An urban and rural wander around Oxford

I don't seem to have found time to blog over the past few months. My spare time has been taken up with bike rides, and over the wonderful summer it seemed criminal to lock myself away with the laptop instead of being outside enjoying the great outdoors. However, now that we seem to be firmly in the grip of late autumn, with dark evenings and drizzle, I can justify sitting at home over a hot keyboard and catch up with posting some of my psychogeographical outings from the past few months, as I drifted through town and country, sometimes with a plan in mind, other times just happy to wander. But where shall we go first? How about Oxford … and let's begin with a wonderful doorway mosaic.

Doorway mosaic, Turl Street, Oxford

I must confess I've never been punting, but it is on the "to do" list. It does however always bring up a slightly sinister image that I remember from either Inspector Morse or Lewis.

Punts on the River Cherwell, Oxford

Wandering along the Cowley Road in Oxford is almost always a pleasure. Whether it's to rummage through the charity shops or crate dig in Truck Records, to have lunch in an independent café or to go to a gig at the O2 academy, there is always something new to catch the eye regardless of how many time I walk along it. This next photo is a perfect example of something I must have walked past tens of times but only noticed it on this visit. This old sign for R.A.NEVILLE, Dispensing Chemist is thankfully still preserved above what is now, I think, a restaurant.

Old sign for R.A.Neville, Dispensing Chemist, Cowley Road, Oxford

As with most towns and cities these days, street art is everywhere. Some grabs the eye, others just looks like the scrawling of a madman. This one however did catch my eye, with its elephant on wheels and what looks like a jazz band.

Street art, just off the Cowley Road, Oxford

This next one was a real find. I had definitely noticed this before and really cannot remember why I had never stopped to look at it or photograph it before. It would seem that this cinema has a rich history and is still in use today. It originally opened in 1911 but closed towards the end of World War I, only re-opening in 1976 as the Penultimate Picture Palace after being used as a furniture depository in the intervening period. It closed again in 1994 when squatters moved in, renaming it to the Section 6 Cinema. In 1997 it re-opened as The Ultimate Picture Palace. For more information and pictures, have a look at The Ultimate Survivor about the history of the cinema

The Ultimate Picture Palace, Jeune Street, just off the Cowley Road, Oxford

I've blogged about Oxford signage a few years ago now, but there are always more great finds. This is also a great little street with shops, cafés, bars and restaurants.

North Parade Avenue, Oxford

I thought that when I photographed this ghost sign a few years back, it was not quite so weathered as it is today, but on checking my previous blog post, it actually seems to be in better condition, with the drain pipe that used to run diagonally across the sign now diverted to run next to it. Good to see it's still there and not painted over or covered with a billboard as so many seem to be these days.

Ghost sign for Hovis Bread, Jericho, Oxford

Having aching feet from wandering the hard streets, we finished our day in a more serene setting, walking along part of the Oxford Canal, which reminded me of the Philip Pullman novels and Lyra's Oxford.

Oxford Canal, Oxford

Oxford Canal, Oxford

Hopefully this post will be the catalyst I need to return to blogging, but we'll have to see. Thanks for reading. Until next time ...

Urban Wandering around Oxford in search of ghost signs

As I have almost certainly mentioned before in previous blog posts, Oxford is one of my favourite cities alongside London. Whether it's a lazy day walking around Oxford's dreamy spires, on on the hunt for Inspector Morse and Lewis locations, it holds an enduring appeal to me. Leaving home early last Saturday morning to get into there before the shopping crowds arrived, I had parked up was breakfasting by 9am. The aim of my day out was Christmas shopping, but as when I go anywhere these days, still hugely inspired by Psychogeography I am always armed with my iPhone just in case there are ghost signs, urban decay, or other items of interest which need to be photographed. The weather was fairly grim and grey but hopefully the pictures aren't too adversely impacted by the poor light.

Ducking down a couple of side streets, away from the main streets, I headed towards the Jericho area. After only a few minutes I had bagged my first ghost sign of the day.

THE

FINEST

TURKEY

COFFEE

1/4

IN ONE POUND

CANISTERS

followed by

TRY

GEO LUMLEYS

 2/6

TEA

And if you look closely you'll see that both ghost signs are in fact doubles.

Ghost sign in Jericho, Oxford

 Next up we have a slight hint of urban decay, not too much though, and I suspect if I were to return again this interesting old building will have been renovated.

Boarded up building in Jericho, Oxford

The next three photographs are all of the same ghost sign as I was unable to chhose just one which did it justice. It was also one of those signs that no matter where I stood I cound't quite get the angle I wanted. This is another double ghost sign and there is a lot more writing there than I can decipher.

J.B.BLENDOWE 

??? GROCER

AND

CONFECTIONER

Championship(?) Prize(?) & Silver Medalists

Plus of course the HOVIS sign running both top-to-bottom, and also more feintly across the sign as well.

Ghost sign in Jericho, Oxford

Ghost sign in Jericho, Oxford

 Ghost sign in Jericho, Oxford

This next ghost sign is a complete mystery. Not only can I note read it at all, but also I cannot recall where I took the picture. I think it was probably Jericho but may equally have been just off the Cowley Road, which was my next stop.

Ghost sign in Oxford

Ok, so maybe mystery solved, as this next ghost sign was in the centre of Oxford as I moved between Jericho and the Cowley Road area, so that does make me think the one above was in fact in Jericho.

FRANK

BAST 

Ghost sign in Oxford

The Cowley Road section of Oxford revealed a whole different sort of ghost sign. Whereas those in Jericho had all been painted on to the brick, these ones were either painted on to plaster or on signs attached to the brickwork.

F.W.COX

SWEEPER

Ghost sign just off the Cowley Road, Oxford

BUTLER'S

IRONMONGER 

Ghost sign just off the Cowley Road, Oxford

My final ghost sign was also a bit of a mystery. Whilst I'm fairly sure the last word is contractors, the rest of the sign is long gone.

???

CONTRACTORS

Ghost sign just off the Cowley Road, Oxford

So, ovearll not a bad haul, and I even managed to get some Christams shopping done as well.

    

Also, I had not started out with this intention, but the prompt for this week's Sepia Saturday included a few signs, so I thought this would do nicely for that too.

A day out in Oxford with Lewis

Well Summer is now most definitely here. It's unbelievably hot here in West Berkshire, so much so that we're braving a barbecue this evening (the first in a long while). There may be a drink or two as well. But before that I just about have time to post a blog update from my weekend visit to Oxford. We arrived early, before the tourists and before most of the shops had opened, so it was blissfully peaceful, for a short while at least. The first scene we were greeted with was all the punts moored, awaiting their passengers for the day (which seemed to be almost exclusively stage and hen parties).

 Before the punters arrived

We had breakfast on the High Street just after the bridge, and lunch in the University parks below, before walking across the parks to the lakes and rivers on its east side.

Keble College from the University parks

I wish I had taken more notice of the street names as I seem to have various pictures of narrow roads, lanes and alleyways, all of which I am sure have appeared in Morse or Lewis at some stage (but more of that later).

Narrow street, Oxford

Narrow passage, Oxford

The final picture is probably the best of a rushed series I took after we turned a corner and literally bumped into an episode of Lewis being filmed. We must have watched for a good 30 minutes and I'm pretty sure all that was actually filmed was a short car scene of no more than 10-15 seconds. It involved some sort of old sports car, blue I think, but alas I have no idea of make or model. I will however be watching out for this when the next series hits the TV screens, in the autumn/winter I hope.

Lawrence Fox, as Hathaway, on the film set for an episode of Lewis