Daffodils

'A host of golden daffodils, beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.'  
 William Wordsworth

'Daffodils, that come before the swallow dares and take the winds of March with beauty.'
William Shakespeare


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'Londoners on Bikes' Campaign 

Not one to be idle, even whilst on maternity leave, my daughter is involved in a campaign to make London safer for cyclists.  (There have recently been some terrible accidents and fatalities.)  It's something I am very concerned about as my daughter, her husband and my nephew all cycle regularly and it can be dangerous.  If you know anyone who cycles and/or lives in London, please encourage them to sign up to make the capital a safer place to cycle.  Take a look at the campaign video they've just made; it's worth seeing, especially as it features, in her on-screen debut, my darling grand-daughter.  :-)    Link to it here.

Mughal reflection

Bradford's Lister Park (where the Sport Relief Mile took place - see yesterday) was looking at its best last weekend in the spring sunshine.  Its centrepiece is Cartwright Hall, the city's municipal art gallery, built in 1904. Unlike some civic art galleries, I believe it was designed as a gallery rather than a grand house.  The park was once a deer park belonging to the Lister family, another of Bradford's textile dynasties.  The gallery has an interesting permanent collection which brings together works of art from many different cultures and periods and is carefully designed to be inclusive to the diverse ethnic groups represented in this very multi-cultural city.  The hall and the park have had a lot of money spent on them in recent years and have been transformed into a very attractive destination for an afternoon out.

My picture shows Cartwright Hall reflected in one of the pools in the Mughal Water Gardens, a synthesis of Islamic and Hindu architectural styles, forming a symmetrical series of canals, pools, planted and paved areas.  The Garden is intended to reflect the cultural heritage of the immediate area surrounding the park, where the Victorian terraces and villas (where Titus Salt and his ilk once lived) are now home to a large British Asian community.

I'm linking this to the 'Weekend Reflections' theme this week.  Please have a look at the other entries here, hosted by James.  There are always some great photos from all over the world.

Sport Relief Mile

Last Sunday in Lister Park in Bradford, several hundred people joined in the Sport Relief 2012 Mile to raise money for charity.

It was all part of a major BBC TV-sponsored annual charity fundraising effort across the country, in which celebrities get involved, thousands of ordinary people do sponsored runs, swims and all manner of other stunts and millions of pounds is raised for charities at home and overseas.

Sport Relief's 2012 total stands at £52,070,587.00 as I write this, with money still coming in.

The atmosphere in the park was terrific, helped by it being a lovely warm spring day.  Anyone can join in, from the oldest to the youngest, fit and not so fit.  People ran, jogged or walked - in sports kit, fancy dress or even their pyjamas.  There was a dance exercise warm-up beforehand and plenty of music and fun afterwards. A good day out!

David Hockney at the Royal Academy

This imposing archway is the entrance to Burlington House, on Piccadilly in London, which houses several august artistic and scientific societies including the Royal Academy of Arts.  My main reason for visiting last week was to see the exhibition, 'A Bigger Picture' by David Hockney RA - who, of course, as 'a local lad' is much loved by us here in Saltaire.  (Salts Mill is proud to hold a large collection of his work.  Hockney was a close friend of the late Jonathan Silver, the entrepreneur who 'rescued' the mill.)

I was so excited to see this major exhibition of Hockney's landscape work, much of which has been created in the last few years especially for this show. The paintings, many of them large-scale and wonderfully colourful, were inspired by the Yorkshire Wolds, where Hockney now lives.  In fact, if it wasn't for Jonathan Silver they might never have been created.  It's said that David Hockney came back to Yorkshire from California to support his friend when he was dying from cancer, and began to notice and be inspired again by the Yorkshire landscape.

I treated myself to the exhibition catalogue and
thereby received a plastic bag to flash around too!

There have been many features and TV programmes about the exhibition.  Some of the critics seemed pretty underwhelmed (they often are!) - but I loved the works, especially the amazing series of 51 prints (made from drawings on an iPad) and one large painting recording the arrival of spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire.  In the majestic setting of the RA's huge main gallery, the pictures have a vibrancy and impact that I found really thrilling.  It seems brilliant to me that a man in his mid 70s should be using modern technology so skilfully to create such vivid scenes, bursting with life and beauty.  There were also some video works that I found equally enthralling, taken with nine cameras on a grid.  My reaction was more akin to this writer's (in a Yorkshire paper of course!)

