Wreath festival

It's raining!  Come and take shelter with me... Pass through the lych-gate at the entrance to St. John's Church in Baildon and then we'll run up the short path into the porch.

It's warmer (and dry) inside, and the church organ is being played. All around the church there's a wonderful display of festive wreaths.

It's amazing how inventive people can be. Some of the wreaths were traditionally Christmassy, while others referenced popular culture and other themes: 100 years of the RAF, 70 years of the NHS. Some had sparkly lights, and others plenty of blingy tinsel. Some were knitted, some made from ribbons, beads - and even beans!

It was fun and good to start getting into the festive mood, despite the weather. 





There are close views of some of my favourites, below. I think the 'Strictly (Come Dancing)' one was my absolute favourite; I'm a big fan of the show.

The enchanted wood

Mostly I think nature does a grand job without any enhancement. Just occasionally I feel like experimenting a bit and this is a multi-layered image. I combined a spray of autumn leaves and a texture, overlaid on the woodland image below (which by itself is rather boring really).  The result (above) has, for me, a more mystical and enchanted feel than the original. I appreciate such images aren't everyone's cup of tea but it's fun trying something new. 

I've been reluctant to say farewell to autumn, but I have to accept that it's over for another year and winter is getting well-established! 

Fluid

'Fluid' was the theme for my online photo club for October, so I tried quite a few different images. I was hoping to capture 'fluid' both as a noun and as an adjective in one image. I mentioned the other day that I've become intrigued by ICM (Intentional Camera Movement), slow shutter speeds and generally more impressionistic photography of late. I've done quite a lot of creative playing with my phone and in processing, using various apps and techniques. This image, however, has been created entirely in my camera, using a slow shutter speed, handheld and manual focus. It is, of course, a reflection in water but I like to think I've done something a bit different with it, though I do find it quite hard with these more abstract offerings to tell which images are genuinely pleasing 'per se' and which are just pleasing to me because I've spent time 'creating' them.

Brightening things up

Towards the lower end of Saltaire Road, approaching Shipley town centre, there's a very drab brick building, currently unused. I think it belongs to the local council. (I suspect they may be hanging on to possession of several buildings and a corridor of land in the area. At one time the land featured in a road scheme that I thought was shelved but now seems as though it may be resurrected.)

Sixteen colourful murals have been erected there to brighten up the area. They were designed and painted by pupils from Saltaire Primary School, with help from some local artists and the Hirstwood Regeneration Group. The scenes show various local landmarks and were designed after the children made field trips to study and sketch what they saw.

The scenes will be very familiar to local people, though I'm sure even readers of my blog who don't live locally will recognise many of them. There's the bandstand and Sir Titus Salt's statue in Roberts Park. There's the alpaca statue, the Shipley Glen Tramway and a wonderful view of Hope Hill behind.

There's the Hirst Wood Nature Reserve:

and some of the houses and chimney pots of Saltaire, again with Hope Hill and Shipley Glen in the background:

I hope they brighten your day!

Rainbow, no rain

The forecast was good: a bright, sunny but windy day. I did a load of laundry and hung it out on the line to dry, before setting off for a walk. We've had a spell of very damp, drizzly weather so a dry, sunny day had to be enjoyed. But uh..oh.. just as I set off, the sky darkened and it looked like it was going to rain. By the time I got down to Salts Mill there was a rainbow against the grey sky. (It looks like I've done a botched job on the sky in Photoshop but that's actually what it looked like!) We've had so little rain all year that I haven't seen a rainbow for a long time and it was a joy to see Saltaire's landmarks blessed by the light show. Best of all, the clouds blew over and it didn't rain after all.

Above, the Italianate tower of the New Mill peeping over the rooftops - and below, the church's dome, though the rainbow was fading by the time I got as far as that. 

