Elgar in Hereford

The composer, Edward Elgar (1857-1934) is much celebrated in the west of England. He was born in the village of Lower Broadheath near Worcester and spent much of his early life near or in that city, and in London. He wrote for and had music performed by the Three Choirs Festival (Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford) as well as by Birmingham festivals. London saw many first performances of his major works. Between the years 1904 and 1911 he lived in Hereford in a house called Plas Gwyn. His connection with that city is celebrated by the 2005 bronze sculpture of the composer by Jemma Pearson near the cathedral. It shows him with his Sunbeam bicycle, for many years his preferred method of transport around the countryside he loved.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Art glass bowl

Every now and then we buy a piece of art that takes our fancy. Today's photograph shows the interior of an art glass bowl by Paul Barcroft, one of a pair, that we bought in a now defunct gallery. The other bowl has a similar pattern in sea greens and blue. It wasn't immediately obvious where they were best placed to show off their beauty. However, our current house has a south facing window in the living room and the direct sun falling on the bowls make them positively glow.

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

Hereford Cathedral cafe arabesques

After having a walk around Hereford Cathedral recently we decided to have a cup of coffe in the cafe. This is housed in part of the building overlooking the ruined cloisters. It was early in the day and we were the only customers so I took advantage of the absence of people and searched around for a photograph. This view appealed to me for the delicate intricacy and arabesques of the metal work and its shadows as they fell across the floor. The whole effect reminded me of the Moorish work we have seen in Seville.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Great Malvern "Gothick"

"Gothick" with the added "k" signifies the Georgian or early Victorian application of medieval Gothic styling to a building. It isn't an attempt to convince the onlooker that the eighteenth or nineteenth century building is genuine Gothic so much as a celebration or revival of the decorative motifs of the earlier period. In England the 1749 house called "Strawberry Hill" by Horace Walpole is widely regarded as the building that sparked the later "Gothic Revival". The building above, "Oriel House" on Worcester Road, Great Malvern, dates from around 1830 and exemplifies the self-conscious application of ogee doorway, trefoiled pilasters, crocketed pinnacles, battlements and square drip moulds. The oriel window that gives the house its name must be at the back to take advantage of the view across the Severn Valley and the distant Cotswolds.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Oak Meadow, Ross on Wye

In the centre of the view from The Prospect in Ross on Wye is Oak Meadow, a big field that fills much of a large meander of the River Wye. It is named after the old oak tree at its centre, presumably planted as shade for farm animals that used the field. Photographs of the field taken in 1886 show the "rare old oak" and local attempts to age the now split and partly hollow tree are many. It has been called the "Domesday Oak" suggesting it dates from around 1087 when the Domesday Book was compiled. Attempts to link it to the time of Elizabeth I or Henry VIII suggest an age of 500 or 600 years. All this is speculation without the support of dendrochronology. As we looked out from The Prospect recently we noticed the farmer taking what appears to be the first steps in erecting fencing around the oak, as protection from animals and farm vehicles perhaps, steps that will help ensure it continues for many more years.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Circular floral display

One of the best locations to find a good floral display is inside a church. The beautification of churches with natural flowers and vegetation is a year-round activity. Many groups of churches hold flower festivals, often in July when they are plentiful. Nature's bounty and beauty is celebrated with leaves, fruit and flowers at the time of harvest festival. At Easter a particular effort, often including lilies, is evident. And flowers and trees make an appearance across the Christmas period. At other times flowers are usually on view, often refreshed weekly by a rota of helpers.

This particular floral arrangement, in Hope Mansell church, Herefordshire, is located in the bowl of a seven hundred year old font - in my experience an unusual place to see flowers.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Young crows

Young birds are a common sight at the moment, be it clamouring brown starlings beseiging harassed parents, dead young blackbirds by the roadside or mallard ducklings being herded by their mother as they forage in every direction. Then there are the crows. On consecutive days we came upon these two. The first is a young jackdaw that hasn't yet shed all its downy feathers or lost its coloured gape. It let me approach dangerously close in Bosbury churchyard for my shot. So too did this young carrion crow, one of two unkempt looking youngsters calling for food from their parents. The latter wouldn't go to them when we were so close and eventually the youngsters realised this and went further away to be fed.

photo 1 © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

photo 2 © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Market houses in the 21st century

As we've travelled around Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and further afield in England we've noticed that many market houses continue to fulfil their original function as a building providing a covered space for stalls selling goods to the people of the town. That is remarkable. It isn't unusual to find ancient houses and churches continuing to house people and act as places of worship. But it is much rarer to find other kinds of medieval, seventeenth and eighteenth century buildings still carrying out their original activities.

Some inns can claim the distinction as can a few town halls, places of learning and almshouses, but other examples are not common. On a recent visit to Newent, Gloucestershire, we saw the market house of 1668 (with a later apsidal addition) filled with so many stalls of hats, dresses, blouses etc that they were spilling out on to the adjoining pavements.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Peregrine falcon, Tewkesbury Abbey

On a recent visit to Tewkesbury Abbey accompanied by one of our sons and his daughter we walked round the outside of the building hoping to see a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) on its specially provided perching point. And, what do you know? It was there! Of course, being at the height of the bell louvres on the crossing tower the bird was pretty much an elongated dark dot and certainly not identifiable by a non-birdwatcher at ground level. So I did what any good photography grandfather would do: I photographed the bird then showed my companions the image. A pair of peregrines are encouraged to nest at this position each year and they seem to oblige. For a peregrine the Romanesque and Gothic masterpiece is no more than cliff faces with suitable vantage points for catching pigeons and locations for nesting places.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Queue to canoe

Here's something I've never seen before - a queue of would-be canoeists waiting to use the canoe launch point in the centre of Ross on Wye. The queue is there for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's a warm, sunny holiday Sunday and the river is at a benign level. Secondly, a commercial canoe company must have more customers than usual (Covid19 being responsible for fewer having jetted off elsewhere). These canoeists will have parked downstream and the company will have brought them and a supply of canoes to this point. From here the canoes will be paddled back to where the cars are. Gentle exercise on a hot day.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2