No 11 Victoria Road

I pass this doorway at the corner of Victoria Road and Caroline Street several times a week and one day - as sometimes happens - the way the light was catching it gave it a whole new beauty. The coloured glass panels positively glowed and I noticed the Victoria Hall's tower reflected in the central window.

The building is now part of the offices of chartered architects Rance Booth and Smith, who have restored and imaginatively reinstated aspects of the original building to provide office space that is both contemporary and historical.

When it was first opened in the late 1850s, the corner shop was a grocer's, before becoming a specialist bakery in the early 1900s. By 1937, trading as H W Ready, it was apparently 'the place to go' for catering for weddings and funerals. By the 1960s, as new, more modern shops opened in Shipley and the mill contracted, demands changed. There were at that time three bakeries in Saltaire in close proximity. No 11 had a change of use and became a furniture shop, then a TV repair shop, later a wool shop and then a seller of artificial flowers. Rance Booth and Smith took over in 1989.  It would be interesting, I so often think, if walls could talk. What stories these old buildings would tell.

A heart tree

More rainbow coloured artwork. This 'heart tree' has been painted on the window of Salt Pots Ceramic Studio. Normally you can book parties and workshops here to enjoy painting on plates and other ceramics, helped along by coffee and cake - all good convivial fun. Of course, the studio has had to close, along with the majority of our shops, salons and services, because of this virus. One wonders how many of them will be able to reopen when the lockdown is lifted. I imagine the future will be pretty uncertain for some. I think it likely too that non-essential creative and cultural outlets may be among the last to be allowed to reopen, since they could be considered non-essential. Essential though, for those who rely on them for income - and essential for those of us that feel life is hardly worth living without being able to play and explore.

Going upmarket

My sister and I had a day trip to London recently to meet up with my nephew and his wife. We found ourselves in the upmarket district of Mayfair, one of the most expensive districts in London, so we popped into the famous Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly, just for a quick look round the foodhall. It's a long-established (1707) department store and grocer, eye-wateringly expensive of course but the goods are undoubtedly high-quality and not the kind of thing you can pick up in Sainsbury's. Miso and seaweed butter, anyone? I was most interested in the fruit and veg: such colourful displays to lift the spirits and tempt the photographer, even if I only had my phone with me.  Who knew there were so many different varieties of lemon, for a start?

The front elevation of the store is very elegant, with its distinctive eau-de-nil colour scheme. Above the door is a mechanical clock, out of which Mr Fortnum and Mr Mason emerge every hour to bow to each other!

Treasures at the garden centre

The local garden centre is quite a big place and has some quirky displays, with a lot of old machinery hanging from the rafters. Since I last visited it has added some new departments and now has a few animals (rabbits, guinea pigs and rats) and reptiles. I'm not sure if they are for sale or just a crowd puller. I know young children love visiting pet shops. They have a large parrot called Elvis and I'm pretty sure he is just there to amuse visitors.

The reptiles are fascinating. I feel OK when they are behind glass! I'm not so keen to come face-to-face with these creatures, especially the snakes, but I marvelled at the colouring of the lizardy thing.

I'm not sure what the insect is, possibly a locust?

There are also tanks full of tropical fish, which are for sale. I do like watching those. Goldfish make me smile, as I remember when I was a child we looked after one for some neighbours. It managed to jump out of its bowl and died. My mother spent hours touring the local pet shops trying to find one that looked the same, to replace it!

At one time, we had an aquarium at home. My favourites are always the neon tetras, such colourful little things looking as though they are illuminated from within:

A trio of oddments

Here's a trio of things around Saltaire that I may vaguely have noticed before but have certainly never stopped to photograph. The mirror is at the Victoria Road entrance to Salts Mill, above the now-sealed tunnel that used to lead to the Dining Hall across the road. There is a larger mirror further along that I have taken pictures of in the past. Whether this smaller one is a recent addition, or whether I've just never seen it, I don't know. (It is quite high up). It must be to enable the security guards to see the driveway from their office.

The ceramic cat is a David Hockney creation, made when he was a student at Bradford College of Art and later given to his brother. It has been loaned to Salts Mill to display in the 1853 Gallery alongside some of Hockney's other work in the Salt collection.

Finally, corks... I'd be interested to know if any of my local readers know where these are?

