Shaping the heart of Stroud

We were up and about this morning, ready to unload the car outside the Subscription Rooms, in preparation for the day's public consultation event connected with the Neighbourhood Development Plan. CleanSteve has written about it in more detail. See https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2097033451453548288

I was running the free childrens' play area/creche, but for the longest time it seemed that we might not have any takers at all. So my fellow volunteers, S and L and I, made playdough animals, lego skyscrapers and complicated train layouts, until eventually a couple of children turned up and, gratifyingly for us, played with everything!

There were speakers at the event, with the same speeches and Q&A sessions afterwards, every hour on the hour, to catch the people who'd just dropped in. So I absorbed quite a lot of information passively. One thing I recall was a discussion about the need to improve the area outside the Sub Rooms, to make it more connected to the clock (known as the four clocks because it is in fact four clocks, one on each face of the pillar) and less dominated by through traffic. Looking out of the window at the area described, I could see the need for more people-space. Stroud is pretty dominated by cars, but a lot of the traffic is passing through, so it can't simply be banned.

After returning home with my toys/creche strapped to a trolley, I sat in the cabin and finished my book. The afternoon was sunny, but not really warm. The weather really is changing, sadly.

After the disappointment of both Scotland and England losing their rugby matches, I made an apple pudding, which is still in the oven as I write at 10.20 pm! Might be having it for breakfast.