a slight problem. There was nowhere to accommodate it. 

To solve this problem, a new clock tower was proposed and by 1867 the addition was complete. However, like a house of cards, this presented more problems.The new structure was not really satisfactory and it was decided to build a new Town Hall after all.

The forth “Victorian” Town Hall began life in 1868 when the site was chosen which, if one was looking towards the canal, was to the left of the 1786 Town Hall.  Its foundation stone was laid on the 7th of September 1870 and work commenced in full. 

By the summer of 1871, the progress on the new building was so advanced that discussions began about the clock which had been given back to the generous Mr Hall.

It was agreed that two more faces be added and on the 11th of October 1871, the Corn Exchange opened for business with the Town Hall being used for the first time on the 26th of the same month.

As we can see today, the building designed in the Italian Style, was constructed from Bath Stone and red brick. The arches on the front of the building are supported by sturdy stone columns and there is much decoration and ornamentation to be seen. 

Even if you sit beneath the arches on the worn stone steps or, on the lovely wooden benches (Do note the one that dates from 1937 and read the interesting inscription) the feeling of the beauty of the building strikes you.

To sit there watching as Hungerford life passes by is amazing and quite relaxing although, the seats can be hard on the backside after a while.
  
If you look at the Town Hall from across the road (or even from a passing train), it is incredibly handsome and gives Hungerford, which already has some memorable buildings, a real edge from other local towns. 

We are lucky that in the area there are some splendid Town Halls (Newbury and Marlborough to name just two), but our Town Hall sits quietly, not really looking for attention (as the other two do) and this makes it a winner. It is small in stature (in comparison with the others) but I think it is more pleasing, although our neighbours might think differently. 

Apart from the odd antiques fair and the like, I have not explored the interior of the Town Hall greatly but this, I hope, will be a pleasure for the future. What I do like though, are the occasional charity events which are held near the steps of the Town Hall on certain days.

I like nothing better than walking from the street and looking at the items for sale on the trestle tables. There is something essentially English about this. 

But back to more pressing matters, as George and Francis are in the Methodist Church swearing sobriety having witnessed two Town Halls. But was it the local brew that prompted this or, were there two Town Halls? 


In short yes there were two Town Halls for a while and the main reason that the previous Town Hall was not demolished at the time was due to the clock being transferred across. So for a while, our fair town had the odd sight of two Town Halls. One almost derelict and one brand new which were both recorded together in the memorable photograph. 

The Methodist Church is still there a little way up the hill (on the same side as Hungerford Arcade) and if you are really feeling silly, walk up the hill and cross the road and look in the direction of the Town Hall and imagine that for a while many, many years ago, there were two Town Halls and although George and Francis are fictitious, this sight might have driven the odd inebriated farm labourer into the arms of the Lord.

Stuart Miller-Osborne




For all the latest news, go to our Newsletter at www.hungerfordarcade.co.uk

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Hungerford Arcade BBC Wildlife Producer’s Expertise

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A gentleman with his wife came to the desk and said that his son was looking at a bronze fish. Their son happened to be BBC Wildlife Producer, Adam White.  Adam has been making Wildlife films at the BBC for almost 20 years and it was fascinating talking with him.  You must watch Wild Brazil and his other films, they are amazing programmes, showing on BBC2 and probably Discovery.  I am sure you can watch them on iPlayer if you missed them.  It is best if Adam tells you about his work himself but what you are seeing below, is but a small fraction of what he does.
I have been making wildlife films at the BBC for almost 20 years.
I have worked with Sir David Attenborough, Chris Packham & Steve Backshall, on series like Life of Birds, Life in Cold Blood and Secrets of our Living Planet. I joined Wild Brazil as one of the series producers, and spent a lot of time in 2013 on location.
No-one could believe what we had witnessed
Adam White
Filming wild jaguars was a real highlight, as for so much of my career they were viewed as un-filmable. Although they didn’t give up their secrets easily, we had to spend 9 weeks on location, and search around 10,000 miles of riverbank to find them.
But my favourite part probably has to be following the capuchin courtship story. There was one breath-taking moment when after four days of this poor female trying to persuade the male to mate with her, they looked at each other and kissed. No-one could believe what we had witnessed.
Now, back to the bronze fish.  I thought it was a trout or a carp when in fact, as was pointed out by Adam, it is a rare fish called an Arowana.  The Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) is a freshwater fish indigenous to South-East Asia where it inhabits slow moving waters, rivers and streams.  Entirely carnivorous, it has become an icon of cultural significance for its grace, longevity, incredible colour and stature and has earned the name Dragon Fish, referencing the Chinese Dragon.  Currently, as an endangered species, it is bred under licence and close monitoring by the Asian agricultural authorities and each fish exported outside of Asia is microchipped, certified and licensed for transport.
Beautiful Arowana

