The National Memorial Arboretum and the Shropshire Hills
We had a busy weekend last week, with a trip to the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield and a night nestled in the Shropshire Hills, courtesy of my uncle Paul and Anne-Helen.
A Visit to the National Memorial Arboretum
Anna had been invited to play the Last Post at the unveiling of a new memorial at the arboretum for the RAF Trade Group 11 Association. I went along as Anna’s driver, for moral support, to see the arboretum, and of course for the free tea and cake. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but an arboretum is always a pleasant place to spend time — what’s not to like about trees? And there’s always a chance of spotting a duck or two.
We had a nice stroll around the grounds and along the River Tame. Having only been established in 2007, many of the trees are still fairly young, so as an arboretum it’s still developing rather than immediately striking. But that’s not really the point — the focus is on the memorials, and over time it will no doubt grow into an impressive arboretum as well. These things take decades, after all.
The Memorial Ceremony
We then joined a large group from Trade Group 11, many in suits adorned with medals. I felt a little out of place and quietly hid away on a bench slightly removed from the main gathering, watching from afar. Anna would probably have preferred this anyway, as she doesn’t particularly enjoy playing in front of me.
Anna, meanwhile, was very much a principal guest — listed on the front page of the programme as “The Trumpeter” and formally introduced before the ceremony. Much to my amusement, she was introduced as “a young girl from Aberystwyth” and how wonderful an opportunity it was for her to play the Last Post. From the way she was described, I think everyone was expecting a 15-year-old schoolgirl to stand up.
Needless to say, that became the joke of the weekend — although I did resist the temptation to heckle from the trees and shout, “She’s nearly 50!”
After the speeches, Anna stood to play the Last Post, followed by two minutes of silence. She then played the Reveille, before further dedications, and finally the National Anthem, with the congregation joining in.
Afterwards, we milled around for a while before heading off for refreshments.
An Evening in the Shropshire Hills
We left the group to their evening plans and made our way towards Church Stretton to meet Paul and Anne-Helen. We hadn’t visited them before, but soon found the house, exchanged greetings, and settled into easy conversation over tea and biscuits.
It was good to catch up, and the conversation flowed effortlessly. Later, we headed out for dinner at a nearby pub, followed by a tour of the house and an introduction to Paul’s collection of Everyman’s Library Books — something I hadn’t come across before, but an impressive and rather appealing collection. Everyman’s Library is a renowned series of high-quality, affordable hardcover books of the worlds classic literature, It was founded in 1906 by Joseph Dent and they are known for their uniform design featuring sewn, full-cloth bindings, cream-wove acid-free paper, and silk ribbon markers. They cover literature from ancient times to contemporary works, often including introductions, chronologies, and bibliographies.
I can definitely see the attraction of collecting something like that. Anna is now slightly concerned that I might feel the need to start a “proper” collection of my own — aside from boards, bikes, running shoes, rucksacks, and jackets. Those all have a purpose, of course… but perhaps there’s something to be said for collecting purely for the sake of it.
A Morning Run in the Hills
The following morning, I was up early and headed out into the hills for a run before breakfast. I haven’t really explored much of the Shropshire Hills before, but on a cool, sunny morning like this, they were at their best. Sunlight glistened on the streams, the hills were soft shades of brown and green, and the sky a bright, uninterrupted blue. There was no wind, and the only sounds were the gentle burble of water and birdsong. It’s definitely somewhere I’d like to return to for a more thorough explore.
Back at the house, we chatted some more over breakfast, took a wander around the garden, and eventually said our goodbyes before heading home.
A Relaxed Journey Home
We made a short stop at Derwen Garden Centre so Anna could pick up a leaving gift for a colleague, and she also treated me to a few things for the garden. By the time we got home, we were both feeling pleasantly tired after a full and varied weekend.
It made a welcome change from the quieter weekends at home we’ve had through much of the winter.
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Just been doing some more research into the Evryman’s Library and discovered that beetween 1998 and 2006 they donated a complete set of the main Everyman series, 300 books, to every state secondary school in the UK. That’s good of them.
They say it was “4300 schools in all, as well as to 1700 schools and libraries in seventy seven countries of the developing world, with the generous support of the Millennium Commission and other charitable trusts – a total of more than 1,715,000 books with a bookshop value of more than £19,000,000. Surprisingly this was the only millennium project in the UK to celebrate the English language and its literature, or to concern schools and books.”
Al.
Glad all went well .