Friday, May 16, 2008

A MONUMENT TO TANSY?

Brigg's Millennium Green, off Cadney Road/Elwes Street, is a pleasant place to sit and relax. There's even a small wooden boardwalk/jetty alongside the Old River Ancholme.
It's probably true to say the area is unknown to many Brigg residents.
If you are one of them, approach (on foot) from the gate which leads off the Angel car park.
Personally I think the Green 'managers' face a difficult dilemma. Would cutting things back, and tidying everything up, actually make the facility less green/environmentally friendly?
To me, as it is now, the Green has the balance just about right: There are some semi-wild(ish) areas, and the grassy part (adjoining Elwes Street) is fine for those who like to see things neat and tidy. Which is probably the majority.
Given the noise 'up above' there seems to be a rookery (or whatever the equivalent is for crows) in the tall trees. And the wilder parts of the Green provide a suitable habitat for many other creatures, including the Lesser Spotted Courting Couple!
There's an old brick wall hidden away, near the clump of trees, which leads me to wonder whether it's all that remains of Sumpter's Farm. That was where Tansy, the great Brigg character of years ago, used to spend much of his time, emerging with his battered old pram and his coat tied at the waist with twine.
If this assumption is correct, the wall, in its way, might be seen as a memorial to Tansy. Anyone got a spare plaque?

1 comment:

Jo said...

I was born and went to school in Brigg but no longer live in the area. I had forgotten all about Tansy until I read this. It's many years since I sat by the river in this spot.