Leap Year Baby &
     Blue Peter Star

Nothing passes Hungerford Arcade by, not even Leap Year. We had a lovely couple who came to shop at the Arcade, Raymond and Suzanne.  Suzanne is a Leap Year baby, born 29th February 1956.  Coincidentally, their daughter, Lisa, is also a Leap Year baby again, born on a Wednesday, 29th February 1984.  Suzanne must have been 7 when Lisa was born. How lovely to grow old every four years instead of every one. 

Husband Raymond, is a BBC Blue Peter star and appeared on the programme four times and obviously earned his famous Blue Peter Badge.
Rita

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

The Valuation Days at Hungerford Arcade are always very popular.  The Jewellery Valuation Day went exceptionally well with our two experts, Adrian Jefferies and Frances Jones at the helm.  There were many happy faces leaving the Arcade on that day. 

Adrian and Frances will be back later in the year for more jewellery valuations so watch this space.
Rita

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

Today we met Danny Pratt who plays for Reading Rhinos RFC.  Danny’s team is the over 35s but he tells me that most of them are actually over 50.  
A lifelong devotee of the rugby club, Danny was in the Arcade adding to his ever growing collection of more than one hundred rhinos!  He told me he also has a Reading Rhinos tattoo, but it was the middle of the day so I didn’t ask him to take his trousers off to show me!

Danny with his purchase

The rhinos he managed to find today included a large china one, a medium sized silver one and a few little lead ones.  He was very happy with his purchase and will be back for more when his wife has recovered from the thought of his collection taking up even more space in the house.
The Rhinos over 35s play as far west as Hungerford and as far east as High Wickham, so if you fancy watching a good game of rugby, look them up for their next match near you.

A silver rhino similar to the one Danny bought

Alex

What a wonderful atmosphere there was at Hungerford Arcade today and indeed the Town itself because today was Fly A Flag For The Commonwealth Day which will be celebrated by all 53 Commonwealth Nations around the world.  The Commonwealth of Nations was founded on 11th December 1931 and is one of the oldest political association of states in the world; its roots dating back to the days of the British Empire.

Julian Tubb, Bellman & Town Crier Town Constable, Susan Hofgartner Hungerford Mayor, Dennis Benneyworth Elizabeth Fairthful-Davies, Commanding Officer 6th Battalion R.E.M.E

Children from Hungerford Primary School

Everyone gathered outside the Town Hall. Julian Tubb, Bellman and Town Crier brought everyone to order for speeches from the Mayor of Hungerford, Dennis Benneyworth who also read out a message from Her Majesty the Queen. The Deputy Mayor, Roger Thompson, read a message from the Commonwealth 
Secretary General.  Also in attendance, wearing her chain of office, was the Constable of Hungerford, Susan Hofgartner. Claire Barnes, the Town Clerk who organised this important event said they are very proud to have present, Elizabeth Faithful-Davies, Commanding Officer of 6th Battalion R.E.M.E.

Sandie Crouter and Sam Newton, Cornet players in the Hungerford Town Band, played as the Commonwealth Flag was raised. The boys and girls of Hungerford Primary School joined in to sing the National Anthem. After the ceremony, everyone was invited into the Town Hall for a buffet and refreshments which, I must say, went down well with the children.
Rita

Hungerford Mayor and Stallholder at Hungerford Arcade, Dennis Benneyworth with Arcade co-owner, Adrian Gilmour

Love it or hate it, Facebook is undeniably a very useful resource.  Without Facebook, I would never have found Lynash Antiques, tucked away in the small harbour town of Banff on the northerly coast of Aberdeenshire in Scotland.

Alison’s lovely old “Baker’s Bike”

Sitting in a little cafe, having a cup of coffee, I thought I would check for a local shop or two to while away a couple of hours in.  So a quick search on my phone and the first and only result was the Facebook page of Lynash Antiques, just a few minutes walk away.    

Quality control!

The actual shop is a room upstairs, above the office (from what I could tell) of a tyre merchant and wasn’t easy to spot.  But once I had found it, it wasn’t difficult to find interesting things to look at.  The owner, Alison, was so friendly and welcoming, we actually lost track of time chatting.

  

Inside Alison’s shop

Like me, Alison is a big fan of anything a bit different – from cast iron foundry made signs, to delicate jewellery and everything in between, she has managed to fit such an eclectic mix of hundreds of items into a relatively small space.  It would be easy to cast an eye around and decide that you’ve seen it all, but if you just look a little closer, maybe do a bit of rummaging, you’ll come across something you’ve never seen before.

