В Стратфорде открылась уникальная выставка световых столбов, подаренных городами со всего мира

A bright idea which provided Stratford with special lampposts One of the many consolations of the Stratford autumn, winter and early spring evenings are the special lampposts that illuminate Chapel Lane, Waterside, the theatre gardens and Trinity Close, writes Paul Edmondson. These are the result of an enlightened vision, the bright idea of a former Warwickshire County Council lighting engineer, Ken Brodie. In 1986 the council invited the ambassadors of between 20 and 30 countries to contribute a cast-iron lamp post to the streets of Stratford. They started to arrive soon afterwards. Hungary’s contribution was first, bearing the crest of Budapest. Austria was the second country to take up the invitation. Especially impressive is the one from Alcalá in Spain, the birthplace of Shakespeare’s contemporary writer, the great novelist Miguel de Cervantes. Shakespeare read Cervantes’ Don Quixote and co-wrote, with John Fletcher, a play based on it, the now lost Cardenio. Shakespeare and Cervantes both died on the same date, 23rd April 1616. The Spanish lamp post can be found in the RSC’s riverside gardens, near Holy Trinity Church. There are 41 lamp posts in all, 33 of which were donated by British towns and cities. The international ones represent Brugge, Dublin, Spain, Copenhagen, Vienna, Bonn, Jordan and Israel, which has two Shakespearian figures on it from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, designed by a Polish-born architect and sculptor, Frank Meisler. Such a collection of lamp-posts seems to be unique in the world. They demonstrate neighbourliness and international goodwill, and it is worth looking up at them as you pass by. Ken Morgan, associated with the Friends of Stratford’s Heritage Street Lights, has designed an eye-catching trail of them which can be found in the special Stratford Heritage Exhibition in Harvard House in High Street, Thursday-Sunday, 10.30-15.30, until 27th September, run by a dedicated team of volunteers. All are welcome and admission is free. Please tell your friends and neighbours about it. The exhibition has been created by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Stratford Society, based on the research of Jann Tracy.