St Paul, Parkend, revisited

On a recent sunny but cold day we stopped in at the church of St Paul at Parkend, Gloucestershire. I have photographed this building before in 2021, but on that occasion the building was locked and I only managed to get the exterior. That photograph hinted at the novelty of the shape of the church. This photograph gives an idea of what that novelty looks like inside.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Sky, water and mud

click photo to enlarge
Today's photograph shows a view across the River Severn seen from near Lydney Harbour. The main subjects of the shot are sky, water and mud - the tide was out. It's fair to say that a couple of buildings and a riverside horizon also intrude, but not to a great extent. The sky make the shot and shooting into the sun gives the image a little more drama than was evident to the naked eye. I like this kind of photograph. Sometimes I prepare for them: other times I'm just grateful when I come upon them. This photograph is one of the latter.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Something in the air

The title of today's post is the title of a 1969 number one record in the UK by Thunderclap Newman. In the context of my photograph it also refers to the pollution and contribution to global warming that aircraft with their jet engines and vapour trails inflict on the world. This particular Boeing 747 that I photographed high above Ross on Wye belongs to the mainly cargo company, Atlas Air, a carrier that I hadn't heard of until I read this Guardian article and watched the accompanying video.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

Farmland interloper

On a recent frosty day when the sky was clear blue we spent a few hours walking a section of the long disused Hereford to Gloucester canal near Oxenhall, Newent. The fields in the area were mainly pasture for cattle and sheep, though there were some devoted to fruit - what looked like blackcurrants. The canal was crammed full of reedmace and at the point where I took this photograph (with the canal behind me) it was spreading to the edges of an adjacent long pond. I took my shot to show how the interloper plant was adding interest to the close cropped field, and was a welcome area of detail against featureless fields and semi-frozen pond.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Former Petty Sessional Court and Police Station

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Over the centuries the administration of justice in Britain has become less local and more regional. One result of these changes is that the distinctive buildings associated with the application and enforcement of the law have become surplus to need and have acquired new uses. The building above was, until 1978, a "Petty Sessional Court and Police Station" in the small Gloucestershire town of Newent. That title can be seen in the stonework below the eaves and above the central pointed doorway. Above the doorway to the right of centre is carved "Solicitors & Witnesses". Over the rightmost doorway, slightly hidden, the word "Public" can be read. Named entrances of this sort maintained the separation of those involved in the law. Today the building appears to be divided up into separate dwellings; a much better answer to its redundancy than demolition.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Orange bricks, blue sky

The colours in the title of this post are seen reflected in the ice that is the subject of this photograph. I've always been fascinated by the formations that can arise when water freezes. Someone, somewhere, will be able to describe how these formations can range from soft curves to sharp spikes. But that person isn't me: I simply enjoy them.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Crossing vaulting, Malvern Priory

The point at which the nave and chancel of a church cross the transepts is called "the crossing". When, as is the case here, at Malvern Priory, Worcestershire, the crossing has a tower above it, the crossing has vaulting, much of which directs some of the tower's weight outwards to the main arches and the vertical walls. In the vaulting above some of the ribs do not do this "spreading" work. These are the short "lierne" ribs that give this style of vaulting its name.The period of the crossing at Malvern is Perpendicular i.e. broadly of the c15. It is a particularly fine example of crossing vaulting, one I've photographed quite a few times over the years.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Shire Hall bust, Brecon

There was a time when most counties had a Shire Hall. This was a focus of the administration of the county and often included courts of law. Examples near where we currently live can be found in Hereford, Monmouth, Gloucester and Worcester. Some of these buildings still house their original activities: others have been taken over by lesser services, and many incorporate museum-like features. The Shire Hall at Brecon presents its former courts as an attraction for visitors, and interestingly, displays busts by the local sculptor, John Evan Thomas. I don't know whether they formed part of the original courts - I doubt it - but they make a good addition to the building.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

A font from afar

The church of St John Baptist, Lea, Herefordshire has a remarkable font. It is an Italian stoup bought from an antiques dealer in London in 1909 as a memorial. The shallow bowl has fine decorative carving and stands on a slender column that has a capital made of interlocking rams' heads and a single knot half way down. This column stands on the back of a small elephant. It is thought to date from the late C11 and to be influenced by work in Canossa and Bari. I know of no other font in Britain that is remotely like this example in the small medieval parish church at Lea.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Receding flood water, Ross on Wye

A late afternoon walk with some family members took us past the bandstand and some of the receding flood water. I was quite pleased by this shot, taken against the sun with the iPhone. Not until I got it home and looked at it on the computer monitor did I notice the small, bright, quite odd looking cloud and its reflection.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Ross on Wye floodwater

click photo to enlarge
The first week of January saw widespread flooding across western, central and southern Britain. In Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, the River Wye left its channel and spread its waters across the surrounding farmland. Near the town a few low-lying properties were affected, but most of the flood water covered areas that have been deliberately left without buildings. After a walk around the town we descended the cliff and took a few photographs of the inundated benches, road and trees. I was quite pleased by the black and white version of one of my shots.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Miners' lockers, Blaenavon

Over the year end holiday our planned family walk involving a Welsh mountain was abandoned due to persistent rain, and instead we headed for Big Pit at Blaenavon, a museum based around one of the last operating coal mines in Wales. We went underground, but since no items involving a battery were allowed down there no photographs were possible! However, there were some of the disused above ground buildings to look at and I got a couple of reasonable shots. This one shows part of the building containing rows of miners' lockers for the couple of hundred men who worked the pit. At the centre is a photograph of the lockers in use.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Domestic 3

The final shot of my trawl through domestic subjects for my camera is the solution to my tangle of cables and plugs assocated with my computer and multiple cameras. It shows a detail of the A-Z keboard of my Dymo label printer. The labels are either stuck to the plug to indicate its purpose or stapled in a loop round charger cables to identify the cameras associated with each charger. A somewhat elaborate answer to the problems, but one that works for me.

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

Domestic 2

The material in this photograph is part of a panel of stitching on a duvet cover. I've always liked this feature since it looks quite different in daylight compared to its appearance in artificial light. It's the sort of embroidery that puts one in mind of medieval and early Renaissance needlework. Until you look closely that is, when you will then make out the back and forthmovement of a powered needle following and making the pattern of leaves and flowers.

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

Domestic 1

The Christmas holiday is always a brake on my photography - the weather is drab, streets are alternately bustling and deathly quiet, visitors and the needs of family are pressing. I don't resent any of this but it does pose a problem for collecting the stream of images necessary to feed the blog. Consequently, this year I searched indoors for some domestic subject matter. The first example will be unknown to many. It shows nested pastry cutters that made an appearance in the kitchen but never got used due to a change of mind on the catering front.

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

Grey squirrel

A couple of years ago, as we walked up to the site where Hereford Castle was once to be found, I was amazed to hear a young teenager say to her companions, "Look, there are small creatures in the trees!" They were, of course, grey squirrels, the most common mammal (and in most places the only mammal) to be seen in the trees of the British Isles. I just couldn't understand how the teenager had reached the age she had without being able to identify the grey squirrel.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2