Glitter Girl

Not a lot to say. A glittery girl sitting in a shop window. Helping to sell sofas! With the obligatory seasonal attire - a Santa hat!

Only two more sleeps!

Oriel Lodge

Just look at all that detail. Spikes, turrets, arches, gargoyles and other things with architectural names that I don't know! This is Oriel Lodge on Oriel Road, just off of Bath Road. This amazing looking building sits between two rather modern, unattractive cubes and the Lodge just puts them to shame. I can't tell you much about the place other than it houses lots of different office based companies including accountants, web developers and recruitment agencies. It must be quite old as I found a reference on the net to some bloke called William Nicolay dying there on May 3rd 1842. I'm just a fountain of knowledge today!

_

Chetenham College

This is the view from the balconies in yesterdays post. It is the world famous Cheltenham Boys College. Well, it allows girls now but locally it is known as the Boys College. The college dates from 1841 and has been on this site, in these Gothic Revival buildings since 1843. It was opened as Cheltenham Proprietary College and was founded to educate the sons of gentlemen. The college took in day and boarding students, and still does, with many surrounding streets having halls of residence. The college was originally split into Classical and Military schools but this ended in the middle of the last century. The college is one of several independent fee paying schools in Cheltenham, educating students between 13 and 18 years old. The college grounds are very large with many buildings and the huge chapel (on the left of the photo) was built in 1893-96 for the college's 50th Jubilee celebrations! The college also hosts the Cheltenham Cricket Festival, which started yesterday, and has been held there since 1872.

So, what do you think about the modern Century Court (see yesterdays post) being built opposite the classic Cheltenham College? Now you can see what all the fuss was about at the time!

_

Into The New Century

This is the controversial Century Court. It was built at the start of 2000 and was completed in 2001. It replaced some old office buildings and was hailed as an impressive brownfield redevelopment, but it wasn't without its critics due to the design. At the time it was quite a departure from the usual style of buildings being put up and the Borough Council actively sort out a contemporary design. Century Court was designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley architects and cost around £12 million. The complex has 87 apartments, 9 townhouses, inner courtyard gardens created by a Chelsea award winning designer, a gym and underground car parking. And just to stop any unwanted visitors it has gated access.

This view is from Bath Road but the view from the courtyard is much more interesting. At each end are two drum shaped buildings with apartments within, but I couldn't show them to you due to the gates! The main feature of the homes in the photo is the view from the balconies. They overlook one of Cheltenham's most famous institutions, and this makes these homes some of the towns most expensive (£500,000 for 2 bedrooms!)

Come back tomorrow to see what they see...

Theme Day - My Local Corner Shop

Its the first of the month and that means its Theme Day again!

Although this isn't my local shop (its just on the edge of Cheltenham town centre, not far from where I live) I just had to show it, as its name fits the theme perfectly! This newsagent and toy shop is on the corner of Bath Road. Its been there for as long as I can remember and has never changed. As you can see its looking a bit tired, with flaking paint and a faded window display, but inside it is full to the rafters with all sorts of childhood delights! When I was a little boy my Aunt used to take me with her shopping on Bath Road. We used to go in her Morris Minor, which we called The Old Banger, and we would sing 'She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain' (ahh, memories.) If I was a good boy she would take me to The Corner Shop for a toy as a treat. Happy times!

Take a visit to some of the other 173 City Daily Photo Blogs taking part in this Theme Day, just Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Lizard Leaflets

This funky looking chap is in the window display of printing shop Fat Flyers. I'm not really sure what a papier-mache reptile has to do with printing but its certainly eye catching. The shop, on Bath Road, is always advertising on local radio. Perhaps it would be cheaper for them to do a leaflet drop!