I'm so glad I was able to see the exhibition, despite the crowds (I'd have enjoyed it even more with fewer people to contend with).  When it is broken up in a few weeks time, I dare to hope that some of the works will find their way to Salts Mill, either permanently or temporarily.  Who knows?

Platform 9¾

Here's one for Harry Potter fans.... Platform 9¾ is the secret platform on Kings Cross station from where you could board the Hogwarts Express if you walked directly at the solid barrier between Platforms 9 & 10. (Mrs Weasley advised that "you should do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous").  Some of the filming was done at the station and this plaque and disappearing luggage trolley are there to commemorate it.  Rather unromantically, it has moved around a great deal and is actually nowhere near platforms 9 and 10, having now been moved to the new concourse.  But there is always somebody having a go at storming the wall and it provides a good photographic opportunity, especially if you have Harry-Potter-mad kids.

Kings Cross wonderland

I had a day trip to London last week for a brief reunion with my sweet grand-daughter.  She's thriving and seems a happy little soul most of the time.  She has recently learned to squeal - apparently just for the fun of it! - and is getting very 'conversational'.  I was granted some delightful smiles.

I was happily surprised at Kings Cross, the mainline rail terminal where the Leeds train arrives and departs, to find the new concourse open.  Very smart and spacious it is too, a thousand times better than the previous cramped lobby and with much better facilities.  It made my short wait quite a pleasure.  I  envisage the view from the mezzanine floor will become a much-photographed scene, akin perhaps to that famous view of Grand Central Station in New York.  I tried and failed to get an effective picture of blurred figures hurrying.  It didn't quite work, as there were too many people standing still and that spoiled the effect.  I needed a tripod too but that's one thing I generally don't carry with me in London!


[By the way, can someone please tell me how I can fix my blogs 'comments' so that I can add a reply linked to each comment?  Alan, Betsy and others can do this but I can't figure out how to. 
Later... Thanks Diane, embedded comments have done the trick.]

Light and shadow

(Hover mouse over image for the black and white version)

Because I'm me, when I download a day's worth of photos from one of my photographic explorations, I generally have a couple of attempts at more 'arty' shots, alongside the plethora of general record and landscape pictures.  I try to keep my eyes open for patterns and textures. This is Thornton Viaduct again.  I noticed in the strong, low sunlight that there were good patterns of light and shadow.  Then I couldn't decide if it looked best in black and white or if I preferred the colour.  See what you think.

This is the final day of the Thornton Challenge photographic experiment in which Alan Burnett and I agreed to explore the same village at different times and from our own perspective and then share what we each 'saw'.  For Alan's eye view, please go to his blog NEWS FROM NOWHERE.

I've had a lot of fun exploring Thornton, taking photos, writing the posts and, of course, seeing what Alan came up with too.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have.  I think it proves the original hypothesis. (See here). Certainly in this series I think you can read, 'between the lines', quite a lot about the photographers as well as about Thornton.  I approached it like some kind of enthusiastic tour guide, picking out the highlights, bombarding you with historical titbits and determined to make you overlook the fact that your hotel is right next to a building site.  Alan, on the other hand, approached the assignment like a seasoned reporter, homing in on the underlying essence of the place and, with a journalist's flair for words, neatly summing up a world of truth in each pithy phrase.  Perhaps you need both of us really, to get a balanced picture.  The good news is that both of us will continue, in our own blogs, to explore our lovely home county of Yorkshire and we hope you'll continue on the journey with us.  Thanks Alan, and thanks to everyone who read and commented, for sharing this with us.  I've made some new friends and that's lovely. Maybe we should do it again sometime?

