Return to the Secret Garden

Today I witnessed the product of a resurrection process not THAT one, but the completion of a new building in Stroud's 'Secret Garden'.

Let me backtrack a bit: in Stroud's extensive Stratford park, which I blip fairly often, there is a mansion house with a modern extension. This has been Stroud's "Museum in the Park" for the past 14 years. Behind the mansion was a walled garden, which had served to grow flowers for 'the big house'. Over the years, it had fallen into total disrepair, but recently (five years ago) an appeal was launched to reclaim the garden in order to use the space for the museum's educational programme.

CleanSteve and I went on a tour of the garden last November, but unfortunately neither of us blipped it, probably because it looked like a very messy building site. Now I wish I had! Less than five months later, what a difference! The main part of the garden is still bare earth, but the learning pavillion, a brand new building, has been completed, though the access from the museum itself is still circuitous (there isn't enough money at present to create the meandering path and the straight path up the steep slope from the back of the museum. When completed, this will make the garden fully accessible to wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and buggies).

We were given a tour of the new building, which has sliding glass panels that slide 'all the way open'. In due course, there will be a planted garden in front, and trees to provide shade. The building has space for 100 + chairs, and has hidden areas for storage of the museum's resource packs, chairs, a concealed sink, and even a secret kitchen! There are state-of-the-art air cooling mechanisms, a huge interactive TV screen, and an indestructible carpet, but unfortunately no loo on site as yet.

The building will be used by visiting groups (schools, colleges, clubs, societies, etc) and later as a space for evening concerts, talks, bat watching walks, etc. Stroud is lacking in decent-sized venues for education and entertainment, so this will be a useful addition. The museum's modern extension does have two galleries, but one is in constant use as a gallery(!) and the other is too small for large groups or activities/workshops.

Both of us were highly impressed, and stayed to have a cup of tea in the new space. Then we returned to the house, where I carried on feeling homesick for my large extended family, and nostalgic for the happy Easters of my childhood. My five siblings and I were brought up as strict Catholics, so after the long six weeks of Lent, and the agony of Holy week, Easter was always a joyous occasion. CleanSteve and his sister, on the other hand, was brought up by non-believing parents who used the C of E for weddings and funerals, but did not observe religious customs. By the time I finished chatting to my mother on the phone, it was too late to think about skypeing my sister in NZ (because of the time difference) or going to church for a good ol' singalong, so I spent most of the rest of the day looking up songs of my childhood in the Apple store! This feels a very futuristic way to time-travel into the past.

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