My angel

I returned from a recent walk via the local Nab Wood cemetery, and just had to stop to say hello to my favourite angel, she of the broken wing and pretty face. I like cemeteries. It perhaps has to do with the fact that my childhood home was right next door to one and playing among the ancient graves held no fears. It was a place of tranquillity, beauty and abundant wildlife. A family place too, where I could stop by and have 'conversations' with my grandfather and grandmother, both buried there. Their grave had a utilitarian square headstone, no fancy angels - and I'll be cremated when my time comes, so no angels for me either. But there is something about this one that really appeals to me. At her feet it says: 'A tribute of love'. Very sweet. 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all', I guess, as Tennyson famously said in his poem 'In Memoriam A.H.H.'

The shining

Here's another abstract constructed using 'Enlight'. Again, don't ask me how I did it... Just messing about really. Perhaps as time goes on, and with more practice, I will develop more of an instinct for the kind of base shots that work best using this layering process, as well as exactly how to combine them to good effect. It's an enjoyably creative, if random, process.

It seemed an aptly 'shiny' image as we enter December and the festive season. The shops are already awash with Christmas sparkle and Christmas lights are being switched on in our local high streets. The Saltaire Living Advent Calendar is happening again between now and Christmas Eve. I'll bring you some photos of the windows eventually.

You can follow it virtually, with each day's windows being revealed at: https://m.facebook.com/saltaireadventcalendar

Abstract

If I don't feel like reading and there's nothing on TV, I often sit with my iPad in the evening, just playing and experimenting with photos. I've been playing with a new app called 'Enlight'. It has lots of functions, including some excellent processing tools and presets, but perhaps the most interesting and fun element is its ability to combine and blend layers easily, much as you can in Photoshop but rather more quickly and intuitively. It's a bit addictive!

The abstract above started off as a photo of a boat's prow against a brick wall. Don't ask me how I did it though. I was just playing. Unike Photoshop, the app doesn't record your actions and you can't easily go back and undo any but the last action. Still, it's an entertaining tool for an idle moment.

Smoke stacks

Looking over Shipley from the heights of Northcliffe Park, I was struck by the array of chimney pots on the Victorian terraced houses in the foreground. The roofs of the more modern dwellings beyond look plain in comparison. The blackened stonework that can still be seen on some buildings locally is a reminder of how unhealthy the air must have been when all those chimneys (not to forget the mill chimneys too) were belching out coal smoke. Nowadays we have to be fearful of more hidden pollutants from our vehicles. This area is still a pollution blackspot.

Over my dead body

My habitual local walks are mostly in the valley bottom along the canal and river, or on the north side up towards Baildon Moor. There are two main roads between me and the south side of the valley. Once those are negotiated, however, there are some equally pleasant walks to be had. Some of the area is known as Northcliffe Park: land that was gifted in 1920 by Henry Norman Rae MP to be used as a public park 'in perpetuity' by the people of Shipley. It has gardens, allotments, a plateau of open grassland and a steep-sided wooded valley - varied terrain that makes it rewarding to explore.

My favourite bits are the long tree-lined walk (above) and the path down into and through the woods. That end of the park adjoins a golf course. Golfers cross the ravine on the metal bridge in the picture below.

The news that Northcliffe Park is on a list of potential sites for a new crematorium has caused considerable consternation locally. There have been petitions, demonstrations and many people being very vocal, saying that the park was specifically gifted for recreation and a crematorium would breach that pledge.
"A new crematorium? ... Over my dead body!"

Christmas shopping?

I had to move fast to catch him, and it's only a phone pic, but look who was at the Peace and Crafts Fair at Saltaire's Victoria Hall. (Clue: It's not Sir Titus Salt, despite the luxuriant beard.) Do you think he was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping?

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.

Salts Mill artefacts

It's rather tucked away on the third floor of Salts Mill, at the back, but there is a 'People and Process' gallery that holds some items relevant to the mill's history. It has some of the original boardroom furniture, and some crockery that was used at the grand opening banquet in 1853. It has the model of Salts Mill shown above. It holds some pattern books and samples of the textiles the mill produced. There are baskets, bobbins and spools, an old fire engine handcart and some of the mill's machinery on display. It's all very interesting, though I can't help thinking that, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, much more could be done to bring the history of the village and the mill to life, to entertain and educate visitors.

