Mother and Child, Sister and Cousin

What a lovely day!  It started well, as my debit card had indeed been retained and kept safely by the ATM machine outside the bank branch, and after some ID checks the cashier returned it to me just after 9 o'clock this morning.  Feeling immensely relieved, and much more positive about things in general, I set off for a meet-up in Essex with my sister Susan and cousin Freda.  We had lunch, a mega shopping spree and a much-needed coffee and cake break in Basildon, which I hadn't been to since the mid-80's.  Much of it has changed during that time, but not the overall feel of the Town Square.  My blipfoto is of the bronze "Mother and Child" fountain, by the sculptor Maurice Lambert.  It was commissioned in 1959, the year I was born, to symbolise the growth of Basildon as a New Town.  I often visited the town centre as a child with Mum and Dad in the 60's, when the fountain flowed much more spectacularly and was illuminated rather dramatically after dark - today the pool has much less water in it for health and safety reasons, and just a tiny trickle of water dribbles out from the sculpture. In the background of my picture, you can see one of the V-shaped pylons supporting Brooke House.  This is a Brutalist-style 14-storey block dating from 1962, designed by Sir Basil Spence and Anthony B. Davies.  Both Brooke House and the fountain are Grade II Listed.


My extra photo is a view of St Martin's Belltower, which was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1999 and is said to be the first and only glass belltower in the world.  It houses a peal of eight bells, all of which are over 500 years old.