Tuesday 22 July 2014
Sunday 20 July 2014
Eventful Saturday - Black Cherry Fair & Brooklands Museum
Frequent weather report checks has become one of my routine habits here in the UK whereby in this summer, days often come with rains and low temperature especially during weekend (yes, only during weekends!).
Nonetheless, I am so blessed to finally have one sunny Saturday on this day of 12th July 2014 thus I decided not to waste it and has planned a visit to the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge (which I missed the chance of visiting last month due to the rain). My morning started early at 7.00am as I need to visit the nearby healthcare centre to get myself registered for the local GP but unfortunately the registration is closed on Saturdays and thus I am forced to return to my apartment for a short rest before heading to my weekend destination.
It is fortunate that I missed the 10.00am train causing a delay to my schedule that I get to discover an annual event in this town – the Black Cherry Fair. Seeing many people heading towards the centre of the town from the train station and most of them standing along the pathway, I was so curious and approached a passer-by to enquire the reason for this sudden excitement in town.
The procession of the fair started from Free Prae Road in remembrance of the past where Henry VI granted the Abbot of Chertsey the right to hold an annual fair back in 1440 and apart from a brief hiatus in the latter part of the twentieth century it’s been held ever since, gaining its name from the cherry harvest. Nowadays it’s organised by the local Rotary Club and there are over 100 stalls at the medieval-style fair as well as a funfair and entertainments. The other major component of the event is the parade of floats and bands, which has a different theme each year to keep it interesting. Since this exciting event is just about to start in 15 minutes time, I am thus tempted to stay back and witness this rare event that has been held in Chertsey traditionally on the second Saturday in July for hundreds of years that is attended by approximately 15000 people from all over the country. I followed the troop and walked to the nearby Abbey field after the procession, and have had a look at their local fun-fair. The only different is that the fun-fair is in the morning while in Malaysia they are mostly at night; and in addition, I seem to be the only Chinese in this crowd.
It was about noon when I continued my journey to Weybridge. With a 1.6km walk from the train station, I finally arrived at the Brookland Museum. By the entrance fee of £11.00 (approximately RM60), I get to visit the Motoring Village, Aircraft & Aviation display and the London Bus Museum. Brooklands Museum is on the site of the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit and houses collections of cars, motorcycles and bicycles, particular from the heyday of the track until it closed in 1939. Nonetheless not to my utmost interest, I left the museum after strolling there for about 2 hours.
Having enough of cars and motors for the day, I gave up another 2.56km walk to the Mercedez-Benz World as I am partially worn-out. Travelling back to Chertsey and took an early shower for the evening and relaxing on the phone ends my day with much joy.
Saturday 19 July 2014
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