Window, wall, LEDs and pennants

The arrangement of shapes and shadows, both bold and fragmentary, drew my eye to this window, wall and especially the sphere with LEDs. It was in Hay on Wye and obviously the latter came into its own (along with several others) after the sun had gone down. During the day multicoloured penants (see below) were the town's chief decoration. However, that ball and its LEDs set my mind wondering. Does the increased number of LEDs used for decorative purposes overwhelm any savings made by the obviously energy-saving substitutions of the newer technology for filament lights? Probably not. But it has to be conceded that LEDs now crop up in places and numbers that we wouldn't have thought possible when they first came into use.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Self-portrait in cafe window

Periodically, during the time I've fed my blogs, I've included a self-portrait in an image. These aren't explicit "warts and all" images of me. In the main they are photographs that include my reflection and are usually accidental inclusions that I notice rather than deliberate components of the composition. The example above was taken in Hay on Wye on a very hot and bright day - note the sun hat - and shows me in the mirror-like glazing of a cafe.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Polychrome stonework, Great Malvern Priory

Down the ages the builders of stone churches and houses have used different coloured stone in decorative ways. Banding and chequering is common in Britain as is the marking out of entrances and windows. In the Victorian period architects extended this practice to brickwork, particularly during the period when Venetian Gothic was fashionable. Coloured stonework is a feature of the exterior of Great Malvern Priory in Worcestershire. However, here it results from the great variety of types and colours of local stone, aided by the way the stone changes colour over the years. Many architects and restorers look to match and blend new stonework with the old. At Malvern this isn't the case and the effect is very attractive.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Lavender and lilac are colours

Earlier this year, when the lilac was in blossom, I railed against the white and the dark purple versions that can be seen in some gardens. It seems riduculous that a beautiful plant, that is the source of a particular colour name, should be made to be anything other than that colour. But people are like that - different, they think, is better. My hackles rose again the other day when I came across a cultivar of lavender that is white. It seems to me that every white lavender is a missed opportunity to enjoy the original and best lavender-coloured lavender, like this example in our garden.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Ruardean St George

The church at Ruardean, Gloucestershire, is dedicated to St John the Baptist. So it is quite unusual that the largest and oldest piece of sculpture portrays St George killing the dragon. This can be seen in the tympanum of the mid-C12 Norman doorway sheltered by the south porch. It is in the style of the Herefordshire school of sculpture and comparisons have been made with work at Brinsop, Herefordshire, and western France. The sculptor gave the piece an animated, vigorous feel with its billowing cloak, trampled dragon (very serpent-like) and powerful thrust of the spear.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

A modern stone circle

A henge is, properly, a prehistoric banked earthwork in the shape of a circle or oval. When it is accompanied by standing stones it is more accurately described as a stone circle. Stonehenge is not a typical henge, but such structures - reasonably common in the British Isles - are often referred to as henges.

Part of the landscape gardening of Hellens Manor at Much Marcle includes an oval 21st century "henge" with inscriptions on each of the standing stones. Its purpose is to add interest and size to the available grounds and its location in a meadow beyond the formal gardens adds to the attractiveness of the feature.

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

Dovecote, Hellens Manor, Much Marcle

At first glance this brick and stucco octagonal building rising out of the garden at Hellens Manor, Much Marcle, looks like it must be a gazebo. But no, further examination reveals that it is a dovecote. Also known as a columbarium, dovecotes were designed for the production of doves (pigeons) for the table. Their interiors typically have as many nest holes in the walls as can be squeezed into them, with ladders being used to retrieve the birds, eggs and nestlings. This example is prominently dated with the year of its construction - 1641. The large "W" denotes, Fulke and Margaret Walwyn, the owners of the manor at that time.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

A country house cafe

It's unusual to come across an independent cafe that hasn't made an effort to distinguish itself in some way. Even some chains occasionally try to inject something of the locality into their decor. Having said that, it's remarkable to find a cafe that is quite unlike any other - after all there's only so much you can do with a room or rooms, tables, chairs, pictures etc. However, recently we did find such a place. It is at Hellens Manor, Much Marcle in Herefordshire. Different or what?!

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

Artemis the Huntress - again

Seven and a half years ago I photographed this garden sculpture at Hellens Manor, Herefordshire for the first time. I was attending a wedding in January and came upon it as I ventured outside. What appealed to me then - and did so again recently - was the way lichen had colonized the surface of the figure. It gave what must be quite an aged piece a sense of age that it would not possess had it been regularly cleaned. For more about the sculpture, a second image and a few reflections, have a look at that first photograph here.

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

Ledbury church chancel

There are a number of reasons why church chancels are usually more lavishly constructed and decorated than other parts of the building. They hold the high altar. It is also the place where the clergy and their assistants do their work and it is where the choir usually sits. In the past it was the part of the building that was funded by the church. In contrast, the larger nave was funded by and used by the people of the parish. Chantry chapels sometimes equalled or exceeded the chancel in their ornamentation but more often than not the chancel was, and remains, the most decorative part of the church. That is the case at St Michael and All Angels at Ledbury (above).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300