Statue meeting

Colin Kendall, Eric Woods and Marion Grave with Stan and Ollie. Poor little Laughing Gravy looks on Residents of Ulverston were surprised to see Laurel and Hardy in their town once more on Sunday 28th September. This time the Boys weren't standing on the balcony of the Coronation Hall as they did in 1947, but instead they were standing in the County Square below. In truth the figures were full sized fibre glass statues of the Boys, the ones which were used in the process to cast the bronze statues which are set to be unveiled in the town in April 2009. The Ulverston Regeneration Group had decided to try out the figures and invited sculptor Graham Ibbeson along to cast his artistic eye on proceedings. Des Metcalfe, the architect involved, was keen to secure Graham's view as to the correct setting of the statues. After several repositionings, some chuckling and much discussion we were all agreed upon the best position and the necessary chalk lines were drawn on the pavement. With just a couple more meetings planned, the Regeneration Group is eagerly awaiting the commencement of the civil work in the County Square in January 2009. There are many changes planned to the existing layout in the County Square and they will provide a superb setting for the Boys when they return to Ulverston next year. But this time we will see the finished bronze versions. At the time of writing, we are just £4,191.77 short of our fundraising total of £58,500 required to complete our part of the overall £500,000 town regeneration project. Eric Woods