23 October 2022
A very wet Sunday morning had me anxiously checking emails even leaving the house. How many were going to show up? I had every confidence in the weather forecast which predicted the rain clearing by 10am, but did anybody else?
Arriving at the Market Square, the rain began to ease and I spotted Pam and John coming towards me with Roger Gibbins and Bob Foster not far behind. I wasn’t going to be alone after all. Everybody else arrived soon after and I had a task making sure everybody was ticked off the list.
Once assembled, a welcome was given to all members and visitors and we gathered outside The Orto Lounge where Glyn had sweet talked them into letting him use an upstairs window as a vantage point to take a group photo. By this time the rain had all but stopped and we headed through the Bell Tower and Abbey Park towards the first of the six information boards that help to mark the Round Evesham Walk (REW). Stopping at the board, Alan gave a brief explanation on how the REW came about. We then set off again towards Hampton Ferry and the remains of the old Midlands Railway Bridge that used to cross the Avon. It was this section that I expected to be slippery considering the rain we had had over the past few days, but the whole route was surprisingly dry.
Arriving at the Battle Well, Alan gave a talk on the gruesome fate of Simon de Montfort at the hands of Prince Edward during the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Many thanks to Alan for all the information given at each of the boards we stopped at. Carrying on at a gentle stroll we came to the only low point of the day when it was discovered that the information board by the boardwalk had been vandalised by some idiot with a can of spray paint. It was heartening to see that somebody had tried to scrape the paint but without much luck, I’m afraid. The board will need to be replaced.
Arriving at the Evesham Rowing Club a little ahead of time, the staff did an excellent job coping with the early influx. Speaking to the manager later she remarked what a lovely atmosphere it was. Well, we do pride ourselves on being a friendly club.
Besides being a way to celebrate the celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the club and catching up with old friends, the event was also an opportunity to raise funds for Citizens Advice South Worcestershire, a charitable organisation which our former Chairman Peter Lee-Smith and wife Sue have worked hard for over the past years. A collection on the day raised £189 from members and in total the club raised almost £1200. Many thanks to everybody who contributed.
Carl
5 miles
