#25 NEWPORT TRANSPORTER BRIDGE
I had a job in Newport, South Wales back in late 2016. One of the city’s more interesting attractions is the Transporter Bridge, a wonderful, completely mad piece of Edwardian infrastructure (imagine halfway between a cable ferry and a chairoplane). In their gift shop was this little “FONTB” (Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge) badge.
GIFT: NEWPORT SHIELD
My team at work had cottoned on to my love of badges, and as part of my very nice leaving do they gave me this (the Newport crest appears to have been soldered onto a two-flags badge. I wonder what’s underneath…)
#26 UK SUPREME COURT
The symbol of the UK Supreme Court is to my mind one of the loveliest pieces of government graphic design. Note the omega (representing the court of last resort) which also resembles scales (justice), and the floral motif combining the national plants of England (rose), Scotland (thistle), Wales (leek) and Northern Ireland (flax). It’s free to visit, and well worth a peek around if you’re in Westminster.
#27 LOCH NESS
Nessie! Presented against a background of another, ceramic Nessie bought at one of the many gift shops that fringe the loch. Part of a trip round Scotland for New Year 2016/17.
GIFT: CUBA
One of my friends on the Scotland new year trip had just been to Cuba, and gave me this little Cuban flag badge. I’ve never been, though I would like to one day. (I didn’t have anything Cuban in the house to serve as a background, so the backing here is the only thing even tenuously related: RUM.)
#28 CASTELL COCH
The Welsh heritage organisation Cadw have seized on the pin opportunities presented by looking after lots of castles (unlike English Heritage!) and produced pin badges representing each of theirs (you’ll see Conwy and Caernarfon later.) Castell Coch is a deliberate fairytale castle, built by eminent Victorian architect William Burges on the site of a much older fort. It has some of the loveliest interiors in Britain.
#29 BUDAPEST 3
The third (and last, I’d calmed down a bit by this point) Budapest badge. Stuck on an amusing dog that my Hungarian pall Lacc gave me (I met him IRL for the first time on this trip.) I really quite like the deep green going on here.
#30-31 – PRAGUE AND ?ESKÝ KRUMLOV
In Spring 2017 I attended a friend’s wedding in the Old Town Hall of Prague. If you’re at all interested in early modern history, Prague is one of Europe’s best cities, and one of its many many highlights is this 15th century astronomical clock, now the oldest functional one in the world. You can read loads about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_astronomical_clock
As part of the same trip, we visited ?eský Krumlov, a town in southern Bohemia possessing what Simon Winder described as “a castle complex of ineffable charisma”. He’s right, you know.
I didn’t have a specifically Czech backing, so used a Joseph Roth anthology, a gift from my friend Alex.
GIFT: CHARLES BRIDGE
A gift from my friend Lilla, who was also in Prague in 2017. Another of Prague’s many wonders is the 600-year-old Charles Bridge. This badge shows the defensive towers (which saw actual combat during the Swedish occupation in the Thirty Years War) and the rows of baroque saintly statues. I saw this badge in town but went for the astronomical clock instead – glad I have both!
The backing is the cover of The Blonde Hurricane by Jen? Rejt? (another gift from Lilla, who is something of a blonde hurricane herself.)
#32 DOCKLANDS MUSEUM
One of the less well known treasures of London’s East End is the Docklands Museum in Canary Wharf. It’s an absolutely fantastic place, and highly recommended.
This badge is a Roman owl, symbol of the goddess Minerva. I don’t actually dislike the owl, but since buying this I’ve seen it in a number of other museums and realise it’s generic rather than specific to the Docklands.
#33 TAMWORTH CASTLE
My partner used to live not far from Tamworth, which a thousand years ago was home to the kings of Mercia, ruling from their hilltop castle. Now run by the local council, its grounds are a lovely public park, and the castle interiors have been restored to also present Norman, Jacobean and Victorian periods, with many interesting artifacts (including, I recall, a lot of pottery jugs shaped like people, all of whom are really surprised to be jugs).
#34 CROFTON PUMPING STATION
Driving from Bristol to London with a friend, we saw a plume of smoke from a very tall chimney and investigated. It turned out to be Crofton, a pumping station that kept the old Kennet & Avon Canal (which fell derelict with the advent of railways, but has recently been restored by volunteers) full of water. The station was operating an original 1812 Boulton & Watt beam engine, the oldest working one in the world.
This badge is another printed steel one, which shows a number of the canal’s locks.