MARCH TO MAY 2000



MARCH 2000 - PLANTING PROGRAMME

In March 2000 TAG made their third visit from 'TAG HQ' in the Midlands to Marc's Shrine to plant a range of shrubs and plants funded by donation to TAG.

The total cost of these came to almost £500 - back in 2000 that was more than it is today over twenty years later. TAG left the labels on the plants and shrubs so visitors could see what they would look like when they flowered. Some of these photographs were taken in March 2000 when the planted had just been put in.

Some of the photographs below are from March 2000 when the planting took place. Some are from April 2000 when TAG members, Fee, Kevin and Ellie Warner and Mark Rowe returned to do the next stage in their work.

The plants put at Marc's Shrine in March 2000 are ringed in the images.

Left: Kevin Warner in March 2000, planting at Marc's Shrine.










APRIL 2000 - TAG SAVE THE BOLAN TREE WITH A CUSTOM-MADE CALLIPER

Left: Mark Rowe fitting the Memory Board frame before the wooden board could be fitted into the frame.
After consulting Tree surgeons a metal calliper was made to measure and fitted to the Tree. This is a traditional method of saving important trees with lower trunk rot. Once the measurements were taken of the size and shape of metal calliper as they had been in February 2000 a custom-made calliper was commissioned for TAG by Mark Rowe. Because TAG were trying to Save the Bolan Tree they decided to fit a 'wooden skirt' around the steel calliper so that fans could pin their messages to either the Memory Board, or to the wooden slats.

TAG put up a notice explaining why it was detremental to The Bolan's Tree's health to pin it and asked fans to change their previous habit of pinning, screwing and nailing their tributes onto the Bolan Tree itself.

At the same time two other things for the site were also commisioned:

1) The current 'Memory Board' (Message Board) with the letters 'M A R C    B O L A N' and with wrought iron scrolls at the top.

2) A matching frame with wrought iron scrolls to take an extra-large 'Keep Britain Tidy' Poster to be positioned to the left of 'The Bolan Tree' and slightly lower.*

In April 2000 TAG made their forth visit from 'TAG HQ' in the Midlands to Marc's Shrine with Kevin, Fee and Ellie Warner travelling on one vehicle and Mark Rowe bringing the Memory Board, the Keep Britain Tidy poster in it's frame and the all-important steel calliper.

* Regretably, although the neighbours weren't completely happy with the 'Memory Board' they did agree to it remaining. However even though it had been fitted, they insisted we remove the framed 'Keep Britain Tidy' sign in it's wrought-iron scroll-topped frame. There was nothing TAG could do, but to take it back to TAG HQ in the Midlands, where it remains, in storage. TAG thought it would be the perfect reminder for people to keep Marc's Shrine tidy, but they did not share our thoughts.





Above: The calliper fitted. All the tributes which fans had pinned to The Bolan Tree were taken off and then pinned onto the woodern skirt fitted to the calliper.
Below: A passing motorist, one of many who slow right down as they drive along Queen's Ride and pass The Tree waves and smiles as we work.



Below: The Memory Board. These photographs were taken when the board had been at the site a while. Unfortunately we didn't take photographs of it at the time it was installed, other than the one of Mark working on fitting the Memory Board.

     

MAY 2000 - MINDLESS VANDALISM OF FAN TRIBUTES

In May 2000 there was a mindless act of vandalism with messages ripped from the new 'Memory Board' and Bolan Tree. Fortunately the spaces left by the missing tributes were soon filled in by new tributes which would build up on the Memory Board quite quickly over the coming months.






Back to the Main History of Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine