Woking

I went to Woking today but couldn't decide between the Lightbox and the Martian so, I thought, what the hell, I'll use both.

The reason I went to Woking was to buy a new pair of shoes, my old ones having developed a rather annoying hole in the bottom of one. I was very fortunate in finding exactly the same shoes, albeit in a different colour. This is very good because they are very kind to gouty feet, being nice and wide. So, naturally, I included them as well.

So, this is my shopping trip in four images.

The Martian (for those that do not know) is a sculpture by Michael Condron. It was commissioned in 1998 to celebrate the centenary of the first edition of HG Wells' The War of the Worlds. It is a truly amazing piece of sculpture and manages to liven Woking up a bit. HG Wells, apparently, chose Woking as the first place the Martians destroyed because he loathed it so much.

The Lightbox is a museum on the banks of the Basingstoke Canal. Way back when I worked in Woking, it was but a faint idea in someone's head but is now firmly entrenched and looks, I think, quite amazing. If you'd like to know more about the museum, it has its own website here. I would have paid a visit but it doesn't open until 10:30 and I was halfway home by then.