Stroud Scarlet

Ham Mill, in the hamlet of Thrupp, near Stroud, was built in 1608 for the manufacture of "Stroud Scarlet", the woven fabric used to make British soldiers' uniforms in the days of Empire. Until a decade or two ago, cloth from the Stroud area was still used to make guardsmen's uniforms, but because of minute colour variations in Stroud scarlet, the cloth is now sourced from the USA. Stroud's remaining claim to fame in textiles is that the green baize used on snooker tables, and the fluffy covering on tennis balls is still produced in the five valleys, by WSP textiles ( a US-owned firm) at Stroud and Cam, near Dursley.

in 1900, the mill was sold to a carpet manufacturer, and became known as Carpets of Worth. They closed in 1999. A friend of mine has been granted permission to use some of the derelict factory space as a sculpture studio. It's an amazing space, and I'm glad it never got sold to the developers for conversion to executive apartments. Maybe executives don't like to live right next to the London-bound railway line? The canal, as I have mentioned previously, is being restored, and the restored section will eventually pass this mill, so I can only wonder about its future. You can read more about its past here.

This image was taken in the rain, on the opposite side of the road, with rush hour traffic zooming past. There was a wall and metal rail in front of the building, hence the heavy crop.

I passed the mill on my way back home from my second job. It was the end of term at school, and the end of an era at the rehab: some of my colleagues are being transferred to Turning Point, a new nationwide service that will manage referrals for people with alcohol/drug/mental health/unemployment problems, acting as a sort of one-stop shop for those seeking help. I hadn't realised that they were going, and it was a sad farewell: I've worked alongside them since 2006.

Came home and was too tired and headachey to even blip! It might be the end of the Easter term, but were it not for the increased daylight, it would feel more like the start of the Christmas holidays! Dismal, dreich weather, with not a ray of sunshine on the forecast. Still, we have a coal fire, a coal-black cat, and each other for company. We watched another ending on TV: the BBC's final farewell bash at Broadcasting House. Madness played, and took me back to desperate attempts to misspend my youth.