Thank you Adam for all the valuable information you have given to us on this marvellous fish.
Rita

For all the latest news, go to our Newsletter at www.hungerfordarcade.co.uk

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Hungerford Arcade Wishing You All A Very Happy New Year 2015

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Hungerford Arcade owners, managers, staff and stallholders wish all our customers, readers of our Newsletter, Blogs on Facebook, Google+,Twitter and Pinterest all around the world a very…
Hungerford Arcade will be open on New Years Day, from 9.15 to 5.30.  We look forward to seeing you.

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Hungerford Arcade Mary Hare School For The Deaf

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Hungerford
Arcade
Carol
Singing
2.30
Sunday,
21st
December 2014

The
staff and stallholders of Hungerford Arcade will be Carol Singing on
Sunday, 21st
December at 2.30 p.m. raising money for the Mary
Hare School for the Deaf. Do
come along and support this wonderful school. You can even join in with the singing if you would like to.


Reg Charity No. 1048386

For all the latest news, go to our Newsletter at www.hungerfordarcade.co.uk



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Hungerford Arcade Carol Singing

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LtoR: Adrian Gilmour, Choir leader Alan Bartter 
and wife Jennifer, James Hill, Ann Parker, 
Rose Newbury and her
business partner

There is a real Christmas atmosphere here at Hungerford Arcade.  Co-owner, Adrian Gilmour, staff and stallholders gathered inside the Arcade at 2.30 for our annual Christmas Carol event, raising money for charity. We started by singing in the big square then moved down to the Christmas tree at the front by the counter.  We all sang Christmas Carols, lead by stallholder, Alan Bartter. Customers stopped to listen and gave generously to our sponsored charity, Walking With The Wounded for which we are extremely grateful.  Thank you very much. 


We will be having another Christmas Carol event next Sunday, 21st December at 2.30.   If you would like to come along and listen or even join in, please do, it would be lovely to see you.


Lovely stallholder, Ann Parker
In a Festive mood

For all the latest news, go to our Newsletter at www.hungerfordarcade.co.uk


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Hungerford Arcade: Victorian Extravaganza

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The Victorian Extravaganza had been building up all day.  The funfair arrived with the Big Wheel, Helter-Skelter, cup and saucer roundabout, candy floss, shoot the target and lots more all right outside Hungerford Arcade.  There was the most beautiful steam engine powering the lights and rides and an amazing old fairground organ.  There was plenty to eat with hotdog and burger stands, roasted chestnuts and a red hot atmosphere.  The Arcade was packed with people – we were still open at 9.30 pm and thoroughly enjoyed it. 


By 5 o’clock the High Street was packed with people, many dressed as Victorians and looked fabulous. The children were all excited waiting for the arrival of Father Christmas!  In the meantime, they enjoyed the fairground rides and amusements and of course, candy floss.  A jolly stilt walker ‘The Professor’, dressed in his very smart, colourful clothes, stopped to have a laugh and a chat with everyone.  He was so tall, it made your neck ache looking up at him.


At 7 o’clock a firework lit up the sky signally the start of the procession which started off from the bottom of the High Street, headed by Scottish bagpipes, stilt walkers and then the man himself, Father Christmas.  The children screamed and called out to him as he was drove passed waving and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.  The possession carried on with people dressed up as reindeer, there was a beautiful multi-coloured bus from Thailand and the excitement was there for all to see and here.

