Another rare find...

We were all convinced that, once the old flooring was removed, there would be no more interesting discoveries to be made. Not so, according to yesterday’s Gloucestershire Echo where, on page 17, you will have seen the headline: “Hidden treasurers exposed by work” – directly under which was a picture of me, sat in the pool, looking for all the world like I’d been stuck down there since 1945 until rescued by the refurbishment. The caption under the photo read: “Rare find: box office manager Paul Scott.” Which is a bit rich, if you think how many hours I spend down this place. I’m not sure which I’d rather be: a ‘hidden treasure’ or a ‘rare find’.

And no, that isn’t the next competition.

But speaking of which, it’s time to reveal that the actual number of bolts involved in connecting the joists and steels will be 652. I’m pleased to say we had a lot of entries – a surprising number of people guessing 672 and 720 for some reason – and that the winner, with a very close guess of 648, is Liz Maisey. A bottle of wine will be delivered in due course.

Aside from that, what’s actually going on in the auditorium? Well, we can report that some of the said 652 bolts have already been used as the joists in the lower section of the new floor (nearest the stage) have all been bolted into place. Parts of the floor have also been laid.

The floor is also down at the rear of the auditorium underneath the steels. In the photograph on the right you can see where the walls of the corridor will be (note the wooden edging), the openings for the doors to the pool and store on either side, and a recess for a radiator.