Black and white squared

'There are only patterns, patterns on top of patterns, patterns that affect other patterns. Patterns hidden by patterns. Patterns within patterns.' Chuck Palahniuk

A photo from my archives. I'm running out of stock for the blog, hoping soon to find some time and decent weather to get out and take some more pictures. We're in another cold snap, funnelling down from Siberia, I gather. Brr. I'm longing for Spring. Our health and sanity demands it!

I've been over to my daughter's. She and my youngest graddaughter have both been very unwell with a flu-type virus. 'Plague nurse' is not my most favourite or best role but I think I was helpful and - so far - have not succumbed to the lurgy myself.

Our hamlet

Baildon Green is a hamlet that almost looks lost in time, the houses (and a small mill or two) huddled under the escarpment that skirts round Baildon Moor.

I noticed that the Chapel on the Green (in my earlier photo here), which is still in use, has recently had an extension added to the front that looks as though it provides an entrance hall and toilets. I was a bit surprised as I think it is all in a conservation area but I suppose, even so, things need to keep up with the times.

Baildon Green sits in between Saltaire, Shipley and the larger village of Baildon. I think, although some of the hamlet developed around a Victorian textile mill, a few of the properties here are even older. The grassy area is still, I believe, common land (originally where people were allowed to graze animals and forage for firewood).

Knoll Lodge, Baildon

Although this lodge house is on the opposite side of the river from Saltaire and a good mile or so away, the observant viewer will notice a distinct similarity to some of the architecture of Saltaire. That gothic arched window with the roundel above is a real echo of the rounded windows and doors in the village, although rather more pointed. The similarity comes because this was the main gate house for a large mansion called The Knoll, which had strong links with Saltaire.

The Knoll was built in the late 1850s/early 1860s by Charles Stead, who was the first of the directors of Salts Mill not to be from the Salt family. The land was bought from the Ferrand family (of Bingley St Ives) by Titus Salt, who then sold it on to Mr Stead. The mansion, built in gothic style, had beautiful and extensive gardens. When Charles Stead was bankrupted, the house was purchased and occupied by Sir James Roberts, one of the consortium who took over the running of Salts Mill in 1893. Eventually Sir James moved to Milner Field and his son Bertram and family lived at the Knoll, until after WWI. After that the house had various owners and was eventually sold to Baildon Council. The mansion was demolished in the 1960s. Flats were built on the site but remnants of the gardens remain and the lodge house survives.

Red lines

Just a reflection, in a window, of an industrial unit in Shipley. I thought it bizarrely cheerful.There's so much distortion in the glass, it made me wonder what the view looks like from inside...

A brace of pheasants

A handsome cock pheasant and his rather more subdued mate, two of many wandering the Fountains Abbey grounds. In one part of the estate there is a small bird hide and a feeding station. There were numerous birds flitting in and out for refreshment there; I saw blackbirds, robins, chaffinches, a variety of tits, several jackdaws and a magnificent Great spotted woodpecker, which I was just about to photograph when a rather exuberant small child rushed in to the hide, causing all the birds to flee!

The romance of ruins

A touch of sepia toning seems to suit the rather romantic ruins of Fountains Abbey, seen here from the south-eastern corner where the Abbot's House and the Infirmary were situated.

Evocative ruins

Fountains Abbey was a vast and important Cistercian monastery from 1132 until 1539, when it was abruptly closed by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Lay brothers, attached to the monastery, relieved the monks of the day to day work and allowed them to pursue a life of prayer. The estates belonging to the Abbey stretched far across the Yorkshire Dales and the Abbey became wealthy from farming, wool production, breeding horses and cattle, lead mining and stone quarrying.

The photo above shows the Abbey ruins approached from the bridge that led to the guesthouses, where visitors would be accommodated. Below is the Cellarium, an immense vaulted structure that was a storeroom, with the lay brothers' dormitory above.

When the monastery closed, the estate was sold to a merchant, Richard Gresham, and he and subsequent owners sold some of the fabric of the site and used the stone to build nearby Fountains Hall. Nevertheless, the remaining ruins are the largest monastic ruins in the UK. The surrounding estate is now parkland and formal gardens, dating back to Georgian times. The whole estate became a World Heritage Site in 1986.

