April 2022 Archives

I visited the Tudor-style Paycocke's House and Garden at the beginning of September when I was in Essex. As the house is a small property, visitors must book their visit in advance for guided tours. The house itself dates from about 1500, and it was built for Thomas Paycocke. Paycocke made his riches in the cloth trade, and this is an example of a Tudor merchant's home. The house is located in the village of Coggeshall in Essex.

The house was used as a wool-processing plant, home, and office. The river used to run at the back of the house, but it has since been diverted. The processed wool would probably leave in boats at the back of the house. The house was primarily built as a status symbol.

The house remained in the Paycocke's family until 1584. It was then purchased by the Buxton family in the mid-1700s and divided into cottages and sold. The houses became in a bad state when a historian protested against their destruction, and a descendant of the Buxton family decided to restore the house and later gave it to the National Trust.

'Coggeshall Whites' was the term of cloth produced. It was woven wide and considered excellent quality and recognisable. It was sold undyed because the Flemish merchants would finish the cloth with dye. The cloth was known through Europe, and the entire production process was completed by Paycocke. 

The house was re-decorated and altered during the decades, and some of the rooms have had panelling and carving installed in them from other properties that were in decline. Originally, the wooden beams on the ceiling contained "T" for "Thomas" and "M" for "Margaret", his first wife. His wife's family was wealthy in the cloth trade, and Thomas learned the trade as an apprentice. 

We were shown a hidden carving of a face on the wooden beams on the ceiling in the main room at the front.

Various panelling and carvings had come, in part, from other homes. Some of the carvings may have been altered with symbols and names.

The upstairs of the house contains three rooms. One of the rooms demonstrated cloth. Another is set up as a dining area. The other room is set up as a bedroom. A part of an original bed post was discovered at the British Museum and sent back to the house to put on display, and it is one of the oldest items in the house. It contains Paycocke's symbol.

After looking around the house, I explored the garden. The garden is an Arts and Crafts style, and it was restored in 2008.

I also had a look in the bookshop.

There would normally be a cafe at the property, but it is currently closed.

Inside where the cafe was located is an art display. Coggeshall Rainbows contains a lot of images of rainbows designed in the village in 2020. "Woven 808" by Mike Roberts is an interactive display made of cloth and electronics to allow the visitor to create patterns that match up to sound.

The tour guide was very knowledgeable at Paycocke's House and Garden, and it is a pleasant National Trust property to visit.

I visited the ruins of the Roman city of Wroxeter, which is located in Shropshire, at the end of March. This was once the fourth largest city in Britain during Roman times. Most of the old city remains covered, so only a small glimpse of the ruins can be explored and seen today. Today, the remains of a large bath house and a market can be seen here as well as a reconstruction of a Roman house, which was built using the traditional Roman methods. The forum was located where that house now stands with additional important buildings underneath a listed barn next door. There is also a museum.

The name for this town was Viroconium, and it had a population of 5,000 people. There is evidence that the city had grown and expanded with different areas used for different purposes after the initial construction of the fort. I spoke in detail about the town to one of the staff at the English Heritage site, and he said that it was likely that the city was used for producing agricultural items for the Roman army, and its importance diminished after the military power here was scaled back in the country.

A tribe of people that farmed the land and traded salt and copper, known as the Cornovii, lived in the site where Wroxeter now stands before the Romans arrived. This tribe lived in a large area that is thought to have spanned modern-day Cheshire, Shropshire, parts of Wales and down to the Cotswolds. 

When the Romans moved to Chester at around the year 90 for a time, the territory was returned to the Cornovii tribe. They had started to build a newer and larger bath house, but it was unfinished when they moved to Chester. The fortress buildings were demolished, so the Cornovii built on and extended the city.

The city was completely abandoned by the Romans when the army left to defend Italy against Germanic tribes. The locals lived in the city, and its buildings were re-purposed for a time. When the Anglo-Saxons arrived, they created new settlements instead of living in the old. 

I explored the bath house first, and it's clear to see where many feet have walked over this threshold into the bath rooms, as it is very worn. There were different rooms in the bath house for exercising, cold baths, and hot baths as well as dry heat. The floor was built onto the vaulting, where the air could pass into. The furnances for the bath were at the far end, and this was the hottest part of the room. 

There was also an outdoor bath, which looked like a modern day swimming pool. Outdoor baths were regarded as healthy, but the bath was not often used and filled in. I suppose the weather in the country made them unpopular.

Next up was a small market, which was built around a little courtyard after climbing some stairs. It was probably used as a market for more expensive goods.

The museum at the site contains a lot of information about the Romans along with some items discovered. However, many more items are in the museum at Shrewsbury. 

My last visit was to the modern-day construction of a Roman house. A few of the rooms were decorated inside, such as a dining room, a room selling goods (market), a chapel, and a bedroom.

Although not too much of the city can be seen today, the visit was very interesting to discover some facts about how the Romans were living in Britain and to read more information about them. The site got popular at the end of my visit and the car parking was full.

The Pinner Rotary Club helps to host Pinner's annual St. George's Day events, and it commenced in 1963. For 2022, it was held today, on Sunday April 24. One of the most famous events for the day is Ye Olde Wheelbarrow Race, which sees teams competing in racing wheelbarrows and drinking beer from the pubs along the route. There is also live music to look forward to, Punch & Judy shows and a petting zoo for little ones, scout parade, fun fair rides and booths, face-painting, kiosks selling food and drink, local pubs and restaurants selling food and drink along the street, morris dancers, and other entertainment.

