Willow pattern plate

Since about 1994 I have eaten food from willow pattern plates and bowls. It is thought that this design originated in England towards the end of the C18 when the blue and white ware of the Chinese Qing dynasty was very popular. A standard design evolved in the potteries around Stoke on Trent that had a white background with a blue water-side landscape of trees, a bridge with three figures, buildings, a fishing boat, two birds, a fence etc. The design appears to have been in production ever since those early days. A story about the willow pattern characters was written to help promote interest and sales of the crockery. Our version is the work of the Churchill company and has proved remarkably hard wearing.

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

Prior Park footbridge, Great Malvern

Most civic parks worth the name feature a small lake and most of these small lakes incorporate a footbridge. That's certainly the case at Prior Park in Great Malvern, Worcestershire. Here the bridge is constructed of unvarnished timber that, almost inevitably, has something of the Chinoiserie about it.

That oriental flavour isn't as obvious as in the timber bridge at Croome Park, but it has a sprinkling of characteristic features that derive from the popular blue and white willow pattern of crockery dating from the C18 and later.

photos © T. Boughen    Camera: Nikon Z 5

Methodist Chapel, Monmouth

Contrary to the Listing information about this Grade II* building Monmouth's methodist chapel is not "prominently sited". In fact, it has to be searched out and is easily missed, being built back from the street line. It was designed by the architect G.V. Maddox and a panel supported by scrolls in the pediment proclaims the date of its completion as 1837. Maddox gave the building a classical facade with Ionic columns at ground level supporting a porch, Ionic pilasters on the first floor, triangular pediments over the rectangular ground floor windows and round-topped windows in recessed arches above. It is a fine composition that deserved a more public location. A small step in making it better seen by the passing public would be the removal of the bushes that impair the view.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Autumn acer leaves

There isn't a season (winter, of course, excepted) when an acer tree doesn't have a show of beautiful leaves. In previous gardens we have had a few acers; in the present garden just the one. But this solitary specimen has beautiful red leaves in spring, foliage that goes well with a blue sky, and a fine mixture of orange and greens in autumn that even that season's ravages of insects, wind and rain cannot dull.

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

Ornate pulpit, Huntley

St John Baptist, Huntley in Gloucestershire is a 1861-3 rebuilding of a medieval church by the architect, S.S. Teulon. He demolished everything except the west tower which he remodelled. For this work he was given plentiful funds by Rev. Daniel Capper, the rector from 1839-1865, and he delivered a no-expenses-spared building constructed with costly materials to give an opulent effect. Possibly the most lavish piece is the pulpit made of English, Irish and Italian marbles.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Everyday history

Some of the most interesting photographs are those that capture a particular moment in history. This doesn't have to be a momentous moment - mundane is often good enough, so long as it can be compared and contrasted with a different way of doing things. In 2024 the re-surfacing of one of the main roads in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, looked like the above with men in high-vis and purpose-built machines being used for each stage. It won't be like this 100 years in the future and at that point a photograph like this one may come into its own.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Tractor at work

Towards the end of September, while standing on the highest point of medieval Goodrich Castle, I noticed a field with a tractor about a mile or so distant. The vehicle was going up and down the gaps between rows of posts and plants. I was carrying what I call my "bird watching camera", a Nikon P950. Even with its long lens I couldn't make out what the crop was when I viewed my shots on the camera's screen and I resolved to remedy that when I got the image on my computer. But no, I'm still none the wiser!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Wet, wet, wet

A review by the Meteorological Office of September's weather notes that, "England, and more specifically southern England, has been particularly wet compared to average. Ten English counties experienced their wettest September on record and for Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire, September 2024 was the wettest calendar month the counties have experienced, in a series dating back to 1836." Moreover, Northern parts of Britain and are noteworthy for having less rain than is usual for September. Anecdotal evidence and daily experience in Herefordshire confirms the wettness of last month. To underline the wetness theme today's macro photograph shows the tip of our conservatory door handle, positively dripping with rain.

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

Odd perches

Birds perched on odd perches is something of a recurring theme in my photography. This latest example has a wood pigeon perched on a wooden lion's head. Previous examples include a gull on cyclist, a heron on a heron, and a gull on a swan.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Autumn cyclamen

In the corners of gardens and in church yards are there are currently pockets of pink - the autumn cyclamen are in flower. They are often in the place where spring crocuses flowered and the cyclamen might be taken for a last "hurrah" of summer. But I prefer to see them as an early sign of autumn because they are usually accompanied by dead leaves that have fallen from the sheltering trees.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5