Water

We have had a lot of water recently weeks and weeks of rain  as the storms come in wave upon wave from the Atlantic but here on the sunny May days of my photographs there is not a drop is in the air.  Silently and unseen an underground water supply makes its way to the taps of the valley.  Nature gave us a dryish summer and the boating house of the local park lake closed up because water levels were too low but they were high enough for the resident water fowl. 

The Goose family were too quick for me, taking to the water as I approached.  I often saw this pair in May always attentive to their lone chick, the other eggs cannot have hatched and probably fallen victim to a predator, I suspect the local herring gulls who are always after an easy meal.  Inland the gulls are nowhere to be seen and in a water fountain

this duck is showing off  its waterproof feather as it made a slow turn changing direction under the rhododendron trees

the sunlight dazzlingoff the droplets. 

Russell Square fountain, London

Was this little boy about to test the waterproof nature of his clothing (nil) or skin (good)?  Water fountains are an irresistable attraction with their frothing water but I think he is undecided and one small step might be enough. It was a rather chilly day, as you can see from the number of people wearing jackets and scarves.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at W here   

 

Ghostly Greyhound

A ghostly figure emerges from the wall by a Victorian fountain but alas water no longer runs or perhaps it still flows in the world beyond the veil, the man looks straight at us but the dog is more interested in quenching its thirst (or perhaps trying to extricate itself from the wall).  There was plenty of water around when I took the photograph on a grey day but it was all coming from the sky.  The figures were created by John McKenna as part of the Quest art trail project in Whitehaven, Cumbria.  It portrays the ghost of a miner and his whippet but of course I could not resist the alliteration of ghostly greyhound in my title and indeed whippets are descended from the greyhound but are a smaller dog.

The sculpture was installed in 2000 but as can be seen the fountain is dated 1859.  The provision of clean water was part of the Public Health Act of 1848, one effect of which was the appearance of drinking fountains in cities and towns.  Whitehaven originally had six or seven but I think this is the only one that survives.  The first fountain was paid for by the Society of Rechobites, a temperance movement, but this particular one was paid for by the local Water Committee.  The town itself started life as a small fishing village, expanded to a port and with the coming of the Industrial Revolution grew even larger.  One of the movers and shakers of earlier times was Sir John Lowther (1642-1705) who designed the layout of Whitehaven in a grid pattern and it is considered one of the first "post Renaissance planned towns in Britain".  The fountain is located on one of those wide straight street so what else is could it be called but Lowther Street but it was also where Rosina Murray, who lobbied successfully for fountains to be installed, lived.  The fountain features the Lowther coat of arms which was incorporated into Whitehaven's crest,

here seen on the side of the Civic Centre.  A dragon appears on the top of the Lowther coat of arms however the council say their mythical beast is a griffin. The motto is 'Concilio Absit Discordia' - "Let discord be absent from your deliberations"  so no doubt there can be an amicable discussion about the difference between a griffin and a dragon.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at G here

 

 

Water Feature

Leaving the formal gardens of Holker Hall in Cumbria the eye is immeditately taken by these two limestone obelisks and a tempting path leading to the steps in the distance.

Those first steps lead to a plateau and fountain, water gushing into the air, and as I discovered, misting over the photographer if you get too close. Continuing past the fountain uphill eventually leads to a god surveying the scene,

Who else but Neptune riding his sea horse (a marble statue created by Italian craftsmen in the 17th Century).

The Neptune Cascade

This is his view down the water cascade which flows over an inlaid zig-zag slate pattern at either side of the path, the fountain can be seen in the distance at the bottom. The owners of Holker Hall, Hugh and Grania Cavendish. were inspired by water features in Rajasthan in creating this cascade. One of the businesses they own is Burlington Slate Quarry whose blue grey slate can be spotted decorating many parts of the gardens but this is the most extensive use. 

The mallard ducks don't care about that they just enjoy the water.

And the cranes are forever bathing in the fountain. The cascade climbs through rhododendrons and oaks, and is a good reason to visit the gardens in spring when the rhododendrons are in full flower throughout the 25 acres of garden and woodland.

Detail on fountain surround

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojouring at W here

ABC Wednesday - F

F is for Fountain Fun

How irresistible is a fountain on a hot day. Escaping from the mad touristy centre of Colmar in France, here, on the outskirts, people were relaxing and having fun.


Of course some fountains are more impressive than others. These were supposed to be shooting up in the air but it was found that they did not cope too well with the wind, so were turned down. Who would expect wind in a town that is surrounded on three sides by the sea, obviously not the architects. No skateboarders weaving in and out of these although I have seen them attempt the various tricks on the seats and stairs round the corner. The odd Labrador finds the water quite refreshing. These fountains are outside Emlyn Hughes House which is named after the late, great Liverpool FC footballer who was a son of the town. (His statue is also in this photo but it is not too clear against the trees). The locals however call it Crazy Horse Corner because Crazy Horse was his nickname, and who can resist a bit of alliteration.

The first time I saw these turned on I thought there was a flood not realising they were supposed to be fountains.

In mitigation I was sat in the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel (picture courtesy of Barrow Day By Day) on one of those nice high bar chairs, having a beer and looking out of the window. This is a Grade 2 listed building built in 1871 when the town was rapidly expanding and known as the 'Chicago of the North'. It has just been given a £2M refurbishment after some years of decline. It also used to have some nice trees in front but the council in their wisdom felled them, for traffic safety reasons, although they had stood there for years with no problem. Famous people who have stayed there include Charlie Chaplin and Cary Grant, who in there time had a lot of fans and D H Lawrence who wrote lots of fiction but also some non fiction on Freudian psychoanalysis. I wonder if he came with his wife Frieda. He also wrote poetry, mainly about nature, but also some concerning fish such as the one verse which is 'Little Fish' which I had to quote because it also has the word fun in it.

The tiny fish enjoy themselves
in the sea.
Quick little splinters of life,
their little lives are fun to them
in the sea.

Follow the link to ABC Wednesday which will be full of more Fs