STOW-ON-THE-WOLD: THEN & NOW...

Stow-on-the-Wold: Images From Then & Now…

THEN:

An indignant motor coach appears to wear a patch over one eye

As it peers across the town’s square;

A pair of metal benches affords a stark glimpse of the church tower nearby,

As Huffkins’ chimney huffs choking smoke, the view to impair

And a solid tree shades the green towards the stocks, already slightly awry;

A few vehicles are dotted about, spick and spry

And unhurried townsfolk a tranquil countenance bear,

Stow’s rustic idyll to ratify… 

NOW:

The insolent motor vehicles appear to clutter the town’s square

As they dominate the peering eye;

A trio of wooden benches affords a clear view of the church tower’s haughty glare,

As Huffkins’ and other chimneys redundant lie

And two younger trees replace the elder near the stocks, in ill-repair;

The dominant vehicles leave no space spare

And hurried visitors’ bustling presence now belies

Stow’s rustic idyll, increasingly rare…  

Pete Ray

January 2020

Stow-on-the-Wold’s Huffkins Tea Room has the black and white image on a wall.

I took a similar photo recently.

The huge tree to the left of the original images has been replaced by parking spaces, an edge of the town stocks appears on both pictures and the town itself has actually changed little.

The vehicles have changed though…

Whereas the original photo shows a few insignificant vehicles, the current images seems to be dominated by cars…

Sad…