In fact, it is a large picture that covers the window of the Victoria Off Licence, on Victoria Road. It's one of those wonderful shops that stays open a lot and sells sweets, crisps, milk and other useful sundries as well as alcohol. The same lovely couple have owned and run it for over 30 years.

The Early Music Shop

Perhaps only the real aficionados know it is there but tucked away at the back of Salts Mill in what used to be the wool shed is The Early Music Shop, the world's largest early music instrument specialist and supplier of sheet music, CDs and accessories. I've passed many times and never dared to go in but one day I was feeling bold. It was peaceful inside, just a couple of other people browsing and the sales staff kept a discreet watch from the back of the store. It really is a treasure trove, full of exquisite and unusual instruments, most of which I would hesitate to put a name to. I'm afraid I can't tell a crumhorn from a shawm from a dulcimer. I did recognise the harps, lots of them in different sizes and with varying degrees of decoration. They are so beautiful.

There were some lovely percussion instruments too: drums and bodhrans, as in the picture below and several elegant harpsichords and spinets. There was even a 'build your own' harpsichord from a flatpack kit - quite an undertaking, I imagine.

Most of the instruments appeared to be new, though there was a beautiful Pillement Violone (see below), a Double Bass handmade in France in 1781 and rescued in the French Revolution, as it was part of a collection in the Royal Court of France. The information said it has an extraordinarily beautiful sound, which I could well imagine just from looking at the patina on the wood. It could be yours... for a mere £45,000.

Some of the detail in the instruments was gorgeous, especially the elaborate fretwork on the stringed lutes and fiddles.

I'm so glad I went in to have a look round, as it was a fascinating store.

They offer tuition on harp, viol, lute, recorder and other instruments, run workshops and often perform early music concerts locally.

In addition there is the Yorkshire Music School in the same building, teaching piano, rock guitar, vocals and drums to aspiring young musicians.











Saltaire is often a surprising place!

Christmas pleasures in song

'O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree

Such pleasure do you bring me...'

There seem to be as many translations of the German song 'O Tannenbaum' as there are Christmas trees in Shipley. Whatever words you choose, it seems only right that they have a song celebrating their beauty. Some of the loveliest trees are to be found inside Salts Mill. The height of the vast rooms allows them to use substantial trees and the lack of wind and weather means they can decorate them far more lavishly than those in our town squares. I always get pleasure from visiting Salts Mill anyway, at any time of year, and count myself very fortunate that it's only five minutes' walk away. I could spend hours in the bookshop (and often do!). At this time of year, particularly, I like to buy a few books there. You can get them cheaper online but I know if we don't support the bookshop, it wouldn't be able to sustain itself. The pleasure of browsing would cease and that would be a tragedy. I'm hoping the recipients of my gifts enjoy them as much as I enjoyed choosing them.

The other pleasure in song happened last night when the Hall Royd Brass Band played carols around the village. It was enjoyable to listen to, hard to photograph (dark, movement, too many people!) and by the end I couldn't feel my hands or feet, it felt so chilly in the night air. But I'm in a proper Christmassy mood now!

Wonderland

I happened to be passing a local garden centre that does big and elaborate Christmas displays, so I popped in 'just for a quick look'. An hour or two later and I was still mooching around, taking photos and marvelling at the lavishness. I suppose someone must buy this kind of stuff... but it's not me! I came away with some ribbon, some gift tags and a bird feeder. My inner child, however, revelled in the sparkly lights, the pretty colours and the tinsel feel of it all.

I don't really have space even for a Christmas tree in my tiny sitting room, so I usually just drape ivy and foliage along the mantelpiece and twine a few lights through it. It looks pretty enough. I also have a little wooden tree of German origin that has wooden baubles and charms. I certainly don't have space for a half-sized reindeer, magnificent though he is...

... nor a large, furry polar bear, though the smaller ones were cute as well.

There were some elves and ho-ho-ho Santas...

and a large inflatable sleigh with reindeer at the entrance. For a fee, I could have taken my grandchildren to visit the real Santa Claus inside (or maybe one of his helpers) but I guess they are probably getting a touch too old for that these days. The magic of the make-believe doesn't last forever.

