Whilst l have been singing the praises of the floral displays in Bath’s Parade Gardens – seems council cut-backs are going to mean that not all areas of the city centre will be quite so blooming beautiful.
Traders in Northumberland Place – after countless phone calls – have finally been told there isn’t enough money available to give them their normal hanging basket displays.
Seems they will have to provide a bit of floral colour themselves – even if it is only on the cafe tables.
There are mutterings too about bad communication and how they should have been told this officially weeks ago.
While suspended baskets hang almost in clumps in the immediate environs of the Roman Baths and Pump Room – areas like the High Street and Milsom Street are also going to remain almost bereft of summer decoration.
A large board in Parade Gardens displays Bath’s ‘roll of honour’ in previous floral competitions. I even hear – ironically – that they are in the running with their set displays this year.
Now the good news. Came across two Parks Department employees installing new slats on a bench in Sydney Gardens. Seems the Department has been told to spruce up the public seats – many of which are impossible now to sit on. I hear it’s not necessarily money but manpower that will control the rate at which the benches are repaired.
Sad to see a couple of pine trees coming to the end of their lives beside one of the Kennet and Avon canal bridges in Sydney Gardens.
Sure the Trust will be felling them before long. Have to hope there will be a new planting.
Also it was cheering to witness the driver of a London-bound train blow his hooter in response to the little boy in his mum’s arms watching this train speed by at the very spot Brunel designed for park users to enjoy the spectacle of his locomotives passing through.
It’s a view that will surely disappear when Network Rail electrify the line and are forced to install more in the way of a safety barrier.
And finally – on today’s walk through the city – while the banner in Milsom Street proclaims a worthy charitable cause, the event is not happening until September!
Would it not be a nice idea to have a more current banner welcoming our visitors to Bath? It might make up for the lack of flowers!
Akeman Press would be happy to pay for a hanging basket as long as someone can water it. If someone in the Parks Department wants to contact me, we’ll talk to them about it. They can find an email address on our website. We’re a very small business – surely bigger businesses could chip in as well?