Street London portraits

My real Street London challenge, as well as taking candid street shots, was to approach a few people and ask for a portrait. (As I've mentioned before, being profoundly deaf does not really help with that!) I happened, however, to fall naturally into conversation with this young man, who was setting up a market stall selling alpaca wool jackets. We chatted about alpacas and I told him about Saltaire and Sir Titus Salt's discovery of alpaca wool, from which he then went on to make his fortune. After that, it didn't seem too hard to ask for his photo. (It's arguably a better portrait without the mannequin in the background but I've left that in as that was his environment.)

A little later, I was standing on the pavement outside a shop, chatting to a few members of the photo group, when a young man came to the door. Without really thinking, I asked if I could take his photo "to add to my 'handsome men of London' collection"! That seemed to be a good chat-up line, as he laughed and posed readily for me.

Huge thanks to both of them for being so obliging and - yes - handsome!

The third portrait was a man drumming in the street. He was really friendly too, though I guess he's more than used to being photographed and I did feel I needed to add some coins to his bowl. So it doesn't quite count as a proper street photo, I guess.

I really wish I could engage in conversation more easily; there are some such lovely and interesting people out there. Mind you, I might get myself into trouble! 

Life in the mines

Most of the men now greeting and educating visitors at the National Coal Mining Museum are ex-miners. It makes it very interesting as they have real stories to tell and real expertise to share. On the day I visited, Alex was stationed in the Hope Pit Store, which holds much of the museum's archive of heavy machinery and tools. It is situated at the far side of the museum site, and you can either ride over there on a little train (that used to carry miners to their work stations) or walk along a nature trail. It was fairly quiet when I was there, so he kindly agreed to pose for a photo.

Canaries were used in mines right up until the 1980s, to detect dangerous gases like carbon monoxide. The birds would react much more quickly than people to the presence of toxic fumes, and acted as an early warning system. Eventually the use of 'electronic noses' meant the birds were phased out, but many miners felt this was a loss as they treated the birds as pets. Caphouse has an aviary full of the pretty yellow birds.

Pit ponies were once used extensively underground as well as above ground, to haul coal and equipment. At the peak in 1913, 70,000 were employed underground but by 1978, thanks to mechanisation, there were only 149 underground and the last of them retired in the 1990s. The sturdy, hardy little ponies lived underground for many months at a time, enjoying occasional holidays above ground. They were a vital part of the mine's operation and as such were well-cared for, and much loved by the miners.

Capstone has this model (below) showing how they would have pulled the coal tubs along rails, but there are also four real horses, including a couple of little Welsh ponies and a lovely Clydesdale heavy horse. They do a short 'day shift' in the stables to delight and educate visitors to the museum and are then led out to fields to graze and rest.

Salt beard

When I wrote a post about the Salt Beer Factory last month, John commented that 'salt' and 'beer' don't seem to go well together. I wonder what he thinks about 'Salt' and 'beard'?  Every depiction I've seen (statues, busts, paintings) of Sir Titus Salt, Saltaire's Victorian founder, show him with a magnificent, luxurious beard. The gallery in Salts Mill that houses some information about the mill's history holds this interesting portrait. From a distance, it's a not unfamiliar portrayal of the man. Take a closer look though and you will find that it is made of textiles, ripped and teased to suggest the portrait. Rather clever, I thought, since he presided over one of the largest textile manufacturing enterprises in the area.



























When I first started writing this blog, so many years ago now, I included a lot more information about Saltaire and the amazing story of its creation and creator. I don't want to repeat old stuff but for more recent readers, suffice to say that Sir Titus Salt was an entrepreneur and philanthropist who ran a large textile business in the city of Bradford in the early 1800s. Concerned about living conditions in the crowded and insanitary city, he consolidated all his businesses by building a huge textile mill, Salts Mill, on a greenfield site with canal and rail links, outside the city. It opened in 1853. He then proceeded over the next twenty years to build a model village around the mill, with homes and superb facilities (dining hall, schools, church, recreation) for his workforce, far superior to anything else that existed locally. He called it Saltaire, combining his own name with that of the river Aire that runs beside the mill.

The mill ceased textile production in 1986, after which it was bough by another visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist, the late Jonathan Silver. He turned it into a thriving hub: a mix of manufacturing, business, retail outlets, art gallery space and restaurants. The village around continues as a modern community with a thriving creative ethos. Click the 'About Saltaire' tab at the top of my blog for more info.

Beauty in the park

It's rare that I take portraits and even rarer that I take portraits of people I don't know. But I was having an evening stroll in Roberts Park when these four beautiful young girls stopped me and asked me to take a picture of them on their phone. Of course, I readily agreed. When I'd done that for them, I asked if I could take one of them on my own camera. They were happy to pose.

