HAMPSHIRE RAIN

 

St Peter's Church, Headley. Red brick with blue brick and stone banding. Victorian Gothic Revival by Edwin Doby 1868. I have mistaken the bell turret for a chimney based on low rest images and the fact that chimneys are commonly found over vestries.

Modelling the vestry roof was an interesting challenge. Remember that this work is all done inside Revit's family editor, so I can't use the roof tools found in the project environment. It was a good reminder to set up reference planes and name them for best results in RFA world.

I'm not sure why brick was used here. Cheaper than flint perhaps. It's fair-face work inside and out apparently. No internal images available at the moment, just the description on English Heritage. There is a bus stop close by. The no 32 to Newbury. Definitely a journey for the near future.

 

Headley is a triangular village in racehorse training territory South-East of Newbury. The ruler of Dubai, my home for 21 years has a stable not too far away. Dubai is far from perfect, but it's been a godsend to me thanks to my job at GAJ.

St Peter's church is quite modest, built for a small dispersed community during the 1860s when so many churches were being built and restored across the nation. For me it's a huge privilege to be able to visit these buildings, make digital models based on Internet research and gain some insight into the world of my great, great grandparents. Add a couple more greats to hit adults from the time when this church was built.

I'm hoping to get on the 32 bus from Basingstoke next week and see this building in the flesh, along with Kingsclere, maybe Newtown (or Wolverton, not yet modeled)

 

Back in blighty. Slight jetlag but it's a crisp sunny day and I've unpacked all my bags ( mostly books) and taken my first trip in to Sainsburys to restock the larder.

There are a few paintings along with the books. Product of a creative splurge during covid. How quickly that madness has receded in the rear view mirror. I called in at the medical centre to inquire into continuity of my prostate cancer injections. Still a slight uncertainty there, but inching forward.

I had half an hour to kill waiting for the bus back, hence the toastie and latte. The manhole cover is from the bus station. Must be 50 years old at a guess. Nothing spectacular and there's been some differential settlement, but at least someone cared about matching through the joint alignments.

 

Later on the same day. Heavy rain showers. Conkers on the ground. Rainbow against dark clouds as grandson no 2 plays football. Spicy Tadka afterwards with the full UK branch of my immediate family. Saag Paneer and a couple of chipatis, half eaten, half packed for leftovers. Got to keep the weight in check for a healthy retirement.

UK visits always bring out memories and emotions from the distant past. So much has changed but so much remains if only as a shadow. People are trying to remain hopeful but there is a sadness in the air, a certain sense of foreboding.

I try to see it as a challenge. Surely much worse problems have come and gone before. Let the British spirit and heritage shine through again. Cast off the worst of this weak kneed introspection. Forget the finger pointing. What an invigorating first day. (and English cricketers delivered such a crushing victory that the highlights couldn't do it justice 🤣🤣🤣)