Greetings from Gloucester

..bus station! I used to spend a lot of time here. So did Fred West, apparently, a fact I find seriously creepy. It's a bus station long in need of a makeover. Most other places seem to have had one already.

The city of Gloucester was bombed heavily during World War II. Gloucester is to be a host city for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which begins exactly a year today. Kingsholm Rugby Stadium is fine, but the city centre has a few 1960s-planning-disaster areas that are just beginning to be revamped. The earlier redevelopment grants went to the overhaul of the Docks and the Quay shopping centre, which has been a success but has left the centre untouched.

However, the city's Cathedral is looking lovely in this shot, and I did find a cheap cheerful cafe in the bus station which was open before 9 am. After a quick cuppa, I headed up the road past Kingsholm rugby stadium to the Farmers' Club, where I was attending a course.

And now, dear blip friends, it's the weekend! Enjoy, and thanks for sticking with me through a week of dire and gritty blips.