Paterae

A patera in Ancient Greece was a shallow bowl, often with relief carving or painted decoration. In astronomy it is an irregularly shaped, or scalloped crater, usually (but not exclusively) formed by volcanic activity. I didn't know either of these meanings of the word until I came to write the description of this photograph, the subject of which is paterae. To the architectural historian (and me) this word describes a circular, oval or square ornament carved with a central pattern of leaves or petals, and often used to decorate the surface of a wall, dome or other structure. This example is in Hereford Cathedral.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Undercover sports cars

There are two classes of car that I dislike - the 4X4/SUVs and sports cars. Both have such major transport and environmental shortcomings, as well as massive in-built redundancy, that I find it hard to imagine why anyone buys such vehicles. But buy them they do, often motivated, it seems, by reasons that have nothing to do with their suitability as transport. With such views you may wonder why I smiled when I saw this Porsche and the Ferrari hidden under their manufacturer-supplied covers. The fact is I saw those covers as shrouds and imagined both vehicles were imminently bound for that great scrapyard in the sky!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Choir, Tewkesbury Abbey

Photographing the interiors of large churches is often easier in winter than in the lighter months of the year. In summer the light streams in through the south windows and makes the exposure of the darkest and lightest areas difficult. However, in winter the natural light is often supplemented by artificial lighting that is placed to show off the structure to its best advantage. That is the case with Tewkesbury Abbey. Here the lights emphasise the arches, vaulting and the tile work of the floor to great effect, and contribute to the impression of richness that is a feature of most major churches.

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

Wilton Castle

The English counties that border Wales, known collectively as the Welsh Marches, have more castles and remains of castles than any other region of the country. One of the lesser known examples is in Bridstow, on the opposite side of River Wye from the town of Ross on Wye. It was built around 1300, became ruinous and had a house built inside its walls in the 1500s. Further damage in the English Civil War of the seventeenth century made that uninhabitable and what remained was converted into a house two hundred years later in the nineteenth century. This is what we see today, nestling in the ragged walls and towers of the former castle.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Beef

One of the things I recall about my childhood visit to the butcher's shop was a diagram of a cow with the location of the cuts of meat superimposed. To my childhood sensibilities it too explicitly made the connection between the living animal and the meat that would end up on my plate. But, I must have come to terms with it because I never became a vegetarian, though I imagine that was the unintended consequence in more than a few cases. I saw this neon version of the once common diagram in the window of a London steakhouse.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Bethnal Green gasholders

By London's Regent's Canal where it passes through Bethnal Green are two gasholders. The older of the pair is smaller and the larger is the newer one. They were built in 1888 and 1889 by the Imperial Gas Light & Coke Company in connection with the nearby Shoreditch Gasworks. The canal was used as the means by which coal was brought to the gasworks for conversion into gas and the gasholders held a reserve of the inflammable material. Today they are a piece of visually interesting industrial archaeology which the local community would like to see continuing to enliven the the skyscape.


photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Classical churches

When classically inspired churches started to be built in Britain during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries many people saw a glaring incongruity. After all they said, the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations that produced these buildings with their columns, pediments and associated decorative motifs were not Christian but heathen. Gothic architecture with its spires and pointed windows was, they argued, much more authentically Christian, particularly in Northern Europe. However, it didn't take long for the classical to take hold and for many years it held its own against Gothic. The Roman Catholic church, with its origins in Italy, has always favoured the classical style more than the northern churches did. This example in the Greek Doric style is in Hereford. The church of St Fancis Xavier was built in 1839 by the architect Charles Day.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The world's smallest theatre

Nearly twelve years ago I wrote a blog post about the names that we in Britain give to the small room that we visit to get rid of our bodily waste, and why we have such a multitude of appellations. Re-reading that post in preparation for writing this one I noticed that I had missed one of the most common names i.e. public convenience. Today's post shows such a place in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, that has been converted into a tiny theatre named "The Theatre of Small Convenience". The sign fixed to it notes that it was originally a Victorian gentleman's convenience that was converted in 1999. Since that time it has hosted puppet shows, professional and amateur dramatics, poetry readings, storytelling, music, monologues "and even a day of opera". Moreover, it has featured in the Guiness Book of Records as the world's smallest theatre.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100