Window, wall, LEDs and pennants

The arrangement of shapes and shadows, both bold and fragmentary, drew my eye to this window, wall and especially the sphere with LEDs. It was in Hay on Wye and obviously the latter came into its own (along with several others) after the sun had gone down. During the day multicoloured penants (see below) were the town's chief decoration. However, that ball and its LEDs set my mind wondering. Does the increased number of LEDs used for decorative purposes overwhelm any savings made by the obviously energy-saving substitutions of the newer technology for filament lights? Probably not. But it has to be conceded that LEDs now crop up in places and numbers that we wouldn't have thought possible when they first came into use.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Self-portrait in cafe window

Periodically, during the time I've fed my blogs, I've included a self-portrait in an image. These aren't explicit "warts and all" images of me. In the main they are photographs that include my reflection and are usually accidental inclusions that I notice rather than deliberate components of the composition. The example above was taken in Hay on Wye on a very hot and bright day - note the sun hat - and shows me in the mirror-like glazing of a cafe.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Polychrome stonework, Great Malvern Priory

Down the ages the builders of stone churches and houses have used different coloured stone in decorative ways. Banding and chequering is common in Britain as is the marking out of entrances and windows. In the Victorian period architects extended this practice to brickwork, particularly during the period when Venetian Gothic was fashionable. Coloured stonework is a feature of the exterior of Great Malvern Priory in Worcestershire. However, here it results from the great variety of types and colours of local stone, aided by the way the stone changes colour over the years. Many architects and restorers look to match and blend new stonework with the old. At Malvern this isn't the case and the effect is very attractive.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Lavender and lilac are colours

Earlier this year, when the lilac was in blossom, I railed against the white and the dark purple versions that can be seen in some gardens. It seems riduculous that a beautiful plant, that is the source of a particular colour name, should be made to be anything other than that colour. But people are like that - different, they think, is better. My hackles rose again the other day when I came across a cultivar of lavender that is white. It seems to me that every white lavender is a missed opportunity to enjoy the original and best lavender-coloured lavender, like this example in our garden.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Ruardean St George

The church at Ruardean, Gloucestershire, is dedicated to St John the Baptist. So it is quite unusual that the largest and oldest piece of sculpture portrays St George killing the dragon. This can be seen in the tympanum of the mid-C12 Norman doorway sheltered by the south porch. It is in the style of the Herefordshire school of sculpture and comparisons have been made with work at Brinsop, Herefordshire, and western France. The sculptor gave the piece an animated, vigorous feel with its billowing cloak, trampled dragon (very serpent-like) and powerful thrust of the spear.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

A modern stone circle

A henge is, properly, a prehistoric banked earthwork in the shape of a circle or oval. When it is accompanied by standing stones it is more accurately described as a stone circle. Stonehenge is not a typical henge, but such structures - reasonably common in the British Isles - are often referred to as henges.

Part of the landscape gardening of Hellens Manor at Much Marcle includes an oval 21st century "henge" with inscriptions on each of the standing stones. Its purpose is to add interest and size to the available grounds and its location in a meadow beyond the formal gardens adds to the attractiveness of the feature.

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

Dovecote, Hellens Manor, Much Marcle

At first glance this brick and stucco octagonal building rising out of the garden at Hellens Manor, Much Marcle, looks like it must be a gazebo. But no, further examination reveals that it is a dovecote. Also known as a columbarium, dovecotes were designed for the production of doves (pigeons) for the table. Their interiors typically have as many nest holes in the walls as can be squeezed into them, with ladders being used to retrieve the birds, eggs and nestlings. This example is prominently dated with the year of its construction - 1641. The large "W" denotes, Fulke and Margaret Walwyn, the owners of the manor at that time.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

A country house cafe

It's unusual to come across an independent cafe that hasn't made an effort to distinguish itself in some way. Even some chains occasionally try to inject something of the locality into their decor. Having said that, it's remarkable to find a cafe that is quite unlike any other - after all there's only so much you can do with a room or rooms, tables, chairs, pictures etc. However, recently we did find such a place. It is at Hellens Manor, Much Marcle in Herefordshire. Different or what?!

