University of York

The Boxing Day Walk took us through the new Heslington East campus of the University of York. There are plenty of interesting buildings there, including this one. I am not sure if the mottled effect is meant to be faux sunlight or is the result of some bad pressure-hose cleaning or is something else. Either way I don't care, I like it.

Quaker News

Last year Rowan took part in a Quaker young people event in London. A year on, this photo made it into the Quaker News magazine.

Book

I have just finished reading Walk The Lines by Mark Mason. A book about walking above ground along all the tube lines in London; about maps and about urban walking that touched a lot of nerves with me. Not perfect but well worth the read and a bit of an inspiration.

Boxing Day Walk

We went on the semi-traditional Boxing Day Quaker walk. Mild and dry, it was the usual mix of chat and amble; this year around the University at Heslington.

Christmas Time

Christmas Eve we three went out for a lunch at the local cafe; good to support it. Then in the evening we were at the Quaker candlelit carol meeting which is always good; lots of awe-struck little ones carrying candles to the grown ups to hold. Christmas day was nice and quiet and pleasant; incredibly mild outside as well.

Happy Christmas.

Christmas Day about to start here in York.

Pond Life

Rowan was off catching up with York friends, so Danielle and I got a walk round the Moor in. The Railway Pond was looking very serene.

Crash

Milo and I were walking on the bike track near what we call Rowan Corner when I noticed that the ferocious ring-road was strangely quiet. The Air Ambulance taking off, and the flashing blue lights in the morning gloom gave the clue. Our path took us right past the pile of clothes on the road where a pedestrian had been hit; it did not look good. The studied activity of the rescue workers contrasted with the silent lethargy of the drivers in their muted cars. Walking back home the traffic all over York was gridlocked in weary resignation.
Today I discovered that the person hit by a vehicle was Clarke Carlisle, the smart, politically active footballer who used to play for York and Preston amongst others. All very sad.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/clarke-carlisle-wife-gemma-overwhelmed-with-support-as-joey-barton-among-those-to-send-goodwill-messages-to-injured-exfootballer-9941780.html

2014 Picks

Here is my pick of 12 tracks new to me this year; the usual mix of all sorts, all good. Martha are the best new band for years, the Atlantic Starr soul track I heard for the first time since the 80s and it sounds even better no, and the Hill Of Little Shoes [based on a death-camp inspired poem by Clive James] makes me cry.

Return to Danebury

When I was cycling through the Wolds last week I passed the place I took the photo of Danebury that has proved popular over the year. Things look very different in the winter.

The Return

After four months away Rowan arrived home this morning. I took the train to Manchester Airport to meet her, then Danielle and Milo met us at the station off the train. She is really well and it is good to have her back; seems like she's never been gone to be honest. The house has had an injection of mess, noise and life and is the better for it.

Gig of Sorts

One of Danielle's old work colleagues was retiring and, being a musician, he invited people to play at his farewell do. So Greg and I duly turned up, all seemed well set until the loop box seemed to fall out with Greg and refused to do what his shaking foot demanded. Result - our first song turned into a catastrophe. Eventually all was sorted and we did a blasting blues with a 20 year old bass player who stood in with us, "12 bar blues, G, OK?" "Of course". It was great in the end.

The photo is of York Station. There is something about the roof and the sunlight that produces a magical light. Can you spot Danielle in the shot?

Book Group Party

This Kestrel was hunting in Birmingham at the weekend. Looks like its heading straight for my hat but all was well.
Book Group Party last night was good as ever. We managed one round of ExLibris, lots of eating and drinking and chat.
A lot of the chat at my end of the table was about Serial podcast which is strangely gripping and now all over.

Ride

I have been working a lot on my current assignment in Wakefield, so was glad to get a day out today. I cycled through a windy damp Wolds to Scarborough and got the train back. It was a good day for a ride. I stopped at a farm shop for some lunch and chatted with a cyclist from Brid who used to live in Featherstone, which is one of the places I have been working in.

