Gorgeous colours in the spring sunshine in Teignmouth this weekend. The sand on the beaches is redish-brown from the underlying sandstone and the sea was a slick of greens, blues and greys with reflections of moody clouds. I kept finding this palette recurring around the town in painted walls, doors and shopfronts.
This shopfront has an etched brass plinth with the inscription ‘Prescriptions Carefully Dispensed’. The jaunty seaside blues seem much more in tune with its location than the original dark art-nouveau reds and greens.
A few nice 1950s buildings too. The materials and construction of this cafe are workaday but the proportions and big expanses of glass make a strong, welcoming composition. The original thin metal balustrade, exposed rafters, mullions and stripey awnings add bands of fine lines across the width of the facade. It is a design of some refinement, but one robust enough to take the pot-plants and Victorian carriage lamps on the chin.
Seafront cafe retaining its original windows and doors
Sea wall:
And finally a helpful sign on the M5 near Exeter. At least it clears up any ambiguity.
