The Teasel Tower by Frogmarsh Mill, Woodchester

I spent the day at a workshop in Woodchester which I attend every few months. It was a powerful antidote to all the rushing around and analysis that has taken up so much time recently. It started early when I went to pick up the course leader from her house which is a few hundred yards up the drive of a large and old estate whose entrance i s sited just beyond the old Teasel Tower next to Frogmarsh Mill.

After I dropped Maggie back at her home at the end of the day, I stopped on the old road through the valley and got my camera out to try and catch a blip. It was beginning to rain and the wind was very strong having been gusting all day. I took pictures of some Jacob's sheep, who are famous for the beautiful varied coloured fleeces, who had quite young lambs with them in a very verdant pasture.

Frogmarsh Mill is now used as a venue for artists and small businesses and is no longer connected with the wool trade for which it was originally constricted in the late 17th century. The tower was built as a drying building for teasels which were vital components used in the process of cloth production, the dry teasels being used in the process of raising the nap of cloth. They would be grown locally and many escapees are still found growing in the hedgerows and pastures edges around the valleys here.

Helena rented a space in the Mill's outbuildings many years ago for her massage practice and really enjoyed being there. The teasel tower is now converted into a private home and as I stood there one of the residents came home and climbed the steps to the front door.