What a satisfying week!
Wednesday saw the formal unveiling of the Blue Plaque to Edwin Budding. It had all started a couple of years ago when Trish and I decided to mark the 25th Anniversary of Service Dealer by commissioning a Blue Plaque to commemorate the extraordinary vision and achievement of Edwin Budding, the inventor of the lawnmower.
The plaque was presented to Stroud Council who decided that the most appropriate location was the wall of the Stroud Brewery which stands on the site of Budding’s original workshop at Phoenix Iron Works.
Greg Pilley had started the organic craft brewery in 2006 by acknowledging the location and history by brewing his first beer, Budding Ale.
So there was plenty of foaming beer to accompany the ceremony on Wednesday evening when we had the pleasure of welcoming David Withers, President of Ransomes Jacobsen whose association with Budding dates back to 1832, to formally unveil the plaque.
He was accompanied by David Hagg, chief executive of Stroud District Council. The event was covered live in the Drivetime programme of BBC Radio Gloucestershire and by the local and regional press.
A full account and pictures are in the news section of this Newsletter.
Finally. I received some initial copies of my book, The Budding Legacy, which will be published and available from Amazon in May. The book pictorially charts the evolution of lawnmowers since Budding’s original eureka moment .
And so I had the undeniable pleasure of doing a book signing - in a brewery with a Budding Ale by my side. Pinch me!