My day started off at Eastcote House Gardens where I decided to walk to Pinner along the Celandine Route, a walk that I enjoy (read a post about the Eastcote House Gardens to Pinner walk here). When I arrived at Eastcote House Gardens, there were several classic cars making their way in for a classic car show. It was lovely weather for it, but I could not stay as I had plans to visit Pinner for their St. George's Day event. So, I snapped a few photographs of the cars, including a 1970s Dodge in the same or very simiar colour that my late grandmother owned (inherited) that is sitting in the barn unused for the past 30 years or more.

I also had a quick wander at the gardens at Eastcote House and visited the second-hand bookstore that was open. It's only open on event days, and books are a bargain. The tulips are almost over, but the wisteria is coming out as are the irises.

Along the river Pinn, I noticed a few bluebells are out now. I also snapped a photograph of the dog cemetary that is located at the entrance into Pinner Memorial Gardens (opposite the school). I'd read about it on the official Celandine Route map and information published by Hillingdon Council, but I had walked past it without noticing it on my initial visit.

 Before I continue with the St. George's Day events, I'll also post about the coffin! Next to St. John the Baptist's church on Pinner High Street (the beautiful church tower at the end of the beautiful-looking street) is a floating coffin suspended in a triangular piece of cement. William and Agnes Louden are the two people that it is dedicated to. There are a lot of old tales about this coffin. It was actually designed by the son of the couple that it is dedicated to as he was a landscape designer and wanted to convey the cemetary in a different method than past traditional methods.

Now, on to St. George's Day at Pinner. The day started off with bell-ringing at the Parish Church, and the crowds had yet to descend. The fun fair rides and games had started to get attention from the early arrivals. Choir singing was one of the first events of the day.

I had a check at the petting zoo, which contained a large array of animals. Goats, lambs, rabbits, and hens were some of the animals I saw. 

I grabbed a curry meal from the front of one of the restaurants on the High Street.

I discovered St. George wandering down the High Street and looking for the dragon to slay. He was, with his companion, handing out flyers for a play.

There weren't too many in fancy dress. I noticed a couple of women outside one of the stands and the morris dancers. I had a quick chat to one of the morris dancers outside the popular Queen's Head pub.

The scouts then started their parade from the bottom of the High Street to the war memorial to renew their Promise. St. George kicked off the parade with the Mayor of Harrow's car following behind...then all of the different scout groups.

I briefly met the Mayor of Harrow, Cllr Ghazanfar Ali, to get a photograph of him and his wife. They were giving speeches throughout the day and participating in some of the events. He also participated in the morris dancing. 

Next on the agenda was the morris dancing with the Merrydowners, dressed in their bright costumes.

There was some time to kill before the wheelbarrow race, so I just sat down and watched the people and also got a slushie to enjoy while I sat down and waited for the wheelbarrow race. I listened to the music playing from band Simply Gray, who were playing older songs like Elvis and general rock and roll. I also made sure to pick my spot to watch the race early, though I did find that I picked the wrong spot as it was obscured by people who showed up later. 

The wheelbarrow race and day has its traditions in the extensive variety of local pubs, which has sadly dwindled over the years. Pinner was a community that loved its pubs. Before the race, there was a procession of the wheelbarrow race participants. 

The wheelbarrows finally came racing around the corner. There was a clear leader at this point (number 3), and they were the first to finish the race. I enjoyed seeing the costumes. Super heroes, St. Georges, dragons, men dressed as babies, etc.

A large inflatible dragon was a centrepiece at the top of the High Street and welcomed many photographs.

A lot of children waited for the Punch & Judy show to start.

By the end of the wheelbarrow race, the High Street was the busiest that it had been all day.

Boscobel House is famous for being the hiding place of King Charles II during civil war in the mid-1600s. In 1651, England had been in a civil war for nine years, and a young king fled after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester by Oliver Cromwell. Charles II made his way to Boscabel House and hid in an oak tree, which is known today as the Royal Oak. A descendant of the original tree can be seen today.

Boscabel House was no more than an isolated lodge surrounded by woodland in the 1600s; most of it was built in 1630, extending a much smaller cottage. The name "Boscabel" means "beautiful wood". Boscabel House is near White Ladies Priory, which is located about a mile away and which I visited prior to my visit to Boscabel House (read more about my visit to White Ladies Priory). Boscabel became a large farm in the 1800s, and visitors can see the farm buildings.

Charles II arrived at White Ladies Priory and hid there before hiding at Boscabel House. He was disguised as a countryman at Boscabel so that he could make an escape. 

The Evans family owned the property from the late 1700s, and they made fortunes from mining and established a bank in Derby and then ventured into the cotton-spinning business. The two sisters were the final owners of Boscabel House and lived until the late 1800s; neither married. They allowed visitors to see the famous oak tree and house.

I visited the interior of the house first, and there were a few rooms to see. Visitors could take a "candle" around with them, which would add an interactive element to the experience. The candle could be placed in certain places, and this would sometimes bring a soundscape, projection, or other interactive element to the experience. In the first room, the lounge, we saw some wet stockings and boots warming by the fire.

We could see a couple of the bedrooms on the first floor. One of the rooms had a projection of a growing oak tree, and the other one had the king chopping his hair off to change his appearance.

The attic or second floor is where Charles II hid in a trapped door under the staircase.

Here are a couple of photographs of the attic.