Judy Woods

I have some friends who live at the other side of the city, in south Bradford. We had long planned to visit their local beauty spot of Judy Woods, so despite it being a damp, dull and rather misty day we went for a walk. It's a large area of ancient woodland (in fact several different areas of woodland) now surrounded by the city suburbs. Its present tranquillity gives little hint of its history as a coal and ironstone mining area in the 18th and 19th century. Careful exploration reveals the remains of bell pits and waggon trackways, as well as packhorse routes that crisscross the area. The nearby Low Moor Ironworks, founded in the 1780s (and now closed), produced high quality iron. They manufactured cannons that were used in the Battle of Waterloo (as well as the two now in Saltaire's Roberts Park - see HERE) and later their iron was used for rail locomotive wheels.

The woods have been known by many names. Their present title of Judy Woods refers to a lady called Judy North, whose husband ran a 'pleasure garden' in part of the woods in the 1850s and 60s. She sold 'sweetmeats' including parkin pigs (a kind of gingerbread biscuit), sticks of spice and ginger beer, for the refreshment of their customers. There is an interesting history of Judy Woods HERE,  on the Friends of Judy Woods website.



























We had a peaceful ramble, only slightly disturbed by the 'giant squid monster' we passed part way round!

Night lights

More photos from Salford Quays in Greater Manchester. (See also yesterday) The weird building above (another example of 'Deconstructivist' architecture?) is The Lowry theatre and gallery complex, named after Manchester's famous painter, L S Lowry, and holding some of his work. It was designed by Michael Wilford and opened in 1999. Shops, offices and restaurants surround it. 

Below: a detail of The Lowry, with coloured walls, lights and reflections combining to remind me of stained glass. 

Below: it was that pop of red that attracted me, stark amid the green and yellow colouring of a modern, glass office block.

Salford Quays

Across the water from the Imperial War Museum (see yesterday) is an area called Salford Quays. It used to be docks beside the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 1980s, a huge urban regeneration project transformed it into a vibrant area that combines residential property, commercial, cultural and retail space. It is home to The Lowry theatre complex and across the dock from that is the huge Media City, where the BBC, ITV and other creative enterprises have offices and studios.

It's a wonderful place to explore at dusk when the lights come on, reflected in the water. We camera club members were all very happy!

Imperial War Museum North

A few more from my recent trip to Manchester :
One of five museums across the UK specifically recording and showcasing (their word) experiences of modern conflict, the Imperial War Museum North has a commanding site on the waterfront at Trafford Park in Greater Manchester. Opened in 2002, it was designed by Daniel Libeskind and is (apparently) a prime example of Deconstructivist architecture. It has three interlocking shards: an imagined globe shattered by conflict.

I only stayed inside for about an hour, so there was lots I didn't see, but I explored an exhibition called 'Lest We Forget', all about the First World War. It had many photographs and artefacts, some heartbreaking mementoes such as telegrams received by families whose menfolk were missing or killed in action, diaries kept by men on the front line, war poetry and paintings. There's also a huge gallery that holds a timeline of information about conflicts from WWI to the present day. It was all unbearably moving, not least seeing some twisted girders from New York's World Trade Centre. It doesn't glorify war but you could not help but reflect that things haven't got a lot better in the hundred years or so that was documented.

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.

Looking sheepish

I spotted these two characters, looking rather sheepish, in a window of an apparently empty block in Bradford. I've no idea what they are, what they were doing there or why. But anyway, they come with love from me to ewe. (I'll get my coat...)

City Park at night

It was pitch dark by the time I arrived in Bradford city centre to photograph the Remembrance installation projected onto City Hall. (See HERE if you missed that.) You're supposed to take night shots when there is still some light in the sky, so I failed miserably on that score. The sky was an inky black. Nevertheless, the lights in the City Park area around City Hall were so attractive that I decided I'd take some photos anyway. The fountains were lit red, to coincide with Remembrance I guess. I don't think they are usually red. Behind the mirror pool, on the right you can see The Alhambra theatre all lit up and to the left is the Science and Media Museum, advertising its giant IMAX screen, one of its key attractions. (It's worth clicking on the photo to get a larger view so you can see more detail.)