Trolley Dolly...

Today was 'Bark in the Park', a walk organised by friends Lynn, Dee and Bridget, raising money for some great charities and forming part of the Preston Guild Celebrations. Normally no one from outside of Preston normally knows what Preston Guild is.....brief explanation below.

The weather was just right, warm enough for us humans and no rain for the dogs. The walk was to be about an hour.....luckily not dogs on leads all the way. I made the mistake of leaving Cedar's car harness on. Harness to Cedar means Canix and running.....walking on the lead is still very much work in progress...so it was more 'drag in the park', especially since he was joined by his mates which included Dargo (pictured), who came with his own mobile hotel....he did walk the walk but was more than happy to have a nice bed to get into when he got back...and the dog trolley was very useful for carrying stuff and even managed to survive Cedar running into it full pelt, it must have come with a star trek style cloaking device!!!

"There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst."
Frida Kahlo


In 1179, King Henry II granted Preston the right to have a Guild Merchant in 1179 and gave the town its first royal charter. The Guild was an organisation of traders, craftsmen and merchants. It had a monopoly of trade in the town and only its members could carry out a craft or business. Newcomers could only trade here with the permission of the Guild, and such approval was not given lightly.
At intervals the Guild Merchant updated its membership lists to ensure that people were not falsely claiming the right to trade in the town. Anybody who claimed to be a member of the Guild had to come to Preston and, in a public court, swear loyalty to the Mayor and the Guild Merchant. His credentials were checked and if he was eligible, and agreed to pay a small fee, would be admitted or re-admitted as a Burgess (the name for a member of the Guild Merchant).
The first reliably recorded celebration of the Guild was in 1397, when it was already more than two centuries old. These gatherings for renewing membership were infrequent and It was soon accepted that they were needed only once in a generation. As a result, from 1542, Preston Guild took place every 20 years.

The rarity of the celebration, and the fact that large numbers of people congregated in Preston for the occasion, made the Guild a special opportunity for feasting, processions and great social gatherings. In this way the great Preston Guild celebrations was born and continues to flourish today.