Afterwards we visited mum in the nearby care home on a day when she was not quite herself.

Much later in the day we dined in the Giggling Squid before visiting Theatre Severn to hear Kate Mosse ‘Unlocking the Secrets of the Labyrinth’. She shared her inspiration for her novel Labyrinth and the subsequent books in the trilogy and the book that didn’t quite fit in with her research.

Kate shared the beauty, history and mystery of Carcassonne and the Languedoc region from the 13th century wars of religion between Catholics and Cathars in south-west France to modern-day Grail legends and conspiracy theories.

The talk brought back fond memories of my visit to Carcassonne.

After a busy morning taking my mum for a booster jab and to pick up some plants for her garden pots there was one last thing left to do, call in at the butchers for our weekly supply.  It was lunch time so we decided to have lunch in Kinch’s Bistro in the butcher’s before purchasing our meat. I loved the option of picking my own toastie fillings and chose turkey and apple sauce. The sandwich was delicious and to my delight my favourite tipple, Elderflower Presse was available.

In the afternoon we had reason for a brief visit to  Ironbridge.  Brief visit concluded, I had a small window of opportunity for a short walk before it was time to get ready for an 80th birthday celebration meal.

Before I set of on my walk I dusted off my ‘old’ Tilley for the sunny afternoon adventure. I have missed her.

A short walk in Ironbridge with Mr C. There maybe a photo of me if he chooses to release it from his camera.

On Friday I climbed the Wrekin Hill, as did many other local people. The Wrekin was a good vantage point to watch the controlled demolition of the iconic cooling towers that have been prominent in the Ironbridge Gorge since the 1960s.

I am sad to see them go, they were part of our industrial history. The valley will not be replanted with trees but filled with houses, so not really an improvement to the landscape.

The photos of the towers collapsing were taken by Mr C, I just wanted to soak up the atmosphere of the historic moment in time.

Photo taken by Mr C

Photo taken by Mr C

The Ironbridge cooling towers were demolished at 11 am on the 6th of December 2019. This photo is from a similar viewpoint (of the photo above) from the last time I climbed the Wrekin. It was taken at a similar time of day in early December 2005 before the power station had been decommissioned.

Yesterday Mr C and I had an afternoon in Ironbridge so that I could photograph the iconic cooling towers from Dale End Park. They are scheduled for demolition at the end of this week. I wasn’t the only one taking photos, many others had the same idea. I could tell that some of the photographers with their exclamations of how large they were had never stood beneath the towers before.

After our walk along the river bank we drove towards Buildwas and the elevated viewpoints at the bend of the River Severn which I always refer to as ‘The Oxbow’. From those viewpoints the cooling towers and the power station can be seen clearly in their woodland setting. Once again I wasn’t the only one to stop and take photos from those viewpoints.

The towers were built with concrete mixed with a red pigment to allow them to blend in with the local soil and as a photographer and walker I have always loved the cooling towers (although not the power station buildings). Within the valley they tease the eye, sometimes they are there and sometimes they are hidden from view. Soon to be a memory…

I have written previously about the care that was taken to blend the power station into the landscape. You can find my post here and in the comments section my personal opinion about what I would have liked to happen to this industrial site.

1: Corinthians 16:14

It has taken me a little time to get around to posting photographs of Ted’s Summer adventure to Ironbridge, lunching in EightySix’d and being taken on a mystery tour around Shropshire.

Ending his day relaxing on the patio as the sun went down.

Therese of Lisieux