Pull Up A Chair

Just a quickie today. Its Bank Holiday Monday here so I'm due a rest. This is one of the very comfy chairs in the cocktail bar at the Daffodil restaurant. The lighting in the eatery and bar is perfect for all sorts of arty photos.

Two Things Challenge - Early / Late

Basically they were early and I was late (as always!) My friends A & S, who I was meeting in town the other day, got there before me and as I rushed to get there I saw them chatting on this bench. I was late anyway so stopping for a photo wasn't going to make much difference!

To join in with this Two Things Challenge and to see who is in this week head here.

Daffodil Stairs

We went to The Daffodil restaurant yesterday for lunch. It is a fantastic restaurant set in a former art deco cinema, and although it has gone through many refurbishments and renovations it still holds onto its wonderful style. There was so much to photograph as well as cocktails to be drunk and delicious food to be eaten. I couldn't decide which photo of the staircase to post, colour or black and white, so went with both. I'll leave you to choose your favourite.

Yummy Cakes

For my birthday last week Phoebe made these delicious cakes, and this photo is all that is left of them! Today its Phoebe's birthday, and I'm no master baker, so instead of offering burnt cakes I give a photo of scrummy cakes!

Happy Birthday gorgeous.

Not Another Post Box!

Yes, I'm afraid so! I'd forgotten I'd taken this photo of the Penfold post box opposite the Cheltenham Ladies College and the poor thing missed out on being part of my series the other week. Today I right that wrong!

I really liked this photo because of the trail of red going off into the distance - the red post box, the red roadwork bollards and the red light. Sometimes things just come together.

Somethings Bugging Me

Giant beetles are on the loose in Cheltenham! Well, not really. Just a creative window dresser coming up with something eye catching for the window of Cavendish House on The Prom. (I told you I had a thing about window displays!)

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Glad Its Green

Mother Nature, with a helping hand from us humans, creates flowers of all kinds and colours. These gladioli are the limiest zestiest colour green imaginable. A real colour punch!

Exterminate!

Daleks have invaded Cheltenham! Where is Doctor Who when you need him?!

Last week I found myself face to face with the cause of many a childhood nightmare, a real life Dalek! Scary stuff! These alien invaders are the most famous of all of Doctor Who's villainous foes. But this one took some time out from attempting world domination to promote a TV merchandise shop that is soon to open in town, which was nice of him!

If you've got some time, and want to know all there is to know about Daleks, head here.
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Monkeying Around

Just a quickie today. While stood in the queue waiting to see the Banksy exhibition in Bristol I had time ( a lot of time!) to look at the surrounding buildings. There was a row of Gothic looking buildings, some houses, some now offices, and they all had interesting animal cravings above the windows. My favourite one was this odd monkey one. Its all a bit sinister looking and reminds me of something but I can't quite remember what! Any thoughts?

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The London Borough Of...

...Cheltenham! Regular followers will know I have a thing for shop windows and the ingenius creativity that goes into creating an eye catching display, and this one is know exception. The window of Monsoon's childrens clothes shop on The Prom really stands out from the crowd. All London captured in cartoon style and looking very trendy and modern, just like the really thing. (Notice the address sign - City Of WestMonster! Made me laugh!)

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Banksy Statues

Today is the final day of my Bansky series and we are ending with some photos of his statues. If you want to see his art work and animatronics then scroll down to my past couple of days posts. The exhibit at Bristol Museum runs until the end of this month so if you are in the area, and don't mind queuing, then it is well worth a visit. Otherwise if it comes to a town near you make the effort to visit, you won't be disappointed.

"If you want someone to be ignored, then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town."

Banksy

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Banksy Artwork

Today's little offering from the Banksy exhibit at Bristol Museum shows just a small selection of his artwork and stencil drawings. I have loads of photos that I could have shown you but these are a few of my favourites. Hope you like them too. If you want to see some of the animatronics check yesterdays post and come back tomorrow to see some statues with a difference.

"When you go to an art gallery you are simply a tourist

looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires."
Banksy

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Banksy Animatronics

As I mentioned yesterday, we went to Bristol for my birthday to see something very cool - the Banksy Exhibition! The exhibit of over 100 pieces of the mystery artist's work is taking place at the Bristol Museum until the end of the month. The event is free and the museum, unsurprisingly, has seen record numbers of visitors. We joined the queue at 10 am and three and a half hours later we were finally through the door! But it was well worth the wait.

Little is known about the elusive artist known only as Banksy. It is believed he was born in 1974 in the Bristol area, where his notoriety began to grow due to his skillful graffiti and stencil work that started to appear around the city in the late 1980's. Since these early days he has gone on to become an internationally renowned artist, with his creations springing up in London, New York and New Orleans to name but a few locations.

His exhibit brings together his art work, sculptures, installations and animatronics, all of which are very cleverly conceived and thought provoking through their humorous nature. Today I'll show you some of his animatronics. Below are some of my favourites, though there were many more that I could have shared.

"We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."
Banksy

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Gnome Sweet Gnome

When I saw all these gnomes gathered in the shop window of White Stuff (the shop that had the drunk gingerbread man, the squirrel-headed people, the biggest tosser poster, the caravan and the dog leaping through a hoop) I was reminded of Gail's Man's post the other day. As always the White Stuff's window display has nothing to do with the clothes they are selling, which is part of the fun, but is promoting 'Give A Gnome A Home', something we should all consider doing in these financially difficult times! Quite a few of the little chaps have tags around their necks saying who has adopted them. Cute!

Today is my birthday (yay for me!) and we are off to Bristol to see something very cool! More on that tomorrow.

