On the spiral staircase at the Old Convent

The mists cleared at lunchtime revealing some sun and blue sky between the clouds, which surprised me. I had been notified that today was a blip anniversary so I'd pondered what to feature on such a day. The brighter day and the fact that I had a spare hour before my appointment with Jonathan N., my osteopath, made me think of returning to the canal at Ryeford to see if I could spot the kingfishers feeding again. The light coming from behind the towpath would be perfect on such a day.

Sadly there was no sign of the kingfishers, which is absolutely par for the course. I only see them when they surprise me. But while at Ryeford I did film a low flying young buzzard, a coot, people using the towpath to walk, run and ride, and then on the suggestion of a walker to record the preening of a heron on the rooftop of a cottage on the canal's bank. The light was gorgeous and the colours appealed to me.  So I took a few pictures of the dinghies moored by the garden of the old converted cabinet maker's workshop adjacent to the bridge.

My other consideration for this Blip date was to use a picture of the plaque which we (as Stroud Preservation Trust) mounted on one of the buildings we've restored called the Toll House on Cainscross Road, the original turnpike building on that side of town. It was built in 1825. I've agreed to photograph all of the trust's plaques for our website and archive and now there is only one left to record, at Arundell Mill, also on the River Frome.

I had just enough time to get to the Old Convent in Stroud, where Jonathan has his local practice. This is another building whose condition the Trust has been concerned about. It has just been sold to a group of local developers whom Jonathan believes will do a good job of restoring and then finding appropriate uses for the building. Fingers crossed. Jonathan has been using his old nun's cell for decades although I first started being treated by him when he came to Harley Street when I lived in London. He did a fantastic job on me today and I feel rejuvenated. He is such fun with it too.

On my way out as the light was going I climbed down the spiral staircase in the Old Convent and took a couple of shots of these curved windows. It was hard to get far enough back and keep a level plane with my Fujifilm as it has a fixed lens.  But it in the end I thought this was a more interesting photo for today.  I have added two of the others, (although not the heron you will be pleased to note) from earlier in the day as 'Extra Photos' .

Thanks for visiting me here over the last few years. I am still blipping intermittently and hope to do a 'big back blip' of my trip to Sri Lanka last winter quite soon, which I do recommend. I had such a good time there and do wish we were returning this winter. Maybe another year? What do you think, Woodpeckers?