The reasons I don't take portraits are legion. For one thing, being deaf makes the necessary interaction very tricky. I did ask their names but the answer was hard to grasp and I didn't have anything with me so that I could get them to write them down, not even my own phone. Another reason is, I am hopeless at portraits! I had my camera on a landscape setting and I forgot to amend the setting to blur the background. I'm always too embarrassed to spend the time faffing about getting it right, which I know is really silly! I hugely admire those bloggers who take wonderful portraits when they are out and about (Jack and Stefan among them) but I'll never emulate them.

Never mind, it's a halfway decent photo and they are such gorgeous girls (even though nameless) and were so very sweet, that it's a pleasure to share this. Any one of them could be a model, I'm sure.

People watching

The lady was watching the dog-show. Her dog was watching the people-show.

Gran duty

The childminder, who usually looks after my littlest granddaughter whilst my daughter is at work, has gone on maternity leave, expecting the birth of her own baby very soon. That means a few days of 'gran duty' for the next few weeks, stepping into the breach until the school holidays start. I must admit to finding it quite tiring, being on high alert all the time. M, however, is a delight to look after. Being two and three quarters, she likes to do things for herself and gets quite cross with me if I try to intervene (lifting her into the car seat, for example: "No! I do it!") Generally speaking, she is a very contented and secure little girl, with a remarkably long attention span. She loves building things with Duplo and Magna-Tiles, and will play for ages with little figures and her dolls' tea set. I also found a book with magic pictures that appear when you paint over the page with water. (I remember them from my own childhood, but these days they are reusable.) She loves discovering the pictures and keeps up a constant flow of chatter, exclaiming over what she sees. Utterly cute. I'm a very lucky gran.

Sticker fun

I haven't shown you a photo of this little one lately (my eldest granddaughter). Actually, she is not so little now. She's five and recently started (proper) school, which seems to have brought a multitude of both benefits and drawbacks. The benefits show in increased confidence and sociability but one drawback is that she seems to catch a lot more illnesses now, all the bugs that are going round! Since her mum now has a job, we grandparents find ourselves helping out on occasion. She recently had a nasty flu-type virus. Luckily the feverish worst came over a weekend but she was not able to go to school the following week so I went over to care for her. After a couple of days at their house and when she was on the way to recovery, I decided to bring her over to mine for a change of scene. We went to a craft shop and bought lots of stickers and she spent a happy time making pictures with them. 

The shop had an Easter chicken display, which provided a colourful frame for that cute little face! She's no longer all that keen to have her photo taken but a quick snap on the iPhone is sometimes tolerated. 

Bored?

All dressed up in their overalls; not sure if the blackened faces were earned or just for show! The kids looked a bit bored though... Perhaps, if dad is a fanatic, they have to spend a lot of weekends at steam fairs...

Georgiana Cavendish

This stunning portrait hangs in a gallery at Chatsworth House. It depicts Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806), painted in 1785 by Thomas Gainsborough.

Georgiana was a socialite, style icon, author and political activist. Her own family were the Spencers (she is an ancestor of Princess Diana) and she married William, the 5th Duke of Devonshire in 1774, aged just 17. He was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the land at the time, though emotionally reserved, serially adulterous and with little in common with his new young wife so that the marriage was difficult.

Georgiana became close friends with Lady Elizabeth Foster, who was destitute, having separated from her husband. Elizabeth came to live with them at Chatsworth and in their London home. In time she and William started an affair, thus establishing a love triangle. Whilst affairs were common, such a live-in 'ménage a trois' was unusual and gave rise to much speculation. Wives were not allowed (!) to take lovers until they had produced an heir, and Georgiana had two daughters before finally giving birth to a son. She then took a lover, Earl Grey and had an illegitimate daughter (while banished to France in exile) whom she was forced to give up to the Grey family (despite having had to raise her own husband, William's, illegitimate daughter!) Not surprisingly, the complicated arrangements of her high-profile life caused Georgina some pain and she sought consolation in an extravagant lifestyle of addictions (gambling, drink, drugs), affairs, socialising, fashion, politics and writing - gathering around her a large circle of influential literary and political figures. She died of some kind of liver complaint, aged just 48, with debts equivalent to over £3m. When these debts were revealed, the Duke is reputed to have remarked: 'Is that all?...'

After Georgiana's death the Duke married Lady Elizabeth Foster.

Georgiana's story was made into a film in 2008 : 'The Duchess' starring Keira Knightley. Such a colourful life but such a sad story really.

