Monday 6th November 2023

 

I was at a 175th Birthday party tonight. Not a phrase that is uttered regularly, and to be truthful the recipient wasn't there of course. 

To be precise I attended the 175th Birthday celebration of Richard Jefferies, held at the museum that hosts his name. Devised by the ever energetic Mike Pringle I was surprised how many people were there to wish this Victorian nature writer all the best. The great and the good were there including the Mayor of Swindon Barbara Parry and the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire Sarah Rose Troughton. Guests of honour came in the guise of Jefferies great granddaughter Lucille Kelleher and unexpectedly his great great grandson Ken (I never found out his other name). Both Lucille and Ken live in Canada but had never met. We knew Lucille was coming as she'd flown over with her husband for the event, however Ken only got in touch with Mike on Sunday to ask if he and his wife could attend as they were across on holiday. So here we have in the image below L-R Ken, his wife, the Lord Lieutenant, Lucille, the mayor and Mike standing in what had been the parlour room in Jefferies day. It made me wonder what the man himself would have thought of these 200 guests crowded into a small farmhouse on the outskirts of Swindon singing Happy Birthday as 175 candles were lit. I'm guessing it was a quieter day all told in 1848.