Mary Anning Rocks!

[Crackington]

Yes that's a great t-shirt isn't it @Libraraptor? I got it too and the Sex Pistols one, "Never mind the Belemnites...".

The campaign is still selling them and other cool designs, plus prints and bags etc: https://maryanningrocks.teemill.com/

We've booked up our accommodation to come down to Lyme Regis for the statue unveiling on 21st May. Hopefully things will be a better COVID wise, so hope to see any other Forum-ites able to make it there. It' should be a great and historic day out.

[Libraraptor]

How I wish I could be there!

[Crackington]

Sorry you won't be able to come @Libraraptor , I'll be sure to take a lot of snaps and post them on here.

I am wondering who'll unveil the statue, the campaign has some high profile supporters, like David Attenborough. However, I hope it's a female who does it, perhaps Prof Alice Roberts who's also supported the campaign?

That said, young Evie might be the best person to have the honour as she started the whole thing off in the first place....

[Crackington]

I received an update from the campaign today and they have confirmed Saturday 21 May for the unveiling of the statue, at 2pm.

They have asked people interested in going to let them know at an Eventbrite webpage, so they can estimate numbers for safety. People who've signed up to support the campaign should get this in the regular messages, but if not and interested in going, it would best to contact them: https://www.maryanningrocks.co.uk/

They also confirmed that Prof Alice Roberts will unveil the statue, I guessed right!

[Crackington]

There's a week to go until the unveiling of the statue and it looks to be an exciting event with Prof Alice Roberts doing the honours.

The campaign also sent a video link of the casting of the statue which took place at Easter:

https://youtu.be/leeLJ4iH5gE

The event is being held in Lyme Regis on Saturday 21 May and the event is starting at 2pm. Not sure if any Forumites are attending but the Crackingtons will be there, so feel free to PM me if you'd like to meet up.

Here's some more details:

https://indorset.com/events/unveiling-the-mary-annings-statue/

I'll take some pics and add them here to this thread in any case.

It's going to be a great historic event!

[Crackington]

Hi everyone, we had a very busy weekend visiting Lyme Regis for the statue unveiling, trying to find a pub to watch my team Sunderland play in the football playoff final after and then visit my elderly parents in Devon, the next county on to Dorset where Lyme Regis is found. We had some illness to contend with too, hence the late posting of the event (apologies!).

Thankfully, everyone's ok and Sunderland won so great weekend in the end, but I hope you all want to hear how it went in Lyme.

It was a great historic event and there was a crowd of several hundred there to hear the speeches and see the unveiling:





Mary Anning Rocks is a small campaign group, albeit with some high profile supporters, so it was perhaps to be expected that there were some glitches with
the event. Unfortunately, it was hard where we were to hear all the speeches. That said, we could hear very clearly an actress playing Mary who excellently summarised what the campaign was all about, as well as asking where her birthday cake was and that she was in good shape for a 223 year old!

We could also hear Prof Alice Roberts who then unveiled the statue.

The big crowd meant that we came back later to properly see it and what a beautiful statue it is:



It's also in a great position with Mary striding purposefully to the Black Venn formation on the beaches where she found her major discoveries.

You'll notice the flowers already placed in her basket and there's a lot of love for the statue down there. The statue base also has some incredible details including an icthyosaur fossil, plesiosaur paddle, fossil fish and of course ammonites:



On the way back to our car we then serendipitously ran into a well dressed couple in Mary Anning Rocks t-shirts who noticing our shirts asked if we enjoyed the day. It was Denise Dutton the Sculptress!

Mrs Crackington spoke for all of us when she said it was a magical day and that the sculpture is extraordinar. Mary's skirt seems to flow in the wind and Tray her dog looks alive trotting loyally next to her. I think it's the most beautiful sculpture I've ever seen, both for what it represents (which my daughters appreciate) and it's exquisite delivery:




Thanks to Anya and young Evie Swires for starting this campaign and to everyone who contributed and got involved. If you're ever in Lyme, please go and see it, you won't be disappointed!

[Dusty Wren]

Mrs. Crackington was right; the sculpture is extraordinary. The sculptor(s) did an amazing job, and it looks like a moment frozen in time. What a wonderful tribute! Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

[ceratopsian]

Thanks for the report. It's so good that the campaign has come to fruition.

[Libraraptor]

Incredible! It is great that at last this campaign can harvest the fruit of its work! I am proud to wear the T-Shirt at work, at home - if it´s clean, I wear it

What a beautiful, stunning sculpt. It shines a light on Mary Anning´s personality, both strong and fragile in a hopelessly male dominated society.

What a powerful statement, what an enrichment for the whole area!

[Halichoeres]

Fantastic! What a treat to be able to see the unveiling. Thanks for sharing your photos!

[Faelrin]

What a beautiful statue, and a great way to remember her and her amazing contributions for paleontology. Thanks for sharing, and the fossil details are great too.

[Crackington]

You are all welcome and thanks to everyone here for supporting the campaign.

They've released a nice short video of the day which shows a bit of a pre-event before they went to the unveiling and then some footage at the statue. This includes a head on view of the unveiling. What an amazing day!

https://youtu.be/tmzgWyySKmw

Mary Anning Rocks will continue to look after the statue and to educate local children about her legacy and Lyme Regis importance for science. You can still support them, though I'm not sure how long they'll keep selling their cool t-shirts:

https://maryanningrocks.teemill.com/