Christmas in Pembroke

Mayor Pauline and Town Crier Rose with Gracie and the maquette at the Christmas Market

Christmas in Pembroke this year has been a wet and windy affair and it was a great pity that the annual Christmas Market had to be called off after the first day due to stormy weather and exceptionally high winds. The Market was to have been an opportunity to show publicly the maquette of the Henry VII Statue which, although not yet cast, was exhibited on the Pembroke Town Council stand. Luckily, sculptor Harriet Addyman was able to collect him unharmed to take him to the foundry to be cast in bronze ready for his unveiling in January. The statue is part of Pembroke Town Council's regeneration programme and our Society is hosting an event for the occasion. This event will also signal the start of the fundraising campaign for the statue. 

 

The Monkton Priory Church Christmas Tree Festival also took place that weekend, finishing on December 6th. We participated in this as usual but did not win a place (although I thought we made a really good entry this time). The theme was 'I'm Dreaming of ....' Our imaginative tree of fishes and nets was made by Richard Willington and we dreamt of 'feeding the world' by illustrating the parable of the loaves and the fishes. The competition was fierce though so we weren't at all upset at not getting placed!

Our Christmas window this year featured the art work of George Lewis, our Society President. George is a brilliant local artist who has, with wife Jeanne, painted the amazing Pembroke Murals in the Town Hall. Every year also he paints a picture of Pembroke in the snow, usually set in times past, to illustrate the official Christmas card sent out by the Mayor. George has also illustrated our 'Sense of Place' leaflets and recently he and Chairman, Linda, have produced the new Pembroke Town Trail which he illustrated and these too are featured in the display. The window is made available by courtesy of Brown's Fish & Chip Cafe.