Hungerford Arcade loves being part of local events and continuing age old traditions.  One of our favourites is the annual Hocktide celebrations on the second Tuesday after Easter.

The town is decorated in colours of blue, white and yellow and everyone joins in the occasion.

We are very grateful to Jacquie Seaby, unit 109 and one of our managers and a florist in a past life, for the wonderful flower arrangements with which we decorated our front door.  

Each year, the Town and Manor of Hungerford commemorate the granting of Commoners’ rights to grazing and fishing by John of Gaunt, over 600 years ago. We are the only town in the country that continues this ancient tradition.  All the major players are in traditional costume and it’s quite a spectacle.  The day starts with the Belllman (Town Crier) blowing a horn to summon the Commoners to Court where a Constable, Bailiff and Tutti Men are elected.  The Tutti Men then proceed round the town with an Orangeman, where they hand out oranges in exchange for kisses!  The oranges commemorate the meeting at the Bear Hotel in  Hungerford on 8th December 1688 which led to the accession of William of Orange to the throne of England.

We were one of the last buildings that the Tutti Men visited on their rounds before the formal lunch so they were in fine fettle!    They came into the Arcade and the customers and staff made a great fuss of them. Kisses were exchanged for oranges in payment of the nominal rents they were collecting and lots of customers took photos with them!

Orangeman, Nigel Perrin with Tutti Man 1, Steve Brunning.

Tutti Man 1, Steve Brunning, with Tutti Man 2, Jacob Downie. 

I particularly love that Jacob is one of the Tutti Men as it means our tradition is in good hands for the future.  Long may it continue.

It was great fun and we look forward to welcoming them all again next year!

There really is something everyone in Hungerford Arcade.  It is always particularly gratifying when one of our customers finds something to which they have a family connection.

One such was Benjamin Grain who found this miniature sewing machine in unit 101.  He believed it had been made a firm owned by his family before being merged into Brother and Singer sewing machines.

The history of the company is fascinating to read – how it developed from a room over a plumber’s shop into a company with over 60 employees during World War 11, when they were contracted to manufacture aircraft parts.

They started making the Grain miniature sewing machine in 1946 and continued until the mid sixties when they were no longer in fashion.  The model above is a Grain Mk11 from the 1960s.

For further information about this fascinating company, see grain-sewing.com.

I was delighted to learn that my favourite Norwegian will be visiting these shores in April.

Erik Thorbjornsen has been coming to the Arcade for several years and it is always a great pleasure to welcome him.  I first dealt with him during lockdown, when I videoed the various units so he could choose items to buy from Norway, as it was the only way he could access stock from us at the time.  We have since become firm friends.

Recently, he called me to let me know he was coming over and to ask whether he could buy some garden items in advance, with the expectation of buying more in person after the dealers had restocked.

Videos of our garden area again flew back and forth and the pieces he chose are in a storage area awaiting packing.  

The dealers are delighted with what he has bought.

The restocked garden area is looking different from what it was a couple of weeks ago with many new items.

As Spring approaches and the clocks go forward leading to lighter evenings, come and see the outside units before he arrives to buy more!!

We were delighted to welcome Amelia Mugridge and Jack Stephens to the Arcade over the weekend.

Amanda is a very talented seamstress in her spare time, who makes their clothes on a vintage Singer treadle sewing machine from 1898 which she prefers to use rather than her modern electric one.  She has all the original instruction manuals for it. She makes the most wonderful themed outfits for special occasions.

Their theme on Sunday was flamingoes with Jack’s shirt even having flamingo buttons. Amanda wore fun flamingo earrings and a fabulous acrylic brooch.

Jack is the proud owner of Priscilla the pink 1956 Plymouth, which we hope to see in the flesh at one of our Classic Car Shows later in the year.

They are off to Las Vegas in April for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend and Car Show where Amanda is up for Queen of the Car Show.

We wish then a wonderful trip and Amanda the very best of luck.

We were delighted to win the Commercial category in Hungerford in Bloom this year.  The judges were very complimentary about the display in front of the Arcade, saying  “Approaching the Hungerford Arcade was exciting; we were stunned by the purple colour combinations. Lovely vibrant colours, especially the little Nemesia which looked so pretty with the lavender.”

I was lucky enough to attend the presentation of the certificates where Nicola and I had our photos taken with the Mayor, Helen Simpson.

