Apple Day - Hooray!

I managed to get to town early this afternoon, after finally finishing my report for tomorrow's full council meeting, which has been on my mind for weeks. I have several hats on today. I was writing about the housing problems, as the chair of our resident's group, as well as being a councillor for the neighbouring ward. You don't want to hear about this, trust me!!

The High Street was quiet, with only a few young people seemingly getting away from home for a few hours, and some coffee drinkers across the road. The Stroud Bookshop was silent. The window was still looking good after Dennis' decorative exploits. But the conditions for a good picture were rather limited. I couldn't avoid the reflections, with the sun highlighting the other side of the road.

So here it is, with me included, and that coffee shop which many of us here avoid using (which doesn't seem to affect its money-making).

You might notice several hand-set block printed posters, flyers, cards, poems and invitations. These are all designed and produced by Dennis Gould, who sells them on his second-hand book stall. The green plate in the window was hand-made as a present for Dennis and shows his bicycle and some fruits of his allotment.

Can you notice the top-left hand portion of an orange coloured poster, sitting just behind A world without Bees? Then, look again, just behind that poster, and you may notice the actual mounted printing blocks that Dennis used to print it. I was thinking of just blipping a close-up of that, as it is so interesting to see, but it wouldn't have shown much of the window display as a whole. Perhaps I'll go to his workshop and photograph him when he is printing. I think all the fruit was probably grown by him too. Laurie Lee and Stroud goes with saying; his wife Kathy is an active member of the local community.

The picture is a bit messy, not very well framed, reflective and none too sharp. But it is colourful and I like it and what it represents, so that is a good enough reason to blip with it. Here's to Apple Day. Hip Hip Hooray!