Pirate with Arcade co-owner Adrian Gilmour
Arcade Manager, Alex Rogers –
a very handsome Victorian Gentleman
The stilted Professor
Our stunning Arcade window designed and decorated by
our very own Ann Parker (Unit 42P)

Our Judy of Rafters Cafe outside cooking up
fabulous hotdogs





Beautiful Connie with her lovely sister Lili
and partner Grant
I had to be in this picture with these
fabulous Victorians
Very dapper, Jak Blackwood


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Hungerford Arcade: H G Wells and the Bridge over the Kennet and Avon Canal

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Our wonderful author, Stuart Miller-Osborne has written yet another wonderful article – a piece of Hungerford’s history.  Our small market town is steeped in history and thanks to Stuart, it is kept alive.  We all learn a little more about our town with each story Stuart writes and we owe him a great deal of gratitude for keeping the history of Hungerford to the fore. Thank you Stuart.
Rita

On page one hundred and twenty four of the H.G.Wells’ novel The Secret Places of the Heart published in 1922 there is a rather memorable passage which appears to mention the bridge over the canal in our lovely town. 

It concerns a journey that Sir Richmond and Dr Martineau are making towards Avebury and Stonehenge and although short gives a feel of the area at the time.

“They ran through scattered Twyford with its pleasant looking inns and through the commonplace urbanities of Reading, by Newbury and Hungerford’s pretty bridge and up long wooded slopes to Savernake forest, where they found the road heavy and dusty, still in its war-time state, and so down a steep hill to the wide market street which is Marlborough.”

What interested me was the mention of Hungerford’s pretty bridge. Twyford most probably still has hidden away its pleasant looking inns although I think you would be tasked to find them. Reading’s urbanities have in my view become even duller but thankfully the roads in the forest are better and Marlborough and its wide street may have improved with age. 

But what of the pretty bridge, was Mr Wells considering our canal bridge? Well I hope so, as if you sit down and think about it, there must be upwards of twenty bridges in and around the town if you take the railway bridge on Hungerford Common and the railway bridge that crosses the canal not far from Froxfield as your limits.

For such a small town Hungerford does have a large number of bridges. I wonder if any town of a similar size as Hungerford has as many bridges? It would be interesting to find out.

Before it was replaced in the mid-sixties Hungerford had a fine railway bridge and although the current one is quite grand I do not think that Mr Wells would have referred to either as pretty. 

It might be the sturdy bridge at Eddington but for some reason I think Mr Wells meant our small but memorable canal bridge which carries the road over the Kennet and Avon Canal. 

Quite why Sir Richmond and Dr Martineau would have crossed the canal bridge if they were on their way to Marlborough is open to question as to continue along the Bath Road would have been more sensible. Maybe Mr Wells had enjoyed the hospitality of the town on a previous visit.
.
The Kennet and Avon Canal was opened in sections and in 1798, the link between Kintbury and Hungerford was opened. The Bath Chronicle reported the following;

“On Tuesday the ninth instant, a Barge, having on board a staircase of wrought Portland Stone for J. Pearce, Esq., of Chilton Lodge, several casks of Russian tallow, . . . making in the whole about 40 tons weight, was navigated on the Kennet and Avon Canal from Newbury to Hungerford.”

The section from Hungerford to Great Bedwyn was opened the following year and the navigation of the canal was fully open by 1810.

The bridge over the canal apart from one addition looks very much as it did when it was constructed. It reminds me of the canal bridge near my childhood home in Bradford on Avon and like the Bradford one has its own unique echo (try hearing yourself think if the canal ducks get excited).

In common with the Bradford on Avon bridge, it has had a necessary addition that of a pedestrian footbridge to ensure that one does not get squashed by a lorry. But whereas the footbridge in Hungerford is a thing of beauty, the one over the canal in Bradford is an eyesore and spoils the line of the original bridge.

The Hungerford footbridge which cost some £400,000 was put into place in March 2012 and was opened later that year and is called the Jubilee Footbridge for obvious reasons

Both the newer and the original bridge are well worth a look. 