This lonely pine tree is very atypical of the Wolds but I love it.

Dance

Rowan had her Winter Dance thing at school. All went well apparently. Lots of photos have been facebooked, here is a pre-match shot of Rowan and one of her friends.

Meditation

As reward for being a trustee at Woodbrooke Danielle gets a free course a year. This year we decided to do a Meditation Weekend. It was really good - lots of good people there, and two days on we are still meditating. I hope we can carry on [there is, of course, a handy App to time your sessions and end with an appropriate gong or bell noise]. Time will tell.

We went a good walk on the Saturday afternoon in the low winter sun.

The Slippers and the Harley

It is that time of year when newsletters come with Christmas Cards [I can just tell me people to look at the blog]. Judy's mentioned that her husband Gnolib had sat upon some freinds' Harley when they visited en tour in the summer. Cool picture - only trouble is he's wearing slippers. Spoils the effect a bit.

Varsity Cross Country

Here is Rowan with her fellow Varsity Cross Country Team from George School - (this was before the breaking of the foot)

Photography Workshop

I am doing a Photography Workshop as part of York Open Studios next year; details below. I have always enjoyed doing them - a positive experience all round

Mysteries of Acomb

It is quite hard to get a feeling of mystery and history in Acomb, but this clump of trees atop a hillock gets there I think.

Happy Christmas

So here is this year's Christmas Card.Taken a couple of years ago on the Wolds, and cropped a bit for the purposes of the card. That is Milo.
I was listening to NPR's 50 albums of the year; one was by a band from 60 miles up the road from us, in County Durham. It does seem odd that I need to get the news from US public radio in DC, about some kids up the road, but there you go. The main thing is that they are a brilliant band, such an uplifting sound - called Martha http://marthadiy.bandcamp.com/album/courting-strong

Emley

Wakefield city centre is on top of a hill - think Tuscan hill town, or think Barnsley. This gives views across the Pennines, like this one. In the foreground the new Council building "Wakefield One" in the background Emley Moor transmitter - the highest building in the UK, the 23rd tallest tower in the World.

57

Danielle is the master of birthday planning. This year included a walk together, meeting people in town [surprise of course] at a Spanish cafe / cycle shop, a bike ride for me and Dave and lots of great food. John and Katy gave me a great present - 6 eggs from their own hens living in wild East Yorkshire.
A great weekend that is gently coming to an end.

1%

The answer is 1%, just 2 images out of the 200 I looked at. Pretty amazing really.

Here is another photo from Rowan's stay in DC, with Liam, KC and Ben.

Christmas Images

I had my last photography group at The Mount school before Christmas. It has gone well and the participants have produced some good work. I got them to make a Christmas card using one of their images. I googled "Christmas image" to get some ideas for them. Of the 200 images I looked at, what percentage do you think had any Christian aspect at all? Answer tomorrow.

Meantime here is a photo with no religious content; friend Paul's wine cellar. That is a lot of Cote du Rhone.

Bianchi Butcher

I saw this brilliant bike at York station on Sunday. It is a chrome Bianchi fixed wheel bike (so far so exotic) with an integral lightweight butcher's bike type front basket. Bizarre but cool I think.

Ponte

I was in Pontefract yesterday. In many ways it has a lot in common with other Wakefield pit towns, like Castleford and Featherstone. But it also has a hill, a racecourse, history, a castle and a lovely town centre. And liquorice. And rhubarb. Quite a place http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontefract

Signposts

I have always like signposts, particularly when in unexpected or unlikely places; like on a mountain pass or, like this one in Birmingham, at a canal junction. The distances here on this old post are in miles with the number of locks listed as well. So to Stratford you have 55 locks in 25 1/2 miles of canal, whereas to Birmingham it is five miles with no locks at all.

School Update

Rowan had a good time in DC with her friend from school; her photo is self explanatory.
We got her first report from the school last night; pretty good.