Salisbury Is Open!

Following the Novichok incidents earlier in the year, Salisbury traders banded together to encourage people to come into the city with a 'Salisbury is Open' campaign. We both really enjoy visiting there, but life's been a little busy of late.
However, yesterday we did manage a trip. As part of the campaign, the Park'n'Ride is completely free at the moment. Usually we'd pay £4 for the pair of us to park the car all day, and travel right into the city centre and back. That's a good deal - but free is even better!
We had a good wander around, mostly just window shopping, some places were opening late [or not at all] because of the Bank Holiday. I treated myself to 3 books for £1 in Barnardo's [I hadn't worn my yellow coat all summer, and was delighted to find a pound coin lurking in the pocket]
The town appears to be fully up and running again - the police cordon round the park was lifted on Friday. There was a Save the Children Fundraiser in the Cathedral Close [tombolas, face-painting, storytelling and kids' crafts] and people setting up an acrobatic display in the Market Square. The Golden Gallopers were turning happily and children loving the ride

Over the weekend there had been an Art Trail - but the rain had left some of the origami paper cranes and guerrilla-knit flowers looking a little bedraggled.
The umbrellas, however, looked splendid

We enjoyed coffee and croissants in Reeves the Bakers.
I was particularly taken with their decor - in the café upstairs, they've used the beaters from defunct industrial sized food mixers to good effect...

After coffee, we strolled along to the Museum. Our annual membership gets us in any time, and includes the 'specials'

This summer they've had an exhibition entitled "Henry Lamb- out of the shadows". No, me neither- but it seems he was friends with the Bloomsbury Group [I know about them - sometimes they met in the blue-plaqued house which is now the location of Rosie's Nursery!] and great mates with Stanley Spencer and Augustus John.
Born[1883] in Australia, he grew up in Manchester, where he did medical training. He ran away to marry Nina Forrest aka Euphemia [then that went wrong and he married again- this time to Pansy Pakenham, daughter of the Earl of Longford] He finished his training at Guys Hospital and went out to France in WW1.
I liked his sketches of the soldiers - he captured the aching posture, the resigned expression of the British Tommy tramping through the rain. When WW2 started, he became an official War artist. 
He painted many unusual portraits - both of famous people, an unknown characters. He lived in Poole, and then near Salisbury. He died in 1960. I must find out some more about him!
The exhibition is well curated, showing the different stages in his life - pre-war, WW1, inter-war, WW2, post-war. Many of the pictures have come from the IWM collection, others from the Manchester City Art Gallery. I shall have to go and spend a week with Steph and Gary sometime and check the rest out!

Then a brief look round the rest of the museum...the embroidered reticule took my fancy, and also the little caps in the dressing up area!

My hair seems to have faded to a shade lighter over the summer!

Here we are sitting on the top floor of the Museum in the beautiful Ceramics Room.

And here's Café Rouge where our belated Anniversary lunch was delicious Moules Mariniére.

Meanwhile "Salisbury Keeps Calm and Carries On"
Please don't let what happened earlier in the year put you off- this is a city well worth visiting!