A few places in Wallingford

 

I took my wife to the opticians the other day for a eye test so while she was in there I took the dog for a walk around Wallingford and went to see some places to see how they changed .

Goldsmith lane gets it name fact the Royal mint was here in Norman times. The houses on the left there are new only being built a few years ago

 The window opens into a short covered ally 

This plaque is on the wall, the club used to be in the building behind and closed many years ago 

 This is what is there now, housing and they look quite nice

 A bit further along the lane is the Masonic hall which is in need of some TLC now a days

 This is around the back of the bank old building, there is some talk of redevelopment but I have heard nothing more lately 

 Around St Peters Place I see a new business, there was a cafe and a light shop but the leases must have run out because the cafe moved, the poor guy who owned the light shop died and no one took it on. Now it's Toddler town

Las of all this place, when I was a teenager the place was a motorist shop and I was always going in buying things for my car, since then its been occupied  by different companies and the whole block was empty last time I came along here and I thought it would be redeveloped but no it seems places are no being leased again

Take Care 

Edmund Hall Chapel

 

This week the Church Explorer shows you St Edmunds Hall chapel which I visited while a the Library the former St Peters church  

Miserable weather

 

We have been having some miserable weather over here in the UK so when my wife & I had our wedding anniversary the end of January we went out  for a few hours to visit Basildon Park 

This is the house but  we did not go in, just had some tea and cake in the cafe

Portico, the entrance is through the three arches. Some of the rooms inside were used in filming Downton Abbey

I took these as we going, it's the old stable and carriage yard

Those were the stables no converted to toilets and a gift shop, the cartage house was behind me

I had to go to the local supermarket later and stopped to get a photo of Didcot Marsh

It going to be built on and the water you see is where the topsoil has been stripped back no doubt so they can do an archeological dig but at the moment it's living up to it's name and being a marsh. Good lock to who ever lives there. 

Happy SkyWatch 

St Nicholas Chippingham

 

This week the Church Explorer visits St Nicholas Chippingham, the Georgian church that was the place where the young Francis Kilvert grew up

Fun with 50

 

Now if your wondering what I am talking about it's a lens. The other week I spent the gift token my son gave me for Christmas and but it towards a Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. I had considered a long zoom but thought it was not what I needed and I hear a lot of good things about the 50mm which is about that amount you see with the naked eye. If your seeing these Malcolm enjoy

The new Pavilion, replaced the one which got burned down, it's always busy

 Daffodils growing

The Forty, the cottages sell for quite  a bit now adays

The bus shelter, I used to hang out here as a kid along with my friends

The path leads to the recreation ground but is very muddy now with the people going to football and walking their dogs, I give it a miss

The brook, its getting higher with the rain we have had

This little angel you see as you come in the churchyard, someone makes shire she hold something, the flower and a teddy bear are the latest

Snowdrops

Close up of a snowdrop

Weathered head by the church door

More shondrops

The angel is the monument to the first superintendent of the old asylum he wanted to be buried with the patients he looked after, the angel held a trumpet once but it's long gone, all that is left is the lead that held it and the mouth piece  

The church from near the angel 

The church from near the entrance

Finally in the school nature reserve I spotted a couple of ducks on a stump 

Happy SkyWatch 

Take care

St Peter Langley Burrell

 

This week the church Explorer visits  St Peter Langley Burrell, the church where Francis Kilvert spent some of his time and where his father was vicar 

 

Some photos round Oxford

 

As I went to visit Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford last week I thought I should show a few place I know and have been to 

West gate shopping center, the new version, the original was built back in the 1960/70's 

Behind me was Bonn Square once the place you would find all the wino's and homeless people now its cleaned up

This is where I was heading, Christ Church Cathedral  

Going along the broad walk to get there

Tom Tower from the quad

 

The crown court, I had to go here for Jury duty, luck I never got called 

Been here as well, St Aldates police station, had to give a statement after knocking a cyclist off his bike when I opened a car door on Hyth Bridge street. That was back in the 1970's, no action was taken

Th e Head of the River pub, When I stated working in Oxford back in 1972 this place was just a derelict riverside building by the late 1970's it was converted to this. I think the collage barges were built here.

Castle mound, I'm sure public hangings too place here till they moved then into the prison in 1868

Last place is the Said Business center in St Frideswide Square. when I went to work in 1972 you drove through the area and the Business center was an old railway station called the Rewley road station. I preferred the old building to this one

Take care 

Happy SkyWatch 

St Andrews West Hagbourn

 

First church of the year though I admit I visited it last year so now caching up with a few outstanding ones before this years visits. St Andrews is one I have been to before but wanted to revisit 

 

January First

 New years day

Woke up to seeing this sky first thing in the morning

 A bit greyer over the brook at Little Lollingdon

 But it cleared to see this at night the laser over at Diamond Light Source

Happy SkyWatch