Answers on a postcard

This week has been one of incredible frustration; worrying news, wearisome weather and website woes. The latter has been pretty dominant and has often meant that by the time we were ready to face the outside world, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. 

Storm Barra, the latest to hit our shores, wreaked havoc in some areas. In the Wild West Midlands however, we were forecast light winds. The battering gusts of wind throughout the night told us otherwise. By morning, the street had clearly acted as a wind tunnel in a domino rally game and most of the bins had been upended. 

At one point, we could barely open the door, such was the force of nature's anger. By midday, the forecast had upgraded our area's weather to "moderate wind." Nice to know. That said, other areas certainly experienced greater disruption and damage. 

So, turning away from mercurial weather, I will take you back to last weekend and a rather soggy walk along the River Severn to the Georgian market town of Bewdley. The mud demanded red wellies of course. I've blogged about Bewdley before and as pretty as it is, this time we decided to grab a cone of chips for an alfresco lunch (we know how to live) and I persuaded Gareth to share one with the seagulls so that I could get some photos of birds in flight - a subject that fascinates me. They didn't disappoint. 

The seagulls in Bewdley are as numerous as those by the coast, but they don't take steroids, have muscles where they shouldn't or give you the stink eye, so I felt happy to have a Tippi Hedren moment and luckily avoided being decorated by the greedy gulls in the process. I just love the beautiful shapes they create with their wings in flight, shapes we don't often get to see with the naked eye... 

 ...but frozen by a fast shutter speed, they are exquisite. 

Instead of heading into town, we carried on along the river in the direction of Arley. Unfortunately, the combination of heavy rain and walkers had made the paths unpassable in places so we took a random left through a gate leading into a field and ultimately back on the road into Bewdley. 

The field flanking the river is one we have walked past countless times, but clearly at such an early stage in the walk, we would never have elected to return to town on foot along the road, so this path was unchartered territory to us. Little did we know that the copse at the far end of the field, just before the road, contained an abandoned church and, as we later discovered according to Google Maps, a spooky graveyard. 

The scene greeting us on this murky December day was eerie to say the least; ivy covered sunken graves...

...and the shell of an old church.

There was an unsettling atmosphere, startling in its immediacy; a feeling that we were somewhere we shouldn't be and a sense that this is a place of happenings. 

I started to shoot with my camera and very quickly spotted a figure at the far end of the graveyard.  She appeared to be clawing at the ground, but upon the realisation that she was not alone, hastily gathered herself to leave, temporarily appearing to hide behind a tree, before making a rapid escape via another path leading into the adjoining field. Very weird. 

This experience certainly set the tone. At the time of photographing, neither of us had any idea of the site's existence, but we've since done our homework. 

Dowles Church was consecrated in 1789, although the actual site dates back to 1170 and was the site of another religious structure. 

There used to be a small ferry service, enabling worshippers from the other side of the river to visit the church, but this eventually was discontinued and the Church finally closed its doors to parishioners in 1956. 

The graveyard is said to be occupied by one Susan Wowen, believed to be a witch and linked to tales of satanic worship. Local tales exist of her growing horns periodically before shedding them again. She is said to be buried beneath an old yew tree.

There is also a mortsafe in the graveyard. To my dismay, I have no photographic evidence of this. I only learned of its existence later. Trust me, if I'd known beforehand, I would not have left that churchyard until I had discovered it. Mortsafes are a rarity in the UK and their cage-like structures were erected either to keep the body snatchers at bay, or to prevent the deceased from escaping, depending upon your viewpoint. 

Bidding goodbye to Bewdley, in between showers, we have had some incredible cloudscapes in the last 7 days. A late afternoon walk over Highgate Common gave me a stiff neck from staring up at the sky.

Don't the trees bare branches look beautiful silhouetted against the sky? 

In other news, my postcards finally arrived. 

I'm pleased to say that these have been produced using sustainable processes and materials - I found a wonderful printing company based in the South West to assist me. I'll give you a brief insight into each photograph. 

1. Sunflower 

This fading beauty was photographed at the National Trust property Coughton Court in Shakespeare's County of Warwickshire in late summer of 2019. I captured its wilting loveliness and added my own "gold dust" texture (created from brass shavings) to show off its magic. 

2. Deepark 

This enchanting sight was a feast for the eyes after the first lockdown in 2020. The silhouetted creatures were captured on our first family day out after the trauma of Covid, in the summer of 2020, on a blistering hot day at Attingham Park, Shropshire. 

3. Balloons 

This was a digital art experiment; a composite image fusing together a photo of model balloons taken in a Bristol museum with an image of a girl disappearing in a Worcester alleyway. 

4. Ladybird 

Earlier this year, the ladybirds were out in force in the garden and seemed particularly attracted to my bright yellow garden table. I captured this one in a macro shot, making its way to the end of a leaf stalk. The yellow table can be just glimpsed in the background, but made for an arty background. 

5. Forgotten Cinema 

A few years ago a local manor house (Wordsley Manor) came on the market. The manor was a source of fascination for me. I could just see a glimpse it through my old bedroom window and grew up hearing tales of its interior decadence and even more impressive, its very own Art Deco cinema! With a group of friends, we attended an open viewing of the property and I took along my camera. It no doubt looks very different now, but this was the cinema in all its faded glory captured on that day. 

6. The Posada 

This legendary Wolverhampton drinking establishment needs little introduction. It oozes character and many relationships and memories have been forged within its walls. I have a limited run of 50 sets available. If anyone is interested, then you can find further details here. https://www.facebook.com/WinterPeachPhotography

Until next time!  Stay safe.