Ruscombe Farm, from Bread Street

I had to get back to work today after enjoying Helena's holiday regime a bit too much, and taking advantage of her mood for fun.  But I must admit that this afternoon was very enjoyable as I went to meet Philip B., who i blipped last week, at his home in Ruscombe area of Stroud.

I am helping him to organise the Stroud Community TV  2015 awards event which is being held as part of the Stroud Film Festival 2015 (the first I should also say).  Philip set up the website about four years ago as a focal point where local film makers could have links to their films about their area and its peoples. It has been very successful and is open to anyone's output and there are now more than 1500 films by various contributors.

Philip is a film maker himself having started out trying to record the activities of people he knew trying to live in a 'green' and sustainable way.  He was a very successful Green Party District Councillor until he resigned recently to concentrate on other work.  But he is still very committed to helping the local community.

He lives in Ruscombe which is a hamlet named after the small valley formed by a stream flowing down to join the river Frome just west of Stroud.  All the small streams and rivers flow together and in earlier geological ages broke through the Cotswold limetone escarpment to flow west towards the river Severn forming this unique landscape of steep valleys part of which you can see here.

Settlements were usually established where springs flowed out between the varied layers of limestone and clay and roads followed the drier tracts.  Bread Street runs up along a ridge between valleys to the high ground at the head of the valley.  My pictures is looking across eastwards towards Whiteshill where the houses run along the next ridge and to Stroud which is hidden in the valley beyond.  We live fairly close to the big wood that you can see on the farthest ridge which is near to Lypiatt and Thrupp.  Aren't they great names!

This farm caught my eye as I walked up the road away from Philip's home as it still looks reasonably active and has several horses in stables and some sheep.  You can also see the tree (an apple, I presume) covered with lots of mistletoe growing on its branches, which shows up as green.

The light was getting quite dark in the late afternoon and it felt like drizzle would  return quite soon.