Footprints turns 10 - My time with Footprints by Richard Watkins

Footprints turns 10 – My time with Footprints by Richard Watkins

July 9, 2021 Comments Off

Next in our occasional series of guide reminiscences marking our first 10 years comes from Richard Watkins:

The ten years of Footprints virtually follows my guiding career which began in July 2012 and I have been a Footprints member since then (save for a few years).

In that time, I have built up my walks, and done a variety of tours, including for a hen party. I have also given U3A talks and made some radio and one TV appearance. And now I do virtual tours along with my main guiding on coaches and buses.

Footprints has been a brilliant platform to publish and promote tours, and its great support group of friendly, knowledgeable guides has been so helpful and reassuring. Hats off to the founders for getting it going and everyone involved in keeping it going!

Of my walks, I am most pleased with my 2014 tour, with Steve Pratt, on the burning down of the medieval Houses of Parliament, for which we used images of artwork and did certain stops as news broadcasts from the day with quotes from newspapers. It led to me being interviewed on Radio Berkshire by Anne Diamond about the historic context behind the current Parliamentary buildings’ problems.

However, I had the (not very) great ruse to do the tour on 5 November. It seemed appropriate given that it was the anniversary of the day Guy Fawkes et al had tried to burn down Parliament. However, it had escaped my notice that the “Million Mask March” was going ahead that night.

This protest caused Parliament Square to be cordoned off. There were police vehicles everywhere and protestors trying to disrupt our commentary. Although we got through the cordon we needed to re-route the tour.

Still, it made for a very fitting background to relating the sights and sounds of a massive conflagration and, needless to say, I won’t make that mistake again!