Bikes and flats

Long ago when I was a student we rented the upstairs floor of a two-storey late Victorian house. We cycled a lot at the time, and there was no ground floor accommodation for our bikes, so I had to carry them up the stairs to where we parked them on the landing. It wasn't the easiest manouevre but it had to be done, so I did it. As we were walking around the canal and marina in Gloucester recently I looked at these nicely lit flats and spotted a couple of balconies with bikes. They were on the first and third floors, I think, and must have needed regular lifting. But, as I thought about it, I pondered two developments that might make the task easier today - electric lifts and lighter-weight cycles.

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

Marina reflections, Worcester

A relatively calm and sunny day found us walking through the cathedral city of Worcester near the Diglis Marina and the canal. I've photographed there before, trying to make something of the narrow boats, refurbished warehouses and the new flats that are meant to echo and complement the old buildings.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

The Eagle Vaults pub

click photo to enlarge

I've photographed the Eagle Vaults pub in Worcester before, focussing on the details of the colourful glazed tilework that covers the exterior of the ground floor. On a recent visit to the city the light was right for a shot of the whole of the street elevation. Brightly coloured umbrellas that hung along Friar Street crept into the shot too.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Pigeon shower

Feral pigeons successfully maintain urban populations in Britain because they find all they need in our towns and cities. Food is plentiful, whether discarded by people or deliberately bought and fed to them in the form of corn and specially prepared feed. Our buildings effectively mimic the cliffs that the ancestor of the feral pigeons (the rock dove) favoured for nest sites and safe refuge. And, as we discovered in Worcester recently, they even have showers provided by thoughtful urban planners, places where they can keep cool, have a drink and make themselves look their best!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Memorial to Henry Skillicorne

It is common to find memorials to wealthy departed people in churches. Many convey only the basic details of the person - name and date of death are the minimum. Most, however, include more information such as the spouse's name, their occupation, notable offices held by the individual etc. These offer fascinating insights into the period and person they describe. Sometimes, however, the eulogising goes way over the top making the deceased seem like a latter-day saint and giant of the community. This memorial, in Cheltenham Minster, to a Manx sea captain, Henry Skillicorne, is reputed to be the longest memorial in the country and a fascinating insight into the busy life of someone who was instrumental in establishing Cheltenham as a spa town.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham

Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham is a mineral spa building commissioned in 1825 by the landowner and developer, Joseph Pitt. It was to be the focal point of Pittville, his new town, and features Ionic columns based on the Temple of Illisus in Athens. The architect was John Forbes of Cheltenham. He completed the £90,000 building in 1830 just at the point when "taking the waters" began to decline in popularity. In 1889 Cheltenham borough council bought the Pump Room. After being used as a store during WW2 restoration work was undertaken and it was re-opened in 1960. Today it is a venue for concerts and other events and the mineral water may still be sampled.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

A window and a print

We were recently in the Italianate church of St Catherine, Hoarwithy in Herefordshire. As we walked through the relatively dark and narrow narthex we came upon this stained glass window near which someone had propped a framed print of a Renaissance "Adoration". The print benefitted from the window light and it made a nice, asymmetrical composition that prompted me to take this photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Trabeated and arcuated

For much of human history significant buildings were either arcuated or trabeated. That is to say, the structure was dependent on either arches or posts and lintels to provide the walls and interior spaces. Romanesque and Gothic architecture, for example, are arcuated. Stonehenge, Ancient Greek and much early industrial architecture is trabeated. These two words came to mind as we walked past the John Lewis department store in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire recently. The concrete outer frame and columns of the facade appear to be trabeated. But then we have curves and pointed arches in each segment of the facade. As I studied the arrangement of the materials it occurred to me that probably neither word applied here and a modern steel and concrete frame underpinned the building. What ever the construction the building presents a welcome break from the rendered and painted Regency style that dominates the town.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Approachable goosanders

All birds have what can be called a "scare distance" i.e. the distance at which they will take flight due to the approach of a person. For a robin this is typically three or four yards. For a magpie or a jay will be a much greater distance; perhaps thirty yards or more. With all species this distance tends to be reduced during the nesting season or if food is scarce and they are eating something. Recently we have seen a couple of female goosanders, birds that typically fly when you get to within twenty or so yards, joining in with mallards (a bird with a short scare distance) and feeding really close to people. So close that I could fill the frame with the bird using the 24-200mm lens that was on my camera. I haven't been able to do this with goosanders before. I wonder what has made them so "tame".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5