Me and my stick

This is my younger granddaughter. She'll soon be two and is growing up fast. She is a prolific 'signer', having benefitted from the baby-signing lessons she has been to with her mum, but is now learning lots of words. Sometimes I just wish I could bottle moments for posterity... like the moment recently when we were all having lunch together and she gave me the most adorable smile and simply said: 'Happy'. She is a contented little soul. She is also a stick-gatherer extraordinaire. I think stick-gathering must be some atavistic human trait but maybe we grow out of it.

Birthday portrait

Like many photographers, I'd far rather be behind the camera than in front of it.  There are very few photos of me that I really like - including this one! But it is probably a fairly typical expression of mine, sharing a wry joke with my daughter, who was valiantly attempting to get a decent picture of me on my birthday.

Peep bo!

Another shot taken when I was at the children's museum with my younger granddaughter.  I so wish I'd taken my DSLR with me. I snatched a few quick shots with my iPhone but they are not sharp enough to print from, I don't think. The light here was gorgeous and I think she looks so cute. Mind you, the girls are used to being photographed with phones whereas when I get my proper camera out they both go a little camera-shy (or act goofy!)

Sisters

To London for a few days enjoying my granddaughters' company.... The three year old is quite a chatterbox now and is very protective of her little sister. At five months and growing fast, the baby is quite simply adorable (though I am admittedly biased). She's calm and alert and seems a sunny-natured little soul. Her smile would melt anyone's heart. It's hard in all the busyness to get them both to pose for a photo. Pictures are snatched rather than taken. This was the best of the bunch.

Pixie

I came across one of those silly games the other day where, by taking the first letter of your name and the month of your birth and using a key, you could make up an 'elf' name for yourself (should you ever want to...)  I suppose with Christmas just round the corner, Santa might need some more elves. Anyway, I was mildly amused to discover that the given name for my newest granddaughter was Pixie Pickle-Pants. I thought that suited her quite well!

I had hoped to take some decent photos on my latest visit to London but life with two youngsters is so 'full-on' that I scarcely found an opportunity. You will see from this that at two months old she is growing fast; she's a wonderfully clear-eyed little baby and will lie for hours just calmly looking around her. She is also now able to respond with coos and gurgles when you talk to her. I never tire of those lovely baby conversations. It was a brief visit but enough to reassure me that life is settling down and getting back to something approaching 'normal' for them all. My daughter seems to have fully recovered, thank God. I found it shocking to read that sepsis is now the most common cause of maternal death in the UK and is increasing. But even so, it only affects a tiny fraction of women, so she was very unlucky.

Our little rosebud

The handle of the crib provided a pretty frame for my second granddaughter's first portrait. Madeleine Lily was born on Tuesday morning, 30.09.14. Unlike her big sister's abrupt and early arrival into the world, she took her time and was about a week overdue. Weighing 7lb 5oz, (3.3 kilos) she is more than twice her sister's birthweight and already seems remarkably settled, calm and much more robust. Needless to say, the whole family is overjoyed at her arrival. She is named after her maternal great-grandmothers. My mum would have been so thrilled.

Yum!

I haven't seen much of this little one all summer - but whenever I do see her, she is never very far from an ice-cream!

Pure gold

I've had a wonderful few days with my daughter and granddaughter this week, celebrating my birthday (another!) among other things. E is growing fast and learning fast and I find her fascinating to watch as she explores her surroundings and toys. Apart from the odd meltdown when she is determined to do something her own way and the adults around don't understand exactly what she wants, she is a sunny and secure little soul, with a seemingly wicked sense of humour developing! Her golden hair is exactly the colour mine was as a child, though she has curls and I don't think I did. I'm looking forward rather than back, on what would have been my mum's 86th birthday today. Mum was - and would be - so proud of our little golden moppet.

Keep your eye on the ball

I am admiring of those who can juggle. I have always been one of those folks who can't catch for toffee. Throw me a ball, some keys or anything and I will drop it. After being the butt of other people's scorn as a child, the inability has now become part of me. I have a sneaking suspicion that with a lot of perseverance I might master the skill... but since there are many skills I feel would be more valuable at this stage of life (most DIY skills for a start... why don't they teach you to use a drill or screwdriver at school?) then I shall pass up the chance to learn to juggle. I was happy to be entertained by this gentleman, who was delighting travellers on the Shipley Glen Tramway at the weekend. He started with three, then four, then five balls - although one of them did keep going missing in his hat brim. LOL.

Much to smile about

I've just had the happiest weekend with my family. Elodie is really developing into a sweet little person. She pulls the cutest faces - this one is one of her more natural expressions. She can also do a smile especially (funny) for the camera! And my beautiful daughter, as photogenic as ever.

Counting my blessings

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!  ~ Albert Einstein

This is the best birthday gift any 60-year-old could possibly wish for.... a happy, healthy, loving family.  My thanks to them for sharing the holiday with me and making it such a lovely and memorable time.