Maiwand Lion

This is the head of the Maiwand Lion. He stands, enormous and proud, in one of the parks in the centre of town. According to Wikipedia, 'it was erected in 1886 to commemorate the deaths of 329 men from the 66th Berkshire Regiment during the campaign in Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880. The names of the fallen are on a plaque on the plinth of the statue. The sculptor was George Blackall Simonds, a member of a Reading brewing family from Simonds' Brewery. At 9½ metres long and having taken two years to design and complete, the lion is one of the world's largest cast iron statues'. He certainly is an impressive beast. We walked through the park on our way home from town today. The sun was shining and lots of families and teenagers were gathered on the grass enjoying the good weather.

Started the day with the Parkrun and managed to knock 10 seconds off my personal best - it was a hot morning. Back for a quick shower and then off for a walk to the local shops for bread for lunch and to buy lottery tickets for the work's syndicate. After lunch we walked into town along the Thames. We managed to stop for a quick drink in a canal-side pub on the way home. Very tired now!



Just realised the Lion has been blipped before - see Coasting to see him in his full glory.