Suburban sundown - artistic pretensions - # 09/09

At sundown I escaped from Camp Malden Manor (Post - # 09/07) and dashed into the nearby woodlands. To my surprise I came across the exact spot where Millais painted his famous picture of Ophelia drowned. http://www.tate.org.uk/ophelia/

This is the Hogsmill river. We are standing not very far from the spot where it rises out of the North Downs and then begins to find its path towards the Thames at Kingston. Being winter, the banks have no flowers to decorate them, but nevertheless one gets a good sense of the Ophelia "atmosphere" that inspired Millais.

I did not see Ophelia, but I you must admit that the two old motor tyres really do look the part! The Bypass (Post - # 09/08) is very close, so it's easilly accessible by car ;-).

Suburban sundown - not always quite so awful as it often looks. Also......cut and paste the link in my Postscript note below. It's an unexpected insight into Millais's work.

Suburban sundown - Camp Malden Manor! - # 09/07

The 1937 utilitarian, poured-concrete equipment tower of Malden Manor suburban railway station unwittingly looks forward to the unpleasantness of the imminent WW 2. The tower has not aged elegantly, although the station is still rugged, clean, and fit for purpose.

Below it another shock awaits us! The unexpected, and very much enjoyed, echo of Britain's colonial past - the Indian Take-Away: strategically placed to catch home-bound commuters, and all tooled up with a little VHF transceiver antenna to communicate urgently with all patrolling Honda delivery mopeds.

Suburban sundown - sometimes it gets you down. (Lessons in English vernacular cost extra!)