The former High Street, Wisbech, branch of Bonmarche has recently become an exhibition centre and was the venue for an extraordinary unveiling of part of the replica of the Bayeux tapestry.
Mia Hanson has won international acclaim for her work but on Saturday it was an opportunity for the people of her home town of Wisbech to see work in progress.
She described what is now the Wisbech Corn Exchange Trust’s exhibition hall as a “perfectly long venue” where she was able to display almost 16 metres of tapestry, just part of the replica she began in 2016.
“The walls were lined with photos and information about The Corn Exchange, a building situated on the other side of the river in town,” she said.
“As I was snapping a few photos for a post-event write-up, I noticed that William had, by pure chance, been lined up with a very young Mick Jagger. The poster was from The Rolling Stone’s performance at The Corn Exchange in July 1963.
Modern history side by side at Bayeux Tapestry display
“Modern history, side by side with ancient history and two famous men side by side. Pretty neat, I think.”
She felt her presentation “went mainly well” even though she admitted to her audience she was getting over a cold and had hurt her back during a coughing fit.
“During the talk, mistakes were mentioned, ancient and my own,” she said. “I’m grateful to myself for not pretending to be perfect and owning up to making mistakes now and then.
“Why? Because while chatting to a couple of attendees afterwards, looking closely at a ship scene, I spotted a very obvious mistake. This is a scene I finished (although clearly not accurately) several months ago.
“Check out the man with his bum hanging out! Shocking and shameful and I’m off to stand in the naughty corner for leaving him like that.”
Her ambition is to faithfully recreate the tapestry – all 68.38 metres of it.
And although the end is not quite yet in sight, she remembers the task is a marathon and not a spring!
Alongside the embroidery and a Facebook group, Mia is writing Mia’s Bayeux Tapestry Musings about the project. Three have been published so far.
“I have also published three colouring books with hand drawn images from the tapestry and a series of tales and fairy tales with illustrations inspired by the tapestry,” she said. “All my books can be found Amazon.”
Footnote: The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the events surrounding the conquest of England in 1066 by the Duke of Normandy. Crossing the sea in longships, long cavalcades on horseback, shields and coats of mail, fantastic creatures, and battlefields.
“All the details of a great medieval epic unfold before your eyes,” says the Bayeux Museum where it is displayed.
