Octavia Hill

Yesterday I launched myself into Wisbech society with a visit to Octavia Hill’s birthplace.
Interesting experience.

I went along because the local paper had an article indicating a piece of technology for automated crop production was going to be demonstrated. When I arrived at the building the only poster outside was for a display of motor sport, and the door was locked. As I turned away one of the volunteers called after me and invited me in, she was a lovely warm and welcoming woman, but she didn’t know anything about the demonstration. I wandered in and started to read the posters around the wall, and chat to the people selling books! Not what I expected, but I did buy a book about a secret princess buried in Wisbech.
I picked up a pamphlet about the cemetery opposite my house and asked the man sitting next to it if he was selling them, I would have bought one. He told me he wrote the pamphlet but was no longer selling them as it wasn’t worth his while having a re-print. He then said he owned the cemetery and started a lengthy complaint about people who were publishing cemetery notes online. He certainly seemed to feel it was necessary to own everything, even the names of the dead. I was pleased the names of the Karridale cemetery occupants were in the public domain when I was researching for the ANZAC screen.
The technology talk reminded me of the 1970s when I was presenting the IBM Paperless Office to the chartered secretaries, what larks!
I ate a huge piece of coffee cake and drank a large cup of coffee in the afternoon, a real break with routine. The cake was good, but it destroyed my appetite for my evening meal and so it was probably not the most nutritionally balanced day.
Met an interesting man whose son lives very close to Low Side. He’s in Outwell and I’m in Upwell, which is a little confusing because Outwell is possibly a better area than Upwell.
Reading a little more about Octavia Hill she maybe wasn’t quite as benevolent as it appears at first sight. Reports of her actions are mixed, and some people would probably judge her to be a typical lady bountiful, others might have found her intolerance of weakness rather unkind, but she certainly had some innovative ideas.
The Octavia Hill day was like the curate’s egg, good in parts!