Saturday 9 September 2023

Austentacious


This is the largest gathering of Jane Austen nutters I have ever seen in Bath.

It took literally 15 minutes for them to parade over Pulteney Bridge and clog the city centre somewhere around Milsom Street. As spacious as it is, I don't think that the street could have accommodated them all. I took this clip during a standstill. 

I think that Jane Austen would have been as baffled as I am by it all.

34 comments:

  1. Reminds me of The Prisoner events when I worked in the Porthmeirion bookshop....

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    1. Loads of men being chased by a white weather balloon? God, I would hate to live there. My German friend visited and left immediately to drive back to Bath.

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    2. At least that was only during the annual Event! Mind you, somehow you could recognise the number sixers even when they weren't in costume.

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  2. At 11 O'Clock tonight they'll all be walking back again.

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    1. They will be wandering around - sorry, promenading - all weekend.

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    2. Dancing tonight at the Ball. So they might actually disappear for a few hours.

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  3. Now that is real devotion to JA. I hear the JA festival runs for 10 days.

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  4. The English just love to dress up. An old friend once saw a ghost walking in Bath. No matter how I argued there are no such things as ghost she truly believed that it (I think cavalier man) walked down the street in broad daylight.

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  5. Are they short of something to do? Morris Dancing perhaps? No maybe not.

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    1. I knew a Morris dancer once. He was just like you would imagine.

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  6. One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.

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  7. Are they all women, or are there some male Austinites?

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    1. There are many males, and military officers are over-represented. Not a chimney sweep in sight.

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  8. What a wonderful window you have.

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  9. Well, it's not my thing but they aren't hurting anyone and I imagine it is a fun event for them.

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  10. It could be worse. The only groups parading around here lately are neo-Nazis. Would trade them in in a hot second for some batty Austinites.

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  11. I'm with Yael. What a wonderful window. Magical, even.

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  12. Oh, I'd take a bunch of book mad people to the lunatics that gather together in my corner of the world.

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  13. I feel much the same as Ellen D, above

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  14. Whitby Goths is, I suppose, slightly different but still clog the streets.

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    1. But I hear they are younger. I don't know if that makes a difference.

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  15. Haha. I didn't know there was such a festival.
    I - different from you - love Jane Austen's books, but wouldn't parade in those costumes. But let people have their fun - I think they only stop traffic for a while, and you have an interesting view.

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    1. I like them really. I approve of anything which stops the traffic - especially snow.

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  16. Sorry for the late response everyone. I forgot about this post.

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