Day 4 ~ 99.08.26
BBC Radio Interview On our way to the BBC Midlands Stoke studios, we stopped at the Headless Woman pub for lunch. While I munched on what I considered a curious item for pub fare - a Mini Dim Sum - Robert Selby and my mother questioned the server on the origins of the pub's unusual name. Legend has it that Cromwell's troops, engaged in hunting down Royalists in the Chester area, visited nearby Hockenhull Hall. The Hall was deserted with only the faithful housekeeper in charge. When she wouldn't reveal the location of the family treasure, the troops tortured and beheaded her. Down through the centuries since, she has been seen carrying her head under her arm as she walks the bridle path between Hockenhull Hall and the public house known as the Headless Woman.

Upon reaching Stoke, we ran into a few problems: heavy traffic, one-way streets all going the wrong-way, and an absence of parking space close enough to the studio for my mother to walk the distance. Despite the resulting late arrival for our scheduled live interview, the station personnel were extremely courteous and whisked us up the lift to the main studio where host Barbara Adams was in progress. Barb put on a long musical selection, got us settled and then led us into a 20 minute interview about the Lancaster Memorial and memories of WWII. Barbara's show obviously has a huge listening audience as, from then on, we were constantly approached by people who had heard the show.

At the end of this full and rewarding day a surprise awaited us at the Crown. Keith and Margaret Jones, long-time friends from Shildon, County Durham, had driven down from the Northeast to join us for the Dedication Ceremony. Keith's brother, Alan, had performed with us during some of our musical tours of the Northeast and we had all shared many great times together. We chatted till the wee hours, filling each other in on what had transpired since our last visit.