Christmas Eve

Then on Christmas Eve, Danielle's running mate Jackie invited us to hers for a drink and a bite with Kevin and Chris. Had a great time.

Board Game

Friday, friend John invited Rowan and I to play Ticket to Ride with Rachel and Ellie. Good fun, and both Palmour's showed politeness by not winning. Next time ...

Bridge over the river Trent

A Christmas visit in the UK would not be complete without a drizzly visit to the park. Great to be there again, as we crossed the Trent on this impressive suspension footbridge.

Nottingham

Rowan arrived back on Wednesday, next day we were off to see Sarah, Markus and family in Nottingham. Great to be there, all the excitement of imminent Christmas was there for the four children. Having a visit from the hound just added to the spirit.
 

Visitor

Things were going fine until Christmas Day when I woke feeling bad. Spent the day in bed, and had to cancel our visit to see Auntie Alison et al in Stratton Audley. A real shame. 

So here is a catchup on what we had been up to. Friend Robert brought round a Hong Kong couple, who have come to the UK. Frankie is a photographer so we had a lot to chat about. It was freezing last week, as you can probably tell by our attire.

The Bench of Anticipation

When Layla spots a bench she will run ahead to it, and sit like this, suggesting that it would indeed be a good idea for me to have lunch and give her a snack. 

Next to her is the viewing platform on Thorne Moors that shifts the perspective enough to make the run up the steps worthwhile.

Bog News

The peat bogs are getting back up to regular water levels after the summer drought. Good to see. As usual the oak trees are the last to think about losing their leaves.

3

Layla turned three last week. Still essentially a puppy, she is a great companion.

Woodland

Here is that quieter woodland. Stony Cliffe wood in an area of old pit villages and steep wooded valleys. The coal measures lead to an acidic soil that encourages the woodland of mainly oak and birch trees. Great for the dog.

YSP

Back home, I went to Yorkshire Sculpture Park last week. Just walking through on bridleways, it was a beautiful day. There are several giant human sculptures which are pretty good. The whole thing feels a little forced, and I was glad to move on to less developed woods in the area.

Portrait

One man and his dog. Taken by Danielle. No meadows to mow.

 

Frosty

The frost on the trees looked good on Sunday morning. Not a classic, just a record of our morning walk.

Walking

It was great to be walking in the lakes again, although the "sheep are everywhere reality" did lead to more lead-time for Layla than we wanted. She is actually not that bothered about sheep, but it is not a risk you take. What she really likes to chase are deer.

Three Shires

Went to stay at the Three Shires pub in Little Langdale for my birthday. This was my favourite place to go when we had family holidays in the lakes. Mainly because it involved a journey via the Duddon Valley and Wrynose Pass. Getting over Wrynose with a full car was not a given back then, so it made the whole trip a bit of an adventure. 

The pub has been extended and renovated really well, using the local slate. We had a great stay (dog allowed too) marred only slightly by England losing on the Saturday evening.

Snow fell, and with the sun out on Sunday it made for some good shots. This is the old track to Tilberthwaite.

The Birds

In Leeds last week, the crows were gathering like the clouds.

And Another

Someone who had the Elmet book, liked the cover, and came to collect a large framed print of the image. Very pleasing.

Hob Moor Winter

Some people who are in the process of moving into the street bought a trio of photos of Hob Moor in different seasons. This is the winter one.

Sales

Having a nice little swell of photo orders with Christmas coming up. Someone has chosen their favourite photo from the Wolds book to have it in a large framed format. This is the shot, the road to Sledmere.

Leeds Leeds Leeds

Friend Joanna from Leeds and I, both born in December, try and meet up each year at about this time. I have know her since my first year at Liverpool 46 years ago.

This year she is not so well so I went to see her and husband Ashley at their home near Beckets Park, which is where I took this shot as I walked back to get the train from Headingly. It was a good visit.

