17 of our members descended upon Finnegan's Market in Hudson for our annual Dickens Treasure Hunt.
We divided into teams and spent around 2 hours looking for Dickens memorabilia
Among the items spotted were a Sikes head wall plaque
a Two Wellers plate
a statue of Fagin
a statue of Tony Weller
a photo of Sampson Brass (Old Curiosity Shop)
(These wacky plaques have been spotted all over the world and have been in existence since at least the 1980s) The plaque that declares nothing happened on the site in 1897 does not make the place dull, rather it becomes intriguing as to who might have put it up, what might have been their view of the world, what story they might have to tell. Nothing happening is sometimes more interesting than something happening.
7 items were found by our winning team, who were rewarded with the Wellers plate
We had lunch at Clarence and Cripps', a beautiful British Emporium
Their shop is stocked with hard-to-find British treats.
The upstairs dining room has a British decor and offered a wonderful setting for our lunch
We were joined by Charlotte's special friend, our new fellowship mascot, life-size puppet Grip the raven!
We all tried out some traditional British dishes
Tomato soup
Fish and chips
Steak and Kidney pie
Bangers and Mash
Battenberg cake
Many thanks to owners, Nicky and Derrick for helping to make our outing such a success.