THE High Steward of this ancient borough is quite correct in his opinion (Call for flower displays to be returned to award-winning Castle Park) – the flower beds in our ancient park are absolutely pitiful and in my opinion they have become worse and worse for many years and quite deliberately so.

Our park was within the manor of my maternal family and all of them have spent many an hour’s walking there.

Personally I would give the old mortuary a wide berth after crossing the bridge and passing by Chopins Mill before going through the bottom gate into the park.

It was a wondrous place for us young ones to play around in.

There was no money to spend then on having a ride on the paddle boats, because the few pence that I had been given had already gone on a Lyons Fruit Pie or a sherbet dip.

My favourite memory of the flowers then was of the enormous sunken bed that stretched the length of the path in front of the bandstand. It used to an absolute treat to see and never cost me a penny.

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Then but a few years back from now it was once again a pleasure for me to spend many happy hours in the park playing on the bandstand on a Sunday afternoon.

During the interval one Sunday I took the time to have a look at the same flower bed and was really taken aback at what I saw.

It was quite nice, but a poor poor shadow of its magnificent past.

There was no Covid-19 then but the flowers were spread out as if they were sick and social distancing.

OK, “front of house” rises to the part for your Roman City. Behind the scenes though, it’s a poor, poor show.

Tony Ashby

Colchester