The village pump, Stonehouse

Song

I've been passing this restored village pump on the restored village green every Tuesday for months, without ever noticing it! So dwarfed is it by the large and looming war memorial, and the sign that looks like a pub sign but is the town sign, that I've always overlooked it. Today in the snow, while searching for a bin in which to park my apple core, I found the little pump, complete with a plaque saying that a gentleman from South Africa had paid for the restoration and upkeep of Stonehouse village green, in memory of the happy time he had spent there.

As I was in a rush to reach my adult education course, I did not take down his name, but hurried on. That's a shame, as my courses in Stonehouse have finished now till September, and by then we will have a different venue, no longer by the green. I'll miss the group, and my trips to another town. I took the opportunity after the class to check out the charity shops and the Thali night special at the Gate of India. I thought we might need to have a reason to celebrate, but when I got home, CleanSteve told me he'd had some news! He'll probably want to tell it himself, but suffice to say it's good.

This shot was taken opposite the other green on Stonehouse high street, the place I blipped last week, with the pub-cum-health-centre. The green looks so neat in this shot that it reminds me of the British TV show Midsomer Murders, where everything is neat, clean and rural; everyone, but everyone is white, mainly middle class, and the murder rate is astonishingly high! Think of The Wire and then think again!

As I commented last week, Stonehouse has takeaways and restaurants of many nationalities, and the nearby Wycliffe college boarding school has a high percentage of pupils from the Far East, so clearly it isn't Midsomer territory! There's also a hardware store to die for, if the mention of hardware lights your wick.

Regarding the Angel blip of last week, I have found out more about the Fawkes family mentioned on the headstones. Florence Daisy, to whom the angel is dedicated, died in 1921 in what was only her 25th year. She was the daughter of George Edgar and Florence Fawkes, who owned Hammond's farm near Painswick. The family also owned a flour mill in Stroud, near the Subscription Rooms. This explains why the area behind the Subs, which is currently used as a lorry bay and disabled parking area, is called Fawkes Place.