Quaint

A quaint row of old houses on Alderscholes Lane in Thornton, typical of the area with their solid stone walls and slate roofs.  I'm not very good at dating property but I imagine these were built in the mid 1800s, making them similar in age to the early parts of Saltaire.  When built they didn't have bathrooms. Just across the lane there are what were originally stone 'privvies' - draining directly into the little beck (stream) that runs through the valley.  I imagine facilities are rather better now!  The railway viaduct beyond was built in 1873.  It must have been quite a sight to see steam trains chuffing along overhead.

This is the Thornton Challenge - in which Alan Burnett and I agreed to explore the same village at different times and from our own perspective and then share what we each 'saw'.  For Alan's eye view, over the past few days, please go to his blog NEWS FROM NOWHERE. Though today he's taking a break to post his usual 'Sepia Saturday' entry - and that's well worth a look too.

City meets country in a village

Thornton is part of the City of Bradford Metropolitan area but is situated right on the edge, where countryside meets suburbia.  Consequently it only takes minutes to access green space with a more rural feel, where old cottages are clustered into tiny hamlets and you can glimpse views of the city beyond the fields.   Thornton Viaduct is a notable feature, its 20 arches snaking across the Pinch Beck valley.  Once part of the Great Northern Railway network, it has been disused for 40 years or so.  It is now a listed structure and there are apparently plans to open it to walkers and cyclists as part of the Great Northern Railway Trail. (The little pointy bit apparently on the viaduct is actually the tip of Thornton St James' church spire!)

This is the Thornton Challenge, Day Five - in which Alan Burnett and I agreed to explore the same village at different times and from our own perspective and then share what we each 'saw'.  For Alan's eye view, please go to his blog NEWS FROM NOWHERE.

South Square, Thornton

The other 'must visit' place in Thornton (as well as the Brontë birthplace) is South Square, a visual arts resource centre and gallery.  It is the base for a coalition of artists and also holds meeting rooms, a print workshop and studio space, a craft shop and a very good vegetarian café. (I had the cheesy potato wedges with tomato salsa: tasty, filling and warming on a chilly day.)

The centre is housed in 19th century millworkers' cottages, which are now Grade II listed buildings.  It's a good place to wander round, quite quirky really... in parts of it you almost feel as though you're walking through someone's home that just happens to have artworks on the walls.  It has lots of entrances through the various cottage doors rather than one main entrance, and then all the rooms run into one another, so you are not quite sure if you've seen all of it or not!

The nature of the space allows several different artists to show at the same time so there is a wide variety of styles and types of work - including some photographs of Bradford's mills by Gemma Doyle, when I visited.  One of her photographs was shockingly similar to my own 'Saltaire's New Mill at night' - gave me a bit of a turn! - but it's such an oft-photographed scene and doesn't change much from day to day so I suppose there are probably quite a few similar images out there!

This is the Thornton Challenge, Day Four - in which Alan Burnett and I agreed to explore the same village at different times and from our own perspective and then share what we each 'saw'.  For Alan's eye view, please go to his blog NEWS FROM NOWHERE.

Ginnels and alleys

I really enjoy 'being a tourist' in my own area, exploring with my camera and getting the feel of a place.  Although I lived on the Thornton side of Bradford for a few years, Thornton village is somewhere that I have only ever driven through on the main road.  So it was fun to have a good old poke around.  I ended up with mixed feelings about the place.  It has a lot of history.  Some of the buildings are clearly very old and you can see, with close observation, how newer ones sprang up and gradually filled in the spaces (and continue to do so).  

This photo shows quite clearly how an old (18th century?) stone-mullioned window and a doorway are now almost buried beneath the road surface, which must have been laid much later, but is itself probably mid-19th century.

One of my main impressions was of how this ad-hoc development has left the village with no real centre and with a maze of little winding alleys (ginnels, in local terminology) and streets.  You can quickly get lost!  It's quite a contrast to the carefully planned layout of Saltaire, though many of the buildings date from around the same time.  In general it isn't a wealthy area and it has to be said that some of it would look better for a bit of sprucing up.  Somehow in these cool northern climes, decay looks simply grimy and (to me anyway) lacks the charm of those narrow old streets you find in, for example, Mediterranean areas.  (See here for one that Malyss recently featured.)  Or maybe I'm just not enough of a 'tourist' in my own patch.