Fountains Abbey

Last Friday, it was bright and sunny when I opened my bedroom curtains in the morning so I decided I'd drop my plans for the day and take off on an excursion. (The freedom to do that is still a joyous novelty!)

I headed for Fountains Abbey, a well-known National Trust beauty spot, about an hour and a half's drive north of here. It is so popular that it is fairly unbearable in the summer. There was the promise of snowdrops and fewer people about on a winter's day. I'd forgotten, however, that it was the half-term holidays for a lot of schools so it was busier than I anticipated.

I did enjoy my day but - does this ever happen to you? - I found myself quite underwhelmed when it came to taking photos. I just wasn't 'seeing' them and that left me frustrated. It was all incredibly muddy too, unpleasantly so, even on the paths and having to watch where you're walking is a distraction. Then the sun disappeared! So it wasn't the best day out but it still beat being in an office or stuck in the house.

There were snowdrops too, a welcome reminder that the seasons turn. Warmer, more colourful days will be here soon.

Whiling away a winter evening

On these dark, winter evenings, if I'm at home, I occasionally watch TV but mostly, to stretch my brain, I read or do puzzles (crosswords or sudoku - and I'm having fun with some logic puzzles at the moment). I used to be an avid reader when I was younger and then, as a busy mother, I let it slide a bit. Now I have more time, I'm back to reading in a big way, though I find I can only read a few chapters before I need a short break. Whether it's age, eyesight or the sapping effect of technology on my brain, I'm not sure.

The very best relaxation though, as far as I'm concerned, is sorting through my photos and experimenting with processing. So it's a nuisance when I can't get out for walks and I run short on stock. Then I resort to trawling my photo archives, maybe finding an image I missed first time around, or one that I can see could benefit from a new treatment. I sit at my desktop for serious work but sometimes it's fun just to play on my iPad. I have some photo apps on that, more frivolous. I've also been scanning some very old family photos. I might show a few of those one day.

You'll recognise the photo above: my favourite trees, along by Dowley Gap Locks. In an idle half hour one evening, I added some textures and a few 'birds', just for fun.

Gossip

I'd love to know what these two are gossiping about... They are part of a now rather faded and grimy mural under one of the bridges over the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Shipley.

Linked to Monday Murals - see HERE

Winter etchings

We've had intermittent snow showers during the last week. Some days have been worse than others and some locations have had more than others, even within quite a small geographical area. It's either been falling as tiny, hard, sleety lumps or big, soft, wet flakes. In both cases, it has often barely settled before melting. When there has been a white covering for a while, it has soon disappeared.

I like the way snow renders everything in monochrome. Pictures look like etchings. These two very different photographs were taken back in January.

Blue note

A canal boat moored up for the winter made a picture that pretty much sums up how I feel at this stage of the year. Blue, dull, scratchy with slight glimmers of bright yellow here and there.

I know I shouldn't complain. All the rain and snow we've had means we're certainly not short of water like some places. The nights are beginning to get shorter again and there are bulbs peeping up through the soil - even in my garden! (I actually got around to planting some tulips and crocus in tubs, quite an achievement since I do not possess a single green finger, though I love gardens.) I've been planning a summer holiday, which is fun and escapist, but I'm longing for some dry days so I can go out and explore and to take some more photos.

Evening falls...

Evening falls and Salts Mill is briefly illuminated by the setting sun, its windows silvery and the brickwork glowing amber. The line of parked cars on Caroline Street is thinning out, as weary commuters alight from their trains and make their way home through the chill, to warm firesides and dinner. Just a fleeting moment caught on camera... Within seconds, the warm glow had ebbed away as the sun was swallowed up in a cloud.

Orange wellies

Making a style statement: toddler-wear in bright yellow with orange wellies. How cute. Perhaps the mallard ducks, with their bright orange feet, thought she was one of their own... 

Fog, rain, sleet

Fog, rain, sleet, wind - oh, what dreary weather we're having. I know it's winter but I much prefer the type of winter where we get dry, crisp, sunny days. It's been much colder overall here this winter, than last, but I don't mind that. (I always find it's easier to get warm when you're cold than cool when you're too hot! So our northerly climate suits me well, actually.) But I do mind the damp and dull days, when you really can't get out for a good walk. This was what it looked like driving back from my daughter's the other day. The views over towards Haworth were obscured by the drizzly mist and I had to dodge huge puddles and sheets of water sluicing across the moorland road. I got home safely... and that's the nicest bit: getting home, pulling up a chair by the fire and having a mug of hot tea to warm me through again. Aahhh....

