Natural adventures

Thursday Doors – 22 October 2026

Doors 373 – Doors of Madeira (part IV) – September 2025

I feel I should start this week with an apology, given that I have missed Thursday Doors for the last two weeks. Admittedly the first of those coincided with my annual fishing trip, but last week I quite forgot. I have had a lot on my mind lately.

I resume with some more doors from a family holiday in Madeira, returning to our honeymoon island 25 years after we were married. The doors this week are mostly from Funchal Cathedral and the surrounding area. I hope you enjoy them:

Steps and door to Funchal Cathedral, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Gate and mural near Funchal Cathedral, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Inside Funchal Cathedral, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Doors on the confessional booth, Funchal Cathedral, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Doors and front elevation, Funchal Cathedral, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Cathedral front doors, Funchal Cathedral, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Shop front doors, Rua do Seminario, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

unpainted doors and old stone surround, Rua da Alfandega, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Weathered green door with two small portholes, Rua 31 de Janeiro, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, September 2025

Looking at these now, I can’t believe that I managed to get my finger in that last shot… I guess it happens to all of us from time to time. I should have cropped it, but I figure that to err is human, to forgive is divine. More from Madeira for two or three more weeks yet, before returning to something a little more domestic. Have a great weekend.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.

7983. Lucky Lane (19)

Nina Raines, Lucky Lane, Bristol, October 2026

This is the first in a series of posts that I’ll be writing over the next few weeks, celebrating the annual (?) Bristol Mural Collective Lucky Lane paint jam/mini paint festival. Nina Raines who organised this year’s extravaganza, dropped me a message inviting me along, but unfortunately it clashed with my recent holiday in Greece.

Nina Rains has done that wonderful thing, where she has created her piece in harmony with an existing piece of ‘street furniture’ in this case a block of concrete, and turned it into a huge Tunnock’s caramel wafer biscuit – a brilliant and faithful reproduction of this iconic snack. This is not the first time Nina Raines has used an everyday object and turned it into something deeply familiar. I am of course referring to her wonderful coleman’s mustard pot in Dean Lane. Props to Nina, for both organising the festival, and for creating such an entertaining contribution to it.

Nina Raines, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2025

7982. M32 roundabout J3 (801)

Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2026

I have missed Mr Crawls this year, he really seems to have slowed down a little, at least in the spots that I go to regularly. There could be any number of reasons for this, but whatever they are, I hope they are positive ones. This bird head was painted alongside Mote and Scrapy on the M32 roundabout.

The bird head, which looks like it might be an eagle, judging from the slightly hooked beak, is cleanly painted. Strong and solid outlines contain solid fills, although the white paint is a little thin. A couple of subtle details, indicating feathers, round the piece off nicely. It would be great to see more from Mr Crawls.

7981. Dean Lane skate park (948)

Neens and Effe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2026

An unusual collaboration recently appeared on the curved wall in Dean Lane. While I am familiar with one of the artists, EFFE, I have not come across Neens before. I have a feeling that these pieces might have been part of a Bristol Mural Collective paint jam, because there were a few other pieces nearby by artists I couldn’t recognise. Neens has painted a banana and an orange – not something I have seen as main subject of street art before. It feels like a piece by an artist more at home in the studio, but is a great idea and lots of fun.

Effe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2026

The piece on the right by Effe is one that has all the hallmarks of a tattoo artist – clean clear design, with each element defined and separate. The eagle figure is nicely presented on the black background and the artist’s letters EFFE appear in the orange shapes at the bottom of the feathers. A lovely illustration.

7980. St Werburghs tunnel (602)

ARSA, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2026

ARSA is known for his uniform bilaterally symmetrical pieces, which are often quite ‘blocky’ in appearance. This recent one in the tunnel, however, is rather softer than much of his work. Gone are the hard and regular straight line letter outlines, and in come some more gentle lines and a few curves. It is amazing what a difference it can make to the appearance of a graffiti writing through the introductoion of some curves.

The colour scheme, which was used by a couple of other artists who painted alongside ARSA, is attractive, although slightly lost in the gloom of the tunnel. The cream border and drop shadow certainly helps to define the letters from the purple background. This is a nice development from ARSA.

All change

Glidepath disrupted

motivation troublesome

keep professional

by Scooj

Having been unsuccessful in securing a job in my new work structure. I am having to work hard to keep motivated. Fortunately I love my job, so that bit is easy, but working for people who see me as surplus to requirements after a very long, loyal and unblemished career is rather more difficult. I need to remain steady and give it 100% until they ask me to stop, which might be a few months yet. Every day feels just that little bit more of a challenge to my positive stance and goodwill.

7979. M32 roundabout J3 (800)

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2026

I think that the biggest compliment I can pay Hemper is that he is the most versatile graffiti writer in Bristol. He has turned his hand to so many different styles for his letters, some more conventional than others, but no two pieces are ever the same, and if he didn’t write his letters, it could be quite difficult to identify some of his pieces – quality would be the only measure.

This is a big bold piece on the roundabout, his brown-grey letters perfectly decorated with spots and bars. Outside the black border, here are hints of a thin yellow border, the sign of a great writer. The green striped drop shadow has a vanishing point somewhere between the ‘E’ and ‘M’ of HEMS. A quality piece which sits beneath a cheeky appearance by Corupt, who ‘owns’ the higher level of this wall.

7978. Purdown (108)

Kool Hand, Purdown, Bristol, October 2026

I think it would be fair to say that I have slightly neglected Kool Hand’s excellent work this year, and I still have several of his pieces in my archive to post at some point by way of remedying the situation. This is a recent one from up at Purdown which was painted alongside the Daz Cat piece that I posted yesterday.

I don’t think that I’ll ever tire of Kool Hand’s animals, in particular his orangutans and leopards, which are painted in a style that incorporates strong black outlines and solid fills. Simplicity that delivers, like the work of Roo. This leopard, I imagine is wearing a red bucket hat, but the top is cut off, so I’ll never know for sure. I like the way he has incorporated the Purdown telecommunications tower in the piece. More to come when I get my act together.

7977. Peel Street Green (72)

Pura Decadencia, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2026

It feels like quite a while since I posted a piece by Pura Decadencia, but this one takes me right back to when I first became aware of her work. It is the vampire fangs, helping themselves to a piece of her work that does it for me.

Her letters in yellow and grey are very nicely presented with a well-worked red drop shadow and a green plasma bolt running through the piece for good measure. What makes this piece stand out for me though is those fangs, lips and tongue – such a signature item and so original. Lovely work. More please.

7976. Purdown (107)

The turnover up at Purdown has been on the slow side this year, I know this, because I quite regularly walk the dog up there – one of his favourite walks. Fortunately it is a place that Daz Cat is rather fond of and so I live in hope that I’ll find one of his pieces, and got lucky on this occasion.

Daz Cat has used the square space well, fillinng every inch of it with his composition. A cat appears to be having a hot cup of tea, but, probably because of the colours, I keep seeing bangers and beans throughout the piece, and once seen can’t easily be unseen. I am not sure iof this is intentional by Daz Cat, or simply my interpretation. Still a wonderful piece either way.

	hitandrun1964 on All change
	Bill Bisgood on All change
	cjsmissionaryministe… on All change
	M. on All change
	Sheree on All change

	hitandrun1964 on All change
	Bill Bisgood on All change
	cjsmissionaryministe… on All change
	M. on All change
	Sheree on All change

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