Post box topper update

 

Post box topper update

The post box, which suffered the unwelcome attention of person or persons unknown when its pillar box topper was stolen, stands in front of a large, ivy-covered tree.

A few days ago this notice appeared.

 With bated breath, we now await developments.

Although our postal address is Crowthorne, we actually belong to Wokingham Without (we don’t specify what we are lacking!)

Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, with a population of about 48,000.  It is often referred to as Woky by its residents (though not by us J)

During George III’s reign (1760 – 1820) there was a flourishing silk industry in Wokingham. Silk stockings were knitted by hand until knitting machines began to be used. A hand-knitter could make six pairs of stockings a week. By the end of the 16^th century England required 10 million pairs of stockings. England also exported hand-knitted silk stockings, particularly to France.

The first mechanical knitting machine was invented by William Lee of Calverton in 1589, though it may have taken some time before such a machine came into general use.

When Queen Victoria came to the throne, one of Wokingham’s most important industries was brick production.

In association with a local Hookers group and a Children’s Charity,  Wokingham Town Council initiated a Coronation Post Box Topper Trail to celebrate the Coronation.

This, from MyWokingham, explains more:

Wokingham Town Council has teamed up with the Barkham Hookers Charity Group and First Days Children’s Charity to create a fabulous post box topper trail for the coronation!

The ‘hookers’ successfully entertained the public all throughout lockdown with their crochet creations and their magnificent post box toppers for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, so they thought they would create a new Royal themed trail for you all to enjoy for the upcoming coronation.

All of the toppers should be in place by Monday 1st May.

Gaynor White from the Barkham Hookers said: “We’ve really enjoyed making the post box toppers over the last few years and love to get involved in community projects with the town council. Being able to use our skills to raise a smile and bring people together is a wonderful thing”.

 You can find a handy map of all the locations at https://www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk/the-coronation-post-box…/ and hope that it inspires you to take a new direction on your daily or weekly walks or provides a fun activity for those with children to go ‘topper spotting’.

Make sure you take photos as you go around and tag the council on social media #wokinghamcoronation or on facebook Wokingham Town Council

                     Everywhere you look there's red, white and blue. It all looks very cheerful and sufficient to gladden the heart of even the most morose citizen. Enthusiasts are already setting up camp to get the best possible view of proceedings - in the streets, that is. There's no chance of getting anywhere near Westminster Abbey.

Royalist or Republican, there's no way of ignoring the wall-to-wall coverage that will be all-encompassing on 6th May. The compensation, should you require it, is that the following Monday is a bank holiday. 

Snow!

Snow

We have had snow! Not a lot by some standards, just about 2” (5 cms), but enough to make the garden look pretty – or, at least, different. The local schools, along with many across the country, had a Snow Day.

I took photographs with my little Sony just before 8:30 a.m.

 The dogs ruined the pristine layer. They charged out and round the garden then galloped back in again. 

Barry took some photographs later with his superior Canon.

Zula, Susannah’s little Abyssinian, 2 years old today, dashed out and returned immediately. Herschel decided to investigate. He stepped delicately in the snow, flicking it off his paws and sniffing at the funny white stuff.  

Jellicoe went out later and stayed outside for some time, inspecting the scene, but Isambard viewed it all with suspicion from the safety and warmth of the sitting room.

The anemometer and wind vane had more than a dusting of snow but managed to spin in the wind that sprang up. 

The bird feeder (h’mm, should clean and replenish it!) has not had any avian visitors today but there were numbers of gulls wheeling round the tree-tops this morning.

The best barometers in the house are the cats, guaranteed to discover the hot spots. Two of them, the Somalis Solomon and Lenny, spent considerable time in the conservatory (I’m sure they enjoyed watching Le Mans with Frankie). 

Herschel cuddled up with Bertie while Isambard appropriated my chair and didn’t object when I almost sat on him, happy to share and at the same time help me compose my  blog post. 

Jellicoe, however, found the prime spot, on the bookshelf above the radiator. From the photographs you can see that he has a bent for Natural History, particularly Ornithology.

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It is snowing again and is forecast to continue for several hours. We are unreliably informed, by someone who knows much better than the Met Office, the AA, the RAC, and all the weather forecasters in the media, that the amber warnings of bad weather are ‘scaremongering’ and the snow is ‘localised’, with none in Wokingham, 4 miles away. This is not true but we shrug and smile – there’s no point in arguing with someone who is always so right, though usually so wrong!