Les Mis

Rowan persuaded me to see the film of Les Miserables with her. She had seen it with Danielle and loved it, so I was convinced. It was surprisingly good; I was even thinking of reading the book until Rowan told me how long it was.

Seven years ago we were at Beckenscott model village - seems a long time ago now.

Dawn

Staying in Suffolk I got to take the dog a walk through various fields on tracks and paths. This was the view at dawn on one day - a beautiful moment.

Power

Rather than the usual slog up and down the A1, I decided to drive to Suffolk via the Fens. It takes longer but is far more interesting and pleasant. We came through Thetford heath and I noticed an unlikely power station there. I thought it might be a peat-burning one [like they have in Ireland] but this seemed unlikely given the bad environmental aspect of destroying peat. Turns out it runs on chicken poo http://www.eprl.co.uk/assets/thetford/overview.html

Sounds like a great idea.

Another View

In contrast to yesterday's photo here is Rowan shot by a studio. I know which one I prefer ...

Traditional Walk

Rowan and I went for our traditional  half term walk in the Wolds with the dog last week. We went to Whay Dale which is Open Access land and one of my favourites. Sheep free, pheasant free but plenty of deer and hares for Milo to half heartedly chase [for a while].

Reliability

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRun

Cycling clubs have “Reliability Rides” about this time of year. As far as I know the idea is that you check the reliability of your bike ahead of the new season. Last week I had a reliability ride of my own, the difference was that I aimed to check the reliability of me, not of the bike. After completing the ride I think the jury is still out. The route I took was my shorter route that takes in lots of the best bits of the Wolds. 106k.

Beach Lady

Taken at lunch time on a London working day. The walkways of the South Bank were alive with the jostle of office workers on their break and tourists on the move. I looked over the wall and saw this woman who had found some peace and quiet amidst it all.


Some of my photos I just have to accept that I really like whereas other people are less keen. Someone did like this enough to say that "you have obviously been influenced by [some Russian sounding names that I had never heard of] and the constructivists".
Anyway it is my laptop wallpaper at the moment, and I do like it so.

Collyhurst

Taken in 1985. The tunnel through the Manchester hinterland, derelict and criss-crossed with once-proud Victorian infrastructure just gave the right framing for these three people making their way through it all.

Suffolk

We all drove down to Suffolk to stay at Ro & Pete's and look after my Mother whilst they went away for a couple of days. It worked out very well.They even laid on some Waxwings in the car park at Waitrose in Saxmundham for us. The dog settled down well to the new surroundings and provided a gentle companion for my Mother.

Retirement for Some

Cycling buddy Dave has retired. This is a bit shocking [he is only 2 years older than me] but he seems very pleased about it. The worry is he will use the spare time to improve his cycling speed and leave me in the dust.
We went to his farewell Indian meal in York with the family, which was great fun - honoured to be asked.

Man On Beach

Clacton beach in Essex. Not the most promising of locations. But the light caught the wet surface and the man with the stick looked just right.
This was shot over 30 years ago, and is still selling.

Harrow Road

Shot in 1980 in West London this mode of transport for a corner shop was totally outmoded and a shock to see. Now it would not be so unusual at all in London with the rise of cycle-transport as a real alternative. The cyclist might be a bit younger though.
This was the first photo I ever had published.

Liverpool Rope

Taken at the docks in Liverpool. The rope and chain, the oily water that most definitely did not invite you in, it seemed to sum up Liverpool for me.

Weather or Not

One thing Danielle complains about concerning living in the UK is the way the weather changes from one thing to another. Yesterday evening it was winter - very cold, 8cm of snow, power cut. This morning it is spring. The snow has gone, the sun is warm, it is a lovely day. It is not dull.

Another photo from the Wolds last week. I was trying to catch this subtlest of landscapes.

Lens

Friend Dave found some Canon lenses that used to belong to his late father. He asked if I wanted to try them  out. The 400mm telephoto fitted and worked so I tried it out on this House Sparrow. Not the best weather and without a tripod but it still seems a good lens.

Silent Meeting

I rarely take candid street shots now. But this contrast between the stark Madrid Airport architecture and the two very human figures got me shooting. Did they know each other? Did they notice each other? 

Tarte Tatin

Cooking for the dinner party on Friday night got me in the mood. So I did the Bettys Tomato Tarte Tatin on Sunday. We all like this one a lot, so it stood no chance of surviving the evening.

Ready for Rowing

Danielle rowed for York in a race at Doncaster on the River Don. She enjoyed it. Here she is ready for action in the team strip; its lycra but with the smoothness of cycling lycra replaced with a velcro-like roughness. Nice.

Wolds again

I finally managed to get out for a walk in the Wolds yesterday. Just a smattering of snow here and there, even a bit of sun. I walked near Fordon which is out east and one the most remote and lonely parts of the Wolds; so I like it a lot.
Just to show you that things do not always go to plan photographically I also post the shot after this one when Milo not only ambled into view but also dropped a lurid plastic bottle he had found right in shot. Thanks Dog.

In the evening we had Maxine & Greg and Patrick & Julia round for dinner. We pulled out all the culinary stops between us. I did a Bettys starter [courgette and feta fritters with chili jelly] then Provencal stew [from the chili cookbook Rowan gave me] and Danielle did her Bettys sticky apple pudding. It was good to catch up with people, and the food was good.
Rowan meantime was taking part with her friends from another school in a charity quiz. All those days of games she and I played payed off; no one else knew the North Korean flag and capital.

In God We Turst

Sitting on a park bench in Virginia I noticed this graffiti which I found poignant.
Firstly this was not proclaiming bad things about someone, but rather that In God We Trust; except that the writer was not sure how to spell Trust, so they had two practice goes [which you can see] before settling on Turst. The contrast in textures between the bench and the woodchips and the small palate of colours also caught my eye.

Philips Slack

The Yorkshire Wolds are chalk hills intercut with deep dry valleys, know as slacks from the Norse word. All is reversed in the Wolds. The wild places are not upon high, but down in the slacks. The villages and farming are up on top, the tracks and paths down below. Philips Slack is particularly lonely and other-worldly. It is quite possible to wander over this open access land for several hours and see not a soul.

Ouse

The Ouse is a constantly changing presence in York. One August evening I saw this sheen and knew it was the time to capture it.

Lighthouse

Taken in Souter Lighthouse South Shields. The precision of the Victorian engineering and the angle of the two lighthouse lamps caught my eye. It is not clear what is what.

Baby Rowan

The first four years of Rowan's life were pre-digital photo wise. So whereas I have all the pictures of her post 2002 at my fingertips via the laptop, the early shots are hidden away in albums that rarely see the light of day. Or, as is the case with this shot, stuffed in drawers waiting to be found.
This is at our old house in York at Newlands Drive. Rowan is reading a train magazine.

News

The first daffodil of the year has appeared, quite early but well short of the record.

Hob Moor in the Snow

Last night Danielle and I went to a big do in Leeds where 700 of the staff from one of the organisations she is a Trustee of, Step Change http://www.stepchange.org got together for a fairly raucous party and meal. We were sat with other trustees so it was interesting. We escaped before the Queen tribute band came  on stage.
The photo is another from last weeks temporary winter wonderland.