The Campden Blog

Town Hall

To all Campden residents

Please feel free to blog about the following account of the 14 September meeting in the Town Hall, or email me at clivecarol@googlemail.com

DOVER’S GAMES – 400TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS IN 2012

It was good to see so many new faces for this stage of the planning process, with ages ranged from – my guesstimate – 18 to 80. I was especially glad that India Sessarago played such a positive part in the discussions. She is Chair of the new Chipping Campden Youth Council, and there were other past and present pupils of CC School at the meeting as well.

The following sent their apologies but will remain involved : Jane Glennie, Sam Wass, Christine and Peter Watkinson, Bob Wilson, Sue Jepson, Charlie Bennett, Chris Jones, Liz Hodges, Betty Stocker, Tim Sexton, Marilyn Cox and Paul Rutter.

I forgot to get a list of attendees, so if there is anyone who was there and would like me to have their details, they can contact me at clivecarol@googlemail.com or on 01386 840 270. The same applies for anyone in the community who has a view about the planning for 2012, especially any person who has a negative point to make. Now is the time to do so.

Graham Greenall was in the Chair and began by outlining the areas for improvement in the Robert Dover’s Games Society’s arrangements for next year’s Games. This year there were over 5,000 people on the Hill alone, and the whole day stretched our arrangements to breaking point. The 2010 and 2011 Games are a chance to improve things before the Big One in 2012.

The advice of both our Police and the 2 visiting Group 4 Securicor experts is that there should be no vehicles at all – except for disabled visitors, emergency services and participating stallholders etc. – in the field immediately next to the arenas which is used for parking at present. Graham said that the Society is exploring alternatives both for park and ride and for parking within walking distance of the Hilltop. Annette France kindly offered increased parking space at CC School ; the Society would need to arrange stewards to look after the parking.

The meeting then moved on to discussing the idea of a week of celebrations in 2012. I gave an update on the suggestions made at last year’s Town Hall meeting, as follows.

• Dover’s Hill The National Trust and the Society remain in discussion about an appropriate way to commemorate the Anniversary on the site itself
• A Parade on a day other than the Friday, from Dover’s Hill down to the Town, for any residents of the 5/6 Cotswold counties who have ever competed in an International Olympics. This is looking like a non starter for two main reasons 1) the gridlock caused by this year’s Games suggests that it would be unreasonable to impose an extra event on the town which would also cause disruption through road closures etc., and 2) so far it has been impossible to find a way of identifying potential participants. But there should still be scope for one or more events with past/present local Olympians. These could be at CC School but be open to other young people too. Local School Heads have already discussed staging a mini Olympics for the area in 2012
• A Street Market in period costume Jill Wilson said that there was increasing interest among CADHS members in a project about how Campden looked in the 17th century. In 1612 itself work began on building the Almshouses as they are today, and the project could look at other linkages between the town then and now. All of this would give depth to the idea from last year’s meeting for a Street Market cum Fair. John Ellis said that the Council supported the idea, which would bring the whole town together to celebrate its past in its present. The Guild movement and its 21st century descendants would have an opportunity to show their part in the continuum of the town’s cultural life. Every business in Campden ought to benefit from the increased visitor numbers that all of this would create.
• Period Music performance(s) Maintaining the idea of linking with our cultural heritage, Micaela Schmitz, who runs the Education Programme for Charlie Bennett’s annual Music Festival in Campden, has offered early music workshops at the 2012 Festival, leading to one or more performances during the 400th Anniversary celebrations. Young local musicians might play alongside professionals. Micaela confirmed that early folk music could be part of this project.
• Shakespearean performances The music approach could work as well with drama. There is evidence that William Shakespeare may have attended the Cotswold Olimpicks, and I shall meet soon with the RSC’s Associate Director who will be running their 2012 programme, to discuss possible collaboration. Workshops with present or past RSC cast members could lead to our youngsters performing some of “The Bard’s Best Bits” during the 400th anniversary celebrations. For setpiece performances we are fortunate that Canon Cook and Annette France have kindly offered St James’s Church and Chipping Campden School as venues. Or the performances could be as a strolling troupe moving around the town during the week.

So much for updates on ideas from 2008. Here are the new suggestions which came out of the meeting on 14 September.

• Vanessa Ryle has the text of a theatrical piece written by Guild members in London before they came to Campden, and wondered if it could be performed in 2012. David Hart had already asked for my comments on the idea and I have read through the text twice. It is an unusual and challenging work with strong themes of idealism. It requires a cast of some 300, plus musicians and dancers. Vanessa will explore possibilities.
• Ben Greenall is ready to work with others to stage a 5 a side football tournament in 2012. By then both the Recreation Ground and Astroturf facilities at CC School should be ready. The meeting thought that Ben’s idea could be expanded to take in other sports for which the Town has active associations. I offered to contact them. We would not be aiming at any historical aspects with this – it would be a celebration of the present through friendly but competitive sport, the essence of the Olympic movement.
• For a Sports Festival within the overall celebrations, indeed for the week in general Ben and others thought that temporary campsite arrangements might be needed, if local landowners agreed.
• Given that entry to the Games themselves in 2012 might have to be by ticket only, there was a suggestion to have Big Screens erected in the Town Centre to relay the event from the Hill.
• Francis Burns suggested that there should be a visit in 2012 to the grave of Robert Dover in Barton on the Heath.
• Bob King’s son works on the BBC’s Horizon Team. He offered to see if the Corporation would like to put together a documentary about getting things together for 2012. The ideal screening time would be between our Games on 1 June 2012 and the London Games beginning in the July. Some footage would have to be shot before then but it would not as such be the kind of “publicity” which concerns some of us in terms of our ability to cope.

The Society already has a Working Group in place : Sue Jepson, Annette France, Chris Jones, Tim Sexton, Michael Haines, Terry Lockwood and Marilyn Cox, as well as Graham and me. One of its contributions so far has been to produce a Risk Analysis and SWOT Analysis, which I can share with anyone who wants to see it. We may need to consult the Group again soon, and I think the time has probably come to get a few other heads together as well, to discuss a couple of the above themes – the historical and the sporting ones.

I reported on the grant funding so far – £500 from the Gloucestershire Rural Community Foundation – and the encouraging dialogue I have had with the Heritage Lottery Fund about possible activities. I read out the criteria for HLF funding, which our plans seem likely to meet.

More of this to come in due course, in the Bulletin and on the Town website, and comments are welcome at any time, as well as any offers of help.

Clive Thompson
Vice Chairman
Robert Dover’s Games Society
15/09/09