As well as other blossom in pinks and mauve, the lilac adds a sweet perfume to the neighbourhood where I live and particularly the ones leaning over the stone walls in the little road that winds around in a crescent next to our home.
The poem that includes the line 'Come down to Kew in lilac -time, (it isn't far from London)!' would normally refer to the earlier month of April. However, the beautiful lilac is a welcome addition to May flowers.
I didn't have to go far to take these photos during a sunny hour last week. Since then we are back to cold winds and rain.
Yesterday I spent an interesting afternoon with a group, mainly Friends of Derby Museums and Art Gallery, taking a walk with a writer and historian guide to see where John Whitehurst, the famous clockmaker, instrument maker and geologist lived as part of the tercentenary celebrations of Whitehurst's birth. The heavy rain and wind did not deter us, but my photographs captured some bleak scenes, especially as many of the buildings associated with this fascinating man and his associate, the landscape and portrait painter, Joseph Wright, are in need of some TLC and promotion such as the Friends of the Museums are trying to do. I didn't manage to go into the Joseph Wright Gallery to see his paintings as I was in need of a cup of tea with our relatives before heading back home. That's something to look forward to another time!
Plaque in the pavement near John Whitehurst's house.
John Whitehurst's premises in Irongate is covered in scaffolding and plastic tarpaulin.
The alleyway leads to his first clock making workshop at the back of the house.
The narrow building of the clock making workshop.
Many fine clocks were made by
members of his clock making family
and those that were apprenticed to them such as
the Smiths of Derby.
Many fine clocks were made by
members of his clock making family
and those that were apprenticed to them such as
the Smiths of Derby.
