Berkeley Boilers

On Saturday, the final two remaining boilers from the decommissioned Berkeley Nuclear Power Station began the first leg of their journey to Sweden, where they will be recycled.

Boilers leaving Berkeley (Photo:Magnox)

Two, 300+ tonne boilers on massive flatbed trucks, crawling along country roads makes for an impressive spectacle. Unfortunately, I missed it but you can see some footage that someone has kindly posted on the thisisgloucestershire website.

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/VIDEO-Monster-Magnox-boilers-Berkeley-Nuclear/story-18433530-detail/story.html#axzz2NcTibURo

And here is a link to the BBC website which has three nice photos plus a little more detail  about the operation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-21787508

Berkeley Nuclear Power Station (Photo:Magnox)

And if you feel the need for even more information, here is one final link, this time to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority website...

http://www.nda.gov.uk/stakeholders/newsletter/berkeley-sets-the-pace.cfm

Stolen: Cannondale Mountain Bike - Reward offered

Not a happy post, but you never know - it may help me get my bike back...

My Cannondale was stolen on 29th January from the car park outside Leisure@Cheltenham, sometime between 5.30 and 6.30pm.

Stolen: My 1990 Cannondale - Do you know who stole it or have you seen it?

As it was dark and raining at the time, the CCTV footage was not much use to the police other than to reveal the thief was a "large built male" who cut through the lock and then rode off on my bike. I expect I can't use expletives to say what I think about the thief if I want this to be published so I will just have to stick with the facts.

Stolen: My Cannondale SM2000. Have you seen it?

Although the bike itself is not hugely valuable in terms of £££s (probably less than £300.00 as a complete bike), I would be prepared to offer a reward (up to £100) for information leading to its safe recovery, as long as it is still good condition, the frame and forks are still true and you are not the person who stole it.

My Cannondale SM 2000. Stolen on 29th January from outside Cheltenham Leisure Centre.

I realise it could be anywhere by now (except my house and Lansdown Road Police Station) but it belongs to me - not someone else -  and I want it back!

Stolen: My 1990 Cannondale SM2000

As you can see from the photos, it has a very distinctive red frame with yellow decals. It also has yellow handlebar grips and not the orange ones as pictured. If you see it around, it will stand out!

New work in progress

Here are a couple of new paintings in progress;

Nic Pehkonen, Broadmead Multi-Storey Car Park, 2013, approx 45cm x 45cm

I have been thinking for some time about producing much smaller works on the theme of concrete architecture and these are the first experiments.

Nic Pehkonen, Orfordness, 2013, approx 70cm x 25cm

They are basically going to be collages, the plan being to stick the painted canvas cut-outs to pre-painted boards (not the boards in these photographs). I imagine I will probably use 18mm plywood, painted in solid colours to maximise the visual impact of the architectural forms.

Cheltenham Architecture - Part 3

Beyond all the Regency architecture that Cheltenham is usually associated with, there is a wealth of interesting buildings from other periods too. Here are a couple in the town centre, both on Winchcombe Street and both currently unused.

Next door to Cheltenham Cycles is an extensive Victorian building, originally constructed as a corn warehouse but more recently housed the Axiom arts centre. I recall being on the waiting list for a studio space here when it closed down. I think it was around 2000 when it sadly shut for good.

Axiom Centre - Cheltenham

It is a real shame that such a fantastic building right in the town centre has been left unused for so long and it would be great for Cheltenham if it was redeveloped once again as an arts centre. The frontage onto the street is especially good looking, with satisfying symmetry and colourful and varied brickwork. If you want to find out more about the history of this building then http://www.gsia.org.uk/reprints/2002/gi200255.pdf is a good place to start.

Detail of the fantastic brickwork.

Another pleasing but also empty building on the same street is the old Odeon cinema which closed not long after Cineworld opened as part of the horrible Brewery development.

The Odeon Cinema, Cheltenham

Like the Axiom Centre, I am not sure what the future holds for this building but even in poor condition it looks fantastic and it would be great if an imaginative use can found for it that doesn't result in it being demolished to make way for another bland, poorly designed "luxury apartment" development. What can you do with an old cinema? Perhaps it can be attached to a resurrected Axiom centre somehow to form a huge artspace etc...!!!

Detail showing the two silver painted bas-refief nymphs.

Here are some links to sites about the cinema with much more info and pictures both before and after it's closure.

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php/10329-Odeon-Cinema-Cheltenham-07-03-07

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php/39396-Odeon-Cheltenham-March-April-2009

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php/55613-Odeon-Cinema-Cheltenham-Nov-2010

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/17447

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/17447/comments

Forthcoming Exhibitions

Some of my paintings will be featuring in two group exhibitions in Cheltenham in the coming weeks.

Starting on Friday 23rd November at CentreArts running until December 8th and also the Cheltenham Group of Artists 2012 Winter exhibition at the Parabola Arts Centre from 7th-15th December.

Nic Pehkonen, Leckhampton Hill, Acrylic on canvas, 2003

For further details/opening times etc please visit;

http://www.centrearts.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/CentreArts

http://cheltenhamgroupartists.org

http://www.parabolaartscentre.co.uk/what-s-on-theatre-and-events/

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Bristol Architecture - Part 2

Here are a few more nice examples of concrete architecture in Bristol that have caught my eye. 

The Shot Tower (or the Sheldon Bush and Patent Shot Company Limited Shot Tower) is probably one of Bristol's most distinctive structures. Situated just off Passage Street it is one of very few shot towers still in existence today.

The Shot Tower, Bristol

This tower dates from around 1969, replacing the original tower which stood on the same site. Bristol is in fact the birthplace of this method of lead shot manufacture. The process was invented by William Watts in the latter part of the 18th century which may be one of the reasons this particular version is now grade 2 listed (although it is now part of an office complex). For those who are interested, there is lots more info readily available on the internet about this and other towers (and shot manufacture in general). Otherwise, just enjoy looking at this fabulous construction.

The 12-sided top part of the tower.

Another striking building is the office block at 1 Redcliffe Street. Although not a cube, it has a satisfying cube-like appearance from some vantage points, slightly rounded window tops to offset the squareness of the structure and a wonderful, open colonnade running around the top level.

1 Redcliffe Street, Bristol

Another number 1. This time, 1 Temple Way which I think is still the home of The Bristol Evening Post. This is a lovely 1970s construction of brick, concrete and glass, full of visual interest with satisfying forms, curves, angles and textures.

1 Temple Way, Bristol

I have found an interesting piece about the building on another blog which goes into more detail and documents it's partial demolition a few years ago. 

http://eugenebyrne.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/half-of-evening-post-building-to-be-demolished/

Concrete Pillar.

I love the textures and patterns left behind when the concrete has set and the boards have been removed. It is an amazing material.

Concrete pillar (detail).

One last photo for now. Norfolk House, near the fire station. It was a nice day and the combination of the sun hitting the pale concrete wall with the satisfyingly 1970s black lettering along the bottom right hand edge really caught my eye.

Norfolk House, Bristol.