Kingfisher sculpture in Cirencester as part of new arts trail wiltsglosstandard.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wiltsglosstandard.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
‘Then, when I was looking round the church, someone showed me this stained-glass John the Baptist window, where he’s holding a lamb. And so, I thought the idea of him holding the Lamb of God out over the town, and looking down on them at the same time, could be quite impressive.’
Impressive, yes, and also hugely appropriate, with Cirencester’s importance as a wool town.
Then, as serendipity would have it, we need to decamp from the church as Midday Prayer begins, and go to the nearby Fleece. On the short walk, I consider Rodney’s depiction of John, and have to agree; the symbolism of the humility of John offering up the Lamb of God to the people of Cirencester, and the important link with the town’s wool trade, gives the sculpture added resonance.
National Yorkshire Pudding Day was not marked with a competition due to the current lockdown regulations and ongoing pandemic. For the last three years some of the Cotswolds finest chefs and dining venues have done battle on the nationally celebrated day, which is the first Sunday in February. Last year saw Mark Lindesay of The Golden Cross Inn, Cirencester, crowned King of the Batter. Judges included Countess Bathurst, Standard reporter Sam Krayem-Wood, 2019 winner Rob Groves of the Relish Group and chef Ethan Rodgers, formerly of Lucky Onion. Mark, not a chef himself, is the landlord of the Arkells Brewery pub on Black Jack Street and makes his own puddings for the pub service to an old family recipe that he does not even share with his chefs.