Snippets of Local History – March 2023

Yes, that’s me, in about 1980, fixing a gilded finial atop the cupola above the Ferrers Centre Coffee Shop. The finial was turned in pitch pine by our furniture maker, Dick Bass, who also lent me the drill to make a hole for the dowel. Maybe it wasn’t...

Staunton Notebook – May 2022

Twelve vintage Rolls Royces lined up in front of the hall; that will be something to see tomorrow. They have been trying to visit us for two years, as part of a three day tour of the area. Their passengers are Georgian architecture enthusiasts, so right up my street....

Staunton Notebook – April 2022

Visitors leaving Staunton by the Heathend drive may notice, before reaching the public highway, that they pass over a narrow stream. This stream marks the boundary between the counties of Leicestershire and Derbyshire. Insignificant as it is now, in Roman times this...

Staunton Notebook – March 2022

Who remembers COVID 19?     Strange how cataclysmic events can crowd out others which, only weeks ago, seemed to be all-embracing. Now the plight of the Ukrainians fills the media and our thoughts. The problems which this crisis has thrown up stretch much wider. Our...

Staunton Notebook – February 2022

On the second of February the Quorn Hunt met at the front of the hall, a venue they’ve used over many years, probably centuries. About twenty mounted riders and maybe thirty followers were treated to port and sausage rolls. One of the hounds managed to sneak inside...

Staunton Notebook – January 2022

NO MASK, NO SERVICE,’ said the notice outside the small industrial unit near Coalville to which Jacqueline and I had been directed. So we complied and went inside, only to find just one other person with a mask. People are getting fed up with being told that Covid is...