We couldn’t have done it without the help of Nicola Wood and Susan May of ‘Smarten up Hungerford’ who chose the planting and prepared the troughs for us and everyone here who watered them, especially Jane Elliman and Vanessa Brockwell, who didn’t need to be reminded to do it!!

Left to Right – Susan May, Wendy Spare and Nicola Wood standing in front of one of our hanging baskets with the certificate.

ART DECO – ART MODERNE (unit 130D)

The Art Deco period first appeared in France around 1910, it was reference to a style of visual arts / architecture and product design.

It really flourished in America and Europe during the 1920’s and 30’s through exterior and interior design, large structures to small objects, even how people dressed themselves.

Art Deco combined modern design with craftsmanship and expensive materials representing luxury and glamour.

You can see the Art Deco influence in bridges, ocean liners, trains,cars, furniture and every day objects.  Its dominance ended with the beginning of WW2 and the strictly functional styles of modern architecture.

HUNGERFORD ARCADE CLASSIC VEHICLE SHOW

We had our bi-annual classic car show outside the Arcade in September, the weather was slightly against us, but as always we had a great turn out.  A big thank you to Mike and Colleen Kent and the West Berkshire Classic Vehicle Car Club. 

ALTERNATIVE BARGAIN HUNT

We had a great afternoon hosting SAS Auctions with experts Thomas Forrester and Neil Shuttleworth, they were with their Alternative Bargain hunt for the Newbury Weekly News.

Each pair of contestants had a budget of £300 and with the help of their experts picked out 3 items each to send to auction, with all money raised going to a local Children’s Hospice.

ARCADE WEDDING!

Our very own Stallholder Chula (Unit 22 & 37), married her long term partner Lee in Las Vegas this month. Chula wore a lovely vintage wedding dress and Lee wore a vintage Hawaiian shirt. They had an amazing week in Las Vegas and we would like to wish them both many Congratulations from us all here at Hungerford Arcade and Wallingford Arcade.

Dan’s Valuation Day

Dan Evans – Greenwood Collection (Unit 3) held a very successful valuation day here at Hungerford Arcade this month.

Dan specializes in gold, silver and jewellery. He was kept busy with customers popping in throughout the day with various items to value.  Including a pair of medals and a bosun’s whistle dug up from a family members garden.

Suzanne was one of his first customers, she popped in with a collection of various silver items.

Wallingford Arcade Unit 19 Ria Seymour

Ria has a wonderful collection of Welsh dressers, glasses, china and lots of quirky things.  You really must take a look!

Ria’s gorgeous furniture and a great selection of very unusual pieces.

Wallingford Arcade – Siobhan Collins Unit 2

Siobhan has a wonderful collection of silver, silver plate, mirrors and wonderful quirky things. Wallingford Arcade is certainly the place to come for all your silver.

Wallingford Arcade – Sheena Davies Unit 19A

Sheena has a fantastic collection of writing slop, stunning tea caddy and many beautiful things.  If you are looking for that special gift for someone, 19A is the place to be.

Wallingford Arcade – New Unit 34 

We have many new stallholders at Wallingford Arcade that you really must come and see.  We look forward very much to your visit.

The weather was dreary with drizzle earlier on in the day, but that did not dampen the spirits our our wonderful classic car owners.  A huge thank you for Mike & Colleen Kent for arranging this with all your members.  It is very much appreciated.

For those of you who do not know, we hold this classic car show twice each year, the first one in may and the second in September.  So a big thank you to each and everyone of these fantastic people who braved the weather to give everyone a wonderful day with their beautiful classic cars.  Take a look below.

Mike & Colleen’s beautiful Rover

This beautiful Chevrolet Astro 4WD is going in for a complete

makeover. When you next see her in May next year, she will be a beautiful 

grey with Stunning Pink Flamingos

Just like this gorgeous one!

       Stunning MG BGT                                                                                    Proud Owners

Another Superb MG BGT

Fabulous Ford Sierra Estate (Immaculate)

This Stunning Morris Ital Estate has only done 9,000 since new!

This Beautiful Mini British Open Classic Mini

Thank you Gary & June for

bringing your lovely

Land Rover

A Date for your Diary

On Sunday, 5th November 2023, Gary and June together with their Corp of vintage military vehicle comrades will be outside the Arcade with their stunning vehicles, raising money for the Royal British Legion.  We will also have the Home Guard and other military attending.  It is a great day out for a fantastic cause.  Do come along and give them your support.  Thank you.