Buildings of Stroud, 1972

I had to go to the Merrywalks shopping centre on my way to work today, and I stopped to blip this ceramic relief mural, created in 1972 by artist Philippa Threlfall. I have often admired it since its reappearance in 2009 after years in storage. The Merrywalks is a pretty basic indoor shopping centre, definitely not a mall, but there are a couple of interesting items on the walls, and this is one of them. It was too big to blip all of it, and I only had time to take three shots, so here is part of it. You can see the whole work, and the artist's words, here.

As I stopped to blip it, a woman saw me and stopped to look at it too. So many people just walk right past it that I was glad that my action might have given her a reason to look more closely. It could be that it is not particularly noticeable, because this part of the Merrywalks is dark, with not much daylight.

The building to the left of the Subscription Rooms (centre) is a tailoring factory that was demolished in 1995; the one above the Subscription Rooms is Hill Paul, a clothing factory where suits were made up for London's Savile Row clients, after their measurements had been sent down. It is right next to the railway station in real life, and the factory closed in 1989. In 2000 the building was saved from demolition by a group of rooftop activists, who offered to buy it and convert it into homes. They were bluffing, but succeeded in raising enough money to stop the wrecking ball, and now it houses several apartments and two additional floors of penthouses. Because of its height and its position next to the railway station, it is very much a landmark building. The building to the left and above the Sub Rooms is known as Lansdown Hall, now being refurbed as a village hall for the community, which CleanSteve has blipped many times.

Work went well: for the first time since I took up my position as playworker at a rather unique school, we got some of the children outside at playtime. The yard is on a level, but almost every child out of the 14 at this session is in a wheelchair or needs a great deal of assistance with walking, and all children have to be monitored constantly. It's no mean feat organising something as apparently simple as getting a couple of children in wheelchairs and walking frames outside! I keep thinking of the Paralympics for inspiration.

This felt like a good start to the week, so I don't mind too much that the weather has now turned grey and autumnal. That we got outside is reason to celebrate.