Saturday Snapshot

Published on by Margaret

I have a scrolling photo viewer on the computer desktop and this photo greeted me this morning when I switched the computer on. It’s the view from the field near to my previous house looking towards the town of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. The grey tower block in the background is where I used to work at the County Council offices – I was on the 8th floor, just over halfway up the building.

I like this photo because it shows the contrast between the old and the new, although the County Hall tower block is not new, completed in 1966, it’s certainly centuries older than the timber-framed house in the foreground.

Believe it or not, the tower block, sometimes called Pooley’s Folly after the architect, is a Grade II Listed Building. It’s constructed out of concrete and glass and whilst I was working there it was discovered that the core of the building was crumbling and it had to be reinforced. We were surrounded by scaffolding for months. It’s also a most inconvenient building to work in, boiling hot in the summer, freezing in the winter, draughty windows and only two lifts serving 13 fours and no service lift. I spent hours in total over the years I worked there just waiting for the lift. Still, that meant I had more time to read whilst waiting.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home with Books.

24 thoughts on “Saturday Snapshot”

    1. How interesting Gautami. I’d be delighted if you would write poetry about this – do let me see your poem. I was thinking about painting the scene – well a simplified view anyway.

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  7. Margaret – Thanks for sharing this lovely ‘photo. It sounds like that building was really uncomfortable for those who worked there, but it’s quite impressive! I also like the contract in this ‘photo between nature and what humans have built.

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  12. I enjoy the stories that go along with pictures, as it all then fits nicely into a context. When I was young, I worked in government buildings that were quite bleak, probably built in the 1940s…and the elevators were iffy at best.

    I still recall going down the elevators to the basement to pick up files from the Coroner’s office. While I was going to college, I worked for one of the government officials who lent me out to other department heads….sweet of him. LOL

    The Coroner’s files were gruesome.

    Here’s MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT and
    MY WEBSITE

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  13. I like the contrast of a stark building jutting out of the pretty countryside. There’s something about government buildings and their elevators… you can grow old waiting for the ones in the county building in Chicago.

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  15. A very nice reflection on how sometimes the older buildings are better (and prettier). We have a “folly” building in our small town. It’s a monstrosity that’s been half-built for about seven years and now the town is trying to take ownership so they can bulldoze the eyesore. I figure that they started building it right after we moved here, so they’ll probably finally knock it down the day after we move (whenever that is).

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  20. You’ve inspired me to take my camera along when I go to Tesco in Alloa. Just behind the modern supermarket, you can see a mediaeval tower house: Alloa Tower.

    I love your photo and it’s very interesting to read the history behind it! Your modern building doesn’t sound like a comfortable place to work, but how nice to have reading time ‘compulsorarily’ factored in! 🙂

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  22. Nice photo, but no wonder they call that building Pooley’s Folly. I think they make special elevators for government buildings and hospitals that purposely slow down or speed up to make it inevitable that you will wait forever for one. 🙂

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