A celebration at the Chapels of Rest, Stroud

I’m very behind with my blip posts, and this interim anniversary has crept up on me. I’ve not been very mobile in recent weeks with our car having had a succession of irritating problems, from cracked windscreen to several separate cooling system issues, and so my photography has been limited as well. Luckily our house is right next to the cemetery and I cans see the Chapels everyday.

Today was the formal launch of Stroud Preservation Trust’s taking on a 7 year lease of this building, the former Chapels of Rest in Stroud Cemetery. It has taken several years to organise just the lease. Our intention is to devise a plan to remedy the physical problems of the building, raise money to pay for the necessary works and to try to find a new use or purpose for it which suits the local community. None of this will be easy, but the gathering today was our pitch to the community that the work starts now.

The owners of the building are Stroud District Council and to mark the handover the Leader of the Council, Katherine Braun, (on the left) came with the key officer who we’ve been dealing with for many years, Jill Fallows. I managed to find them talking with the Chair of our trust, Camilla Hale (on the right) and took this picture for posterity.

Earlier the Stroud Red Band had marched up the drive through the cemetery with a gathering of the community following them. They played a short set in front of the chapels and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the Band, and in particular the large brass sousaphone, an instrument I’ve always liked since I saw the wonderful Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band playing one in 1967. It is the huge brass instrument on the right.

A choir sang led by Hugh Barton, another of our trustees, before the ‘Ragged and Old Morris’ side danced to the delight of many children.

I started blipping in October 2010 but have always had days off. I know I can’t manage it everyday so posting occasionally suits me. My responses to comments  from fellow blippers who visit is also rather dilatory at times, for which I apologise. I can’t promise any better, but I will keep trying. Thank you for visiting when you can and I must add my thanks to the Community’s members who run the site on our behalf. What a fine job they have done for so many years. Finally I must acknowledge our debt to Joe Tree, whose concept Blipfoto was ’in the beginning’.