Apr 23 2008
Staffed with fishy symbolism
There are strange, repeating, symbols built into the buildings and public places all around Reading. There are 4 scallops and 2 crossed pilgrim staff’s on the gate posts of Palmers park. The Scallops turn up again in the Univerity of Reading’s coat of arms. 
Evidently the shells are thought to be an emblem of pilgramage because pilgrims to Europe would bring back the scallop shells from beaches. The association with Reading is probably because the old Abbey claimed to hold the hand of St James as a holy relic that shell-carrying pilgrims would come to visit. I wonder how St. James hand got to Reading Abbey….
Scallop or i-pod? visit your nana or some dead saints embalmed hand? Such choices open to the modern traveller.
Four miserable looking people surrounding a chap in a crown on a bridge over the river kennet. This same symbol also appears on one of the gate-posts of Palmer’s park, though in not as much full delightful pale-skinned, blonde and blue colouring. Aparantly this is Reading Town’s coat of Arms and the 4 people are probably burgesses… ..and the miserable looking person is Queen Elizabeth (1 or 2 depending on how you feel).
A version of this cluster of people turns up on the symbol for ‘Reading School’ the people have an almost ominous range of sly through snide to surreal expressions. Girl power gone wonkey?
2 of your thoughts on Staffed with fishy symbolism
