Hugh Gibbons
is the creator and
Co-ordinator
of Thanksgiving Field
Contact
hughgibbons@just1.org.uk
Tel 01344 451847
Skype hugh.gibbons4
75 Qualitas
Roman Hill
Bracknell RG12 7QG
Berkshire
UK
The project has
all the advantages of
no committee,
no budget,
no mission statement,
and no lack of
imagination!
Helping on
these pages is
Doug the Digger,
representing
the Spirit of
Curiosity!
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THANKSGIVING FIELD is what
Americans might call a left-field idea - one
that's different, surprising, unexpected.
IT'S BEEN MADE POSSIBLE BY
THE SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY of Jeff Thomas
and the Tally Ho Farm team - just behind the
barn on a short walk from the busy equine centre
shop.
THE FIELD IS NOT ANOTHER WAR
MEMORIAL - definitely no Cenotaph,
Gettysburg, or Menin Gate. If anything, it
references the peaceful Appomattox Court House -
where the US Civil War got signed off - and the
film The Best Years of Our Lives rather than
Memphis Belle. Celts might call it a Thin Place.
So it's a What Happened Long After War Memorial.
NOR IS THERE MUCH TO SEE
- a few square metres of grazing land behind the
barn kindly given and fenced off by Tally Ho
Farm. There'll be simple seats, a couple
of apple trees, an interpretive panel with
information, and a vista for visitors across a
flat field facing south and the sun. Beneath
their feet will be the time capsule called the
Tally Ho Hoard, to amuse and bemuse
archaeologists in centuries ahead, filled with
little items that speak of our good citizenship.
And there'll be a couple simple plaques to help
visitors think about things in their own life
for which they should be thankful.
BUT IF YOU BRING YOUR
IMAGINATION and park your mind, you should find
things to appreciate - about so many good people
today who help others have happy landings in
their lives. About yourself, too.
THE FIELD DOESN'T doesn't pay
tribute to individuals, or units or battles. You
find on the
Contents page the surprising cast list
of the people 1943-2014 that it treasures - 10
airmen, yes; but those on the home front,
mums, nephews, prisoners of war who helped dig
their captors' families out of rubble,
local government officials, educationists,
clergy, nurserymen, schoolchildren, librarians,
riveters, historians, Rosies, FlyHelp
volunteers, Flak Assistants, curators, and a
mining engineer who put a grudge against the
Nazis to good use.
THE FIELD IS A HANDY PLACE to
to pop and see if you're visiting Tally Ho or
taking in other local sights such as Windsor or
Legoland. And it's something for local
schools to consider in search of something
beyond the curriculum. When you've finished, we
have Friends of the Field to refresh you - the
cafe at Oaktree Nursery in Maidens Green, or The
Winning Post restaurant and hotel in Winkfield
Street.
IT'S A FINE WARM-HEARTED
STORY that'll be shared far and wide. If you'd
like a talk about to a group or association,
please get in touch.
THE OPENING DATE was FRIDAY
13TH JUNE 2014 - or D-Day Plus Seven to those
who aren't thinking outside the box. It was a
happy happening to let us appreciate the
outcomes when luck didn't quite run out for Rich
Lyng and all the crew of #3351Z at the end of
their saga on that Black Thursday.
Hugh Gibbons
Co-ordinator of Thanksgiving Field
CONTACT
hughgibbons@just1.org.uk
75 Qualitas, Roman Hill,
Bracknell,
Berkshire RG12 7QG United
Kingdom
Tel (0)1344 451847
Skype hugh.gibbons4
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WARDENS OF THANKSGIVING FIELD
ON PATROL AT 10.15 AM
ON SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER 2014
UNAWARE OF WHAT WAS
ABOUT TO BE UNEARTHED BELOW
THEIR SHOES
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