Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend Me Your Ears.

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Christmas is a family time, so as with my Dancing on the Edge blog from the Isle of Wight a couple of years ago I find myself on yet more unfamiliar territory. We are 255 miles south from Teesside. There will be no cooling towers, steel river or references to the chemical industry in this blog. I am down to see big sister in the hinterland of Cheltenham, but first on the agenda is a trip to the Capital of the Cotswolds - Cirencester. I associate this part of the world with rich Georgians taking the waters and the current day Londoners seeking a chocolate box cottage lifestyle within easy reach of the "office" back in the capital. The M4 is quite close and provides an easy getaway. I am therefore a bit surprised to read of the influence of the Romans on this corner of our little island. I should not be of course - the "cester" or Roman name for a fortress is a bit of a giveaway. It is a steady 15 mile run south of Cheltenham. However, the Romans didn't come that way. Cirencester is about 80 miles west of London and the town sits on a tributary of the River Thames. The interestingly named River Chum opened up the land to what would become the second largest town in Roman Britain - at least in physical size, if not population. Cirencester or Corinium was up there with St Albans and Colchester and it was the capital of the province of Roman Britannia Prima ..... basically First Britain, which stretched from Kent to Cornwall and as high as the line between the Thames and Severn estuaries.

The local stone makes all the towns and villages in this area look attractive and initial viewing suggested Cirencester was no exception. We found a convenient parking place in the Victorian streets that surrounded the old centre and walked back into town. The rain laden skies of the past few days had given way to bright blue this morning and the spire of Holy Trinity Church contrasted well. We made our way towards Sheep Street, where free coffee awaited in Waitrose to those who are canny enough to have "the card". Why doesn't everybody? It wasn't really that busy given the proximity to Christmas, but the local gentry must be converts to online grocery shopping. Why get the Land Rover Discovery out, when you don't need to? Oh yes, you could have a free coffee. It was an eye opener. Shoppers were struggling to find the Caviar aisle. It isn't like that in Lidl, but if it was was it would be cheaper .The local Scout troop were helping shoppers pack. There had clearly been some new recruits to scouting since I was young. It must be very distracting to those intent on trying a decent knot. The store was built on land vacated by the railways. Cirencester's railway history lasted from 1841 until Dr Beeching pulled the plug in 1964. The old sidings and stockyards are now replaced by this upmarket food emporium. We retreated with our cheese and onion sandwich purchase.

Lend me your ears. There were plenty of ears on display in the Market Place. A brass band was playing seasonal tunes in the shadow of 2 boxing hares. The bronze statue by Sophie Ryder was a side show to the surrounding Christmas Market stalls. It was a good old fashioned market - just proper stalls, as opposed to an attempt to create German wooden sheds. The real ale stall took my interest. The local micro brewery was flogging Corinium ale at £3.50 a bottle. The cheese stall was also playing the local card. Huge wheels of Double Gloucester were attractively displayed. The main focal point of the Market Place is the Parish Church of St John the Baptist known in other circles as the Cathedral of the Cotswolds. It is supposed to be one of the largest Parish Churches in the country and certainly in Gloucestershire. The tower is 49 metres high. The master of all it surveys. The vaulted ceilings are a masterpiece and the southern facade is truly impressive. An orchestra was practising a run through of Handel's Messiah when we entered, so hush and quiet tip toes were the order of the day. A plaque on a fine building paid tribute to Daniel George Bingham. He joined the Great Western Railway locally, before going on to become the driving force behind the development of the Dutch railway system. He gifted a library and the Bingham Hall to his birthplace, but is laid to rest in Utrecht. We cut through The Wool Market, where a statue of a bronze ram was rubbing shoulders with a model of a snowman. The shops were decidedly different to the usual high street fayre. Independents rule the roost here and one of the few vacant premises was the national chain of House of Fraser. The Wool Market ended on The Waterloo - a fine address and home to the current library.

My favourite street in town was Black Jack Street. It has a good view back to the Church of St John the Baptist. The Golden Cross pub and restaurant looked like a good place to spend the afternoon. A sign outside offered water for thirsty dogs and beer for thirsty humans. As it said underneath the name above the door, "more than a backstreet pub". We found more ceramic hares hiding down a yard off the street - a relic of previous Mad March Hare trails that had been auctioned off. We had an excellent coffee in another side yard. The Corinium Museum was just at the end of the street, which houses a good collection of Roman relics (including I believe a mosaic with hares). There was no time to visit, because as always football calls. We had a 3 o'clock appointment with some Centurions. Thre was certainly a lot to like about Cirencester.