After the visit to the house, I explored some of the working buildings. Some of these at Boscabel included the salting room, the dairy, the smithy, cider room, and cheese room. The salting room is where pig products were prepared. This room is being used to display how cheese was made; milk was left to age in shallow pans. The dairy was also used for churning butter. One of the rooms contained a cider press. 

There were stables and a cow shed and other farm buildings. There was a sculpture of a cow that did not look like a cow unless you were facing it straight on.

Next up are the farm animals. Today, the site contains a mixture of hens, pigs, and sheep. Two pigs were asleep in the barn, and we were told that they were going to make their pen larger on the following day. The breed of pig is Tamworth, and they are a red-coloured pig. This breed is considered to be the most similar to Europe's wild pigs.

All of the hens and birds were double-fenced so that other birds could not get into their pen due to bird flu. There were also meant to be sheep, but I think they were all sleeping in a building somewhere behind the pasture. The breeds in the pen were Shropshires and Coloured Ryelands. The Ryelands are known for their wool and meat, and apparently Elizabeth I liked stockings made from their wool. Both breeds are not as common.

After visiting the animals, I made my way through the farmyard to the pasture to check out the oak.

The Royal Oak in the field seen today is a descendant of the original oak tree that Charles II hid in, and it was planted in the late 18th century and before the original tree had disappeared. Another descendant of the original tree was planted in the garden next to the house during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The current Royal Oak tree in the field was damaged by storms. In 2001, a successor was planted by Prince Charles to mark 350 years since Charles II visited. In 2020, several other new oaks were planted in the field so that it could be woodland again.

After visiting the famous tree, I headed back to the house, approaching from the formal garden. The garden dates from the 1600s, and tulips are painted here, but they were not out during my visit; I was a week or two too early to see them. Tulips were extremely expensive in this period. Another feature of the garden is a small arbour located on top of a mound in the garden, and Charles II spent some time in here when he was at Boscabel House.

Another fact about the garden is the stonework paving. Using white rocks, a message was written out by the Evans sisters to commemorate the stay of Charles II. The message is still visible, although some of the rocks are missing or have been moved.

That covers my visit to Boscabel House, which I found really interesting. The guides were really knowledgeable and friendly, and I always get more out of a place when the guides are interested in parting with their knowledge. It's not like this at every property that I've been to. 

Those interested about Charles II may wish to look at the National Trust property, Moseley Old Hall near Worcester where Charles II stopped off and hid afterwards. You can read about my visit to Moseley Old Hall here. You can also read about my visit to White Ladies Priory near Boscabel House here.

The 12th century remains of White Ladies Priory is located on the border of Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. It was an order of Augustinian nuns, which wore white robes and were known as "white ladies". In 1651, Charles the II came to the priory to hide following defeat in Worcester, and he also hid in the nearby Boscabel House afterwards (read my Boscabel House visit post here). The priory was once known at St Leonard of Brewood.

The priory can be accessed following a trail from Boscabel House, but we parked up off the narrow lane near the entrance to the priory in the early in the morning and before the house was open. There is a short walk through wooded trail to the site of the ruins. At the end of the trail is an information panel about the priory and a gate to walk through.

There's only an empty shell to see, and there were two larger "rooms" inside the structure. 

There were a couple of people standing in one place with camera equipment and talking when I visited. They had so much stuff with them and unfortunately were just hanging around right there.

With some of the carvings of stone around the doors and windows, you can just about make out how this place would have looked and been decorated.

The daffodils growing around the building added a nice touch.

After checking this out, I then headed into Boscabel House, which should also be visited at the same time. 

"A Dog's Trail" featuring everyone's favourite Beagle, Snoopy from the "Peanuts" comic strip, launched this month in and around Cardiff in Wales. The trail coincides with the new dog rehoming centre in Cardiff, which was completed last year. A Dog's Trust is the charity that is sponsoring the trail with Wild In Art and "Peanuts". When I visited Wales, I noticed that so many people had pet dogs. Dogs Trust cares for stray and abandoned dogs, and their new facilities, complete with under-floor heating, will enable comfort to the dogs while they are cared for and before they find their forever homes. Snoopy is the star of the Cardiff streets this spring, and the sculpture trail is on display until early June. 

"The Natural Beauty of Cardiff and Wales" - Linda Scott

I visited Cardiff over Easter weekend in order to see the Snoopy sculptures, which are located in Cardiff, Portcawl, and Caerphilly. When I visited, a few of the sculptures had yet to be placed, but I saw the others. A couple city centre ones had also suffered damage, which is a shame to see.

"They're All Good Dogs" - Matt Joyce

"Self Care with Snoopy" - Alison Howard

"Pow-Wow!" - Jenny Leonard

"Salty Old Seadog" - Judith Chapman

"Cymro" - Rhiannon Roberts and "Let's Get Out and About" - Patternistas

"Papilion" - Kathleen Smith

"Snoop Draig" - Sophie Galliers Art and "Gwlad, Gwlad" - Kayleigh Ashman

"All the Collars of the Rainbow" - Bea Martin and Jack Skivens and "Yr Wydfa" - Kathleen Smith

"Rescue Me - The Dogs of Dogs Trust" - Tasmin McLaughlan

"Celestial Day and Night" - Hannah Morgan and "Bad to the Bone, But a Heart of Gold"  - Alternative Aesthetics and "Dogs Day Out" - Emily Hilditch

"Four Seasons of Walking the Dog" - Lois Cordelia

"Hiraeth and Heritage" - Ceri Carlyon and Chloe Hall

"Y Ci Gwarchod" - Louise Jones Art

"Guard Dog" - Mik Richardson and "Flowers Will Always Grow" - Farah Saffari

"Sea for Miles" - Peter Poole

"Kintsugi" - Joe Davies and "Happy Little Clouds" - Lucie Alexander and "Snoopy Dog Vinci" - Amy Bourbon

