Only For Lunatics

Public


196/365: Tributes to Ozzy Osbourne, Birmingham
I was in Birmingham today for boring reasons, but there was some interest to be had. It's VJ Day, and so there was a two-minute silence at midday. I observed it, but not many others did. To be honest, I'm not surprised: I have to say I think the sheer number of such silences is becoming excessive. We really can't mark all significant WW1/WW2 anniversaries this way, otherwise we'll be having them every day.¹ It feels a bit like the way people wear poppies now from about mid-October, which again I find excessive. Go back a few decades and they were often worn for only one day. I do go beyond that, but not the weeks and weeks that seem to be expected of people like newsreaders now.
¹ Plus, as my late grandpa (who was in the Royal Engineers and would have been posted to Burma had the war not ended) said, VJ Day is different from Remembrance Sunday. He felt it should be more of a celebration and less sombre.

There was nothing photogenic that I saw on that score, so my 365 photo for today is something completely different. This is Black Sabbath Bridge (yes, that's its official name) on Broad Street, across a canal just outside the city centre. Unsurprisingly it's become a centre for fans to leave tributes to Ozzy Osbourne, as you can see here. I had to wait a couple of minutes to get this photo because there were so many other people -- tourists from all over the world -- who wanted to get their pictures taken in front of it. The city museum had a temporary exhibition on Osbourne's solo career, too, although I didn't have the time (or, really, the inclination) to go and see that. I was in Broad Street anyway, so...

Public


195/365: St Chad's Gospels, Lichfield Cathedral
Click for a larger, sharper image
I was in Lichfield today, ancient cathedral city and birthplace of Samuel Johnson. I had a couple of hours to myself, which was a nice treat, and I spent a good deal of that in the cathedral. They were showing the Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners, which as usual were superb -- though the low lighting in the cathedral wasn't ideal for this purpose. I'm also not that keen on the way Lichfield has (or at least had today) someone standing next to the way out asking if I wanted to donate. I'm used to Worcester Cathedral, which isn't as pushy and simply has various ways to donate (or buy stuff in the shop), while Gloucester Cathedral openly asks you for a specific amount on the way in. I must say that I prefer both of those approaches. I've never liked being asked for money on the way out of a place, whether it be a charity shop or a church. As it happened I'd called at a donation station earlier on anyway.

Anyway, that little moan apart, Lichfield Cathedral is a glorious building. It's huge inside and out -- you keep happening upon extra side chapels and staircases and the like. In the Lady Chapel they were exhibiting some of their greatest treasures, of which this may be the most remarkable: the surviving volume of St Chad's Gospels, written in the eighth century. (The second volume was probably lost when the cathedral was looted in 1646, during the Civil War.) This book, though in Latin, contains marginal annotations in Old Welsh -- some of the earliest in that language to survive. The similar pigment in the Lichfield Angel and analysis of the paper suggest that, although the book was with the Welsh monks of St Teilo in the ninth century, it was probably written in Lichfield itself, not in Wales.

It really is an extraordinary sight, even behind glass, and even to a non-religious person like me. I'll reassure you that (probably unlike most visitors!) I read every single word of Lichfield Cathedral's photography policy, and every word on the signs up in this room, and there was nothing stopping me taking this photo. I did not, of course, use flash -- so I think it's come out all right given that the dim lighting meant I had to use a 1/14s shutter speed!

Public


194/365: Old Mill Street Hospital, Kidderminster
Click for a larger, sharper image
Not quite as warm today, but it still felt hot in the sunshine. I was in Kidderminster for a small part of the day, and that's where I took this photograph. It shows part of the former Mill Street Hospital, built in 1870, which closed about 30 years ago when its operations moved to the more modern building that serves as Kidderminster Hospital today. What you see here is only about half the old hospital, as there's a second, similarly sized (but less striking) building out of shot to the left. This building has now been converted to residential use. It's in a reasonably good place for this, as the town centre and a fairly large Sainsbury's supermarket are only about ten minutes' walk down the hill (off to the right).

Public


193/365: Bewdley Auto Services
Click for a larger, sharper image
It reached 32 °C here today. In terms of daily maximum temperatures, this summer looks likely to come close to the all-time record, set in the legendary summer of 1976, given the forecast for the next couple of weeks. It won't be as dry as summer 1976, but the heat is on, so to speak. My photo was taken while on a walk just out of town to get an ice cream at a local farm shop. This garage has been around for many years, using an old farm building as its workshop. It's an MOT Test centre, hence the blue and white sign out front. The banner on the side is advertising Bewdley Beer Festival, which happens over August Bank Holiday weekend later this month.

Public


192/365: Cheap & Cheerful, Bewdley
Click for a larger, sharper image
A mildly unpleasant day's weather today, with a very warm feel but not a great deal of sunshine, so it felt muggy and close. Even some light rain in the evening, although not enough to do the garden much good. Today's photo is of Bewdley's only real discount shop, Cheap & Cheerful. It's as piled high with stuff inside as it is outside, so despite being a fairly small place it does stock a lot of things! Ironically, it's not that cheap -- in some cases it's better value to go into Kidderminster and visit one of its much larger discount stores or even a supermarket. It's certainly convenient, though, as long as you've remembered your physical money as it's still a cash only shop. The bunting above the sign is in Bewdley Rowing Club colours and is left over from the regatta a couple of weeks ago.