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Ornate Echoings

So there I was on Saturday, sitting in the hairdressers having my hair cut, while nursing a hangover from hell, and through bleary eyes I spotted this view out of the window. Divine inspiration struck. A photo opportunity and I had my camera with me! Here is the result. The ornate iron work that surrounds the window balcony echoing the ornate roof of Costa Coffee. I love it when a plan comes together.

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Orange And Grey

Today just a photo of the ordinary, nothing special, and a bit random but I like the colour contrast and just wanted to share it. Have a good day.

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Tax Evasion

I'm not suggesting for one moment that this shop is involved in tax evasion but the name suggests otherwise! This book shop in Montpellier specialises in, you've guessed it, cook books! They boost a huge range of new and used books, so if you want to make it they'll have the recipe for it!

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Living The Dream

This young man was having a great time playing and singing on The Prom to earn a few quid. The photos may not be the best (he was moving around a lot) but they show him giving it his all.

Big Top

This is the inside of the dome of the Rotunda, that is now home to Lloyds bank. I thought I'd show it in black and white as I think it highlights some of the details and its not far off the real colour, a greenish-grey with a red circle round the highest point.

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Punching The Sky

Today is a 'let the photo do the talking' day. This is St Lukes church steeple with Leckhampton Hill in the background.

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The Kid Is Not My Son

But it could be an osteopaths daughter! Yes, even sleepy old Cheltenham is now part of the on going media frenzy surrounding the aftermath of Michael Jacksons death. One of the national Sunday newspapers reported that former Oliver! child star Mark Lester (who is now a Cheltenham based osteopath) has claimed he is the biological father of Paris Jackson. Lester is godfather to the three children and had been a friend of Jacksons for many years. He says he gave Jackson a gift of his sperm (well, what else do you get the man that has everything?! Don't even ask how he gift wrapped it!) and that Michael told him he was the father. Obviously this claim has been denied by a Jackson family spokesman.

But it was reassuring to see that the Gloucestershire Echo has jumped on the bandwagon. Nothing like lazy journalism, their story is just a re-hash of the News of the World story. Nice work Echo. Hold the front page!

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Chemistry

Forget the green cross that indicates a chemist or pharmacy, this is how it was done in the past. This pestle and mortar on Rotunda Terrace, Montpellier Street, show you where to find The Spa Pharmacy. The chemist was established in 1838 so I presume that this must be quite an old symbol. I don't think I've ever seen one like this before, how about you?

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Hitting The Heights At 600

Today is my 600th post! I can't believe it, 600 ramblings about Cheltenham and nearly 700 photos. The time has flown by. Thanks to all the regular visitors and people that leave positive comments, it means a great deal to me knowing that people out there like my little blog and my photography.

This sign caught my eye as I was leaving the Regent Arcade car park the other day. Surely if you are driving a beast-of-a-car you've got an idea of the height of it and whether or not it can make it under a height barrier! Or are the people that drive them so rich they don't mind a seriously scratched roof as long as they get a parking place?!

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Cheltenham In Bloom

Being past winners of the national 'In Bloom' competition, Cheltenham has a lot to live up to. In the past the town has won the award for best small town several times and the Council always make an effort with its displays of summer blooms. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the different areas of town have different colours of flowers. These photos are from the top end, Montpellier, where the colour theme is yellow and orange.

Hope these brighten your day.

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Sky Watch Friday

Union Jack

I just liked the different elements in this scene - the grey/blue sky, the flag, the roof tops, the green splash of colour from the tree and the little pigeon (can you spot him?)

Flags are difficult to photograph, aren't they? I took about five different shots of this scene and this was the best flag one. I really wanted a photo with a fully flying flag. Better luck next time.

To join in with Sky Watch, or to see the sky from all around the world, head over to the Sky Watch Blog.

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Someone To Watch Over Me

Here in Montpellier this Penfold post box isn't in danger of being removed, what with the beady eyes of the Caryatids keeping watch. Although they haven't managed to stop the finial on the top going AWOL, but with no arms its difficult to apprehend thieves!

And now I'm leaving post boxes alone as I fear I could become a 'post box nerd'!

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Second Class

Following on from yesterdays post box post here is another. I promised you an original and complete Penfold letter box but when I uploaded the photo I spotted that part of the Royal Coat of Arms is missing! Never mind, what can you expect after standing on Douro Road for over 100 years?!

I've found out a bit more about these Penfold post boxes (one of eight in Cheltenham.) They were manufactured between 1866 and 1879 by the Cochrane Grove Company in Dudley. Obviously they differ from the normal round post boxes, what with them being hexagonal, but they also have a beaded edge and are topped with acanthus leaves.

I'm not the only person to become suddenly obsessed with post boxes, check out this news story.

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Peek-A-Boo Post Box

Or how about the title - 'Penfold Peeking'?

"Why the Penfold?" I here you ask. This hexagonal designed letter box is called a Penfold and is one of eight in Cheltenham. Apparently Cheltenham has the highest number of Victorian post boxes in the country - eight of these ones and six round ones, all with the VR insignia (Victoria Regina.) In the UK letter boxes are inscribed this way in relation to the reigning monarch at the time of installation (most now have ER on them.) This letter box on Lansdown Road used to have the finial on the top missing but it has been replaced with a replica one, tomorrows post box is the original version (yes, the start of a mini-series!)

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Chairs And Tables 4

Seating outside the HA! HA! Bar in Montpellier. I like the colour of the wood and the finishing touch of the potted plant. Nice.

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Changing View - August

The second of the month means Changing View here at Cheltenham DP and this months photo is the 12th image of the same scene. Last month I said it was hot, well that soon ended! July was the wettest month since last September (when I started this series) and last Wednesday was the wettest day since last September. August looks like its set to be the same. So much for summer! On the second day of next month I'll show all the photos together, to really show the change (nothing like dragging it out!)

To see how the view has changed click on 'changing view' in the labels below.
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