It did all leave me a little bemused as to the mixed messages we peddle at this time of year. There was a small nativity scene in and amongst, but the 'reason for the season' seems scarcely to be remembered commercially. The derided 'Winterval' is perhaps truly a more apt term for the money-driven festival we celebrate. I wonder what penguins with santa hats have to do with Christmas? I was also left wondering whether all the winter/snow/artic symbolism is only used by those of us in the Northern hemisphere where Christmas and winter are concurrent. Do they have reindeer and polar bears in the Christmas shops in Australia? Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

The small things...

'There are pockets of peacefulness everywhere if you look for them. Small beautiful and quiet things happen in our every day life - from sunlight in the leaves on trees, clouds moving in the sky to the birds by the lapping water on the beach. Easily missed as we rush from one thing to another.

Take some time to notice the small things and see how slowing down makes you see the wonderful things happening quietly around us every day.'  [Margaret Soraya]

I've recently discovered the work of Margaret Soraya (see HERE), a landscape photographer who works a lot in wild yet peaceful places like the Outer Hebrides. She encourages us to hear our 'small, quiet voice within' as a way of accessing our deepest creativity. Her approach really appeals to me, though I have only just started to recognise, value and explore my own need for solitude and peace as a path for expression. 

Walking back from the shops on a dull, rainy day, I found a little 'pocket of peacefulness' - ironically perhaps - in this wild jumble of bright, shiny, rain-speckled toy windmills in a tub outside the vintage shop in Saltaire. 

New: supermarket

In Bingley, the next town up the valley, they are close to completing the building of a large new supermarket for Lidl. It has been built on the site of the former Bradford and Bingley Building Society right in the centre of the town. (See HERE) That brutalist concrete edifice, once described by Prince Charles as 'a monstrous carbuncle', lay empty for several years whilst the site was wrangled over. It was eventually bought and demolished by Sainsbury's, as I recall, to build a new superstore. They then pulled out, leaving uncertainty again. Finally, Lidl have taken over the site and built a supermarket. There is a newish Aldi store at the other side of the small town centre, so Bingley will certainly be the 'go to' place for groceries at the cheaper end of the range. Whether Prince Charles would approve is a moot point!

Loafers

Halifax's Piece Hall has several cafés and bars to choose from. I decided to sample the brew in Loafers, a cosy venue that combines a coffee bar and vinyl record shop.  Good choice! The coffee was excellent, though I wasn't quite brave enough to sample the more exotic blends. You have good music to listen to whilst you sip your drink... double the pleasure. They also sell music-related art prints (by Matt, Vinyl Soul Images), which make a colourful display around the walls.

I had a lovely conversation with another photographer, a young man sitting at the next table. He was taking photos of the coffee and the view. With the sun streaming in, it was too good a shot to miss, though I should have taken mine before I drank my coffee! I also chatted to the owner, Mark Richardson, who seems a lovely, friendly guy and was very welcoming. He and his wife not only run the busy shop, which has been open about 18 months, they also have a young baby too. They must work hard! 

(I'm resolved to be braver about asking people for portraits. It's 'a big ask' for a deaf introvert like me! So far, no-one has objected...)

Giddy Arts - coffee to go!

The shop on the corner of Victoria Road and Albert Terrace has been many things. It opened in 1861 and was a flour dealer and confectioner. In the 1930s it was 'Vimto's Temperance Bar', selling soft drinks and it had a counter where you could sit and drink your Vimto. It continued to sell confectionery for years under various owners, until the 1970s. It then had a time when it sold furniture and rugs, and by the early 2000s it was 'Era', selling vintage clothes. (My daughter bought a dress for a Cambridge May Ball there.) The shop closed and then reopened eventually as ArtParade, selling high quality craftwork, ceramics, jewellery, cards and gifts. It was also a gallery showing and selling contemporary artwork, prints and photographs. ArtParade flourished for many years until its owner retired last year.

Now No 1 Victoria Road has become 'Giddy Arts', a gallery 'championing independent makers', mostly local, stocking a growing collection of jewellery, textiles and ceramics. They have also installed a small coffee bar, selling 'coffee to go'. I stopped by after a walk and chatted to Joel, the proprietor, whilst sampling the coffee. It was delicious and I can highly recommend it. I'm not generally a huge coffee fan but I could drink several of their lattes a day, if my waistline would allow it! Top marks for using compostable cups and lids too. The shop has only been open a week or two, so it's early days. As it's right beside the rail station, I could imagine them doing a good trade catering for commuters who want a hot drink to wrap their hands around and wake them up. (I don't know what time they open up.)

