Today is another new day and there's a promise of some sunshine. As you may guess from the title "spectacles" I have an opticians practice in the village of Silver End, Essex. So most of what I am going to say starts with My day in the practice. (sorry)
The practice is situated in a fantastic Village nestled between two towns, Witham and Braintree. The Village is the brain child of a Mr Francis Crittal (the man who made metal window frames.) The village is based on the more familiar concept of Bournville, where all who work in the local factory which has now sadly disappeared lived in the village created for its workers.
I am a new comer to the village, having been here only 7 years and although many of the original features have changed, it still retains a certain charm for those who wish to immerse themselves in a bit of history and feel part of a real community.
The local school in the village have a fantastic team of teachers and educators preparing the little people to achieve all that they can be. The school boast its own swimming pool where all our children get two free swimming lessons each week in the summer terms.
My practice sits in a parade of shops known as the co-op shops (for obvious reasons I'm sure), in that parade of shops we have a Boots Chemist then my practice followed by our own village library and nestle behind us is the village hair dressers. These shops were once upon time a large 2 story department store offering goods of all sorts until the fateful and tragic fire that destroyed this amazing building.
Amazing buildings are something that Silver End does very well. opposite our shops stands what is now a large nursing home, in its day it was a large hotel were many people can boast that they had their wedding receptions and enjoyed many a pint in the bar. Today we do still have a building that still is used for its original purpose, the village hall. The village hall is the largest in England, some perhaps say in Europe.
The shops and village hall all look out onto our amazing memorial gardens and children's park, with plenty of fields around us there's always space to just walk and enjoy peace and enjoy the majestic beauty that this green and sceptred Isle has to offer.
Well that's the spectacle I enjoy every day from my large practice windows.
kindest regards and enjoy your day.
(The village pub)
