Blorenge - a rhyme with orange

I remember being told, many years ago, that there is no word in English that rhymes with orange. There were, apparently, half-rhymes such as lozenge, but no full-rhymes. The OED, however, does contain a single full-rhyme word. It is "sporange", an old alternative word with the same meaning as sporangium. So, when I moved to Herefordshire, and we began taking trips into nearby Wales, imagine my delight in coming across a proper noun that rhymes with orange. Near Abergavenny is a high hill called Blorenge. We recently, for the first time, did some walking there and visited its summit (561m, 1841 feet). We will go there again but for now here is the only shot I got that I think qualifies for the blog. It shows the heather moorland and outcropping rock near the summit, with Sugar Loaf in the distance.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Little Egret

During my lifetime (possibly half my lifetime) the little egret has gone from being a bird I never saw in this country to one I see almost daily. Moreover, during that time it has changed from a bird that appeared to shun people to one that is relatively tolerant of them. The bird above was feeding in a small stream behind the Morrisons superstore in Ross on Wye and took off as we approached. It didn't fly far, however, simply settling on the ridge of the store roof from where it gazed down at us imperiously as we passed by.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Foggy churchyard thoughts

It seems to me that the charms of the churchyard are lost on many people. Where some see visual and historic interest, a haven for wildlife, and a place to pause a while, others are reminded of the only certainty in life - death. For that kind of mindset a churchyard often becomes a place to avoid. With a covering of mist or fog a churchyard acquires an air of Gothic mystery - also something to be embraced or shunned. I converted my photograph of St Mary's churchyard, Ross on Wye, to black and white to add a Dickensian or Victorian flavour to the image.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Steel swans, Ross on Wye

This pair of steel swans ("Swans in Flight") by the river at Ross on Wye is the work of the Polish-born sculptor, Walenty Pytel. He came to the UK with his family in 1946 when he was five years old, settled here, and attended Hereford College of Arts. In 1965 he turned to metal sculpture and this has been his main focus ever since. Pytel is particularly known for bird sculptures and has executed many public commissions in his adoptive county including, as well as the above, geese and salmon sculptures at Ross on Wye, birds of prey at Great Malvern and swallows at Ledbury. His more widely known works include the Jubilee Fountain, Westminster and four eagles at Benfica's soccer stadium. I took my photograph on a recent foggy morning, and achieved a bit of flare in the bird silhouettes by including the sun in the shot.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Old shop front lettering

It is not unusual to come across a shop front that still shows evidence of the Victorian or Edwardian period in which it was constructed. Decorative woodwork, engraved glass, pull out canopies and mosaic signs on the ground by the entrance are all relatively common. Less frequently found are ornate brass shop signs engraved with the name of the business. The letter "R" above is an example from this kind of sign in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire. It reads (across the base of each of the two main windows), "T. PRICE." and is as clear as the day it was put in place. Sadly, the original business is no more and today the premises host a restaurant.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Fog, sun and silhouettes, Ross on Wye

There's a lot to be said for photographing in fog, not least the way that type of weather renders familiar scenes unfamiliar. In recent years I've posted quite a few photographs of the spire of Saint Mary's church in Ross. I've also included a few with the crenelated Gazebo Tower (here decorated with birds) and the crowded chimney stacks of the Royal Hotel. However, I've never made them, collectively, the sole subject of a composition. It was seeing them through the filter of the thick morning fog that prompted this shot.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Fog in the Severn Valley

The River Severn is, at 220 miles, the longest river in the United Kingdom. Its valley, where it passes through Worcestershire, is wide and shallow. Consequently, at the appropriate times of year, it harbours long-lasting fog. During a recent walk on the Malvern Hills we gazed down on the white blanket that stretched from the edge of the town of Great Malvern to the distant Cotswolds. As we studied the phenomenon below we spared a thought for the near neighbours who would experience quite different days: bright and sunny or dim and dismal.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Herefordshire fog seen from the Malverns

A few days ago we had a walk on the Malvern Hills. The forecast was for fog slowly clearing to reveal a flawless blue sky. In January, in this part of the world, that means it will be still and cold. And so it proved - almost. What happened was, the fog cleared except for where it didn't. So, the valley of the River Severn  and adjoining areas remained in thick fog all day. On the Herefordshire side of the hills the fog thinned but didn't quite disappear, especially in the more distant valleys. Frost remained in the shadows. And, for once, the higher ground of the Malverns was warmer than the lower surrounding areas. The town of Great Malvern was decidedly chilly even though it was sunny and fog-free. The view above shows nearby and distant Herefordshire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Cherry tree bark

