Wild Flowers

Today - just wild flowers in the long grass under a tree.

Some of you might be interested by this new BBC blog - Viewfinder.
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Foodies Heaven

As I mentioned yesterday we visited the Tewkesbury Food Festival on Saturday. The event is in its 5th year and took place in the shadow of the towns famous Abbey. If you like food (and who doesn't?!) then this was the place to be. There were over 70 stalls in the main Food Hall selling any food you could imagine, with the majority being locally produced.


There were plenty of samples to taste to help to get you to part with your cash and lots to see and do - celebrity chefs, craft tent, music, champagne bar, pig roast, a theatre where demonstrations were taking place, to name but a few.


We bought a few things like the chocolate covered ginger below, which is now just a memory. Delicious!

Gods Window

A photo from neighbouring Tewkesbury today, as I need to get out and get snapping in Cheltenham. This is one of the stained glass windows of Tewkesbury Abbey. I'm not sure what this one depicts (any ideas?) but the detail and colours are amazing. If you think that when this was created there were no computers, no special technology aiding creation, just man made skill, it is even more impressive. It must have taken many weeks, if not months, to create this marvellous window. God knows how they did it. Actually, he probably does!

Click on the photo to get an even better look at the detail.

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Touching Souls

Touching Souls is the name of this sculpture at the front of Tewkesbury Abbey. It is an exact replica of the same sculpture in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Created by sculptor Mico Kaufman, its is cast in bronze and shows four children - native-American, European-American, African-America and Asian-American, sitting on the ground, legs outstretched, with the soles of their shoes touching. It is one of the many links that bind the two Tewkesburys. Has anyone out there seen the original in the USA?

Thanks to everyone who has left a comment while I've been otherwise engaged. Normal service has now resumed!

Sinking Feeling

Imagine inviting your friends for an afternoon on your boat. You've packed a lunch. You've promised views of the countryside along the river. You all pile onto the jetty to show off your pride and joy. Then this.

More water in the boat than in the river is never a good start to a boat trip!

Wedding

No, not mine! This was a wedding party just after they'd left the Abbey, on their way to the marquee in the walled garden. Seconds after I took this photo the wooden door was closed and the happy couples day was private once more. I just thought this made a lovely photo (ignore the tree!)

Deerhurst Flower Festival

Every other year the village of Deerhurst, on the outskirts of Tewkesbury, holds a flower festival over the summer bank holiday weekend in their church. This time the theme was Sounds Of Songs And Praise and there were 28 different arrangements, some small and some very grand. This one was in the entrance to the churchyard and was entitled Dancing Around The Maypole. It was one of the more imaginative creations, with sunflowers representing children, and was a lovely arrangement to welcome visitors to the festival.

I took loads of photos, so over the next few days I'll show you some of the other floral masterpieces. To see the flowers of 2006, and to read about the festivals history, go to Deerhurst Flower Festival.

Medieval Abbey

My dad lives just the other side of Tewkesbury and on Tuesday night he took us out for something to eat, yet more birthday celebrations involving food! As we walked back to the car my blogging head came into play and I spotted a photo op, and I had my camera with me! This is the famous Abbey framed by one of the flags still flying from the Medieval weekend, that took place in Tewkesbury last month.

This is also my first Photoshop doctored photo. Not hugely different to the original, I was really just playing around, trying to work out all the different features. Thanks Phoebe for installing the software, what would I do without you?

Back To The River

I went to visit my dad yesterday, to see how he is doing after his recent back operation, and I had to pass through Tewkesbury. I stopped by one of the bridges to take a handful of photos. None of them were anything special but I quite liked this one. The weather is fantastic at the moment. It would have been a great day for jumping on a boat, chugging off down the Avon and finding a nice spot for a picnic, but I had to check on the patient! He is doing very well. The pain he has had in his leg for many years has gone, he is just a bit sore from the surgery. Well, I suppose having a disc removed would make you a bit sore!