Two trees in spring

'Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.'

Kahlil Gibran

I seem to take a lot of photos of trees and these two on the hill near Dowley Gap are among my favourites.  Another lovely sight on my walk...

Bluebells and willows

A little further along my canalside walk....
You can see the bluebells here, carpeting the woodland between the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the River Aire.  At this spot, the river is bordered by weeping willow trees, which are such a pretty shade of light green at this time of year.  I think this is actually part of someone's garden - lucky them!

Through the woods

My favourite walk goes from Saltaire out towards Bingley along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal towpath.  This stretch of the canal, just beyond Hirst Lock, passes through the ancient woodland of Hirst Wood.  It can often be quite dark here, because the trees block the light and keep the path in deep shadow.  This particular morning though, with the sun still in the east and few leaves yet on the trees, there was a rare brightness and sparkle to the scene.  You can't really see it from my photo but the woodland is carpeted with a haze of bluebells too - very pretty.
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I've posted some more photos of the Haworth 1940s weekend on my other blog, 'Seeking the Quiet Eye' (two posts: here and here) - showing many more of the wonderful costumes and uniforms people were wearing.

Sculpted grandeur

Over the next few days, I'll take you on one of my favourite walks, enjoying some lovely spring sunshine. I actually took the photos three weeks ago but haven't had time to post them. We have a few more leaves on the trees now due to the recent rain and then sunshine.

The walk starts here, on the canal towpath, just beside the Victoria Road bridge, with a view that I never tire of - Saltaire's historic United Reformed Church.  On this particular morning the sun was striking the scene in such a way that I suddenly noticed how the strong shape of the tree finds an echo in the pillars of the church's portico.  Funny how you can look at a scene again and again and still find something new in it....  I rather like the juxtaposition of natural and man-made sculptural forms.

The keen-eyed might spot the greylag geese and their current flock of goslings on the lawn.  I counted nine little fluffy ones then.  There were at least 24, all of different sizes, yesterday!

Fone fling 1

So, I finally got myself an iPhone ('big 0' birthday present!) - mainly to keep up with the rest of my family, but just think what it will do: calls, messages, emails, diary, calendar, 'to do' list, web surfing, music, news, ebook reader.. oh yes, and camera too.  OK, it's a bit of an indulgence but I'm hoping it will become a real help to me especially because I'm deaf and find ordinary phones nigh on impossible to use.  For one thing, it means I can talk to my family (free) via 'Facetime'.  My daughter and I tried this and it was great - super clear picture, I could lip-read her and see her gestures.  It was actually better than Skype, which tends to break up a lot.

I have yet to fathom 99% of it but I did attempt a few photos during the week.  I thought it might be fun to 'dump' them on my blog every so often.  You can see whether I get more skilful with it as time goes on.  Since I'm used to a big heavy DSLR, it feels really weird.  So far I've taken at least five photos of my finger!

1. Indulgence at work on a hot day  - rhubarb pie and ice cream, thanks to my generous work colleagues
2. Spare action plans...that'll be Plan C then....
3. Exuberant little azalea in my tiny front garden
4. A reminder on a postcard
5. Building works at Salts Mill, making a grander visitor entrance
6. Family of geese on the canal, spotted as I walked home from work

Come on...!

I'm thinking I might print this out and put it on my desk at work.  We could do with a bit of this wartime spirit there!  There will be plenty of patriotic bunting around next weekend though, as we celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.  She's given us an extra day off work.  God Save the Queen!

Kiss (Haworth 40s weekend)

Every nice girl loves a sailor soldier.....

Evacuees (Haworth 1940s weekend)

It's well known that during WWII some 2 million children were evacuated in a very short time from London and other major cities to lodge with families in more rural parts of Britain, considered to be 'safer' from enemy attack. On arrival in rural villages they were simply lined up and billeting officers invited potential hosts to take their pick! Many brothers, sisters and friends were separated.

The children of Haworth re-enacted this at the weekend, arriving at Haworth station by steam train and being bussed (on a vintage coach) up to the village to be collected by the villagers.  They all had their gas masks in little cardboard boxes, a small bag of clothes and possessions and a label with a number.  

All rather charming in the 21st century but in reality in the 1940s, it was for many evacuees an unhappy and frightening period in their lives - and a time of desperate anxiety for their parents left behind in the cities.

A couple of spivs (Haworth 40s weekend)

No wartime re-enactment would be complete, either, without a couple of spivs.  A spiv was a petty criminal who peddled stolen or black-market goods of dubious authenticity.  These two slickly dressed gents fitted the stereotype perfectly and had an amusing line in banter.  And no, I was not persuaded to buy....!

'History will be kind to me for I intend to write it' (Haworth 40s weekend)

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."  Sir Winston Churchill

No prizes for guessing who this distinguished gentleman is.... but I guess no 1940s tribute would be complete without Mr Churchill.

