Ipstones pomp

James Cope must have been quite a figure in the tiny Moorlands village of Ipstones during his lifetime.

This grand tomb memorial was built for his two wives (who both died before him), and then he was interred at this spot too, when he died in 1910.

I guess his family (or was it on his own posthumous orders?) then had the bust of James himself stuck on top.

It doesn't quite work, does it? Bit too pompous for modern tastes.

Bavaria in Staffordshire

This view could be one taken in Bavaria, or even the Czech Republic - but no, this is good old Staffordshire. I like taking visitors along the now-disused Alton railway line, and when I say "hey - look up at that!", they look up and - as they see this sight - their eyes widen...

Alton Castle - a neo-Gothic romance built in the 19th century - is owned by the Catholic Church, and is now private offices, so you can't go into it, though you can get close to it from the driveway in Alton village.

Quite a view, this one, aint it?

Spiky nature

Gailey Reservoir - the reeds have a spiky appearance.

Fine art borders

For all the talk about migration, not one of us would want to be out there on the migrant road, existing in squalid, horrible conditions.and fleeing from them too.  Behind all the rights & wrongs, and all the arguments, it's no place that any of us want to be.
This installation art-work, part of the Foundation Year exhibits at the Staffordshire University Fine Art Show really brought this home, I thought.  
What a horror to have to be in a world where no-one wants you.  Pity The Poor Immigrant, as Bob Dylan said.

Fine art rabbits

The Staffordshire University Fine Art Show for its final-year students should be a glorious romp of creativity; and fizzing with original ideas.  You're only young once!
But for the past few years, it has been rather dull and uninspired in my opinion. Some stuff looks very professional, yes - but flat - while the rest is just take-it-or-leave-it.
The university has also hidden the exhibtion away, off the main site, as though somehow this work doesn't fit with the smart design courses in the rest of the institution.

The work of Lisa Nash (above) did seem striking though. She is trying to grasp just how and why animals have become so central in our imaginations.
The figure is holding a new-born/foetus rabbit.

Queen's birthday in wool

As is well known to confused foreigners, the Queen has two birthdays, one her actual birth-date and the other an official day of celebration. 
The official birthday fell on a rainy June 11th this year - and is her 90th.

The town of Cheadle decided to eschew the usual (and rather tired) idea of having photos of the Queen and Union Jacks everywhere.  Instead they chose to fill the town with newly-knitted red-white-and-blue items - mostly long scarf-like strands, but also eccentric bollard coverings and others...   Apparently this concept is called yarn-bombing.

In the picture you can see the knitted bits and bobs festooning the town's famous & ancient market cross.

Grey Ilam

Definition of English summer: the greenest countryside under the greyest skies. 
The gloomy grey stone of these Staffordshire countryside buildings is typical; and, to be fair to the architects of same, one can hardly have buildings decked out in rainbow colours when we are usually under such louring skies.

These are the grounds of Ilam Hall in the Staffordshire Peak District.

Is this Sam Johnson I see?

Lichfield Festival is upon us soon (starts July 1st), and no doubt there will be lots of references to the city's most famous son, Doctor Samuel Johnson.

The city is so proud of the famous eighteenth-century "scribbler" that this rather startling mosaic (erected 1976) can be seen on one street-corner as a sort of tribute to him.
However, it would be interesting to know how many passers-by could correctly identify it as a depiction of Sam. He's not as famous as he was.

Lobby in Bulgaria

I know this is a little daft obsession of mine but -- I like to look for 'signs' of Staffordshire even when I have to leave the county.
This bar in Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria is known as the 'Lobby Bar'... and lobby is the great dish of workign-class Staffordshire.

OK... a bit tenuous, I know - but it pleases me.

Threatening land-owner

This is the sort of thing that really gets my goat.  A selfish land-owner (near Ashley) has put up a threatening notice on a public footpath warning walkers not to use the path.

Of course I understand that land-owners don't always want strangers on their land, but the fact is that these are established common routes - by law - and the owner must have bought the land (or inherited it) knowing that a right of way existed across it.  So they need to learn to live with the fact and adapt.

Secondly, ramblers and farmers have one common aim - to protect the countryside. What farmers don't grasp is that, by being aggressive to walkers, they are making enemies where they should be making friends.