Column: ‘Tis the season to be… noisy!
Autumn seems to have suddenly turned up its seasonal volume in the county. It seems like it’s been only a fortnight or so since our barbeques and shorts were out, we were worrying about whether our lawns and gardens would survive the blasting heat of the summer elements and nobody in business was available because of school and family holidays. What happened – and what replaced it?!
For me, things really kicked into top gear last weekend. A fortnight after the county hosted a controversy-free the world conker championship in Southwick, not only did the clocks go back (really – in this day and age does anyone truly get caught out?) but also the celebration of Northamptonshire Day took place. Originally instigated on the feast day of Saint Crispin and St Crispinian, the patron saints of cobblers and shoemakers, the 25th of October has been variously celebrated not only for the martyred brothers who both came to particularly grisly ends for their beliefs, but also more latterly to note the county’s industrial and community links to their patronage. This year’s civic service took place at Allhallows Church in Wellingborough and took young people not only as its core subject but also its mechanism for worship. Dozens of young voices carried out many, if not most of the more pivotal roles in front of a large congregation. Hats off to them – it must have been a daunting task for some, and all had clearly worked hard in practice for the event.
For a number of years, the BBC championed Northamptonshire Day locally, devoting whole days of outside broadcasting to it as a variety of businesses, community organisations and characters with strong connections to the county lined up to sing its praises. Rightly so, too. In the last few years though, Northamptonshire Day seemed to slide down the county’s calendar somewhat. This year it was given a big shot in the arm with the day itself falling on a Saturday. With it came the opportunity to centre celebrations in one of the country’s oldest and recently renovated market squares and supported by both unitary halves of the county. It was encouraging, therefore, to witness large numbers of shoppers, passers-by and dedicated visitors coming to see, learn, buy and - in one particular place – pet some of the attractions. Never have I – or has anyone else, I think – seen alpacas on the Market Square. And yet there they were, a small herd, calmly observing those who had come to see and stroke them. It was quite a sight on a site that not so many years ago used to house a modern but short-lived fountain which somewhat embarrassingly had to be removed because of health fears. Walking with alpacas has for some time been the offer from a number of businesses based in the more rural areas of the county. Although the cattle market is long since departed from Victoria Promenade, it was nice to see a little livestock beyond the human kind in and amongst the marquees, traders and community groups all enjoying some Saturday sunshine. If only the Cobblers themselves could have conjured up a home win at Sixfields on St Crispin’s Day it would have been the icing on the cake. Instead, the dastardly visitors from a few junctions down the M1 broke Cobbler hearts as Luton Town found the back of the net one more time than we did – or more correctly, found the back of the net, which we didn’t. But it wasn’t for want of trying!
If last weekend saw an autumnal upturn in pace, it is about to increase again, with Hallowe’en arriving tomorrow night. Countless doors will be called at with a variety of ‘trick or treat’ challenges made. A vast number of chocolates, easy-peelers and assorted other treats will be handed over with whatever degree of enthusiasm. Last year it was a hugely popular event in our village - I look forward to it being the same.With two small dogs barking noisily at the merest hint of anyone coming up the path though, Lois might be able to do a little more of the sweet ‘sampling’ that she’s been doing in the last few days, however surreptitiously.
Beyond Hallowe’en, we still have joyous celebrations of Diwali going on and a few early firework parties have already taken place. A glance at the Discover Northamptonshire website will yield information about the huge number of events celebrating the gunpowder plot – hatched right here in Northamptonshire, and on a different kind of day. Maybe Northamptonshire’s single day, confirmed over the weekend by the leaders of both West and North Northamptonshire Councils as being an annual celebration from now on – should be elevated to the status of Northamptonshire Month instead.
Note to self - pace yourself…