Look for it

On a knife-sharp afternoon at the end of March, grace and beauty can be in short supply.

And the railway station at Cheltenham Spa might seem an unlikely venue for an epiphany of any sort.

But then the clouds part. The evening sun reveals the filigree delicacy of Victorian ironwork and a drab platform is suddenly lit for a re-make of Brief Encounter.

Supporting cast

Shock news! Mr Gnome adores all things in the category 'small but exquisite'....

On a recent visit to Cheltenham Spa, the self-styled 'jewel of the Cotswolds', Mr G made a bee-line for the glorious caryatids that decorate the facade of the shops in the town's Montpellier district.

Based on figures in the Parthenon, these dames bring an air of classical hauteur to the toney spa town's architectural splendor.

Cool? Yes indeed. But, ahem, bringing with them more than a hint of abundant sensuality.

I'm sure that more than one retired colonel was troubled by these curvy sirens.