We all love the flowering boat ‘Jeannette’ at the end of the high street. The Shepperton Village Conservation group does a fantastic job caring for all the planters in the high street as well as the treasured boat. Even during the heat wave, these wonderful volunteers were out there making the village look cared for.
In addition, Shepperton has a “there but not there” soldier, standing guard by the boat, looking towards the war memorial. There is a lot of emotional connection in this little part of Shepperton.
I was both shocked and saddened one day (yes it was the day after the pubs opened) to walk past and see that someone with no thought, care or respect had pulled up the begonias from the boat and either thrown them in the stream or placed them at the foot of the soldier, and a symbol of our current situation, a disposable glove, placed over the end of the soldiers gun. Someone may think this was entertaining, funny, cheeky, but you would be in the minority. Most of us would be appalled at the lack of respect on so many levels.
I was able to save many of the flowers, and another lady picked them out of the stream. The ‘prank’ was an ignorant act of vandalism.