Winter quarters

This is where Saltaire's ice-cream boat spends a few weeks in the winter. Under the terms of its licence, it has to move from its habitual berth by the Victoria Road bridge for so many weeks a year. Anyway, I suppose it is safer from vandalism moored here, when it isn't being regularly used. I guess the demand for ice-creams has fallen sharply since the temperature dropped (though they do also serve hot drinks). I wonder where the ice-cream man overwinters? Chile, perhaps?

The buildings it is moored beside were once warehouses and are known as Shipley Wharf. Nowadays they hold a restaurant, gym and offices.

Dog walk

'The path less travelled' (see Thursday), just like the path I more often take, can be walked 'out' along the canal and 'back' along the river. It isn't very pretty in either direction but it is quite interesting. The path back along the riverbank squeezes round the back of the Victoria Mills complex of redeveloped mill buildings and new-build flats.

It is the route of the Aire Sculpture Trail, so every now and again you come across a cartoonish animal, like this rather sad-looking dog. The sculptures enliven the walk, as does keeping an eye out for the kingfisher that lives along this stretch of water. I've only ever glimpsed it once. Unfortunately, the route is all a bit litter-strewn, which appears to be a consequence of the floods of a couple of years ago overlaid by rubbish dropped more recently, possibly by dog-walkers or by the school and college students who use it as a shortcut. I do wish folks would take their litter home with them!

Saltaire Brewery

Tucked away down a side street in the Dockfield area of Shipley and overlooking the canal, the Saltaire Brewery isn't actually in Saltaire at all. It isn't far away though, and who can blame them for using the name of the world-famous UNESCO World Heritage Site as their brand name. The craft brewery was established by Tony Gartland and Derek Todd in 2005. The brewhouse is sited in an old generating hall that once provided electricity for Bradford's trams. They now produce around 60 different beers, including their bestselling 'Saltaire Blonde' ('a straw coloured lager ale with creamy, soft malt flavours') and a dark stout called, enticingly, 'Triple Chocoholic' ('a strong chocolate bouquet and a rich chocolate flavour, with a balancing bitterness'). I don't drink beer but I'd be tempted by them if I did. They have an excellent reputation.

There's a Brewery Tap and shop, open Wednesdays through to Sundays (pm only), so you can sample their products - and some from other featured breweries. There's a beer club too, like a mini beer festival, on the last Friday of every month. I've noticed the beers are stocked in lots of pubs and shops, or can be ordered online. No excuse not to try it!

Expanding

Shipley's Dockfield Road area used to hold several big textile mills. As they closed, other industries moved in and now the area is a somewhat uneasy mix, with a lot of commercial units, large and small, a few rows of Victorian houses that were presumably once linked to the mills and some newer residential developments (see yesterday).

It looks to me as though it may be 'on the up'. The influx of new housing will change the feel of the area and I think it will all get tidied up. Some of the businesses appear to be expanding too. This unit belongs to 'Specialised Covers', a manufacturer of 'innovative solutions in vehicle protection'; they make fabric covers for cars, caravans and motorbikes. It's a family-run business, established for over 35 years and, judging by the size of the extension (?) they're having built, they look to be doing rather well.

A few doors down there is a studio belonging to Q20 Theatre, another long-established organisation, who produce high-quality street theatre, indoor and outdoor events and promotional entertainment. They're involved in a lot of our local community events and have some hugely creative and experienced performers.

Not far away from them is a children's soft-play and adventure centre, Funopolis.  I've taken my granddaughters there once or twice. They love it - but it's huge and rather easy to lose sight of the children. It took me a good half-hour, last time, to entice the kids out of the maze of slides and tunnels.

Coming soon

A little further east along the canal towpath, I came across the site of a new development: Swanside, by Mandale Homes. They are building an estate of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses, on a site adjacent to the canal that used to be a factory. The building work is in its very early stages, with big machines currently clearing the site.

