Hungerford Arcade was very proud to welcome back the Vintage Military Vehicles for the start of their “Remembering D-Day 1944 Tour”.  We last saw them in November 2020 when they were outside here at the Arcade raising money for the Royal British Legion.

This morning the owner/drivers started off with a hearty English breakfast in Alexander’s Tea Room, upstairs in the Arcade, which opened especially for them, before setting off along the A4 to Savernake Forest visiting the many bunkers and ammunition pits dotted around the forest.

Next it is onto Marlborough High Street for a parade through the town and a well earned cup of tea.

Their final destination is Chiseldon.  Chiseldon Army Camp was opened in 1914 and closed in 1962. During both World Wars it was heavily used as a training base for troops. A World War I soldier, Arthur Bullock, recorded overcrowding and appalling conditions, including, in the canteen, having to re-use tables and plates from a previous sitting, on which lay ‘bones and chewed bits of gristle’. He also recalls being kept awake by a St. Bernard dog, ‘the mascot of the camp’.  In World War II the camp was a major base for US Army troops.

GMC Tipper                                                              Paul with his Dodge Command Vehicle

Andy with his Willys Jeep                                                             Gary’s rare Bedford Tanker

June;s Beloved Land Rover                                             Liams Dodge Weapons Carrier

Have a great day, Gary (the organiser – in green top), June (Gary’s wife and chief Mascot!) Liam, Paul, Andy, Aiden and the honourable gentleman in the beige waistcoat.  Thank you for everything you do for the Armed Forces Memorial Days.

Hungerford Arcade has been especially pleased to see our old friends since re-opening. It is so wonderful to see familiar faces and catch up with what they’ve been doing during the months of lockdown.

We were delighted to welcome back Peter and Sharon Allen, who came from Brighton on a day trip to see us.  They are regular visitors and had stored up a lot of supressed retail therapy as they left with boxes of items from a dozen different dealers!

Peter is a military historian and retired member of the Royal Naval Reserve.  He has a particular interest in the Royal Naval Divisions of the First World War. His website, https://friends-of-the-royal-naval-divisions-in-ww1.co.uk has interesting information about the items in his extensive collection of memorabilia.  He is a great raconteur who researches his finds and has a wealth of fascinating stories to tell.

We look forward to seeing them again soon.

Snuff is a smokeless tobacco made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves.  It is inhaled or “snuffed” into the nasal cavity, delivering a swift hit of nicotine and a lasting flavoured scent (especially if flavouring has been blended with the tobacco). Traditionally, it is sniffed or inhaled lightly after a pinch of snuff is either placed onto the back surface of the hand, held pinched between thumb and index finger, or held by a specially made “snuffing” device.

Snuff originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century. Traditional snuff production consists of a lengthy, multi-step process, in tobacco snuff mills. The selected tobacco leaves are first subject to special tobacco curing or fermentation processes, where they will later provide the individual characteristics and flavour for each type of snuff blend.  Snuff is usually scented or flavoured, with many blends of snuff requiring months to years of special storage to reach the required maturity. Typical traditional flavours are varieties of blended tobacco leaves considered original “fine snuff” without any addition of scents or essences. Varieties of spice, piquant, fruit, floral, and mentholated (also called “medicated”) soon followed, either pure or in blends. Each snuff manufacturer usually has a variety of unique recipes and blends, as well as special recipes for individual customers.

Then, of course you had to have a snuff box to keep it fresh. Snuff boxes are made in pocket sizes – holding a few grammes for immediate consumption – and as larger, table boxes. 

The Miser’s Snuff Box – Unit 125

This snuff box is made of brass with a fruitwood base.  It is Scottish and dates from c1840-1860.  The top brass plate with figure of eight opening swivels to correspond with the lower brass plate.  This type of snuff box is often described as a miser’s snuff box as the figure of eight opening only allows one to take a very small pinch of snuff. 

Hungerford Arcade owners, Hazel and Adrian, managers, Rita, Wendy and Richard, all staff and stallholders wish Prince Louis a very Happy Third Birthday.  The beautiful photograph below was taken by his mother. The Duchess of Cambridge this morning and released by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Happy Birthday Prince Louis!

Hungerford Arcade has the St. George flag flying high outside in celebration of St. George’s Day.

http://gallerix.ru

The earliest documented mention of St George in England comes from the Venerable Bede. His feast day is also mentioned in the Durham Collectar, a 9th-century liturgical work. The will of Alfred the Great is said to refer to the saint, in a reference to the church of Fordington, Dorset.  Early (c. 10th century) dedications of churches to St George are noted in England, for example at Fordington, Dorset, at Thetford, Southwark, and Doncaster.

St George rose to high popularity as a warrior saint during the time of the Crusades, but he had no special identity as a patron saint of England during the High Middle Ages. The saint most closely associated with England until the 14th century was Edward the Confessor.

In 1348, Edward III gave St George a special position as a patron saint of the Order of the Garter in thanks for his intervention at the Battle of Crécy.

From that time, his banner was used with increasing prominence alongside the Royal Banner and became a fixed element in the hoist of the Royal Standard.

St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle was built by Edward IV and Henry VII in honour of the order. The badge of the Order shows Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon. Froissart observed the English invoking St. George as a battle cry on several occasions during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453). Certain English soldiers displayed the pennon of St George.

St George’s Day was elevated to a “double major feast” in the declarations of the Province of Canterbury in 1415 and the Province of York in 1421.

Happy St. George’s Day everyone!

Hello Again

I collect Buddhas which I would imagine is a pastime that I share with many others (or maybe not).

What do you call a person who collects Buddhas?

I would imagine that you would be called a person who collects Buddhas.