Rail Travel

Travelling down to that London on the train last weekend. Cup of tea, beautiful day, every changing view. Didn't even think of getting my laptop out.

Cactus

 

The Christmas cactus has been with us for many years. This year it got a little carried away and started flowering at the start of Advent but it is a good effort and could still be around come Christmas Day.

Weekend 3

After that I cycled over to Victor in Wanstead and had a great evening discussing a lot including our upcoming musical collaboration. Should be completed by the next world cup at this rate.

This is another of Rowan's photos from her Barcelona trip.

 

Weekend 2

And here I am at the bar.

Saturday morning I cycled up the Cycle Super Highway (when you see the state of it irony is the inevitable) to meet Rowan for brunch watching Australia beat Tunisia in a bar across the way from her flat: very enjoyable.

Weekend

Back from a weekend in London. Took the Brompton folding bike to make sure the train strike didn't bite too hard. Started off by cycling down to Mark & Mandy's in Wimbledon. Watched one match there then Mark and I got the tube to Rob's where we a) discovered his new bar in a back room and b) watched England draw with USA. We have a tradition of always watching at least one world cup match together, so it was good to keep that going.

Here is Rob playing the landlord and Mark the long suffering customer. I had a go later, much fun.

Hammersmitten

Scrolling through my photography archive, came across this one which I like. Hammersmith bridge, car free and a timeless light.

Tunnel

I posted this shot when I took it back in September. It is in Leeds, and takes a bridle way under the ring road. At this scale it looks ok. Enlarged and printed and on the wall it is transformed and I think it could be a bit of a seller. Time will tell. Still thinking about what to call it.

 

Puff ball news

 

Came across this massive puff ball fungi on Thorne Moors last week. Way bigger than a football, and sadly past its best, so did not carry it home. 

Also saw some marsh harriers which always gladdens the heart.

Weekend

Busy weekend. Friday we put up Paul who works for Quakers and was en route to a holiday. Saturday and Sunday I had a sale of various photographs and prints and my books. Very different to an exhibition, in that people who came all bought something. Not busy but worthwhile doing and enjoyable.

Meant that I missed the first world cup game, and felt quite relieved to have skipped it. The mix of corrupt Fifa and despicable Qatar is not a happy one to observe.

Meantime Rowan has been in Barcelona for work, so she stayed on for the weekend and took this photo which is pretty impressive.

 

Portrait Artist

A local artist and friend Lucie Wake was on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year this week. She invited people round to watch it live on a big screen in her back garden. Mulled wine and an appreciative audience. She did really well and her skill as an artist and her humour both came through loud and clear. Here is her self portrait that got her selected for the programme.

To the Moors pt2

 

The dog is a great companion on days like this. She is usually scouting ahead of me, and will stop when there is a junction to see which way she is going. Until she gets scent of a deer and goes sprinting off in excitement. She never catches them but finds her way back to me (sometimes I whistle to hurry her up) and then finds a pool to cool herself off in.

To the Moors pt1

 

As I drove south to Thorne moors on Monday I thought I must be mad. It was foggy, lights shone from every vehicle except for the forgetful and the dim. It looked cold and likely to be wet. But it was neither. Deceptively mild, and beautifully still, the low cloud just added to the mystery of the place.

I arrived at 9.15 and set off for a full circuit of the moors. The combination of the stillness, the quietness (no geese circling around on this day) and the mist gave it a real other worldliness. I felt privileged to step into this magical secret land (I walked for five and a half hours and neither saw nor heard another human being.) This avenue of birch, around one of the old tramways used for taking the extracted peat to the railhead, is almost formal in the way the trees are, by chance, spaced. 

Purpose Change

On a ride from Retford back to York, I saw a shot with two disused buildings that were vitally important when built. In the middle ground is a disused Trent valley power station, looking magnificent with its work done for good. It would seem a shame to flatten in, but that is probably what will happen. In the distance on top of the hill on the right of the frame, you can see Lincoln cathedral; once a centre of power and influence, now repurposed as a tourist attraction. It was only on processing the image that I realised that in the foreground is a disused windmill as well; saved and restored by the look of it.