The Home Guard (Haworth 1940s weekend)

Members of the Home Guard - 1.5 million local recruits, mainly older men ineligible for military service, whose role from 1940 -1944 was to act as a secondary defence force in the event of invasion by hostile forces.  They also carried out other essential tasks, guarding our coast, our military stores, airfields, carrying out patrols and fire-watch duties. Initially called the Local Defence Volunteers or LDV, they were much-maligned. (Look, Duck and Vanish!)  Their role has been made famous by the hugely popular TV series 'Dad's Army', portraying them as a likeable but rather inept band who get involved in some hilarious exploits in the name of civil defence. One episode (see here) has one of my favourite comedy scenes in it... ("What is your name?"   "Don't tell him, Pike!")

Haworth 1940s weekend

I went to Haworth yesterday to enjoy their annual 1940s weekend.  The whole village puts up the bunting, gets out the sandbags and dons uniform or authentic 1940s outfits to give the village a wartime feel.   Over the years the event has got bigger and better, and these days lots of the visitors turn up in costume too.  There are parades, a marching pipe band, a Spitfire fly-past by the RAF, vintage vehicles, concerts, tea dances and swing jive and lindy-hop dancing in the park.  'Sir Winston Churchill' drops in and usually makes a speech.  It has a fantastic atmosphere - great fun... though braving the crowds is not for the faint-hearted.

Cinderella

I pass this almost every day - a scrubby little patch of earth beside some garages.  I don't give it a second glance normally.  But suddenly, in the morning sunshine, Cinderella was revealed, dressed for the ball... with beautiful golden leaves and a burst of bluebells.

Dramatic

Dramatic skies over Salts Mill, like a witch's bubbling cauldron - but it didn't actually rain!

(Though it's been raining plenty lately!)

Saltaire's roofs

Another bonus of making the long climb up to Salts Mill's roofspace (see Wednesday's post) is the amazing view you get of Saltaire village.  With the railway station and the stone setts of Albert Terrace in the foreground, you can look out over the slate roofs, right up the Aire valley to the hill (the St Ives estate) overlooking Bingley.  From this viewpoint the roofs look more higgledy-piggledy than you might imagine, given that the streets are laid out in an orderly grid pattern.  Many of the rows of houses contain both two and three storey dwellings, which makes the streets less uniform and more architecturally attractive.

Still life

Salts Mill's roof space has apparently hardly been touched since the textile works closed.  The other public spaces have been cleaned up and painted, whilst still retaining many features of their industrial past.  But the roof space, which is rarely open to the public except for a few exhibitions, remains full of the ghosts of the past.  I liked the arrangement of colours and shapes here.... but it all poses as many questions as answers, I feel.

Roofspace

[Mouse over for black and white version]

Although not, I think, part of the 'official' Saltaire Arts Trail, the Salts Mill roofspace was once again open for the weekend.  It's a fairly rare occurrence but it's well worth climbing the stairs to see it when it is on show.  It's an unbelieveably big space - see here and here for other posts that I've done about it in the past.

Last weekend, the climb was rewarded with chance to see the annual exhibition from Leeds Photographic Society, which was founded in 1852, making it (according to their website) the oldest photographic society in the world - and a year older than Salts Mill itself!  It's a large and thriving club, affiliated to the Yorkshire Photographic Union.  Although the club caters to all, from semi-professional photographers to beginners, the quality of the exhibits was high and they maintain a consistently high standard, doing well in inter-club competitions. They won the 2011-12 Inter Club competition between Yorkshire camera clubs.

Arts Trail 8 - The team

The Saltaire Arts Trail is organised each year by Saltaire Inspired, a not-for-profit organisation run almost entirely by volunteers, and financially and practically supported by sponsors, local people, business organisations and other local agencies.  Over the three day event, there are many more volunteers helping and supporting, which is especially important given the number of venues involved and the fact that many of them are local residents' own homes.

I just happened to be going into the Victoria Hall when a (presumably professional) photographer was organising a photo shoot on the steps.  I believe these smiley people are the core team of event organisers.  Kudos to them!  They did a very good job.

Arts Trail 7 - Sunlight on closed lids

Another exhibitor in the Saltaire Arts Trail's Maker's Fair, this young illustrator's work really caught my eye.  Her name is Kate Holliday and her business has the delightful name 'Sunlight on closed lids'... 'stationery, prints and creations to light you up'.  Her prints and cards were eye-catching, bold and colourful, hand-drawn using nostalgic and natural imagery combined with neat little vintage patterns.  It can only be a matter of time, surely, before someone commissions her to illustrate a children's book.  Her work is the kind of thing my daughter - and most probably my granddaughter when she's old enough - would really love.  Although it's not in the same style, there was a strength and simplicity to her work that put me in mind of Mabel-Lucie Attwell.

I was surprised to find that she knew who I was too!  'The Saltaire blog lady' apparently has a fame I didn't even suspect!!

Arts Trail 6 - Weaving

Once inside the Victoria Hall, it proved hard to hang on to my money!  There were over 60 artists and craftspeople exhibiting, in the biggest Makers' Fair the Arts Trail has ever hosted, three large rooms full of stalls.  The products on display were of the highest quality - exquisite and unique pieces of work.  There were jewellers, handwoven textiles, woodworkers, leather workers, ceramics, printing and bookbinding and hosts of other specialisms.  Some of the artists were also demonstrating their craft too.  My picture shows Agnis Smallwood, a talented young textile designer, using a vintage handweaving machine with which she was making a lovely, slubby scarf.