I'm glad they are able to use some 'brownfield' sites for housing. It is much needed and, although the conservationists may bemoan modern developments, I think the increased proportion of homes may start to turn this rather run-down area, where there are already a few late Victorian terraces and some newer flats, into a pleasant residential zone. Although it's untidy and somewhat bleak at the moment, it's only about a fifteen minute walk to the rail station and Shipley town centre, so it's potentially quite a convenient location.

The site is served by the Dock Lane Swing Bridge, a newish automated bridge over the canal. Dock Lane got its name because at one time it led to a dry dock, one of only a few along the canal, where boats were repaired. The dry dock has long since been filled in and built on. You can just see either end of the bridge on the left of my photos. The four houses below are very recently erected. They look very nice and seem reasonably priced, to me. 

The path less travelled

From Saltaire, I can walk east or west along the canal towpath. More often than not, I choose west, which quickly takes me into fields, woods and wild places. Just occasionally, when I fancy a change, I'll turn east towards Shipley. The walk is much less pretty, cutting through downtown Shipley and skirting some old mills and industrial units. It does eventually reach wilder and more attractive parts, but only after a fair old trek.

Nevertheless, the option is not without interest, especially when I haven't been that way for a while. Beyond Saltaire and Salts Wharf, one of the first points of intrigue is this little old cottage: Gallows Bridge Cottage. It dates back to 1834, though it has been extensively renovated. I read that it may once have been the home of a 'lengthsman', someone who patrolled and cared for a designated length of the canal. The footbridge beyond is Gallows Bridge, which was built around the same time as the cottage. There has always been a bridge here, protecting an ancient right of way, since this part of the canal was completed in 1774.  I'm not sure what the 'gallows' in the name refers to... something even more ancient - and deadly, perhaps? You might think the cottage an idyllic place to live, but it is a bit isolated as indicated by the several CCTV cameras and alarm.

A few hundred yards further on, you pass Junction Bridge, a typical single-arched canal bridge dated 1774. It's held together in parts by concrete but you can still see the old, worn, stone setts across the middle. The building beyond is Junction House, sadly now very derelict. It was once a warehouse, boatmen's lodgings and had a canal toll-house attached. There's some interesting information about this whole area HERE, which is an extensive assessment of the area for conservation purposes. The 'junction' referred to is that between the now defunct Bradford canal, which  branched off here, and the main Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

The conservation document is not complimentary about the newish flats and town houses in the development alongside the canal (on the left below), which it calls an 'unsympathetic inward-facing modern development'. The buildings on the right of Junction Bridge are Junction Mills and Dockfield Mills, once worsted mills, still used as commercial premises.

Pruning

There's not much traffic along the canal during the winter months so I was intrigued to see a boat in the distance, when I was taking 'the scenic route' back after doing some errands in Shipley. Getting closer, I realised it was a Canal and River Trust's working barge. Workers were busily pruning the trees and shrubs on the thin fringe of land between Salt's Mill's outbuildings and the canal. It's surprising how quickly these saplings spring up. Left unchecked, their jutting branches start to narrow the navigable waterway, which is only just wide enough for two boats to pass, as it is. How many people does it take to trim a shrub? In this case, at least seven, including the guy steering the boat and another trimming some saplings on the towpath.  

Snowy sunset

I drove back from my daughter's at dusk the other day. There was a light covering of snow over the very tops of the moors, illuminated by a pleasingly colourful sunset. I'd no tripod with me, so I tried balancing the camera on the car but, apart from the middle of the roof where I can't reach, it doesn't have a flat surface anywhere! It was worth stopping to watch the show, anyway. What a glorious world we inhabit. We've more snow forecast for this week, though the weather doesn't always live up to the predictions.

Glory of a different kind in the afternoon.... I took my grandchildren to play with Lego, at a 'Bricks for Kidz' event: a community centre hall with masses of boxes of Lego in all colours and shapes, and lots of busy children. My oldest granddaughter loved it and built some colourful houses and boxes. You could see her little mind working out patterns and how to make the structure stable. The little one spent a long time simply and happily transferring handfuls of bricks from one container to another! There were also lots of stalls where you could buy Lego and tables where adults were showing off their creations - from working Lego train sets, through fantasy scenes from Dr Who and other films and games, to a huge and detailed model of the Houses of Parliament that must have taken months to build. My favourite was a seaside scene complete with beach and sea, with lots of little people swimming, surfing and lying on sunloungers. Why didn't they have things like that when I was a mum? It used to be hard to fill winter weekends in those days!