Cirencester Town Football Club are a community club, but couldn't be further from the community they represent. The current vogue of out of town has seen them reincarnated on the very Eastern edge in a purpose built facility. A large car park and easy road access from the outer ring was very convenient on this occasion for us, but I suspect that a trip by public transport to see your local team might be more of a challenge. The weather had been atrocious in the run up to this weekend and fixtures were falling victim by the hour. However despite the grass verges in the car park being completely waterlogged, all was well inside the Corinium Stadium, as the 4G pitch looked pristine. It isn't any old 4G artificial piece of greenery. This was Tiger Turf. Premier Pro 60 to be exact. FIFA approved, no less!! The sponsorship on the covered terrace behind the goal gave the game away. I suspect when Gloucester City finally get around to moving into their new ground back in the city, they will settle for nothing less. Tiger Turf was surely made for Tigers. There game at the their latest temporary home at Evesham was another victim of the excess water from the sky.

It was £10 on the gate, which is pushing the boat out at this level of football. The Cirencester club clearly have an eye for business. The plastic pitch not only ensures very few postponements, but also allows them to rent out 5 a side pitches during the week and bring more people to use their clubhouse bar and function room. The facilities were first class. A Centurion stands in the corner of the bar to add to the Roman feel. The Other Half always likes to ensure a seat and with cover and with seating on two sides, she was not disappointed. The Tiger Turf Stand behind the goal had covered terracing known as The Shed. In the old days, I could have felt quite at home. A large CTFC flag was draped on the back supports. The visitors from Basingstoke were much in evidence. They attacked the Shed in the first have and the On Tour flags became the dominant force at that end of the ground. Basingstoke Town were relegated the previous season and the current Bet Victor Southern League Division 1 table suggests they are attempting to repeat the feat. Their performance today suggested a far superior team having a minor blip, as they totally dominated their hosts for 45 minutes. A lucky deflection lifted the opener out of the home keeper's grasp and Basingstoke were on their way. The second was a cute chip and there could and should have been more. The On Tour gang in their Santa hats behind the goal did their bit to keep the "Blue Flag Flying High".However, football matches are not over until the fat lady sings. This was a classic game of two halves. As good as Basingstoke were in the initial 45 minutes, they were terrible after the break. The 2-0 lead evaporated in the space of a few minutes. The recent new managerial change at Cirencester had obviously made their mark in the half time chat. 3-2 to the home team. A Basingstoke fan dressed as Father Christmas on another of his shuttle runs to the bar reduced a small child to tears as he passed. It was all going wrong for them. A late flurry of activity failed to produce the equaliser, as caution was thrown to the wind. A Basingstoke player was substituted late on and promptly put his foot straight through the perspex on the side of the dugout. We in the Ministry of Bus Stops are used to acts of mindless vandalism involving perspex, but I have never seen that in a football ground. Kicking water bottles perhaps, but not the side of a dugout. A Basingstoke fan contented himself by doing a spot of decorating near the tea bar - adding their collection of On Tour stickers to the white shutters. We made a speedy exit on the final whistle and headed north to Cheltenham.

Appendix 1

Betvictor Southern League Division 1 (South)

Cirencester Town FC 3 Basingstoke Town 2

Date: Saturday 21st December 2019 @ 1500 Hours

Venue: Corinium Stadium, Kingshill Lane, Cirencester, Gloucestershire. GL7 1HS

Attendance: 191

Scorers : 0-1 Wilson 29 Mins (Basingstoke), 0-2 Herbert 31 Mins (Basingstoke), 1-2 Irving 51 Mins (Cirencester), 2-2 Nelmes 64 Mins (Cirencester), 3-2 Irving 67 Mins (Cirencester)

Cirencester Town : Cclayton, Morris, Tunnicliff, Pook, Nelmes, Wellon, Ouldridge (Freeman), Twynan, Irving, Thompson, Dennis

Basingstoke : Gwe, Saunders, Everiss, Kuhl, Stow, Suckling, Alves (Andrady), Cook, Wilson, Edwards (Rusher), Herbert (Davis)

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Comments

[Rainyb]

Gloucester is a traditional, semi-hard cheese which has been made in Gloucestershire, England, since the 16th century, at one time made only with the milk of the once nearly extinct Gloucester cattle. Wikipedia

[Rainyb]

LOL

[Rainyb]

Are they supposed to be dancing?

[John Miranda]

Cirencester Blog
Or fighting perhaps

[Rainyb]

Thanks for sharing!