It's a nice counterpart to Radstudio at No 2 next door. That's been open five years now and sells a good selection of stylish homewares and gifts.

(Some information taken from the book 'A Penny for Going', the history of Saltaire through its shops, by local historian Roger Clarke.)

Salts Mill's wonderful bookshop

Can there be a nicer place to spend an hour (or even two) on a cold winter's day than the bookshop in Salts Mill? It's bright, warm and cosy, despite its huge space. The massive Christmas tree adds festive cheer and there are so many gorgeous, colourful books... It's hard to escape without spending a fortune, and particularly now I have my grandchildren. The children's book section is extensive and wonderful, and they don't seem to mind if you hunker down with the kids and read few right there. Such bliss.

(My little camera didn't cope so well with interior shots but never mind.)

Getting old?

I had to smile when I saw this juxtaposition of signs - but then I sighed. I think I'm definitely getting old... More or less every day these days I seem to think 'what on earth is that?' or 'what is the world coming to?'.

The shop in Shipley, selling e-cigarettes, was open for barely a year. There's a message on their FB page saying 'lack of trade and large overheads' made it unviable. I'm pretty sure (although it means nothing to me as I'm neither a smoker nor a 'vaper') that there are at least two other dedicated 'vaping' outlets in Shipley's small town centre anyway.

I'm sad for so many reasons. Sad (and bemused) that I find it harder lately to keep up to speed with modern developments (technology, as well as things like vaping). Sad for the future, as every positive advance seems to be matched with a dozen seemingly less positive ones. Sad that large overheads seem to make so many businesses in our town centres unviable; sad that our small town centres hold little more these days than charity shops, betting shops and vaping shops; sad for the people wandering round in such poor shape and for whom drugs, smoking, vaping, drinking are all part of trying to make life a little better. I'm sad - and then I'm angry too.

All Things Vintage

Helen is the driving force behind All Things Vintage. She upcycles furniture, using chalk paint and découpage, as well as selling vintage homewares from the new shop in Saltaire Makers' Space. According to her website, she can also supply vintage items like china for hire, including a dinky little caravan (Hettie), to add style to a wedding or party. I particularly liked some of the smaller items on display... I rather fell for the sweet little découpage bird houses. Everything in the shop was beautifully arranged and displayed, a real feast for the eyes.

Saltaire Makers' Space

It might not look like very much from the outside but this is Saltaire's latest creative endeavour: Saltaire Makers' Space. Housed underneath Saltaire Primary School, off Carlton Avenue, its warren of rooms now hosts a collective of different artists and craftspeople. They are using the studios to make and sell their own work and also to run workshops and taster events for those interested in a bit of crafting themselves. Currently, the studios are home to:
- Hello Crafter (offering a wide variety of workshops including card making, doll making, needle felting, knitting and crochet and the intriguing-sounding, presumably Scandi-inspired, hygge craft),
- Lil Rabbitfoot, who makes (and teaches) stained glass,
- All Things Vintage, who practise découpage, furniture upcycling and restoration, as well as selling vintage homewares.
Tucked away at the back was a calm space that is being kitted out for meditation and life coaching.

I popped in to their recent Open Studios Day and got chatting to some of those involved.  It's light and spacious and all seemed very positive and vibrant, with a really buzzy feel.

Saltaire has long been a hub for artists and creative types. Of course, there is the Saltaire Arts Trail, which takes place across the village every Spring.  There are already art studios above The Butterfly Rooms, The Hive community arts charity in Shipley, the workshops run by The Craft House gallery and Salts Pots, the pottery painting studio, to mention a few. This latest addition will further the local creative vibe and I hope they will prosper and bring enjoyment to a lot of people.

Edward Street Bakery

As a young teenager, I had some memorable holidays in France, staying with my mother's penfriend in a little village in Brittany. One of my fondest abiding memories of those times was being sent out early in the morning to the village bakery, to buy fresh bread for breakfast. It was a chance to practise my halting French, which was always graciously received and responded to, and then I got to carry the fragrant, crisp, freshly baked baguettes back. Served with farmhouse butter and home-made jam, there was little better in my (then rather sheltered) culinary experience.