This is the Thornton Challenge, Day Three - in which Alan Burnett and I agreed to explore the same village at different times and from our own perspective and then share what we each 'saw'.  For Alan's eye view, please go to his blog NEWS FROM NOWHERE.

The Brontë birthplace, Thornton

My usual start point in a place I haven't visited before is its history.  Thornton's main claim to fame is its Brontë family connection.  Four members of the literary family were born here at 72-74 Market Street.

In 1815 Reverend Patrick Brontë, father of the writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne, moved into this house (built in 1802 and at that time the parsonage) with his wife Maria and their older daughters Maria and Elizabeth.  In those days Thornton was little more than a hamlet; in 1800 it had only 23 dwellings (and three of those were pubs!)  The Brontës stayed for five years and then moved  to Haworth, and it is Haworth's parsonage that has the more famous association, as it is now a museum.

In the mid-1800s Thornton started to grow, as the local handloom weaving trade gave way to textile mills.  Stone quarrying and the mining of coal and fireclay were also important industries.  Growth demanded more local services.  The Thornton house was altered in 1898 when the front extension was built and it was then used as a butcher's shop.  It has also been a restaurant. The house was restored in the 1990s by the crime novelist Barbara Whitehead, and was opened to the public, but it is now a private residence.

For those of a curious mind, the Haworth Village website has pictures of the interior - see here.

This is the Thornton Challenge, Day Two - in which Alan Burnett and I agreed to explore the same village at different times and from our own perspective and then share what we each 'saw'.  For Alan's eye view, please go to his blog NEWS FROM NOWHERE.

Who'd have thought it...?

Some time ago, I happened to write on this blog:  "It's interesting, isn't it, how we all 'see' different things?  Take any two photographers and put them in the same place at the same time and, the chances are, each will interpret the scene quite differently.  I think that's half the fun of blogging, to see what others see through different eyes from our own."  My dear blog-friend, Alan Burnett, who lives not so far from here, responded promptly in the comments: "OK here is a challenge for you. Let us pick, at random, some village which is within a given radius of Saltaire/ Brighouse: both make our way there independently and record what it says photographically to us. We co-ordinate the subsequent post and test out your theory."  Well, I couldn't resist that, could I? - so we agreed to carry out the experiment, visiting a village called Thornton (on the edge of the city of Bradford) which is more or less equidistant between us.

Many moons passed... and a premature baby in my family and various commitments for Alan meant that it has taken us some while to achieve the assignment.... but, finally, we have.  Over the next few days I will post some photos of what caught my eye.  (All were taken on February 19th).  Alan has agreed to do the same on his blog - go to NEWS FROM NOWHERE to see his side of the bargain. We visited separately and neither of us knows yet how the other approached the challenge.  It must be stressed that it's not a competition, more of an experiment.  I am looking forward to seeing the results and, indeed, to testing out my theory.

For starters, the above photo (self -portrait!) was taken in a tiny little park that does its best to be the centre of a village that really rather lacks a focal point.  It suggests that Thornton is perhaps rather a surprising place - and, in many ways, I would agree.  See what you think....

Awakening

A short walk beyond Saltaire's Roberts Park, to the north and west, you find yourself in a beautiful area of open green space and woodlands - Trench Meadows, the woods below Shipley Glen and land that was originally part of the Milner Field estate.  Much of this land had been acquired over the years by Sir Titus Salt, so even here there is a historical link with his name.  It's a very pleasant area for gentle walking and you quickly feel miles away from the urban sprawl.  I love the old stone walls, overgrown with moss and ivy, that mark out the field boundaries and the many little lanes that criss-cross the area.  Although there are still autumn leaves underfoot, some of the trees are showing the faintest signs of greening and the low sun peeking through their branches hints at the awakening of Spring.