If you are in Hungerford and have visited the Arcade, then the canal is easy to find. Just turn left out of the Arcade and walk under the railway bridge and follow the road. The canal bridge is not too far in front of you and is clearly visible.

The footbridge is on the Wiltshire side of the bridge and like the bridge itself gives wonderful views of Hungerford Wharf and given the right light can result in memorable photographs especially when the sun is low. 

Even on the newer footbridge you can appreciate the beauty of the original bridge with its subtle curves and its soft worn stone.

You can also appreciate both bridges from the adjacent wharf which is a great experience on a warm summer’s day. Or you can walk under the structures and see what I consider to be the darker more mysterious side of the bridge which is not often photographed but shows the detail of its original construction. 

There is also a barge called The Rose which offers leisurely trips along the canal normally to Kintbury and its prices are very reasonable.


Whether H.G.Wells leant over the low wall of the canal bridge and sadly viewed the then derelict canal is open to debate.

But today we can enjoy the restored canal from the vantage of the footbridge or view both the new bridge and its aged parent from the grassy wharf .

Perhaps one might have been lucky enough to have picked up a copy of Mr Wells’ novel somewhere in the town. 

Whichever way, the day would have been memorable. 


Stuart Miller-Osborne     






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Hungerford Arcade: Treasure Detective Needs Your Help for West African Ebola Crisis

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TV’s Treasure Detectives, Curtis Dowling and Andy Smith from CNBC Primes, are preparing to put their lives at risk by travelling to West Africa with a TV crew to raise awareness of the seriousness of Ebola in the region.  They will be holding talks with the Government of Ghana and major health stakeholders on how to liaise with them in terms of managing Ghana and West Africa’s response to the Ebola Crisis.  Curtis and Andy have been raising money from the TV, film companies and Antiques shops to enable this important mission to go ahead. Unfortunately, they are £2000 short of the total they need and bearing in mind that they are due to fly out from the UK on 15th December, time is very short.

 We at Hungerford Arcade are doing our bit to raise money, but anything you can give would be gratefully appreciated by everyone.

 Anything you can give, big or small, you can transfer funds to the following account:


MR CURTIS D DOWLING
Lloyds TSB, 30 Market Hill, Sudbury Branch, Suffolk, CO10 2EL, England
Account number: 22809260
Sort code: 30-98-31
IBAN: GB96LOYD30983122809260
SWIFT: LOYDGB21
BIC: LOYDGB21251


Curtis Dowling told Modern Ghana in an interview. “With the TV and film community coming together to support the struggle to suppress Ebola in West Africa the hosts of CNBC’s/UKTV’s Treasure Detectives are travelling to West Africa to raise awareness, get on all the radio and TV channels in the region and a mission to discuss with the President or Vice President of Ghana the distribution of an aid fund they have started to organise. Andy Smith and Curtis Dowling are prepared to put themselves into the lion’s mouth to get the world talking even more,”  He adds that the aim is to raise awareness of the plight of West Africa, medically and economically and to help by showing support in the long term against Ebola.

“Ghana is the perfect venue for a staging post to deliver help and aid to other parts of West Africa who are suffering more. The excellent infrastructure, the forward thinking and the excellent facilities. We believe our voice can be loud due to our position in the media. We can bring the situation to a wider audience and through our own experiences in west Africa report back in a ‘none news way’ how things are developing and what is being done. Our own project hopefully bringing in more help and more support in many ways to the regions most in need”

A word from Curtis:

Our impending trip to Liberia:


To distribute aid with contributions by a few US companies

To meet with the press (40 interviews planned) to highlight the country crisis after the ebola disease has been contained

To film good work projects by the CDC and Geneva Global in the hope our short films attract more investors

Can you support us? We are short £2000 and any kind of contribution would be fabulous.

 So you know who we are, I have added the links below.

 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4szFDdaUjMU

 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GC1fnjfElLI

http://video.us.msn.com/watch/video/treasure-detective-dowling-on-finding-forgeries/3xcd427x?cpkey=2570f741-7b82-42ed-9cac-dbdf74dbfcb6%257c%257c%257c%257c

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