Fast forward a few decades (!) and you could do the same in Saltaire, at least at weekends. Edward Street Bakery, started by Jeremy Belsten and Lisa Fraser, began in the kitchen of a tiny house on Edward Street (you guessed!) and used to open as a pop-up stall in their yard, advertised by Twitter and Facebook announcements. They quickly established a name for themselves and gathered a faithful clientele, who enjoy the innovative craft breads, pies and pastries they produce. A few years down the line and they have started opening in larger premises at 1 Myrtle Place, in what was at one time a doctor's surgery and then for many years a bookshop. They are also to be found 'popping up' at various events around the area. [Open Fri lunch 10-2, Sat and Sun from 10am until they run out of bread]

Sadly for me, I've had to follow a gluten-free diet for many years and so I can't try their products. They don't have a gluten-free line. Otherwise, I'd be in that queue in the mornings!

Making cushions

You may recall a post on here about a craft shop called The Craft House that's opened in Saltaire? (See here)  
I mentioned that they run a lot of craft workshops and classes. I've been seeking new opportunities to extend my creativity, stimulated by a book I was given when I retired: 'The Artist's Way for Retirement' by Julia Cameron, full of suggestions and exercises that I'm really enjoying working through. As I used to enjoy sewing when I was younger and I have a faithful sewing machine (a 21st birthday present from my parents!), it seems like a useful skill to pick up again. So I decided I'd enrol on a one day 'Cushion Making' workshop.

It was really good fun. The other young women in the small group were friendly, the tutor was skilful (and didn't shout like my school needlework teacher used to!) and the room we were in, in the basement of the shop, was light, airy and well set out. We were supplied with endless drinks - in the colourful ceramic mugs depicting Saltaire that I'd so admired in the shop - and biscuits too. I learned how to put a zip in neatly (which I once knew but had largely forgotten) and how to do corded piping, which I'd never done before. My end result was a fairly neat and smart cushion, although with hindsight I needed perhaps to attempt some appliqué on it to really set it off. It's quite plain: cream with a colourful piped edge. I was really pleased with myself though, and very much enjoyed the day. It was also good to see and be inspired by the lovely cushions created by the others.

I think it's so important that we continue to have enquiring minds and to carry on learning, experimenting and trying new things as we get older. No need to get set in our ways! I'm hugely enjoying having more time to 'play'. I shall keep looking at the list of workshops at the shop, and see if anything else particularly catches my eye. Someone may be getting a new cushion next Christmas!

The Craft House

Saltaire has, for a long time, been a creative community. The Craft House seeks to showcase that local talent as well as stocking some beautiful handmade gifts and homeware from skilled craftsmen and women from across the UK, pieces that are not widely available elsewhere. The shop, on Saltaire Road, was opened about six months ago by April Chamberlain, who happens to be the sister of one of my former work colleagues and also the daughter of the very talented Alice Brett, whose work I first came across at Bingley Show. (See here).  Consequently, there are some of Alice's very cute knitted mice and bears for sale.

I'd been meaning to pop in for a while to take a closer look at the range of goods on display. There are some really gorgeous things and all at very reasonable prices. 'Yorkshire talent at Yorkshire prices' is what April says she is aiming to provide. I was particularly attracted by a range of cushions and mugs, by Meha Hindocha, depicting Saltaire's buildings and streets: brilliantly colourful, detailed and distinctively 'different'. There are also beautiful ceramics, greetings cards, cotton bags, pictures and many other things that would make excellent gifts and practical additions to a stylish home. Everything is carefully curated and thoughtfully displayed in the light and airy gallery, sunshine pouring in on the day I called.

The Craft House also hosts community craft classes, one day workshops and parties, which are all quite tempting...  I've been thinking perhaps I might explore another creative outlet as well as photography. Watch this space...

Anyway, if you're local or visiting Saltaire, I do encourage you to call in and see what's on offer. The shop isn't in a location that gets a lot of passing pedestrians, though I'm sure motorists stuck in the endless traffic jam that is Saltaire Road must enjoy looking in the window. Those further afield might look at the website (here) and keep an eye open for the online shop, which should be up and running shortly.