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

Artemis the Huntress - again

Seven and a half years ago I photographed this garden sculpture at Hellens Manor, Herefordshire for the first time. I was attending a wedding in January and came upon it as I ventured outside. What appealed to me then - and did so again recently - was the way lichen had colonized the surface of the figure. It gave what must be quite an aged piece a sense of age that it would not possess had it been regularly cleaned. For more about the sculpture, a second image and a few reflections, have a look at that first photograph here.

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

Ledbury church chancel

There are a number of reasons why church chancels are usually more lavishly constructed and decorated than other parts of the building. They hold the high altar. It is also the place where the clergy and their assistants do their work and it is where the choir usually sits. In the past it was the part of the building that was funded by the church. In contrast, the larger nave was funded by and used by the people of the parish. Chantry chapels sometimes equalled or exceeded the chancel in their ornamentation but more often than not the chancel was, and remains, the most decorative part of the church. That is the case at St Michael and All Angels at Ledbury (above).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

The cathedral masons' workplace

Anyone who has taken an interest in the building of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe will at one time or another have read about how the stonemasons set up their workplace next to the building they were constructing. In some of these structures members of the same family worked for generations on the cathedral. A hint of what this may have been like can be glimpsed at Hereford Cathedral where the stone masons have a timber building and a covered shelter in which they carry out their skilful tasks. One was at work recently as we passed by. The extent of their small compound can be seen in the background of this photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Emperor dragonfly

Until recently I had never seen an emperor dragonfly (Anax imperitor). This is surprising since the British Dragonfly Society describes the species as "Widespread in southern England and southern Wales; increasing its range northwards." In other words common where I have lived for the past three years. However, I know I haven't seen one because it is so big and boldly coloured that I am sure I would have remembered it. The emperor dragonfly belongs to the group known as "hawkers", and I am familiar with the common hawker, a species that we saw annually when we lived in north-west England. The specimen above was flying between some ornamental pools at the front of a country house and I got my image with a longish focal length lens that I had been using for architectural shots.

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

View from the coffee shop window

This photograph gets its pixellated effect from translucent plastic that has been fixed to the window to mimic frosted glass. At the bottom it lets very little of the outside world through and the decreasing size of the "pixels" as you go up the window allows you to see more and more. We often sit at this window in one of the local coffee shops and I take the occasional photograph through it, fascinated by the effects it produces.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Thomas Blake Memorial Garden, Ross on Wye

The Thomas Blake Memorial Garden in Ross on Wye stretches down the hillside from Wye Street to The Ropewalk. It is not a large garden, but a winding path with benches invite the visitor to stop and view the planting. Robert Blake was a prominent benefactor of the town. Among other things he was involved in the provision of running water, provided Reading Rooms and a Free Library, ensured The Prospect belonged to the town for all time and was President of the Ross and Archenfield Benefit Building Society. The garden is maintained by volunteers. When we passed recently we stopped to admire this area of dense planting that was full of flowers.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Knife Angel

The Knife Angel is a sculpture by Clive Knowles made of over 100,000 blades confiscated by the police. Its purpose is to publicise the dangers of knife crime in the community, and to act as a memorial to those who have lost their life, or in other ways have been affected by, knife crime. The Knife Angel is being hosted in different locations across the country. We saw it near the west door in the cathedral close at Hereford.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Church House, Ledbury

One of my favourite photographs of Church Lane, the most picturesque street in Ledbury, is this one taken from the opposite end to that most favoured by photographers. On a recent visit I tried to take a photograph of the imposing timber-framed house that features prominently in that shot. It is called Church House and may well have acquired its name because it housed clergy or due to its proximity to St Michael & All Angels. It was built c.1600 and features close studding rather than the cheaper square studding more favoured in this part of western England.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300