 |
| Actor Andrew Ashmore as canal builder John Rennie |
Rennie returns
Kennet & Avon Canal engineer John Rennie will return to the canal to celebrate its 200th Anniversary — thanks to a grant from Wiltshire Council.
The Devizes Area Board gave £646 to the K&A Canal Trust to pay for actor Andrew Ashmore, well know for portraying the great man, to take people on guided walks between Devizes Town Centre and the canal wharf as a lead up to the town's annual lantern parade.
This year the route will take the procession through the town centre and to the wharf where there will be illuminated boats. Father Christmas will join the parade and lead it back to Devizes Market Place where he will turn on the Christmas lights.
Last year there were more than 600 lanterns in the parade — and this year there are expected to be many more.
Full details of the event will follow — but you can get a flavour of the lantern parade by going to: Movie of Devizes lantern parade 2009
With the K & A Trust in financial straits it's hard to see how theyjustify this expenditure, or indeed how the local authority can given the state of their finances. Surely a member of the K & A Trust could dress up as Rennie and do the job for nothing!
ReplyDeleteI agree: a K&AT member dressed up and showing people around for free would probably suffice but given the significance of the occasion (200 years is a long time, after all), I think a professional approach is the best one given the Trust's current circumstances. I suspect the visionaries of 1810 wouldn't have had it any other way.
ReplyDelete