Malvern Hills walkers

The Malvern Hills that border the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire offer a relatively gentle stroll with a few steepish climbs to summits that give magnificent views over the surrounding farmland, woods, heaths, villages and towns. Consequently it is not unusual to see a rather higher proportion of older walkers exercising their limbs, hearts and lungs, and taking in the prospects on offer - particularly on a beautiful September day as shown in the photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Peppers graffiti

Over the years I've come to mind graffiti rather less than I did. I still don't like it sprayed clandestinely on someone else's property. Or directly onto bricks or any other permanent surface. But, a nice piece on a painted wall, or a grotty corrugated steel fence, or on a surface provided for just that purpose, well, I find that inoffensive. And I certainly don't mind the owner of a property hiring someone to paint a graffiti style advertisement on their gated entrance to the back of their premises, as is the case at Peppers Cafe in Gloucester.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The Tailor of Taste

The men's clothing retailer, Burton, began life in 1903 when it was established by Montague Burton in Chesterfield. By 1929 it had over 400 stores as well as factories and mills, and was a FTSE 100 company. Today it is a brand name subsumed under the banner of the Arcadia group. The tiled sign that was part of the advertising wrapped around the store in Abergavenny may well date from those heady days in the late 1920s when the company was a familiar high street presence. The lettering is an interesting mix of the flamboyant and the spare and the sign itself was made to last - which it has done, remarkably well.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Old Market, Hereford

The Old Market Hereford is confusingly named. Yes, it was the site of an old market, but it has been completely redeveloped and everything about it shouts "new". Consequently, anyone going along hoping for some traditional atmosphere, history, old-style shops and black and white timber framing, will be disappointed because everywhere is glass, steel, concrete and brick. The owners clearly think the architecture doesn't have sufficient appeal because  a few times a year they change the "mobile" decoration that hangs above the main shopping street. This summer giant flip-flops greeted the visitor.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The Kyneburgh Tower, Gloucester

The Kyneburgh Tower in Kimbrose Square, Gloucester, is a tall (16.2 metres) piece of street sculpture. It is the work of Tom Price and dates from 2011. The piece features 60 horizontal hoop-like elements made of steel and can be viewed from afar and from inside. It isn't to my taste but I did find the view from underneath, looking upwards quite interesting. I was reminded of contour lines on a map. As is the way in England the locals have given it their own name, disregarding the reference to the Saxon princess who is the patron saint of the city: they call it the "kebab".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Purple sage

Sometimes it's hard to put into words why you like a plant: with some however, it's quite easy. I like purple sage for its individual green and purple colours, for the way these work together, and for the shape and, more especially the texture of its leaves. I particularly liked this display at Berrington Hall, Herefordshire, for the healthy, lush growth, something we have never quite achieved with the plant in our garden.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Former Paraclete Chapel, Walford

A morning cycle ride took us past this former Paraclete Chapel near Walford, Herefordshire. It was the private chapel of a country estate and was built in 1905-6 by the noted architect, George Bodley. Today it is the concert hall of a company whose headquarters is located in a local country house. For the passer by the most notable feature is the topiary work in the area where one would expect to see gravestones.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Boats by the River Wye at Chepstow

The River Wye flows into the River Severn at Chepstow. Both of these watercourses are navigable and consequently, until the advent of the railways in the nineteenth century, they carried significant river traffic. Evidence of this can still be seen in Chepstow in the form of warehouses etc. Today all the boats on the River Wye (seen above near its confluence with the Severn) are engaged in pleasure of one form or another. Shortly after taking this photograph we saw two mud-covered canoeists who had travelled down the Wye and scrambled up the tidal mud with their craft - pleasure of sorts I suppose.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Opulent medieval clothing

In July we attended the Tewkesbury Medeval Festival. This is billed as Europe's largest medieval re-enactment and, from the scale of the event, I can well believe that is the case. As well as people dressed in the finery and militaria of the period there were musicians, entertainers, food, and stalls selling everything the would-be medievalist might require. The rich materials shown in the photograph form part of a tunic, one of many for sale. As in the modern world, the clothing was available to meet the needs of the humblest serf and the highest nobility, as well as every class between.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Ledbury streetscape

I recently bought a new mobile phone that features a rather better camera than my previous phone. I've taken a few shots with it, testing its capabilities under varying conditions, and have used it for a couple of images that I'd have been unable to get because I wasn't carrying any of my "real" cameras. This streetscape of Ledbury, Herefordshire, features the well-known seventeenth century Market House. However, it wasn't the building that caught my eye so much as the mottled sky and the bright splash of the red car amongst the generally more subdued colours.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Phone

St Mary, Kempley

The small Norman church of St Mary at Kempley in Gloucestershire lies some way from the village's main cluster of buildings. An early twentieth century church of architectural significance now stands there, and St Mary's has been left in the care of English Heritage and is managed by the Friends of Kempley Church. The structure has the oldest timber roof of any building in England, and the chancel and nave feature some of the best preserved medieval wall paintings in Britain.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Earthenware jars

Today's containers are made in large factories, often shipped to customers in different countries, and betray little of their origins. Not so with vessels of the Victorian period. They often proudly proclaim either their maker's name, the place of their manufacture, the name of the recipient, the place of the recipient's business, or a mixture of some or all of these - as in the examples above photographed in the town of Chepstow, Monmouthshire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10