The Medieval Hall, 32-34 High Street, Stroud

Life was in the fast lane for me today, or at least relatively. I met the town clerk to discuss the agenda for the imminent finance committee meeting the week after next. By chance, I bumped into our mayor, who is the vice chair of the committee and she was able to meet us too after doing a few errands in town. So we managed to have a quite extensive assessment of what our finances might be in the next financial year. There is however the threatened cloud hanging over town and parish councils, whereby the government might announce that we will be capped when they introduce their December statement :o((

I had to go to a meeting at one of the special projects that the town council has funded, where children and youths can go to a twice weekly 'play rangers' event in a local park next to a large area of housing. We are trying to get other local official bodies who can also fund the facility, which has been very successful in helping young people explore the world of outdoor play, which is quite surprisingly novel to many of them. I have my fingers crossed that we will be successful, otherwise the project will have to fold.

In between these meetings, I decided to try and take some test photos that I have been asked to supply for the Stroud Preservation Trust's thirtieth anniversary exhibition. The graphic designer wants to use them to portray the story of the buildings we have preserved, showing 'then and now' comparisons. I am providing the 'now'.

The weather was dismally grey, with very damp air forming mists across the valleys, and a dew on ones clothes, or lenses. I went to five locations and tried to match the angles and proportions the designer had asked me to produce. I won't be using today's images, but waiting till Saturday when it is rumoured to be very cold but bright!

This view is from the so-called Berlin Wall, looking down the High Street from the point at which Stroud's 'new by-pass' was due to be built in the 1980s. That catastrophic plan led to many local protestors to form the Preservation Trust, to halt the destruction and to try to repair some of the old buildings which were to be demolished.

The building on the left is called the 'Medieval Hall' and was the first building which the trust completed in about 1984. There is a black plaque commemorating all this, above the front door. You can see a few archive pictures of this building on our website here. I expect I will blip more about the Trust as the exhibition approaches in November.