Edlington Pitwood

Visited Edlington Pitwood last week (this is not a Tory minister, but a place near Doncaster). A land of pits, slagheaps and grimness that has been transformed into somewhere really good to visit. Still has the edge to it, very Elmetic. I love it. This sideways video (turn your head, or your device) is of Layla also in her element.

Veg

Roasted a load of veg last week. Delicious. Why were they always boiled to death back in the day?
 

Way Down in the Hole

Here we are at the gig. Our R&B morphing into Jazz version of Way Down in the Hole. 

Serendipity

We had a sign on the door for the gig. It rained. The sign became a work of art. The end.

Gig 1

Don Valley & the Broken Promises played our first post-covid gig. Upstairs. 70ish people dropped in over the afternoon and the music went down well (it helps having an audience of friends). The best picture was taken by 7yr old Nell who also shot an experimental video that (to put it mildly) involved a non-static camera. Peter is on bass, Robert on drums, me on guitar and Adrian (hidden) on piano.

It was a bit of a party, and Danielle put together some great food. All happy.

Lendal Bridge - York

The stone tower on the right of this shot is now a coffee shop - the Perky Peacock. I met Edward there for a coffee this week. It is great that some of the many old buildings in York are used for practical purposes, keeping them alive. 
 

Line of Beauty

The North York Moors railway snakes through Newtondale, a glacial overflow channel right through the moors from Pickering to Grosmont. It adds to the landscape, and when a steam train picks its way slowly along the line it is a great sight.

Culture

I went with friend Patrick to the opening night of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival here in York. Great atmosphere, and a selection of great short films to set the scene. Music, drama, comedy, harrowing drama etc.

Book group we discussed A Dutiful Boy by Mohsin Zaidi. Most of us really disliked it, but, as is the way, a couple of people really liked it. That is what is good about the group, always differing views and tastes.

Meantime Danielle and I walked the dog through the forest at Appleton Roebuck on a beautiful sunny autumn morning.

Tryfids

Not sure what this plant is, but the vivid green gave it a rather menacing look as it emerged from the forest.

New Photo

Taken yesterday in Pifelhead Forest (what a great name that is). Called Into the Dark.

Hatfield in the North

Not really my thing, but this shot of cobwebs in the morning light on Hatfield Moors I quite like.

After the Fire

The moorland fire on Hatfield Moors over two years ago, is quickly being repaired by nature. There are still patches though that remind you of the devastation fire can quickly cause.

And the Rains Came

After the drought the waters are returning to Hatfield Moors, it is a joy to see things being reinvigorated. Saw a great white egret cruising around looking happy too.

Meantime Danielle has had a wisdom tooth removed, infection, antibiotics and much discomfort.

Down By the River

Up top is the clatter of drinkers spilling out of Yates Wine Lodge; but down below is the hidden entry to a nether world. It is what makes York intriguing.

On the Trail

Taken on Rievaulx Moor a few weeks back. Not sure if it is a pine, but it is definitely lonesome.

On the Bridge

Clara, Rosalind and Sarah on Ouse Bridge in York.

 

Family Visit

Niece Sarah came up to stay for the weekend with Rosalind and Clara. Great kids and a busy time. 

State Visit

Rowan made a flying visit last weekend. Always good to see her, a view shared by the dog. We all walked by the river Wharfe at Tadcaster.

Take 2

This is a more abstract version of the same image as yesterday. I am not sure which one to go with still. Most probably the first one.

Take 1

On Stickle Tarn beneath Stickle Pike (a lovely miniature mountain between the Duddon and Coniston) I found reeds. I am not sure which is the best shot I have, but it could be this one. I like the bendy black reflections upon the water surface. Not sure about it though, might be too gloomy.