LILIES ON THE LAKE

I already have a couple of images of Highnam Lake up on display - one when it was iced over in winter and another when the trees had turned gold in autumn, so this photo here needless to say was taken during the height of summer when the surface was a blanket of lily pads.

PADS ON THE POND

This pond near where Prinknash Abbey is located, was absolutely covered in lily pads.
That's Robinswood Hill you can see popping up in the centre distance.

TIRLEY TRIBUTARY

This stretch of water covered in lily pads is a tributary river near Tirley.
If you followed its route from this spot, you'd discover that it flows into the Severn around about where Chaceley is situated, which is 2 miles away from here.

CORSE LAWN HOTEL

The date of the snap is the late 90's, the location is Corse Lawn and the red brick building is the Corse Lawn House Hotel.

LONGNEY CHURCH AND POND

Back in January 2014, I put up a picture of this scene from the exact same spot as above, but because it was taken in winter, the pond had completely iced over and the 2 ducks had taken refuge on a small piece of ground underneath a tree.
Well on this shot, it shows the same 2 ducks, only this time, they are paddling around as normal enjoying a nice summer's day.
Both the previous winter image and this summer one were captured in the mid 90's - and a reminder that the location was at Longney church.

PENDOCK CHURCH & POND

I do remember clambering through a lot of wild growth before reaching this view. Still, it's a nice image at the end of the day so was worth the effort.
This was photographed in the village of Pendock in the mid 90's and beyond the pond is the church just showing through in the gap in the trees.

MONTPELLIER WINE BAR

This is one pub that hasn't changed much over the years, it's the Montpellier Wine Bar in Cheltenham, and although I took this picture back in the mid 90's, it's still very much in biz and looks pretty much the same these days.
You'll also be able to make out the small Arts & Crafts shop that was next door to it, well that place hasn't managed to survive the passing of time.

PRINCE OF WALES PUB

I took this photo around 2000, just after its exterior had been freshly painted.
It's the Prince Of Wales pub in Gloucester - but as with a lot the pubs in my images, this is yet another that hasn't been able to keep in business. It has been closed for a few years now, with the building boarded up, the paintwork flaking off and graffiti daubed all over it!

PEPPERS

This was Peppers in the centre of Cheltenham, photographed in the late 90's.
Although the place is still a brasserie/pub, it changed its name a while ago to Copa.

CHUTNEYS

You couldn't really miss this colourful building in Oxford as it was completely different to the ones on either side of it.
It's an Indian restaurant called Chutneys, and although I took this picture in 2002, the place is still there today albeit painted in a different colour scheme to how it looks here.

CHOIRS TEA ROOMS

This was the Choirs Tea Rooms in Cheltenham, the photo taken in the mid 90's.
It's full title was 'Choirs Of Cheltenham - Old English Tea Rooms', but alas not even its local identity saved it from disappearing. The building is still there but it is now called the Well Walk Tea Room.
Next door to it in the picture was a place called The Churchyard Gallery, an antiques business that is also no longer on the go.

LAUREL & HARDY DINER

I took this picture around the early 2000's.
It's was called the Laurel & Hardy Dining Company and was based in Gloucester.
I seem to recall it was a fairly short-lived diner however - certain it closed down many years ago now.

COMEDY CAPERS

This window display was part of the same shop in Gloucester as the one I mentioned yesterday, and featured that well known comedy duo, Laurel & Hardy, in a variety of playful poses.

INDOOR MUSIC FESTIVAL

This was a shop window display that featured an amusing range of ornamental figures playing a variety of music styles.
Jazz, rock, classical, hip hop and reggae acts were all trying to grab your attention.
The shop itself was in Gloucester's Kings Square, but since the photo was taken (late 90's/early 2000's), the premises has been demolished.

OLD TOY SHOP

Although the picture was taken in 2002, this toy shop display is mostly made up of model cars dating from the 1960's, 70's & 80's. This was a retail unit in the Antiques Warehouse in Gloucester, and in amongst the Dinky & Corgi delights are motors featuring James Bond, The Professionals and Knight Rider. There are also quite a few other period toys such as Star Wars action figures, Action Man himself, GI Joe annuals and on the very top, an old style football game called "Table Top Soccer".

SAINT ON THE SHELF

This was a large sculpted ornament that was part of a window display of a shop in Gloucester which sold other ornamental knick-knacks such as crystals, dream catchers, dolls etc.
There was no barrel of brandy around the St Bernard's neck however, but it did have a £75 price tag attached.

JURASSIC LARK

Although it was a dangerous place to be when this scene was taking place, I opted to stay and capture it on photo rather than run away scared.
However, it all happened so long ago now, I can't recall where in the Cotswolds it was!!

CHEESED OFF COW

This cow looked a bit fed up as I took its picture, it didn't seem to want me there at all.
I don't mind creatures having their own space to roam around in but this cow had strayed into an area of the countryside that had public footpaths and picnic tables, so it was the cow that was out of location on this occasion.
Port Ham was the location, mid 90's the date.

SHEEP IN THE SHADE

Two examples of sheep hanging around in the shade of a tree, and both shots were captured in the Port Ham area, late 90's.

SHEEPSCAPE

This field populated with sheep was somewhere around the Painswick / Stroud area.

BLACK SHEEP - WHITE BLOSSOM

This small pack of black sheep were running around in front of white spring blossom in a field near Stonehouse.

BIG FAT HEN

Without a doubt, this was the biggest chicken I'd ever seen. It was massive, and was one of the exhibits at Prinknash Bird Park.

DISPOSING WOOL

The top picture was taken around the Hartpury area and although the sheep on the left appears to be suffering from severe alopecia, some sheep are in fact deliberately bred to shed their wool naturally to save farmers splashing out on shearing costs, so I'm guessing this is an example of such a breed.
The photo under it was taken on the outskirts of Gloucester and on this one the wool here has been snagged along the length of the fence, which in turn takes on the appearance of a loom!
I suppose it means the farmers still have to go and collect all this surplus wool at some stage.

HAVING A GANDER

Not sure if geese eat fruit but this gaggle were wandering around some apple trees near Cliffords Mesne.

NORTON NAG

I photographed this horse enjoying the evening sunshine near Norton in the late 90's.

CATTLE GRIDIRON

I've seen quite a few cattle grids on my country jaunts but this is the first time I've seen cattle lined up in a formation that has them looking as if they are about to have a game of gridiron football!
This wasn't Colorado though, this was the Cotswolds, somewhere near The Haw.

PORTWAY POULTRY

These 2 chickens were wandering around the Portway area trying not to step on the cracks in the ground!

CALVES IN THE GRASS

These calves blended in quite nicely to the brown grass seeds and white flower heads that were surrounding them.
The location was Port Ham.

SHEEP AND HAYSTACKS

I thought at first it was more sheep in the field in the background but it turned out to be haystacks!
Mind you, this hasn't helped in trying to identify the location of the shot as I'm none the wiser at the moment!

GOAT IN THE ASHES

For some reason, this goat had made itself comfy in the of ashes of a burnt out bonfire.
Don't think it was trying to stay warm as it was a pleasant summers day when I took the shot, so maybe it was waiting its turn to be sacrificed!
Who knows, there could be strange goings-on in Sandhurst??!!