A wet t-shirt sort of day

 My brain is officially switched off this morning.  I have driven long distances 3 days in a row and walked miles round Malvern yesterday.  Then I woke up at 4.45 this morning (same time I set the alarm for yesterday but today it was set for 7.30 . . .)  I am going to be resting up today I think.  

        On Friday K and I went to Abergavenny to check out Mobility Scooters at the Mobility Centre there.  Well, even the medium range folding one was too heavy to lift in the car when broken down into pieces. 25 Kg for the main part.  I can't lift that 2 feet off the ground these days, with arms wide apart.  A sack of something that weight I could just about manage by grasping it round the waist . . .  Plan B . . .

        Anyway we decided to check out a "virtually new and unused" mob. scooter (with ramps)  at Ludlow on Saturday.  The weather made for interesting driving - torrential rain approaching and leaving Knighton.  You could hardly see the road.  We passed a pair of stoical walkers, with backpacks, and I don't think there can have been a dry inch on them - talk about a wet t-shirt competition!  

When we got there, the property was at the back of a semi-circle of houses and Keith had to walk 100 yds to check out the mob. scooter - too lightweight we reckoned, but it didn't go either.  They either had never ever charged it, so the battery was caput, or they just hadn't done so recently.  They knew we weren't local (it's over an hour's drive) - you think they would have mentioned this to save us a journey.  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't pay good money for something that can't be proved to WORK!  Unsurprisingly, Keith was on his hunkers yesterday and not much more mobile today. 

        On the way home we were going through Leominster, so Tam and I (she was here for the weekend) abandoned Keith to his newspaper and quickly scooted round Leominster Priory Church which has Herfordshire Romanesque carvings.

We couldn't resist taking a photo upstream along the River Lugg before heading for the Church.

It is quite imposing.  In the Domesday Book, the town is recorded as being held by the king and there were 6 priests there.  Henry I refounded the Priory in 1123 and the nave and West front of this Romesque church still survive and archaeological excavations have revealed an eastern arm, crossing and transepts.

A small lion head sculpture was used above several windows.

The left capitals of the West doorway have beautiful Herefordshire school carvings, and you may recognize the Birds on the left from Castle  Frome church. Obviously a design the masons were familiar with.  Indeed, the fighting men topping the central pillar can be compared with those at Kilpeck - note the same padded garments, clearer in the photos below.  On the right are two serpents entwined with foliage - a similar design to that used at Shobdon.

Those "beehive" hats made me smile!

The serpents look almost as if they have beaks. 

In his book about The Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture, Malcolm Thurlby calls these "two affronted lions with big, floating paws and large heads turned en face."  They have such character. Indeed, they have a larger relative inside the Church . . .

The wonderful Norman West door.  Tam and I could hear an orchestra inside, and wondered if we would still be able to go in and look round.  It turned out they were tuning up and practicing for a performance that  evening so we were able to go in the areas they weren't.  The music was a wonderful backdrop to our visit.

As we were in a hurry (K in the car) we missed some of the sculptures around the windows, but I will go back and check them out next time we're in town.

A very grand chair indeed, with wonderful carvings on it.  I wonder who gets to sit in this?

The font is a modern one.  I would love to know what was there in the 12th C.

A green man, this seems to me, but Thurlby describes it as "a human mask with biforkated, plaited beard spewing leafless vines." 

In case you can't read it clearly these are 12th C Ddoor Hinge Hooks set in lead. They were recovered from the masonry of the West Norman doorway to make way for larger hooks when the new doors were hung at the time of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953.  They date from the time of the original building of he doorway.  This part of the church was concentrated in 1130 and were therefore in use for 823 years!

Isn't this Lion amazing?  Not sure what he has been used for but 

More beautiful carving on the Pulpit.

This was just amazing - a Mosaic of The Last Supper (see below).  This is by Peter Barnes and is on temporary display here. I didn't realize it was made using keyboard keys, so there are messages within the design.

A beautiful hand-sewn screen.

Sadly the light was very poor and I couldn't get close to take better photos as the orchestra was sat nearby.

One of the earlier still legible gravestones along the outer wall.

Goodness, this has taken me all morning to write up, and two days to get photos up as SO tired and busy.  Yesterday was a Malvern Fleamarket day and will take some getting over.  Went to St Mary's Church, Kempley (again) and Much Marcle on the way home.  The friend I took is probably suffering from cultural indigestion now!