Road As Art

 

I am of the opinion that you should never let a month go by without including at least one photograph of Burdock Way in Halifax. This majestic concrete structure, soaring over the Hebble Valley, provides an urban backdrop of endless dramatic lines and sultry curves. It is road as art.

Christmas Club

 

It’s the 1st of September, and all the shops will be getting ready for Christmas. Before we condemn this as another twenty-first-century excursion into the realms of cheap commercialism, take a look at this advertisement from the Halifax Evening Courier from exactly 100 years ago. Just imagine: for 2/6 per week, you could get, among other things, 1 lb of the best sultana raisins, a pint of table jelly, and a 26-piece dinner service. That’s what Christmas is all about.

Committee Choice

 

Realising that I hadn't chosen an image for today’s calendar by 10 p.m. last night, I turned to a committee of friends I was sharing a drink or three with and asked them to choose a photo from my archives. They came up with this picture of Skegness Boating Lake, taken back in the early 1980s. If you don't like it, take it up with Denis, Sue and Isobel.

Fair Question

Where do seaside fairground rides go during the winter? They sit in storage facilities, waiting for the sun to shine, waiting for the music to start again.

The Family's Past

 

Albert was the only member of the family to leave Bradford behind - the factories, the mills, and the smell of lanolin. Rose Ellen was wedded to the future but drawn to the past: Victorian in a post-Victorian world. Ivy would see so much, yet miss out on even more. Pictures from the family’s past.

Up, Down, Bump

 

I've always believed in looking up as we walk through a town or city to admire the architectural wonders that so often surround us. Equally, however, it is worth looking down - especially if, like me, you are a fan of drain covers. I have quite a collection of photographs of them; I took this one in St. John's, on the island of Antigua. Since I spend so much time either looking up or looking down, don't be surprised if I bump into you one day.

Seaside Shadows

 

A seaside holiday: flat caps, thick overcoats, and a bench overlooking the sun-stroked sands. Watching the worm diggers and perhaps sharing a potted-meat sandwich. The sun casts shadows across the stone jetty, while the sea leaves ripples in the sand.

Earl Of Buffs

 

I've always worked on the principle that, if you're walking past a pub, you should take a picture of it and then pop in for a pint - in case it isn't there the next time you pass. I clearly adhered to this principle in the early 1980s when I passed the Earl of Arundel pub in Sheffield. Sadly, I didn't attend a meeting of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOB). I've always rather fancied being a Buff, but I've never been invited to join.

Happy Anniversary

 

When this photograph was taken, Issy and I had already been together for three years. Three years later, we were married. That was 53 years ago today. That's an awful lot of days. And I wouldn’t change a single one of them.

Set In Stone

You could walk to the top of Shaw Lane in Halifax today and take a photograph similar to this one. I took mine almost half a century ago, but the mills are still standing and the cobbles are still set in the road. The stonework is cleaner these days, and that sense of post-industrial abandonment has lifted.

Peter Howell

 

We lost a dear friend of over fifty years last week. Peter Howell was a noted classicist, a distinguished architectural historian, and a former chair of the Victorian Society. Perhaps most of all, he was a wise, witty, and loyal friend. This has always been one of my favourite photographs of him. I took it at Tunnel End in Marsden in the early 1970s. That kind smile will remain with Isobel and I forever.