A maxim I thought up many years ago goes like this: "if you look at something twice or more there's a good chance there's a photograph in it." It's proved to be right much more often than wrong, though that may have something to do with the kind of photographs I take. I've looked at the subject of today's photograph a lot more than once. It's the bark on a cherry tree next to a public playground that we sometimes go to with our grandchildren. I've photographed it a few times too and been unhappy with the shots. But I got something that satisfied me when we were there recently.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Restored medieval glass, Hereford Cathedral

In the east wall of the north transept of Hereford Cathedral is a window with medieval glass that was comprehensively restored by William Warrington (1796-1869), one of the earliest stained glass artists working as a medieval revivalist. It features four figures - Saints Katherine, Michael, Gregory and Thomas (of Canterbury) - under tall canopies set in a background of grisaille. The parts of the figures, canopies, and perhaps some of the grisaille, feature fourteenth century glass. For many years this was hidden away in old boxes, and was formerly fixed in some of the windows on the south side of the nave. Warrington comprehensively restored this window combining his own work with the ancient glass. I like what he did though I know some purists feel he should have done less.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Aubrey's Almshouses, Hereford

We came upon this row of almshouses on Berrington Street, Hereford, quite by chance and immediately recognised them for what they were. We also noticed that, like Webbe's Almshouses in Ross on Wye, the number of dwellings had been reduced to accommodate modern expectations: in this instance six homes (mirrored pairs) are now three, as evidenced by the blocked (and black painted) doorways. Aubrey's Almshouses are a fairly late example of timber-framing - the decorativee curves above the doors indicate this - and a little research show they were endowed c.1630 by Mary Price and available to "poor widows and single women of good character." They are now a Grade II* Listed structure and received this protection in 1952. The conversion to three dwellings dates from 1959.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Tree top cormorant

The cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) always appears to me to be an odd looking, ungainly bird. There is something prehistoric, reptilian even, about it. When it swims it looks like it is sinking because its feathers don't trap air like a duck's and so it is less buoyant. This is to make it easier to dive and swim under water in search of its prey. When walking it has all the grace of a goose i.e. none. In flight, it has to be said, the cormorant flies directly and powerfully (and I imagine its underwater movement is elegant). When it holds its sagging wings out to dry after hunting it appears clownish. And when perched on trees it looks completely out of place when compared with other perching birds.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

A man-made lake

When I posted my first photograph of Speech House Lake in the Forest of Dean I speculated that, like other stretches of water in the Forest, this small lake was probably man-made and associated with either mine workings or the provision of water power. Some recent reading shows I was partly wrong. Apparently it was created at some point after 1974 because it does not appear on the Ordnance Suvey map of that time. Moreover, it was constructed, by damming a small stream, for the purposes of fishing. It continues to be used by fishermen today as well as offering a destination for walkers in the woodland.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Dun Belted Galloway

My edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) describes the word "dun" as "Of a dull or dingy brown colour; now esp. dull greyish brown, like the hair of the ass and mouse" and suggests it may derive from the Old English "dun(n), the Irish and Gaelic "donn" or the Welsh "dwn". Consequently it is used to describe one of the three colours that feature in Belted Galloway cattle, the others being red (i.e. orange brown) and black. I've seen plenty of Black Belted Galloways, but no reds, and, until recently no duns. However, on a recent family visit to the summit of May Hill, Gloucestershire, I noticed a Dun Belted Galloway cow in the bracken with some black examples of the breed.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

St Mary, Ripple, Worcestershire

Last year we visited the very charmingly named Worcestershire village of Ripple and tried to gain access to the church. It was locked. However, the exterior seemed to promise much and we determined then to try again, which we did in December when it happened to be open (see a following post). As far as the exterior goes the unbuttressed tower and some narrow, rounded arch windows tell of Norman beginnings, the tower top balustrade are clearly Georgian, and some columns and traceried windows speak of early and later Gothic work. For such a small village it is a large and imposing church. This can be attributed to the fact that it was a possession of Worcester Cathedral Priory and may well be on the site of a former Saxon minster.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Underneath the M50

The M50 is a short, two-lane (in each direction) motorway that stretches from its junction with the M5 to its junction with the A40 trunk road near Ross on Wye. Recently we had a short walk to look at a pair of former gravel pits, now a nature reserve, next to the River Severn where it passes under the M50. The road goes over the river on a steel bridge that is reached on each side by a viaduct on concrete supports.

Photographically speaking this man-made structure was considerably more interesting than the man-made reserve and so I took a few photographs of it. The out-of-camera shots looked as though they would convert well to black and white and I think they have.

 

This exercise made me realise that I didn't do many black and whites in 2021 so I've made a mental note to do so this year.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2