Signs of Spring

Last weekend was bright and sunny, chilly in the wind but warm in sheltered spots.  It felt like all of creation was waking up and stretching.  Not that we've had a bad winter, far from it, it has been very mild, but even so the long dark days take their toll.  I went out looking for signs of Spring in Saltaire.  There were plenty of people about, enjoying the space in Roberts Park. (See my last two posts for a short biography of the man after whom the park is named.)  The daffodils are beginning to flower in sunny spots (and they're a cheery sight, aren't they?)  It was warm enough, too for a few folk to sit outside the Half Moon Café (though I did secretly want to shout "Go in, go in and look at my photos..." - ha!)

Sir James Roberts, family man

Photograph © the Roberts family, used with the kind permission of Julia Bolton Holloway

Saltaire has a thriving History Club (see the village website) and several members are actively engaged in ongoing research.  I was fortunate to be able to attend the last meeting and obtained a hard copy of the latest in a line of 'Saltaire Journals' (which are also downloadable free from the website).  Researched and written by David King, it is entitled 'The Second Lord of Saltaire: the family history of Sir James Roberts Bart. JP, LLD.'  It makes fascinating reading, though I can only briefly summarise it here.  We should be most grateful to David for his painstaking research that brings to life a man whose influence on Saltaire was fundamental and important, but who has hitherto tended to be overlooked.

Sir James Roberts, businessman

Photograph © the Roberts family, used with the kind permission of Jamie Roberts.

Most people know of Sir Titus Salt's connection with Saltaire.  He pretty much ensured immortality by giving the village his name and that of the River Aire which flows through it.  It was his vision and his money that created the huge mill and the village around it, built to house his workers in much better conditions than those prevailing in the Victorian cities at the time.  Sir Titus's legacy is ensured.

The story of Salts Mill and Saltaire after Sir Titus' death is perhaps less well-known but still deserves telling and remembering.   (Click below to read it - a new Blogger trick I'm trying!)

Sustainable Saltaire

Having hung the washing out to dry (and don't you just love the fresh smell of air-dried laundry?) I think she had earned some time with a good book and a mug of tea!  These are the Stable cottages that look on to the drive of Saltaire's church, facing south and catching all the sunshine.  I expect the Victorian Sir Titus would have had harsh words about the line of washing!  He apparently had a rule that residents in the village could not hang their laundry outside (though I'm not sure whether people obeyed him or not).  Hanging washing outside the church on a Sunday would probably have cost her her tenancy!  Thankfully nobody seems terribly bothered these days and indeed, air-drying the washing outside is to be encouraged. There's a new push to make Saltaire a 'sustainable' community, to make the village more energy efficient and reduce its carbon footprint.

This weekend sees the launch of the 'Sustainable Saltaire' initiative in the Shipley College Exhibition Building: Friday 16 March 5-7pm and Saturday 17 March 9.30am-12pm.  People are invited to go along and find out more about plans for solar and hydro-electric power in the village, how to improve the energy efficiency and carbon footprint of your home.  There will be activities for all the family to enjoy.

Heaven!

I've said it before....  I feel so fortunate to live close to Salts Mill.  I can't think of anything nicer, especially on a chilly winter's day, than to spend an hour or so browsing the art and photography books in the 1853 Gallery.  The Gallery itself, though it's a huge space, feels quite cosy and intimate, helped by the lighting and the colours, the gentle music and the warm scent of lilies. My idea of heaven....  I wish I could tele-transport you there for a while.  My photo will have to do the job!

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed the unusual book-stand.  It's an old weighing machine, a legacy of the mill's history as a textile works.  It was made by Day and Millward, a Birmingham firm.  They won an award at the Great Exhibition in 1851 in "Section G: Weighing, Measuring and Registering Machines for Commercial and not for Philosophical Purposes"... ???

Advance notice of more festivities in Saltaire (we like them a lot!):
World Heritage Site Weekend - 20-22 April 2012 - with lots of activities planned around Roberts Park and the canal, and items from the Saltaire archive on show. 
Saltaire Arts Trail - 5-7 May 2012 - see their website for details.
Saltaire Festival - 6-16 September 2012 - see website for more information.

Twine and texture

Out for a walk, this caught my eye.  It's just a bit of baler twine holding a gate together, but I liked the textures highlighted by the strong side-lighting.   It somehow reminded me of one of those bright blue damsel flies you see around ponds in the summer.