Sunday and I wake quite early so make drinks to take back to bed and read The Appeal for a while. Eventually I get up and have breakfast with my partner. There is the usual Sunday house tidy to do so I spend a while Hoovering through the house and clearing the kitchen. When it feels that things are straight my partner and I get out and about in the village Heritage Festival. It is fun, mostly. We walk a long way to see the American Army display and then back again to the village centre to see more of the festival. We have walked for a couple of hours and I am beginning to feel uneasy about what constitutes heritage. It is true there is a Tudor group, Morris dancers, Penny Farthings and trades folk . There is a pop up museum of the mining and the sock industries and costumed places to eat. However there is a big military element to this festival, first world war, second world war and Cromwell’s army marching around. There are lots of different zones given over to war and the military.
I watch as a young boy has it explained to him how a hand grenade works and how long the fuse lasts. He also has a go with a handgun and gets taught how to hold to so as to steady his aim. He then gets taught about how a rifle can be adapted to act as a grenade launcher. A small girl gets her photo taken with a tin helmet on and holding a a full size rifle. I’m not sure I am comfortable with this and wonder what unintended, or indeed intended, consequences of this might be.
Tucked away between the first world war camp and the village centre is a quiet display with a static display with no one around, no actors or promoters. People pass by as they go to the more “exciting” displays and events.
It occurs to me that this is a an interesting juxtaposition in terms of heritage and what is seen as positive and celebratory and what is ignored or valued less. Perhaps I am being over analytical or dogmatic but it seems to me that there is a lack of positive, adaptive and creative acknowledgement of the things that make our culture strong, inclusive and reflective of real achievement that is part of my heritage.
Having said that my partner and I go to a tea room and order drinks and a scone. As we sit and refresh ourselves some friends appear and we sit and chat for a while. We agree to contact each other when we return from our break. A pleasant surprise to meet friends socially and to be ale to catch up, almost like the old normal, expect the new normal always contains a COVID review. My partner and I walk home where we shed our footwear from our singing feet and have a drink. I feed the hedgehog and start my evening. I get to drafting the blog and watching Wimbledon while my partner prepares the evening meal. The rest of the evening will see me watching Stranger Things and reading. It is the run down to my birthday and then to going on holiday for a week away. This will entail a lot of life admin and organising. My biggest wish is that this is a holiday where both I and my partner can stay healthy and have a relaxing week. I’m hoping to train well all week till we go.
