The Anemones came just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend, and are a welcome addition to the garden. I am hoping they will survive the strong wind which arrived at the same time.

The old Catholic Church was built in the 1960’s, before which meetings took place in private homes. It was originally built to double as the church hall when a more substantial building was erected. Sadly this never happened. It closed in 2022 and now sits in it’s little plot of land with a ‘Sold’ sign by the gate.

The north door of St Edward’s Church in Stow on the Wold, stands diminutive between two sturdy tree trunks, as strong as a Giant’s legs, straddling the entrance, protecting it from harm. No wonder many people believe this place inspired Tolkien in his portrayal of a secret world.

Images from the showground at Malvern yesterday during the final day of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Spring Festival.Looked at plants and planting, gaining ideas for our own plot. Looked at Show Gardens, LOTS of plants, pots, planters, bulbs, new varieties, bees and bugs, water features, more plants, tools, displays… and managed to do some sketching. Although the ground was wet, the sky was clear and it was a lovely way to spend the day!

The tulips have done well this year, especially these which were grown in a pot. Although we expected them to be a different colour, it really doesn’t matter. I love the way they turned their tight little heads and relaxed their petals as they bathed in the sun.

Sadly, the Mill at Lower Slaughter is closing down and is for Sale.

There has been a mill on this site since the earliest of times and was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. This present one was built in the nineteenth century and was making flour up to the 1950s. Since then it has become a well known attraction being visited by people from all over the world. Some of them were there, taking photographs, today.

Despite the name, there is no record of there ever being a battle on the site. Apparently the name comes from the Old English for ‘muddy place’, which seems to be a bit of a disappointment in some ways!

However, following yesterday’s rain, this morning turned out to be bright and sunny and I took the opportunity to make this little painting.

Inspired by a visit to David Austin Roses in Shropshire in late summer last year. After a day in the gardens and a restorative cup of tea and slice of cake, we found a shrub rose we had been searching for to add to our own, somewhat smaller, garden.

Cold and wet recently, but colour is coming back into the world now that Spring is here.

I was out early this morning and wanted to try and sketch a few figures from the car, as although it was dry, it is still cold. As might be expected, I had rather mixed results as of course none of these people stayed still for long. A few fumbled in their bags or looked at their phones, and one man looked impatiently at his watch, but even he moved off quite quickly. None of them turned out to be as detailed as I hoped they would be, and I had to give up on some. Neither were they all around at the same time. I will have to wait until Summer when people are more likely to stay chatting with each other for longer. By the time I got around to colour, people were long gone so were painted from memory, and sometimes I changed the colours on purpose.

A5 Moleskine portrait format sketchbook

More snow first thing this morning and for a while it was difficult to know how long it would last, but gradually the temperature nudged up enough to turn it into rain. At one point, driving along the road, the fields on one side were white while on the other they were green. Snow only remained on the distant fields.