When I was 16, I was (briefly) a doorman at the Winter Gardens in Morecambe. The show that summer was the Black and White Minstrel Show and I can remember thinking at the time (before political correctness was fashionable) that this wasn't right! Fortunately as a doorman I was outside the theatre normally (except when I sneeked in to watch another act which played the xylophone on roller scates and was amazing)! The reason why I launched that reminiscence is that if you enter Ashbourne from the west you will see a big sign going across the road (reminiscent of Lark Rise to Candleford) promoting the Green Man and Black's Head!Apparently the Black's Head is a shortening of the Blackamoor's head but it still doesn't look very politically correct to me. Apparently if you look at it closely you will see that it is smiling as you enter Ashbourne, but scowling as you leave, see http://www.ashbourne-town.com/pubs/green.
Today Ashbourne was celebrating being a Fairtrade town (see: http://www.ashbournefairtrade.org.uk). Today they set a new world record for the greatest number of people eating bananas at the same time. 361 people (and a dog) joined together to eat Fairtrade bananas simultaneously in the town.
No it wasn't the banana on the photograph! I always buy Fairtrade bananas, tea and coffee and find the product every bit as good as the non Fairtade ones. That's the longest I've talked about bananas without quoting Groucho Marx "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana" (groan)"
Anyway I love Ashbourne (it's billed as "Gateway to Dovedale"). Ashbourne gingerbread and Patrick and Brooksbank will deserve separate posts. There's a market on Thursdays and Saturdays and I found a farmer's market at that pub (which apparently is on the first Saturday every month. I bought my wife a nice individual lemon meringue pie from the Pudding Room http://www.thepuddingroomderbyshire.co.uk. They also sell Gingerbread Men AND Gingerbread women!
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