Windows

Ambling around Bradford on a sunny day, I kept noticing interesting (to me anyway) shapes and shadows in some of the more modern architecture. 

The innocent blind cord and its shadow, below, had taken on a look of menace. 

It was the colours, below, that sold this one to me. 

The Thingamabob Museum

Following on from yesterday, the other showpiece in Bradford is, of course, the Museum of Photography, Film and Television... sorry, make that the National Media Museum... sorry, make that the Science and Media Museum. Whatever you call it (and these days I more often refer to it as the Thingamabob Museum), it has been in Bradford since 1983.

Initially it focussed on the art and science of image-making, but its purpose and name has evolved over the years. I'm not sure it knows what it is these days. It has always been part of the National Science Museum group and there were threats to close it and an unpopular move of a prestigious collection of photographs to London's V&A. Its most recent statement of purpose is 'Exploring the transformative influence of image and sound technologies on our lives'.

Despite the upheavals, I read recently that visitor numbers are going up again and I have always been pleased to have it nearby. I visit several times a year and have seen some very interesting displays. This time when I popped in, there was a fascinating exhibition all about 'Fake News', demonstrating that it is not a new phenomenon at all.

It has a massive, five-storey high 3D IMAX cinema screen (the largest in the UK when it was unveiled), which I've been to once. It made me feel sea-sick! There are also various interactive displays all about sound and light. Kids love it - and museum entry is free!

By the way, the statue in front is that of JB Priestley, the famous locally born playwright and author.

Bradford's showpieces

Whilst some of the city centre of Bradford is currently a bit grim (see HERE) the lower part of town has undoubtedly been improved in recent years. The Broadway shopping centre is pleasant and the City Council have spent a lot of money transforming the area around the rather magnificent City Hall. Several 1960s concrete buildings were demolished (among them, Provincial House, the office block where I first started work in Bradford). The area has been opened up and 'City Park' constructed: a rather clever paved area that can either be drained for concerts and events or filled with water to provide a shallow mirror pool, where families congregate in summer and children splash in the fountains. (See HERE) Most days, it is empty in the mornings and gradually fills up during the day. Not sure I've ever photographed it part full before...

Some day, I must photograph more of City Hall. Designed by Saltaire's architects, Lockwood and Mawson, and opened in 1873, it has 35 statues of British kings and queens around the exterior, supposedly in chronological order. William IV (seen here) has presumably observed a lot of life passing in front of him.

Mud, glorious mud

The River Aire was full to its brim the other day and the path along the bank is very muddy. I'm looking forward to spring!

What's your tipple?

Lots of people were doing 'DryJanuary' - and are presumably enjoying a G&T tonight! - but it's dry all year round for me. I've been teetotal for many years. Alcohol gives me a migraine and for a long time, too, I've been taking migraine-preventative medication, which reacts badly with alcohol. So there is no temptation to stray... but I do get a bit bored with drinking juice or straight tonic or one of the many very sweet, fizzy alternatives. I was delighted therefore when a friend introduced me to Seedlip and then my lovely daughter gave me a bottle for a Christmas present. It is wonderful! It's a carefully crafted, distilled, non-alcoholic spirit, made from herbs, spices, fruit and berries. There are actually two flavours: Spice 94, a warm, aromatic blend and Garden 108 with a fresher, herbal taste. I've tried them both and they're both delicious. You drink them as you would gin, on the rocks and with a mixer. It's a very 'grown-up' drink. I like this one with orange and ginger ale, but it's also good with a slice of pink grapefruit and tonic. The only downside is that it is pretty expensive, marketed as a luxury product on a par with gin. But hey, I've saved so much over the years by avoiding wine and spirits that I think I deserve a little pampering.

What's your favourite tipple?

I'm posting this because the January theme in my online photo club was 'still-life'. I think it's a classy bottle and it seemed a good choice as the basis of an arrangement. I spent a while on a rainy day experimenting with different configurations, lights, reflectors (interesting what a subtle difference a gold reflector makes, over a white one). I liked this image the best.