Decorated church organ pipes

It has long been the fashion for the organ pipes in churches to be painted. A visit to major and minor churches is sure to present an opportunity to admire this form of decoration. Most examples will be from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but more recent examples may be seen too. The examples here are in Gloucester Cathedral and appear to use the acanthus leaf as the basis for the design. The colours are brighter than is often the case.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Worcester umbrellas

Its quite common to see shopping centres and streets decked out with colourful hangings across the summer months. Whether it is lights, pennants, flags, flip flops (yes I've seen those) they all have the same purpose - to brighten up the area and raise the spirits of the buying public. This year Friar Street in Worcester went for umbrellas, a relatively inexpensive and very eye-catching hanging. (Yes I've seen umbrellas before too.)

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Costa not a lot

I've seen these Costa mobiles in quite a few of the coffee chain's stores. Someone came up with the clever and inexpensive idea of using the branded mugs cups and bowls as the main elements, with a few lights and steel or nylon wires on which to hang them. The effect is better than might be imagined.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Seasonal yarn bombing

The knitters of Ross on Wye have been busy for the past few years undertaking seasonal "yarn bombing" of the centre of the town. Bollards, signs, post boxes and many other surfaces have been decorated with seasonally apt individual and group pieces. Here are a few examples of the current Spring/Easter display.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

 

Ornate pub window

Britain's Victorian and Edwardian public houses (pubs) sometimes seem to have been decorated on the premiss that more is better. Ornate designs covered most surfaces, particularly walls and any area that was tiled. The latter often included the whole of the exterior. Windows were rarely left untouched. Typically they told whether the room behind the glass was the public bar or the saloon bar, and frequently designs celebrated the pub's individual name. This example, that I passed in London, is a mass of cartouches, foliage, flowers and fruit, with at its centre what looks to be a thrush or blackbird.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Palace Theatre, Newark on Trent

The Palace Theatre at Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire was built in 1920 as a cinema, but with the facility to offer stage shows too. To furnish additional income two shops were added to the building. Unlike many cinemas and theatres it appears to have weathered the ups and downs of public taste and continues to offer a wide programme of shows. The Palace stands on a corner and its decorative facade wraps around it. As befits a building dedicated to fun and fantasy it is ornate, the most striking ornament being the three slender towers topped with onion domes.

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