"Pirate Snoopy" - Susan Webber

"Bark Side of the Moon" - Rachel Hall Illustration and "Snoopy's Spots" - Sandra Webster

"Snoopix" - Tim Sutcliffe

"Quit Dragon Your Heels" - Amy Bainbridge

"Cwtch" - Rhiannon Griffiths and "Daffadog" - Donna Newman

The Snoopy sculptures are placed for eight weeks and will be removed on June 5. Each sculpture is unique and showcases something about Welsh heritage or dogs, and many have been painted by a local artist. Most of the sculptures are in Cardiff, but Caerphilly and Portcawl host a few. There are also miniature Snoopy sculptures painted by schools and community centres across the three areas.

On the way to Ogmore Castle, we came across a massive convoy of antique and vintage tractors. Apparently, this is a large event to raise money for charity, and the Vintage Tractor Road Run was last held on Easter Sunday in 2019. This year on Easter Sunday, when I visited Ogmore Castle in the afternoon, there were over 400 vintage tractors passing through the villages. We were lucky to be heading the other way. A lot of people in the villages were out to greet the tractors. The tractors passed by Ogmore Castle, and I could see them in the distance when I was walking around the castle. 

Ogmore Castle is located at the bottom of a hill and next to the river Ewenny and river Ogmore. It is now the village of Ogmore-by-Sea. The castle is thought to date to the beginning of the 1100s, and it was later used as a court and prison. In the early 13th century, the castle was transformed into private apartments. All that remains of the castle today is ruins. It is a popular place for walks as it is near a picturesque river with stepping stones to allow visitors to cross to the opposite side of the river. Many were out with families and their dogs.

The castle was built to keep the Welsh in the west out. It is one of three castles in the area for this - the others being Coity and Newcastle at Bridgend. Ogmore was built by William de Londres, one of twelve knights sent to this region to claim land from the Welsh. The castle took damage during Owain Glyndwr's revolt.

The stepping stones across the river lead to another listed monument with carved stones. I did not fully cross the river or know about these facts until later; the area was quite busy with others waiting for me to cross the river, and I did not wish to rush and fall into the water in front of them, so I turned back around. I'll have to return at some point. However, there is also a legend with the castle and the river. The castle is apparently haunted by a lady, and spirits of the river cannot rest until their found treasures are thrown downstream. 

There are walks here across the river and sand dunes and also the remains of another castle, Candleston Castle. I'll also have to leave this for another visit.

Happy Easter! I did not have any Easter content to display this year as it has just sneaked upon me, and the past couple of weeks have been fairly busy. However, I have spent the holiday in Wales to make the most of the time off. The day consisted of a visit to National Trust gardens followed by Sunday lunch at a pub. I visited Dyffren Gardens, which is located near Cardiff in Wales, and I was in for a real treat. This year, Easter had sunny skies. Although the temperatures were not quite as warm and sunny as in London, it was nearly as nice with sunny skies and warm weather. I did not expect a beautiful display of spring flowers - tulips and daffodil - to greet me.

I will apologise in advance for all of the photographs of flowers as I was in awe of the beauty. I absolutely love these bright colours: yellow miniature triple-bulbed daffodils with pastel pink and magenta. The other beds, interchanged between this colour were magentas and whites (again, white miniature triple-bulb daffodils in white).

Dyffryn Estate actually dates from 640, but the modern estate is of 18th century design. A Georgian mansion is the feature point, and it was built in the late 1800s after previous homes. Walled gardens and garden design dates from around the same period. The gardens are well-known with important status today; in fact, they were Grade II listed in 2000. They are one of the best examples of Edwardian gardens. The site is managed by National Trust on a 50-year lease from the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

The house was used as a police training facility and conference centre in the 1990s. It was repaired in the early 2000s and reopened to the public in 2013. However, the house was not open when I visited, and it does not appear to be open at all this year, but I am unsure why.

Besides the formal garden directly in front of the house, the gardens themselves were looking bare and are being restored and planted with summer plants. 

There are different parts to the garden within little walls, each with its own theme. There is a lovely spot to sit on the wall in the Italian-style gardens under the shade of a tree and looking out over the formal gardens and house.

There are many daffodils in bloom here, but they were over.

Another part of the gardens to see is the walled kitchen gardens with greenhouse. These were mainly bare and waiting for planting.

The bluebells have also started to come out now.

I watched a little robin watching me when I sat on the wall in the shade of this tree, looking over the formal gardens.

After the visit to the garden, Sunday lunch was enjoyed at King's Arms in Pentych, Wales. I had the roast chicken, and the bloke had roast lamb. He said the lamb was so tender that it just fell off the bone. The chicken had a nice flavour. The vegetables that came with the meals included carrots, parsnips, green beans, and red cabbage. Neither of us like the red cabbage. I ordered a Yorkshire pudding as a side as my meal did not come with one. 

For starters, I had the potato and leek soup, which was served with a slice of bread. The bloke had whitebait. For dessert, I had the chocolate brownie.

Overall, Easter Sunday was an enjoyable day. The sun being out made a huge difference, and I enjoyed being able to relax in the beautiful gardens.

