Algae tracks

The hot summer means lots of algae growing in rivers. It is so solid here on the River Sow at Shugborough that the ducks make tracks through it as they swim.

Rainbow in church

The Meerbrook Church Flower Festival was really colourful and, well, better done than most.  (Frankly, a lot of church flower festivals look like the place is just decked out for a grand funeral).

The theme for this particular festival was 'A Good Read', and each exhibit illustrated the makers' favourite book. Featured were the usual suspects - from Tarka The Otter to Wind In The Willows etc.
Mind you, I was a little surprised to see that the exhibit in the photo above was a tribute to 'The Rainbow' by DH Lawrence, a book banned on its first publication for its risque passages!
Good ol' Meerbrook...

Yellow golf course

Just so hot...!
Even the grass at an expensive golf club, like this one at Pattingham, is dry and yellowing at the perimeters.

Hot WW1 day

At the annual Draycott Fayre, we found a gentleman in full World War One uniform, explaining the function of a forward-position observation dugout. It was a fascinating, fear-inducing insight.
The poor man was incredibly hot in his heavy uniform & cap - but refused to take even the jacket off ... "out of respect".

Peak strolling

Walking down to the river bridge from Alstonefield... in the Staffordshire Peak District

Pink runners

A view of Trentham Gardens round dusk. The pink band on the right-hand side of the photo is a group of runners, competing in The Race For Life

The annoying death of Brooke

Lichfield is full of little historical monuments like this one in Dam Street. It commemorates the death of a Parliamentarian general in the English Civil War, Lord Brooke, whose army had cut off the Royalist forces in the city. 
He died 365 years ago today.

The Parliamentary side was understandably aggrieved by this loss of a general and shortly afterwards a pamphlet appeared, called 'England’s Losse and Lamentation'. It said that Lichfield was “the sinke of iniquity, cage of unclean and wicked spirits; ungodly, prophane, and most perfidiously wicked; chief instrument of the Kingdomes misery. Let the remembrance of thee be hatefull; and thy name blotted out from among the Townes of the Provinces.”   Like I said...aggrieved.

Incidentally, the monument says Brooke was shot by a sniper whose job was to "annoy the besiegers".
The plaque was erected in the 1700s, when the word ‘annoy’ presumably had a little more venom to it than it does today…!

Graffiti for a child

This is a curiously vibrant piece of graffiti for a rather unfrequented foot-tunnel.  It runs under the A50 at Blythe Marsh, more as a sort of rain run-off than anything else, as it goes to nowhere really.

But whoever sat here for those lonely hours creating these pictures seems to have wanted to imbue them with childlike fun.

White lady mystery

The ‘White Lady’ print has a central pride of place in this reception room in the old part of the county council buildings. 

The lady is clearly of the eighteenth century but – despite her prominence in this room -, no one is quite sure who she actually is.

I rather like these history-mysteries.  There are far more of them than people think.

Bishton colours

Bishton Hall, home to the Stafford Northcote family (and a Catholic prep school) - in its autumn colours