Gallery

The Gardens Gallery, in the Proscenium Building, Montpellier Gardens, is a popular venue for local artists to show their work. The exhibitions always have free admission and are very varied. At the moment an exhibit entitled 'The World Through our Eyes' is on at the gallery. Three local artists - Sara Chardin, Amy Blacker and Gez Browning - are displaying their landscape paintings and photography.

Primary Colours

Here is the Primary Colours Day Nursery in Montpellier. It is one of the many nursery schools in and around Cheltenham that occupy former residential buildings. This one is a four story dwelling over looking Montpellier Gardens. I really like the coloured (primary coloured) shutters and front door. The shutters are closed as I took this photo on a Saturday, they don't tend to keep the children shut in the dark!
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Watching Over You

Looming large in the background is Eagle Tower and, as a complete contrast, the statue of King William IV in the foreground (click the links for previous posts with all the info you could ever need!) Not much more to say other than old and new make an interesting photo.

Skater Boy

Fakie, Heel Edge, Nollie, Primo. Mean anything to you? No, me neither! Apparently they are all terms used in skateboarding. For all I know this group of lads could be performing each and everyone of them! I spotted them honing their skills in Montpellier Gardens. The gardens have a skateboard park but these four were practising on the flat area in front of the cafe, it may have had something to do with a large group of older kids using the skating equipment, I guess they were waiting their turn.

Have we got any skateboard demons in our midsts?!

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Green Door

Hidden amongst the undergrowth, on the edge of Montpellier Gardens, are a row of mysterious doors. They are the rear gates to the town houses that back on to the park. All are helping to hold up the Victorian red brick wall and keep the privacy of the residents. Some are covered in ivy and unruly shrubs and desperate for a lick of paint, while others are newly painted like this one. I suppose it must be nice to have a secret door at the end of your garden that opens into Montpellier Gardens - an extension of your outdoor space.

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Ice Ice Baby

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Today's title - sorry! Anyway, last week I said I'd shown my last cold weather photo but I'm short on photos, and I really like this one, so here's another snowy shot. This is Montpellier Gardens again and it was slippery underfoot last week. The white stuff has long gone but we could get more. Someone told me yesterday that the long range forecast is for a very cold snap in February, as low as -18c! That is bloody cold for us!

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Snowberries

I thought I'd start the week with a macro photo. The Snowberries are a common sight around town at this time of year, these ones are planted around the tennis courts at Montpellier Gardens. I found the following about the plant at Wikipedia "Symphoricarpos is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the family Caprifoliaceae. All but one are natives of North America and Central America; the one remaining is from western China. Its common names in English are Snowberry and Waxberry. It is a member of the Honeysuckle Family, the Caprifoliaceae." So there you go! If you split the berry open the inside is like granules of snow, very cool. But they are poisonous - no making Snowberry Pie people!
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Making Tracks

One last snowy photo. These tyre tracks were made by the lorries and vans removing the temporary Christmas ice skating rink in Montpellier Gardens. The rink was inside a giant marquee and didn't attract as many skaters as neighbouring Gloucester's outdoor rink did. The main thing that put the visitors off was the fact that it wasn't real ice - it was plastic! Cheltenham Borough Council really need to get their act together for next Christmas!

The white stuff has all but melted, it is still freezing cold and frosty but the forecast is for milder weather next week. Who knows if we'll see more snow this winter.

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Green Dome

Just a quick post today. I've posted several different photos showing glimpses of this building over the last few weeks but here is a complete view, with the lion and the domed rotunda, of Lloyd's Bank. This photo was taken from Montpellier Gardens and you can see the new railings I posted about last week. It really is a grand building and it certainly stands out from the other Regency buildings in Cheltenham. Come back tomorrow for my last post....for now....

Reinstated Railings

Last year Montpellier Gardens under went a £1 million refurbishment, with new paths being laid, trees planted, the tennis courts moved, the former gym turned into an art gallery and, the most noticeable improvement, the iron railings reinstated. The railings were removed from all of the towns public parks, gardens and buildings during the Second World War, they were taken as scrap to be melted down and aid the war effort. Today, around the edges of the parks and gardens, you can still see the old stone bases that once held the fences in place. These new railings were based on the original ones and now help define Montpellier Gardens. Not all of the perimeters have had the railings put back, but this is a start.

The photo below shows the railings being removed in June 1940. I love the fact the workmen are in their shirts and waistcoats! All very proper!

Its A Bandstand!

Yesterdays Green Goddess is part of the iron railings on the bandstand in Montpellier Gardens. This bandstand was recently refurbished during the parks makeover and now it looks in great condition. The bandstand was built in 1864 and has stood the test of time. It is still used in the summer months, when you can see Silver and Brass Bands performing on the weekends.

There was no outright winner to yesterdays competition, so the prize of a link goes to Neva and Lynn as they had the nearest guesses.

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

This seat is something of a mystery to me. It's either the Millennium Seat or the Golden Jubilee Seat. Whichever one it is, its situated in Montpellier Gardens. Actually, the more I look at it the more I'm convinced its the Golden Jubilee one! The Golden Jubilee in question is that of the Queens 50 years on the throne (1952 - 2002). The seat has five sides, each representing a decade of her service to the country. The sloped sides have musical notes weaving their way around and the metal structure in the middle has a dove on a domed top. I'm not sure what that represents, I've looked around online but can't find anything about it. The day I took this photo the winter sun was really highlighting the bird and dome, it was quite dazzling.

Rare Royal

At the end of Central Walk in Montpellier Gardens is this statue of King William IV. The statue was erected in 1833 by public subscription to commemorate the Coronation of the King in 1830, although he wasn't King for long. In 1837 William died and leaving no surviving royal children (he had 10 with his mistress!) his niece Victoria became Queen. The statue started out in Imperial Gardens, down the road, but was moved to its present location in 1920. The statue shows William in his garter robes which is apparently quite rare. Montpellier Gardens have under gone a major face lift lasting about 18 months and reopening this summer and, as you can probably tell, the statue has been given a scrub and polish.