“The garden looked so lovely when I walked past the other day. The volunteers do a great job. Thank you.”
Thank you Mags for voicing what so many others must think. The Close is a wonderful place to walk when the world seems to be going mad. It helps to remember that this unforgettable sight is more or less unchanged after 800 years of riot, rebellion, civil war, world wars, epidemics and pandemics – and many, many years of peace and prosperity.
In 1220 the people of Salisbury came together to build a new cathedral. In 2020 we find ourselves in unprecedented times where, at the moment, we cannot be together.
BUT…..
…have a look at the stunning programme of events running over the next three days.
There is music, keep fit and yoga, reflection. There are talks. There is a virtual walk (not the same as a real one, but you can always try it for real when the situation allows). There are family games and activities, and even football! There is art. There are peregrines.
History? Sit in on a conversation with Phil Harding on Saturday evening at 7pm. There is a talk on Charles I (all the way from the Chalke Valley History Festival), Saturday at 5pm, and a talk by Frogg Moody afterwards , at 6pm.
There is one on the city of Salisbury through history, by Tom Holland, tonight, at 7pm
Most of the events can be seen on ‘catch up’, so if you have missed some today, or want to watch again, or can’t make some of the advertised times, worry not…..
Maybe best of all, look for Salisbury Museum Volunteer Sue Allenby, giving a talk entitled ‘Elias: a story of the Founding of Salisbury’ at 3pm on Sunday…
..and
The Salisbury Museum presents the Salisbury Hundreds, exploring eight centuries of the Cathedral and the City through Instagram posts @salisburymuseum The series starts on Friday and continues on Saturday and Sunday.
Volunteers are invited to attend Volunteer Coffee Mornings, continuing one of our themes for volunteer talks for the year: celebrating the 800th anniversary of the move of Salisbury Cathedral from Old Sarum to its present site.
Tuesday 24 March
and Wednesday 1 April: Volunteer Coffee Mornings
Times 10.30am-12pm
Volunteer Roger Wadey will be giving a talk entitled ‘Living in 13th Century Salisbury: the lives of ordinary folk’. Roger will examine the lives of ordinary folk at the time of exceptional change in Salisbury, including the lives of peasants, specialist trades and the social landscape and marketplace in which the new city was being built.
We hope you can join us for tea, coffee and cake and to hear this fascinating talk. Both dates are the same event – so just chose one! There is no need to RSVP – please just turn up on the day.
Note from the Volunteer Co-ordinator (Bridget!): I am hoping to find a volunteer that would do a 5-10 minute presentation on an object of their choice at the end of the main talk. If you are interested in doing this please do get in touch.