Interview: Dragon Launch Remembered Ten Years On

Published on: 26 Mar, 2022
Updated on: 30 Mar, 2022

Ten year’s ago, launch night in the undercroft of the Angel Hotel

By Martin Giles

Ten year’s ago tonight (March 26) The Guildford Dragon NEWS was officially launched at an event held in the undercroft of the Angel Hotel.

Among the invited guests were Guildford’s MP at the time, Anne Milton, the Mayor of Guildford Terence Patrick and the then Guildford Borough Council leader Tony Rooth.

See also: Funding Will Be Required to Keep the Dragon Roaring

All were invited to a reunion interview to give their recollections and observations about The Dragon. Unfortunately, the connection with Cllr Rooth’s phone failed but we proceeded with Anne and Terence.

See also: The Ten-year-old Dragon Continues to Fly, Watching Guildford

Some things change and some remain the same…

It is worth recalling, briefly, what was going on in 2012. It was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year and she granted Chelmsford city status. Ten years later Guildford is applying again.

There was a political scandal when it was revealed that access to Prime Minister David Cameron was being sold for £250k.

And the price of a 1st class stamp was set to rise from 46p to 50p. They are now to go to 95p.

Locally, the embryonic Local Plan was hardly talked about and there was little perception of the controversial proposals it would contain.

There was an application for Lottery Heritage Fund money for a multi-million revamp of Guildford Museum. A decade later with bids for major funding grants having failed, and the council strapped for cash, the future of the museum remains in doubt.

In 2012 there was scaffolding all over the Guildhall and work to automate the winding of the Guildhall Clock. Today… oh there is scaffolding all over the Guildhall. Perhaps it has a ten-year maintenance cycle?

A new organisation the “Guildford Vision Group” led by John Rigg (what happened to him?) complained that the GBC Masterplan was flawed.

And The Dragon reported eight empty shops in North Street.

Also in March 2012 a meteor was spotted in the sky, often the harbinger of major events. Perhaps the gods noticed the birth of The Dragon even if some in Guildford didn’t!

Next week Hugh Coakley will interview Martin Giles and David Rose during which they  will review the first  Dragon decade.

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