Yet, I have never paid for a Buddha as I consider it bad luck to purchase your own Buddha and ask Caron or whosoever I am with to purchase them for me (even though I reimburse them later on).

This silly luck thing stems back to the 1970s when I picked a rather jolly stone Buddha up in Hanwell in West London.  It was as I was running up stairs to catch the train that the stone Buddha (it was destined for the garden) unbalanced me and I fell up the stairs cutting my forehead open.

I missed the train and was forced to walk from Hanwell Railway Station (well worth a visit) to the nearest A&E where after I was cleaned up and given a pain killer, was told that I would not need stitches as head wounds are often bloody, but are normally pretty simply treated (there were no concussion protocols in those days).  My mother made a fuss and the Buddha was placed in the garden with very little ceremony.

If my memory serves me, I went to Chelsea that evening to see a game and suffered no ill effects apart from a dull headache and looking like I had come second in a fight.

But I was hooked and have collected Buddhas ever since (it could be worse I might have become a trainspotter).

Now as most of you know, there are different types of Buddhas some are quite upright and stiff whereas others are seriously obese and round.  I should know the differences, but sadly, I probably know more about nuclear fusion than Buddhism.  It is just that Buddhas make me happy and calm me down (I often used to think of Buddhas when I was  being trampled flat in pre-lockdown London – gosh how I miss it).

Buddhism is not a religion I follow and I would prefer to be in awe of its mysteries rather than research it to death as I have done with other religions.  Caron once said to me that ignorance is bliss and I think I agree with her as Buddhas just bring me an inner peace (well apart from the Hanwell Railway Station incident).

When I was visiting a dear friend a few years ago, he pointed to the stream that ran through his garden.  It was a pleasant yet ordinary fast flowing stream, but then he showed me what he called his water feature which impressed me greatly.

He had collected about twenty Buddhas of differing shapes and sizes (mostly made from stone and resins) and had positioned them along the banks and shallows of the stream.

The idea was glorious in its simplicity and I was blown away.  I tried to replicate it in my garden in Maidenhead, but alas, we had no stream so I added a pond and a few Buddhas which was a bad idea as the local cats kept knocking them in.

But what has this to do with the arcade you might ask?

Well at certain times of the year, the Arcade is a good place to find all kinds of Buddhas. 

There are usually some to be found in the garden section to the rear of the Arcade itself and are rather nice.

Caron has purchased the odd Buddha for me from the Arcade, being the lovely person she is.

She also found my first Deal Buddha which sits peacefully opposite me as I write.  I tend to keep my Buddhas in all my rooms (apart from the loo) so they can look after me.

However of late, both Wildchild, Damien and Sassy Lil have taken an interest in Buddhas.

This in short means that I can purchase Buddhas again without the fear of falling over in railway stations as they are not for me.  It is a form of Nirvana I suppose, but do not let me complicate things.

All I can say is the next time you are passing the arcade do pop in.

There might be a Buddha just waiting for you.

Peace Love and Happy Hunting.

Stuart Miller-Osborne

Hungerford Arcade owners, Hazel Browne and Adrian Gilmour, Managers, Rita, Wendy and Richard, all staff and stallholders wish Her Majesty  Queen Elizabeth II a very Happy Birthday.

God Save The Queen

Hungerford Arcade co-owners, Hazel Browne and Adrian Gilmour, managers, Rita Kibble, Wendy Spare, Richard Brockwell, staff and stallholders send our sincere condolences to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her family on the very sad passing this morning of her husband of 74 years, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh.  He was the foundation stone of the modern Royal family we, the Commonwealth and countries around the world know and love today.

Hazel remembers the day when Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip on 20th November 1947.  It was a breath of fresh air after the dark days of the war.  There was great excitement and a sense of optimism in the country.

I watched some television today, dedicated to the incredible life of the Duke of Edinburgh.  He was a very special man and a very modest man who did very much to empower young people.  The hugely popular Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme which he started in 1956 helped tens of thousands of young people over the years.  He was also very much involved in saving wildlife and conservation long before it was fashionable and widely talked about.  The Duke of Edinburgh was a very modern thinker and from the early days of technology, right up to the present day, kept the Royal household in step with each new development ensuring they were very much in the 21st century.

Prince_Phillip_looking_at_City_Hall,_November_2008.jpg: Flickr user Steve Punterderivative work: Andibrunt, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Attribution

RIP

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh

10th June 1921 – 9th April 2021

Hungerford Arcade is buzzing with stallholder activity as they get their units ready for  Monday the 12th April grand reopening.  At last, it looks like there is a light at the end of the tunnel after two long lockdowns.  We are all hoping that this will be a new beginning for all of us to get back on our feet and start trading again without interruption.

We are looking forward very much to welcoming our customers back and the many new ones who have made enquiries whilst we have been in lockdown.

James, Cheryl, Sally and Izzy, Alexanders Tea Room have been very busy reburshing the outside garden area.  As you will see from the photographs, it looks fantastic.  There is also a cycle rack where you can park your bicycles in safety (see the separate blog for Alexanders by clicking here).

Here you can see Adrian and James showing off the new bicycle rack.

This is just a tiny selection of some of our units.  Look out for other photographs over the coming days.

Hungerford Arcade is very proud of Alexander’s Tea Room and what they have achieved during this latest lockdown.  

REOPENING INFORMATION

We are looking forward to sharing with you some new arrivals including milkshakes, ice creams, flatbread pizzas plus new gluten free options.  Until then, we very much look forward to seeing you again from the 12th of April onwards, please view photos below of our new courtyard dining area.

Click here to visit Alexander’s website

With thanks 

Team Alexanders – James, Cheryl, Sally & Izzy