The 16th-century Benthall Hall is located in Shropshire and managed by National Trust. It is noted for its oak interiors, including the carved oak staircases, which date from the 17th-century. The Benthall family still do own the house and visit it, staying in part of the premises that is not open to the public. It has been managed by the National Trust since 1958. The house has appeared in films, such as "Enola Holmes".

I had a quick tour of the house before I explored the gardens. There is also a wider estate for longer walks.

The front room has wonderfully-carved fireplaces and walls. We had a very brief introduction to the house. It was in need of a lot of attention at one point and then brought back up to standards. In the 1950s, it was used as a boy's school.

The staircase has wonderful carvings, such as the one below.

There are some walled gardens behind the house.

The daffodils were in abundance here.

The church of St. Bartholomew is located next to the house, and it dates from 1667-1668. Around the front side of the house, backing onto the church, is a smaller rock garden set on different levels.

Benthall Hall was a lovely visit, and I hope to return at some point to see what it is like in other seasons.

Haughmond Abbey is a 12th century Augustinian monastary, and the ruins of this monastary are maintained by English Heritage (now free to visit and no longer contains an open shop nor museum). The buildings date from the 12th to 15th centuries. In lieu of the museum and staff, information boards can be used to guide you around the ruins. The ruins are located not far from the Severn and also near to the city of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It was remote but contained a large religious community in its day. It met the same fate as other monastaries during Henry VIII, and a fire destroyed some of the buildings in the mid-1600s. The ruins were then used for farming before being turned into Romantic ruins as part of a larger estate. Finally, they became maintained by English Heritage in 1984.

There are extensive ruins here, and the property was very busy when I arrived in late March, so it is a pity that the little museum and shop were closed. Some of the information boards were also worse for wear.

The abbot's home is located in the bay window area in the photograph above, and this building served as the Great Hall. 

The refectory was for eating and listening to religious sermons. There were washing areas in the above archways for the monks to use before eating. The little alcoves on the now-missing floor above would have held napkins or cutlery. The lower level with the trench would have been the cellar or storage to keep things cool.

The chapter house is pictured above, but it formed part of the cloister in front of it. The archways here are well-decorated with statues on the columns. On the far left corner is another decorated archway with figures on the side of the archway, and they are thought to be of St. Peter and St. Paul. Detail of this archway can be seen below.

From this far corner, the chapter house can be seen as well as stairs up to the upper levels of the monastary. The area where I am standing in the below photograph is where the church was located. This is where the public entered the church for service. It was built in the mid-1100s, but an earlier church was actually on this spot, and it dated from the late-1000s.

A close-up of the statues on the archways of the chapter house is pictured above with the interior of the chapter house pictured below. The chapter house contains some stonework from graves. Behind the chapter house was a garden that would have been part of the abbot's house, and this would have had an ornamental pond.

The dormitories was pictured on the hillside part of the abbot's house in the area of the photograph where I am standing below.

These connected to the latrines, and the ditches for the latrines and drains can be seen today with some water retained in them. This connected to the front of the monastary where I came in (facing the abbot's house and great hall).

This is a large site to explore, and it's an interesting one. I was disappointed that the shop and museum are closed; apparently, they have been shut since 2017. I think the information boards need to be replaced, and I would have loved to have seen more information on site. It's also a pretty popular attraction as many people were here visiting it.

"Snoopy Without Balloon" is one of the newest street art murals by Otto Schade in east London. This piece was painted on a wall near the post office on Brick Lane, a spot that is tricky to get a photograph of during hours of operation due to the card stands placed in front of it. I was lucky to have gotten a photograph after hours. It features the two popular "Peanuts" characters, Snoopy the beagle and Woodstock the yellow bird. Otto Schade has painted across London for many years now, at least eleven! His main styles are the ribbon style of artwork in which the subjects are formed of bands or ribbons. The other style is the silhouette style featuring a political or social pun inside of a round silhouette with an orange or purple gradient behind. Earlier work also included stencils, which the artist seems to be re-visiting recently.

The "Snoopy Without Balloon" artwork is shown in its full glory below.

The next piece is a stencil. This piece, "Cop A Load" was a stencil that the artist used several years ago now but that I had not seen for awhile. (It's tagged as not Banksy since a lot of people not too familiar with street art think Banksy is the only artist who creates stencil street art.)

On the same Brick Lane post office wall was another mural painted previously, and I actually saw this one in progress. The work is titled "Mascariposa". It is a ribbon-style artwork with a side profile of a face using a butterfly as a mask.

"The Cash Machine" features a royal guard using his rifle as a flute to bring a snake to life. Painted near the ATM cash machine, several money-shaped pieces of paper appear to be be floating around the "box". The placement of the piece and the way it fits in with the oddly-shaped walls makes it a unique work.

Next up is a stencil piece with birds flying around a bird cage, and a drone is located inside the bird cage: "Artificial Intelligence". Like the previous artwork, this piece also uses the building and surroundings. One of the birds is placed on an exterior pipe of the building, and the cage itself is suspended from the brickwork.

The final piece was actually painted late summer in 2020, and it was part of London Mural Festival. "Never Give Up" shows a salamander licking a butterfly. When looked at a distance, it appears to be a side profile of an elephant's face. This piece is located in Hackney, and it's looking a little worse for wear the last time I visited that area, which was actually sometime last summer.

