You may have noticed on my sidebar that I am reading a book titled Absynthe by one Brendan P Bellecourt.

This is to be reveiwed for the online SF magazine ParSec.

Mr Bellecourt is an author new to me and Absynthe appears to be his first novel.

I was attracted to by the publisher’s blurb given to Parsec wherein it mentioned “a palace full of art-deco delights.”

The Forum. Stepped roof-line, streamlining, rule of three in windows (disappointingly eyes poked out.)

Sadly no longer a cinema.

I spotted the tin whose lid is shown below in an antique shop.

The picture on it is of the Coop drapery in Workington as it was back in the day:-

I didn’t buy the tin. Since we moved to Son of the Rock Acres I don’t have room to display the ones I already have.

In June we had a wander in Edinburgh. I took a wrong turning and we got a bit lost.

As a result, though, we came across this block of 1930s housing:-

The second left of the four looks to still have its Critall windows.* The others don’t. Their poked out eyes are not so pleasing but they look to be better upkept.

(We found our way back okay by retracing our steps and I realised where the misstep had been.)

*The link goes to all my mentions of Critall windows, inclduing the one on this post.

When travelling back from Barnard Castle I spotted this modern building and took a right turn at the roundabout in order to photograph it. It lies on West Auckland Road. Horizontals, verticals, rounded corners, flat roof, white rendering, balconies all conform to Art Deco:-

The gate:-

Fence:-

The River Tees is out of sight (down the hill in the photo below and round a corner) from Barnard Castle’s main street (variously known as Horse Market and The Bank) but you can see hills. Seeing hills from the High Street is one of the good lady’s conditions for somewhere being a proper town:-

Further up the street there was a piece of minor Art Deco. Now Heron Foods, I’ve no idea what it was originally:-

Stanhope is a village in County Durham, England.

The Bonny Moorhen has some deco touches: horizontals, verticals, flat roof, rounded corner:-

Its side aspect also shows off a stepped roofline:-

Very Art Deco former Woolworths, Chester-le-Street. Now a B&M bargains:-

Also in Chester-le-Street this shop, now an M & Co:-

This one was too long for me to be able to fit into one photo. It still houses the Co-operative Bank, but also when we visited a Peacock’s and a Poundland.

Central portion detail. Rule of three in the windows plus other Deco hallmarks:-

Stitch of two photos to get whole building in:-

On our trip to England’s north-east earlier this year we decided to make a stop in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

When I pulled to a stop in the car park I’d chosen, right in front of me was an Art Deco building, which turned out to be the Post Office, built in 1936.

It’s one of those brick Art Deco buildings. Note the horizontals, verticals, canopy, rounded corner, flat roof:-

This angle shows the rounded corner better:-

Crown and ER 1936 (Edward VIII) logo detail on columnar window, round ended canopy:-