“What are you doing this weekend?” It feels like a phrase from a bygone age. An age when weekdays and weekends had a clear distinction. When we wore different clothes and time at home was precious. Now every day is “dress down day” and time at home is all we have. We used to contemplate a weekend filled with trips to galleries, concerts, fine dining, socialising with friends, and getting out and about with the kids (or at least the option to do so, even if the reality was much more mundane). The best we can hope for at the moment is a change of scene from work-station to garden, or computer screen to Netflix.
This weekend was supposed to be our fifth Herts Big Weekend. Thanks to Covid-19 it is going to be a lot smaller than planned. At a time when our rambles in the countryside are reduced to a short stroll around the block; our gallery tours are virtual and our fine dining is cobbling together something vaguely edible from the random items in the fridge (something I challenge even Heston Blumenthal to master!); it is not surprising that our thoughts turn to great weekends of the past and future possibilities.
So today we are taking an unashamed trip down memory lane. We are sharing pictures from years when the Big Weekend was just that - BIG! We are wallowing in the memories of the great attractions which have generously opened their doors to our residents and turned them in to the greatest tourist ambassadors we could ask for.
And we promise you this. Big Weekend will be back – bigger and stronger than ever. When this is over, we will never again take our weekends for granted. We will fill them with culture and friends and fine dining and laughter and, yes, eventually, Netflix and supermarkets and cleaning the loo. And we will celebrate our great industry and its return with a bang with the Biggest Big Weekend ever!
Here's our own album of the team enjoying some Big Weekend moments from the past. Why not have a quick flick through your phone and share some of your Big Weekend memories using the hashtag #HertsBigWeekendMemories