I've previously posted about Otto Schade's street art in the following posts:

Otto Schade Paints Donna Summer on "Bull In A China Shop" in Shoreditch and Others
Otto Schade Murals on Kingsland Road
Long Street - Otto Schade, CodeFC, The Krah
Street Art by Otto Schade
Otto Schade Paints "The Lady Don't Protest Enough" Mural on Bateman's Row
Otto Schade "Jack the Ripper 2040" Street Art
Otto Schade 'The Believers' and 'WTF'
'Bull in a China Shop', 'Osch-car' and 'Flies Around Sh*t'
Otto Schade 'Peace and Love on the Streets'
Street Artist Otto Schade Paints Southampton 'Zany Zebra' for Charity (and other work)
Street Art Round-up: Spring & Summer 2015
Otto Schade's New Street Art (Meerkats, Portraits, & More) in East London
New Street Art from Horror Crew, Swoon, Otto Schade, HIN, and others
Street Art: Otto Schade

Originally from Chile but based in London for the past several years, Otto Schade has painted across London and the world with his work instantly-recognisable. His main styles are the style where his subjects appear to be made of ribbons or bands. The other style is the silhouette, and this often features political or social satire. One of the newest murals, painted at the end of 2020, was a portrait of Donna Summer on "Bull in a China Shop" wall opposite Box Park in Shoreditch.

Other work includes some new smiley-face ribbon artwork, which was located on a couple of walls.

The post office on Brick Lane was another location of Otto Schade's artwork. Ecuadorian actress Flor Maria is the subject of this piece, and her portrait in ribbon-style is located on the wall.

Other common subjects feature ribbon-style pin-up girls. The one below is wearing a cowboy hat and looking at her mobile phone: "Audrey's Mirror Selfie".

Unfortunately, many of the pieces are short-lived before they are tagged over in east London. It is always very disappointing when this happens, especially when it's not been there long. The rhino below was tagged over very quickly.

Another mural features a blend of ribbon and silhouette styles with an eye showing a sword fight scene.

"Open Your Mind" is a satire piece with a karate kick breaking the silhouette.

Another one of these shows a boy climbing a ladder to reach grenades hanging from a tree like fruit.

In Camden, the artist painted a tribute to Amy Winehouse along with another pin-up girl. Both use the ribbon style.

Over the past couple of years, I took a lot of photographs of street art when I could get into London, but I've not published much of it on this blog. This post covers walls that busy London street artist Fanakapan has painted around east London. The artist is known for specialising in foil balloon street art. I always love finding new work around London.

The first mural is a refresh on a wall that the artist often paints and refreshes after a few months. The wall is located near Hoxton Square and depicts a blue and pink chrome balloon. It was painted earlier this year.

A foil "5" was painted on a wall on Columbia Road, near Ion Square. There was some building work taking place, so I managed to capture a shot of it.

On the wall at Hoxton Square, and earlier piece painted in 2021 was of a very smiley chrome foil balloon. It doesn't exist anymore because this wall was refreshed.

The last mural to show is one that no longer exists, but it was located in Star Yard off Brick Lane. It is a wonderful show of the artist's talent in creating three-dimensional street art on walls that are often not prefectly straight and have imperfections. Behind the three-dimensional tag is a two-dimensional grafitti piece. The skill is in making the artwork pop off the wall whilst not noticing the imperfections of the wall.

More artwork featuring Fanakapan can be discovered on my blog here:

Fanakapan "Up Yours" Mural on Heneage Street
Fanakapan "BITER" Street Art on Pedley Street
Fanakapan Street Art Smiling Balloons
Fanakapan Paints "Hah" Laughing Gas on Pedley Street
Halloween Street Art by Fanakapan
Fanakapan Street Art on Mornington Crescent and Star Yard
Fanakapan Paints PacMan Pizza on Brick Lane and Other Street Art
Fanakapan Star Yard MagnaDonuts Mural
"Follow the Leader" by Fanakapan
Peace for Manchester
Fanakapan Paints Shoreditch Clowns
Chrome Balloon Dog in Star Yard
Fanakapan Paints "Power Tools" on Village Underground Wall
Fanakapan Paints "Drunk Glass Elephants"
Fanakapan, Horror Crew, & Jerry Rugg
Louis Masai and Fanakapan: "Freedom?"
New Chrome Street Art Mask by Fanakapan
Balloon Animal Street Art
Cranio & Fanakapan
Fanakapan and Horror Crew
Camden Street Art Self-Guided Trail
Halloween Street Art (2018 and 2019)
Cranio Returns to London in 2020 and Paints Brick Lane

Bladnoch Distillery is located near Wigtown in Galloway, Scotland. It is a picturesque distillery and was founded in 1817, making it over 200 years old! That also makes it one of the oldest Scotch whisky distilleries, and it produces lowland single malt scotch whisky. I was lucky to take a tour of the distillery at the end of July, and this was followed by a tasting of three of the whiskies on offer. (For an upgrade, visitors can try five of the whiskies, and I paid for the bloke to have the five tastings as he enjoys whisky.)

We were told the distillery history before going inside the factory. My visit was during the "silent tour" time, meaning that the distillery was closed and was not producing whisky during my visit.

The wooden barrels were open to smell what remained of alcholic fumes and smelled like brewing beer.

The grain is cooked and brewed initially in the vats.

The whisky is distilled in the copper vats.

The barrels were imported from America and are bourbon barrels that can only be used once, and they help create the flavour in the whisky.

Our last stop before heading to the tasting was to the warehouse where we could see hundreds or thousands of barrels stored and aging. 

When Camilla and Prince Charles visited the distillery in 2019, they signed a barrel, and this is on display in the warehouse.

The samples we got to try included "New Make Spirit", "Pure Scot", "Vinaya". "New Make Spirit" is very strong and almost clear. I preferred "Vanaya" out of the ones that I tried.

