What lies beneath....

Weathered textures are a favourite of mine. This piece of garden furniture didn't need much assistance to look weathered, it's badly in need of some TLC. It started life as a cowl on a chimney of the Boilermakers Club in Hartlepool. Reg Smythe, the originator of Andy Capp says he used to go down there to get his ideas for the cartoons.

When the building was being demolished I paid a few pounds to claim the obelisk off the top. Unfortunately the demolition people weren't as impressed with it as I was and simply threw it off the roof. It was badly damaged but a few rivets and a bit of delicate treatment with a big hammer restored it more or less to its original shape. That was 20 years ago.

This summer it's going to get its second renovation. It should have been done last year but a wren built a nest in one of the vents.

It was built in Bury by Henry Hargreaves and Sons, ventilation engineers. You did a good job HH! Today it covers the hatch to a septic tank. (Looks best large)