SEEKING COLOUR AND FLOWERS

It was yet another dismal day so I decided to try and seek out some floral colour, to lift the spirits.

The first two flowers are from our garden. I've no idea what the flower above is called*. A neighbour gave us this, as a small cutting last year. He told us it was something very exotic! But, whatever, it has wintered well and is now in flower.

Our azalea has a few flowers and normally, given time,  will soon be fully covered with flowers.

So let's see what else we can find on a short walk. First a few snowdrops by the roadside, always a welcome sight.

Next seen climbing over a neighbours wall.

We wandered into a local park - a very Spring like display.

There were a few crocuses trying to hide in the grass - and would have been easy to miss.

A small coffee shop in the park - with pineapples on the door!

Still in the park. A few white flowers trying to escape from the lawn bowls greens.

Now a couple of early, shy daffs hiding away. Not quite Wordsworth's host of golden Daffodils but still pleasant to see.

Okay, not flowers, in the next photo, but the St. Austell Brewery is a pleasant, interesting building and has been around since 1893.

Back to flowers, these were in my son's garden.

Next, one of my favourites: primroses in our garden. They make me feel that Spring is around the corner, even though it's a while until the 20th of March.

And finally, a display seen in St. Austell town square, perhaps a little too gaudy for my personal taste.

Thanks for visiting my blog,

 have a happy, colourful week ~ Mike.

* The flower in the first photo is a hellebore.

FLOWERS IN MY CORNISH GARDEN

It's been a strange old week as I haven't had a chance to get out and about taking photos. I did manage, however, to wander around our garden!  So, a few bedraggled pics follow. We still have quite a few passion flowers, Passiflora, on display as seen above. I liked the spiral below.

A few fungi had popped up on the damp grass.

We always seem to have many pink flowers, which really isn't my cup of tea. 

The dahlia are a mite windblown and damp. The trees and greenery, in the photo, are on the opposite side of the road - see also the final photo on this post.

A couple of hydrangeas.

A red and white display.

Another fungus.

More pink flowers: fuchsia, fighting for space.

Cornish stone on our house, plus something creeping around the corner.

A bashful fuchsia hiding by a large plant pot.

A windswept dahlia again.

More passion flowers.

Finally, looking out from our front garden to the trees on the opposite of the road.

Many thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. All good wishes ~ Mike.

A SHORT GREEN WALK

We walked from home and mentioned that the  dahlia, in our garden, aren't quite as good this year. We headed towards a nearby lane, passing by this gate, and the old concrete items on display - including a miller's wheel perhaps.

There was a dampness in the air. Perfect for the moss to thrive on the old walls. 

A few remaining wild flowers are far from their best but they still have a certain appeal.

I didn't expect to see one of the little people, so soon on our walk, they usually hide away. 

A small stream wriggles along the lane - with more greenery on display.

There were more shades of green on an old wall.

A path into the woods looked tempting.

A few raindrops in the wind, but they soon went away.

The small stream again.

You never know what you may find on a walk, if you have time to stand and stare. You might even see two decorated chairs in the undergrowth - most unexpected!

These two creatures sat happily on a wall.

A few wild flowers lingered on.

Back at home, after our walk, this fuchsia looked okay ...

... as did the dahlia hiding amongst the hydrangea leaves.

Another day, another (short) walk. Hope you have a happy week.

Good wishes ~ Mike.

ST. AUSTELL TOWN PHOTOS & THE EARTH GODDESS

There's been a rumbling of sorts, in St.Austell and all because of a new piece of artwork, as above. It's big!  It is the UK's largest ceramic sculpture and is said to have cost £80,000. Oh, and in the photo above I missed off the very top of the sculpture. The title of the artwork is 'The Earth Goddess'.

The controversy rumbles on because some Church leaders are urging the town council to significantly change or remove the goddess. They claim that the local authority has likely, unknowingly, chosen to reject God by allowing the artwork to be erected.

Anyway let's move on, I'll come back to the Goddess later in the post. For now though, lets take a look at some of the much older parts of St. Austell town. Below is the Coral Moss shop and ...

... then a local Estate Agent. Property prices are rising in Cornwall.

Next we have the lovely Holy Trinity Church. There has been a church building on this site  since 1169. Part of the current building dates back to 1290.

The church stands on high ground and overlooks the White Hart hotel and pub. The hotel was previously the town house of Charles Rashleigh the Charlestown founder. See my previous post Photos and a Brief History of Charlestown, Cornwall

Another view of the church.

Looking from the opposite side of the church is the old Market House. There is also a free, but small, museum.

A touch of street art on the side of a building next to the Market House.

If we look outwards from the front of the church there is Fore Street, one of the main shopping areas. It has to be said, though, that, as with many towns, there are a few empty shops.

A view of the church looking back from Fore Street.

We have now slipped out of the Fore Street and into Biddicks Court where there is the Wetherspoon outlet called Rann Wartha.

A couple of photos from the back street.

Moving on to the newer part of St. Austell - a butcher and a greengrocer but no candlestick maker. There are bakers though, so a ready supply of pasties is available.

There are lots of flowers in this new(er) section of St. Austell.

Below is looking outward from the shops.

Four photos now of some of the flowers by the newer shops. As you can see I managed  to click the pics when there wern't too many people about.

So here we are again back at the controversial earth goddess - including the top part.

I guess when the goddess is in the right position, with the cinema and flowers in the background, she doesn't look too bad at all.

A close up of a section of the goddess.

Nearby there is a pleasant odour of fish and chips - even though I'm vegetarian!

I wonder what some of  St.Austell's well known people, from the past, would have made of the goddess?

That's all for today. I have, though, written a previous St. Austell post: A Flavour of St. Austell, Cornwall - 26 Photos if interested.

All good wishes ~ Mike.