Howick Points of Interest, there are many, here are a few!

Howick performing arts center

Walking to Howick Village I often pass the Howick Performing Arts Center and Café.  It has the appearance of an old church and functions as a gathering place for the local community.  Here local art is displayed and sold, classes are taught (I’ll be taking Spanish to prepare for Cantabria in the future), wonderful pastries and coffee are served and performers are brought in to entertain the locals.  The night we moved into our home a San Francisco comedian, Rex Navarette, performed.  We would have loved to have seen him.

Library

We are now members of the Howick Library and will be able to download books as well as obtain the hard bound versions.  There is a small theatre in town with five small cinemas a café offering wine, small meals and desserts that are all allowed to be enjoyed while watching the international films.  Yes, US films are considered international here.  But we will probably watch more European films as the US films are usually too predictable for our tastes.

Also, along the way are homes from the mid-1800s built for the Fencibles.  “The Fencibles (from the word defencible) were army regiments raised in the United Kingdom and in the colonies for defense against the threat of invasion during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars in the late 18th century. Usually temporary units, composed of local volunteers, commanded by Regular Army officers, their role was, as their name suggests, confined to garrison and patrol duties, freeing the regular Army units to perform offensive operations.” (Wiki)  Here the Fencibles were mainly poor Irish farmers who were displaced in Ireland by the British interests.  They were granted a cottage and 2 acres of land.  The land was usually not very good farming land and the land was taken away and given back to the British interests if the Fencible recipient did not occupy the land when he/she was forced to travel away to earn money.  But many prevailed and their homes are still being preserved.

 

It is picturesque here. J

PS I had not idea that the British imported Fencibles into the US during the War of Independence.  I wonder if many of them went to Canada after the war or just changed allegiance.  In New Zealand the British were concerned about the French who held Tahiti and were making headway into settling parts of New Zealand.