Description

This lists the astonishing variety of events planed to take place in Bristol as part of the GWR 150 Celebrations,, ranging from a special issue of postage stamps by Royal Mail, on22 January, to  a concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andre Previn on 5 November.

Of course, not all went according to plan, and something of a blight was cast on the GWR 150 Celebrations as a whole, by British Rail Engineering announcing the closure of Swindon Works. I was invited to the  visit on 26 July, by HM The Queen  and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to the Brunel Train Shed at Temple Meads, as I had co-curated the touring exhibition “Aspects of Railway Archiedture”,which at that time was on view in the old locomotive shed..I also attended the evening concert by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, however this did not take place as planned in the  Harbour, but in the Colston Hall instead. The weather was fine that evening, but I suppose an adverse weather forecast may have prompted a change of venue.