The extra two that the bloke tried were the "11-year old" whisky and the "Samsara". The Samsara ended up being the favourite and the bottle that was purchased at the shop.

Due to the Scotish laws on drink and driving, visitors who are driving can not have any taster of the drink at all, so it had to be bottled for take-away. Bear this in mind if you wish to visit. 

Acton Burnell Castle, located in Shropshire, was constructed toward the end of the 13th century by Robert Burnell, a friend of King Edward I. The complex consisted of the church, barn, and this mansion or "castle" as it is called. The only remains of the castle are the ruins that can be seen today; the barns no longer exist. The castle was lived in by Burnell's descendants until the early 1400s. King Edward I actually stayed at the castle for a couple of months at the end of the 1200s. 

Parking to visit the castle is down through a small narrow lane that is a dead end. The gate to the alley contains parking for a small church and cemetary and is shut outside opening times. The college next door manages this access. A very short walk through a grove of trees leads to the ruins and information boards of the castle, which can be glimpsed behind the church. 

The castle was designed to show wealth and power instead of being built as a defensive structure. By the time it no longer served as a home, it was used as an agricultural building as the land was farmland and hunting grounds. In the 1700s and 1800s, the ruin became a "Romantic Ruin", which was basically a picturesque place to wander around and to enjoy the atmosphere of from an artistic view.

A very large tree is growing out of one corner of the castle.

The interior of the building is a shell with a couple of small areas or rooms.

A couple of information boards are located around the castle grounds to read the history. The other side of the castle looks more "castle-like" with battlements. The ground floor would have been the storage, and the top floor contained the chambers and the Great Hall.

The Vyne estate in Hampshire, England, is a large estate managed by the National Trust. The ground floor of the house has reopened again for the spring, and visitors are free to walk thr grounds and walled garden. I visited the estate at the end of March on a sunny day, and I had a good wander around the walled gardens and a walk through the part of the mansion that was open to the public (ground floor). Daffodils were in abundance.

To access the house and walled garden, visitors cross a little bridge over a lake. There are also some lakeside walks to enjoy.

Daffodil borders line the pathway in the walled garden.

Overall, it was a nice visit, and it was refreshing to be able to enjoy nature again with clear sunny skies and spring flowers in bloom. My last visit to The Vyne was a few autumns ago, and I visited with a couple groups of friends on a sunny day. You can read about that visit here: Days Out: The Vyne in Basingstoke, Hampshire

Painted toward the end of last year, this large-scale mural with a smaller mural next to it were painted by Dan Kitchener on Evelina Road in Penge. The mural is called "Tokyo Dreams" and features the futuristic cityscapes of Japan with various Japanese influences; these subjects are a favourite of the artist. The smaller of the two murals features a cyborg-human with a robotic figure and sports cars in a neon-lit Japanese street scene.

The mural next to it is a large-scale one painted over a three-storey building. The mural features the portrait of a geisha with various Japanese grafitti and influences from anime characters to Japanese film posters.

I love seeing this artist's work, and these are two fantastic murals.

For more work by Dan Kitchener (DANK) featured in this blog, please read the following links:

Round-up of Dan Kitchener Street Art in East London and Camden
Dan Kitchener Paints "London Colours" at NYX Hotel Holborn, Southampton Row
Dan Kitchener Addition to "East London Geisha" on Commercial Road
Dan Kitchener Paints "Midnight Drive" on Hanbury Street
Street art by Dan Kitchener in Summer 2020
Dan Kitchen Returns to Clifton Street with "Tokyo Graffiti" Mural
Latest Street Art by Dan Kitchener
Dan Kitchener Paints 'Ghost Cities' on Pedley Street
Dank Paints 'Ghost Cities - Bristol' for Upfest 2018
Dan Kitchener Paints "Meeting of Styles"
'Future Tokyo and Tokyo Ghosts'
Dank "London Rush"
Dan Kitchener's Street Art on Sclater Street and More
Street Art: Dan Kitchener
"Downtown" Mural by Dan Kitchener
Goswell Road

Street artist Fanakapan is known for his chrome balloon style of street art that he has been perfecting over the past few years. I've only just discovered his "Up Yours" mural tucked inside a courtyard of flats off of Henage Street, which is one of the roads that crosses Brick Lane. The mural is a large-scale one covering a three-storey section of wall in the inner courtyard. It has been inspired by the Disney Pixar film "Up" and features one of the main characters holding the balloons. 

The little courtyard appears tucked between other buildings, and it almost appears like the little house between the massive walls in the film. The mural was painted ahead of an exhibition at the gallery here in the summer of 2018.

More artwork featuring Fanakapan can be discovered on my blog here:

Fanakapan "BITER" Street Art on Pedley Street
Fanakapan Street Art Smiling Balloons
Fanakapan Paints "Hah" Laughing Gas on Pedley Street
Halloween Street Art by Fanakapan
Fanakapan Street Art on Mornington Crescent and Star Yard
Fanakapan Paints PacMan Pizza on Brick Lane and Other Street Art
Fanakapan Star Yard MagnaDonuts Mural
"Follow the Leader" by Fanakapan
Peace for Manchester
Fanakapan Paints Shoreditch Clowns
Chrome Balloon Dog in Star Yard
Fanakapan Paints "Power Tools" on Village Underground Wall
Fanakapan Paints "Drunk Glass Elephants"
Fanakapan, Horror Crew, & Jerry Rugg
Louis Masai and Fanakapan: "Freedom?"
New Chrome Street Art Mask by Fanakapan
Balloon Animal Street Art
Cranio & Fanakapan
Fanakapan and Horror Crew
Camden Street Art Self-Guided Trail
Halloween Street Art (2018 and 2019)
Cranio Returns to London in 2020 and Paints Brick Lane

I've been wanting to visit Ronnie Scott's jazz venue in west London for several years now, and I finally got to visit on Sunday. I visited for Sunday lunch with the tribute to Doris Day, who would have been 100 years old on Sunday, my day of visit. I love jazz and Big Band music, and I would love to return for a proper jazz show at some point. 

