Rain, roundabouts, friendly faces and a good pub

Orlagh and I made a trip last week to explore some of the parts of Hertfordshire we are going to be working in on this project and set out on a dark rainy summers day with a car to drive up through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Hoddesdon up to Ware, over to Stevenage then Letchworth up to Ashwell, down to Pirton, Hitchin and back to London. Its an interesting tour through old and new, through medieval market towns, new towns and the original art deco garden city, through many diverse communities. From the UKs first ever roundabout to many other roundabouts large and small.  On the way we stopped by the Youth Connections Skatepark in Stevenage and went into Bowes Lyon House to chat to Suzanne Rider, Anna Pilipow and David Jackson of the Hertfordshire Music Service who gave us a warm welcome and talked about their lives and experiences of living and working in Stevenage and Letchworth.  Our discussions ranged from the famous Black Squirrell to town planning, communities and corsets to what its like to come to live here from abroad and what it was like to grow up in the area.

We headed on to them meet Mark Lee, Grace Houston and the Chells Manor Youth Club. Their enthusiastic welcome was great at the end of a long rainy day and we planned a session to head out and map and explore their area. Then we headed back through Pirton and the friendly Fox pub before a very wet wander back through Hitchin at night and then home.

Alice