special new garden seat arrives at Roman circus centre

On Wednesday (15th June), a special new garden seat was delivered here at the Roman circus centre, all the way from Surrey. The Trust commissioned it and we have now installed it in the front of the circus centre. We bought the seat with donations from Trust staff and volunteers in memory of very dedicated Trust volunteer Maureen, who worked here at the circus centre as part of the renovation team and contributed hugely to the renovation of the building and to the garden, and to the Trust. Maureen enjoyed sitting out at the front of the building in the sun, during the renovation team’s well-deserved breaks. Very sadly, Maureen died in late 2015.

Maureen was a Trust volunteer here at the Roman circus centre since we moved in, in June 2012. She was a long-term member of the Friends of the Colchester Archaeological Trust (FCAT) and she had been a long-serving member of the FCAT committee. Maureen enjoyed going on FCAT excursions and she wrote several reports on the excursions in this blog. She donated several items to the small display which we set up for our WW1 commemorative event in 2014 and also the vintage wooden armchair which forms part of the tableau on the stage in the circus centre cafe. Maureen loved our former NAAFI building, the Roman circus and the circus centre: she was a great friend to the Trust and good friend of everyone who works here.

We have installed the special garden seat at the very front of the circus centre, between our two front doors, and it is inscribed simply ‘Maureen’. When you visit the circus centre and/or the cafe, please enjoy Maureen’s beautiful flowers, in the two flowerbeds at the front of the building, which she created for us all to enjoy – and the new garden seat which, on good days, will be a real sun-trap.

With affectionate memories of and much gratitude to Maureen.

The images show the new garden seat in its place on Wednesday, and Maureen at work and sitting in the sun here at the Roman circus centre in 2014. [Images to follow.]

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