  

A scenic view of Banff. “Banffscotland” by Anne Burgess.

Alison, I would like to thank you for your time and for showing me around your shop.  Come to Hungerford Arcade any time you like and I will return the favour!  

Alex

The pool at Mary Hare School was built over 30 years ago.  Whilst the pool itself is still in good order, we need to re-build the cover and changing rooms. 

Contact us

Colonel Wilde

What a wonderful day we had at Hungerford Arcade today. The door opened and in strode what looked like a British Army Regiment.  In fact, Colonel Wilde told me, the men and women were from a wide range of regiments.  Medics, Logistics,  

Royal Artillery, Infantry, Cavalry, Engineers and more. They had eight weeks left of a nine month high quality education course to post-graduate level and conduct research in fields related to defence.  All this happens at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.  I managed to photograph them (with Colonel Wilde’s permission, of course) while they were having a break in the Arcade upstairs in Rafters Cafe`.  The smell of bacon sandwiches and fresh coffee was wonderful.

I must introduce you to an amazing Border Collie named Cody and his owner, Major Charlotte Hayes.  He goes everywhere with Charlotte and you can see they are part of one another. Cody looks every inch a Military Collie!












It was great meeting you all and look forward to your return.
Rita

Our great author, Stuart Miller-Osborne has written a wonderful article on Hungerford and the railways.  It is a very interesting and nostalgic read, especially when you are relaxing with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.  Feeling refreshed? Come and visit us at the famous Hungerford Arcade and see what people get excited about!
Rita

One
of the great joys of visiting Hungerford is that you can travel to
the town by either road or rail or, water if you choose to use the
canal. 

Obviously
if the railway engineers had planned otherwise then the railway would
have been threatened with flooding as the ground at river level would
have acted like a basin when the rivers overflowed, as they were prone
to doing during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

HUNGERFORD is a market town which
stands partly in the county of Berks, and partly in that of Wilts.
The Kennet flows past this town, which opens a communication with the
river Thames on the east, and the Avon and Bristol Channel on the
west. The town principally consists of one long main street, with a
few smaller ones branching from it.

In the centre stands the
market house, over which there is a large room for public business
and here is still preserved the Hungerford Horn, presented to the
corporate body by John of Gaunt. It is made of brass, and is blown
every Horn Tuesday to  assemble the inhabitants for the election of
the town constable.

From Hungerford you may follow the
Berkshire Downs round to Reading, past Lambourn, Ashdown (where
Alfred beat the Danes). Uffington Castle, Wayland Smith’s Stone, the
White Horse Hill (893 feet high with the figure of a galloping horse
370 feet long, cut in the chalk). Wantage, along Ickleton
Street (a Roman way on the ridge) to East Ilsley (noted for its great
sheep fairs), and so to Reading, a strip of about 40 or 45 miles,
never to be forgotten by a light-heeled pedestrian.The Berks
and Hants, a railway 24½ miles long, begins here and runs through a
nearly level country. Although the title would seem to imply, it
forms no connection between the two counties named, taking as it does
a westerly direction from the borders of Berks through the very heart
of the county of Wilts. 

In
those far off days you could travel from Hungerford to Devizes quite
easily or change trains at Holt Junction. In time, the Broad Gauge
tracks were changed to Narrow Gauge and the line which had originally
been a single line was doubled.

But
sadly whilst the line survived the Beeching/Marples cuts in the 1960s, the station did not. It was deliberately left to go to rack and ruin
and the last buildings were demolished in the early 1970s.

As
with a lot of things these days and after the farce of privatisation, there are so many agencies involved that this might be a lengthy
process. Time will tell. 

This
also brings me onto my second point as here in Hungerford, we live in
an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the totems and station signs
at the station advertise this) and any thoughts of electrification
would run into a very strong green lobby and the arguments and
counter arguments would take years and years to resolve. 

Westbury which are essentially lightly populated areas. It
would not really make proper economic sense to electrify this part of
the line. 

I
would like to think that any visitors that do travel to Hungerford
will find the town most agreeable. We have some fine antique outlets
which, if you look hard enough, do sell items connected with the
railway.

It
is quite fun to collect things connected with the railway as today in
many areas of the country the railways disappoint. I frequently
travel to Kent and some of the fine Victorian stations are dreadfully
neglected.