The tribute is a celebration of Doris Day's life on film and record with Sarah Weller as the lead singer and the Mad Men as the musicians behind the show and special vocalist Gavin Skeggs. The tribute followed approximately two and a half hours of Doris Day's career with songs from her films "Calamity Jane", "Pillow Talk", and others. The songs were combined with some facts from the life of the singer.

I enjoyed a three-course Sunday lunch meal with a bottle of Prosecco and a few cocktails. I had sweet potato and carrot soup to start, and the bloke had salmon. We both enjoyed our roast chicken meals, which were served with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnip, peas, a Yorkshire pudding, a bit of stuffing, and gravy. The chicken was tender, and the food was delicious overall.

For dessert, I had the delicious lemon tart, and the bloke had a selection of ice cream. 

I had a couple Pomme Collins cocktails and a Strawberry cocktail. (I wanted the Watermelon Man one as I love watermelon, but they did not have the ingredients for it. The bloke had the Jamacian one; I'm not a lover of rum, and it smelled strong.)

We enjoyed the music and the food. The food and drink is expensive, but it is enjoyable to do it once for a treat, especially as we've not been out to threatre or shows for the past couple of years, so spending a little more this time was to justify to make up for the missed time.

I would love to go to a later show for one of their jazz events at Ronnie Scott's.

Nestled in the hills of Shropshire in England, close to the border of Wales, is a field of daffodils named "Gatten Valley Daffodil Field". It's like any other unassuming field or pasture in this area of the country, except that it is filled with 170,000 daffodil bulbs that bloom each spring. 

I visited the daffodil field at the end of March, and although all of the other daffodils around the area (and in the same valley) were out in full bloom, the daffodils in the Gatten Valley field are either a late blooming variety or simply wish to sleep a little longer, perhaps being in a shadey secluded part. Although the daffodils were in bud (none were in bloom), I estimated that they were about two or three weeks from looking amazing.

The access to the field is through a small narrow country road, which is probably not ideal if coming upon a tractor or farm equipment. Hopefully, the farming will be completed by mid-April, but it has been an unusually cold and wet spring. There's not many passing places on this road, so take care. The best approach is from the north at the top of the postcode (SY5 0SJ), and if looking at satellite view on maps, an ample space for parking is available at the side of the road near the field. 

Walk down the hill and over the little bridge over the stream photographed above, and you will see the field ahead of you. It's actually a picturesque place with a pleasant little stream, and it's quiet here with views of nearby hills. The daffodils are planted at the end of the field.

As you can see, they are very late to bloom. Some were in bud, but I think they are two or three weeks away from blooming. This depends on the weather too, probably. I think Easter weekend this year should be the prime time to visit. I was disappointed to have missed them. However, there were many other daffodils around the area.

Located in the Galloway hills of south-western Scotland is a small town with a rich history known as Wigtown. In more modern times since 1998, Wigtown has taken the title of Scotland's book town, and a book festival is held in the town each year. The designation as a book town started because of the lack of income in the town due to the local businesses (a distillery and creamery) closing, although the distillery is now in operation again. Wigtown now has a couple of distilleries nearby: Bladnoch Distillery and Crafty Distillery. There is also some sad history in the town in the medieval time relating to the Martyr's Stake.

The square in the town was improved and laid out in the original georgian style and also with bowling green, which I witnessed in use with a crowd of people on the Thursday night.

The courthouse off of the square is a very large building and the most recognisable and largest. It reminded me of an American courthouse or church.

There are about twenty book stores in the town, and I browsed quite a few of them and purchased some books. 

There are one or two coffee shops in town and a fish and chips and pub. The fish and chips and pub were both closed, so there wasn't any place to get an evening meal locally during my visit, but I visited while Scotland was still under more extreme lockdown measures than England.

There was a little house on the main street that had a large collection of flowers, garden decorations, and novelty planters.

Overall, it is a very quiet little town - at least when the book fair is not on.

Hopefully I can return back to Wigtown for the book fair some day.

A few months ago, I went to check out the newest street art and Stik's new "Holding Hands" sculpture in Hoxton Square (Stik "Holding Hands" in Hoxton Square). While I was there, I decided to have lunch at Louie's Hot Chicken in Hoxton Square, which is a part of the Red Dog Saloon restaurant on the square. I ordered chicken and onion rings. 

Louie's Hot Chicken is inspired by Nashville, Tennessee. The chicken is marinated and then battered in a flour base with cayenne pepper and seasoned and fried. Fried spicey chicken is a meal that is popular in the states, and there are some restaurants with challenges such as eating a certain number of spicy fried wings in a time limit.

The chicken can be ordered as tenders, bone-in, or burgers. I had some chicken tenders and onion rings. The chicken came with pickles on bread. I thought that the chicken was okay, and I would return to try something else on the menu. The onion rings were very delicious and consisted of rings of onions battered and fried. These are my favourite type of onion rings and reminded me of the onion rings I get in the states at the county fair.