Rowan went to Milan to some design event with some friends. Here she is posing in a chair
Friday, April 26, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Stroll Part5 three
Layla is a bit of a pathfinder, which can be very helpful for me. In this case there really was no room for doubt as our path took us alongside Doncaster Jail and right into the centre of the town.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
The Stroll pt5 two
The route also ran by the river Dearne, which used to be surrounded by pits of the Barnsley coalfield. These days it looks positively bucolic.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The Stroll pt 5
Stage five of The Stroll took place on Friday (my last day before two days stuck indoors for Open Studios). I took the train to Bolton upon Dearne which is a typical (ex)pit village near Barnsley, and walked on the Sustrans route back to Doncaster. It was a good day and a great walk, passing the Earth Centre (failed Millennium project, now by the look of it a hotel), Connisbrough castle and many amazing railway viaducts and bridges.
Monday, April 22, 2024
YOS is over
York Open Studios has been and gone. The usual mix of lots of interest, lots of chat, sales, future sales etc. This year the Elmet book outsold the Wolds one for the first time, which I was pleased about; a lot of people returning for Elmet, having enjoyed the Wolds book. For the first time I was showing with Gail Fox, a collage artist, and it we worked really well together. This shot is of Gail's display at the window end of the studio.
Friday, April 19, 2024
The Stroll pt4
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
The Stroll Stage 4
This weeks part of The Stroll was from Pannal (to the south west of Harrogate) to Knaresbrough. It was a windy day, with promised rain unable to show up, which lead to a great walk via Harrogate on bridleways and old railway tracks.
Sunday, April 14, 2024
End of Part One
The first weekend of Open Studios is over. It went well, steady flow of people, good sales, lots of chat.
This photo is not one I showed, I took it last week when meeting Danielle at her office.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
YOS starts
Apologies for the long break, I have been rushed getting ready for Open Studios. Friday evening was the preview that went well, and today was the first real day. The usual mix of great feedback, interesting chat and a good few sales. More tomorrow I hope, by which time I shall have some shots of the studio.
Monday, April 08, 2024
Visitors
Friends Katie and David came for lunch at the weekend. Great to catch up. It is a mere 48 years since I first met Katie.
It was the York Open Studios taster exhibition at the Hospitium in Museum Gardens over the weekend where each artist has one work on show. With a hundred artists that makes for a pretty impressive show. I did a stint of stewarding on Saturday; there was a flow of many many people all weekend. Someone bought a copy of the work I had on show (below), she was keen to have number 1 (of 25) so that was a real good outcome.
Gash - taken on Hatfield Moors |
Sunday, April 07, 2024
Music Book Group
We have started a second book group. This one focuses on books that feature music, either fiction or non fiction. There are six of us, all who have an interest in music. The first book was Dirt Road by James Kelman which Danielle and I chose. Great discussion, we had the whole range of responses to it from 5/5 (me, one of my favorite books) to someone who gave it 1/5 and who found the stream of consciousness all too much.
This is Doncaster parish church, designed by George Gilbert Scot who also built St Pancras station in London. |
Friday, April 05, 2024
The Stroll Stage 3
Wednesday, April 03, 2024
Tuesday, April 02, 2024
Compost
Monday, April 01, 2024
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Pub
Rowan is back for Easter. We had a pint in the Crooked Tap with Layla on best-ish behaviour. Good to catch up on Rowan's news.
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Community Wood
Friday, March 29, 2024
Canal Bridge
Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Stroll Stage 2
I came to an early realisation that The Stroll is going to need a pragmatic approach to ensure the best of the weather. There is also the on going mess of rail strikes that have to be taken into account. So this week I took the train to Thorne (north of Doncaster) and walked south on the South Yorkshire Navigations towards Donny as far as Kirk Sandall where I could get the train back. There were very few people around, and the dog was off the lead most of the way, the rain held off, I saw grebes and goosanders, heard chiffchaffs and had a a great walk.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Wood
I cycled through Temple Newsham park in east Leeds, then on tracks to Aberford and back to York. Not a long ride but very enjoyable and almost traffic free. I appreciate it.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Deer
Monday, March 25, 2024
Ark
Sunday, March 24, 2024
The Trundle 1
As well as The Stroll, I have embarked upon The Trundle, which is going to be a series of interconnecting bike rides. I kicked off with Bradford to York, nearly all the route was off road, including this Cycle Superhighway from Bradford to Shipley. I am full of admiration for Bradford Council finding the means and energy to build this at a time of real pressure on local authorities.
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Nataliia Departs
Nataliia is now with a new family in Cambridge and all is going well.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Stroll Stage 1
On April 2nd 1984 I set off with Marie on The Walk across Europe from Greece to Spain. I hope to go back to a couple of locations from that walk sometime this year.
I have also decided to lower my sight considerably for another long walk. This is The Stroll and the aim is to walk from place to place on routes across Yorkshire, where I now live. The start and finish have to be on the rail network, so that the route can be done without a car. I hope some stages will be with Danielle, and friends. The dog will be on most of the stages. I have no idea if I will keep it going, but that is the plan.
So yesterday was Stage One of The Stroll.
Taking the train across the county of local trains reminded me that the Tory government had messed up not just the economy, the health service and pretty much everything, but also the rail network. So I had to deal with a couple of "cancelled" trains. The staff on the trains were universally pleasant and helpful (having a big friendly dog helps) and God chipped in with a beautiful sunny day to start.
I took the train via a change at Leeds to Littleborough, on the Rochdale canal just to the west of the Pennine watershed as it is crossed by the highest broad canal in the country. I have never seen a canal so full of water, with many of the many locks appearing as if waterfalls. Once over the summit we began in geographical Yorkshire down the wondrous Calder Valley. It is a valley with a unique landscape for the Pennines, the deepest narrowest most dramatic of the routes through the moors. The canal, railway and road are all squeezed into the bottom of the valley, with the brooding bleak moors up above. The industrial architecture from the railway, the canal and the mills, is incredible and awe inspiring.
We walked to Todmorden (which I last visited when Rowan was performing in a Triathlon here) then got the train back to York. Hope to be back for stage two next week.
Monday, March 18, 2024
The Stroll
Walked across the Pennine watershed alongside the Rochdale Canal today. Beautiful. I shall explain why in a more detail soon.
Canal 3
Sunday, March 17, 2024
A World Gone Mad
A bridge keepers cottage on the canal from last week. Such a still day, with perfect reflections and not a breath.
It was book group this week, we had read A World Gone Mad by Astrid Lindgren, which was the writer's diary of her experiences of living in neutral Sweden during the second world war. The history was interesting, exposing how ignorant we were of the war in the north, but the rest of the memoir lacked interest.
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Friday, March 15, 2024
New Junction Canal
Built in 1905 the New Junction Canal, very wide and totally straight, cuts right across Humberhead and was built to carry coal to the port of Goole. There is still a tiny amount of freight traffic, and very little leisure users. It has one aqueduct over the river Went and this dramatic one over the river Don, with floodgates at either end. Unfortunately the mesh walkway proved to disturbing to the dog so I had to explore it alone.
Monday, March 11, 2024
Manchester Collective
Thursday I met up with friend Paul in Leeds to see another great gig from the Manchester Collective, this time it was The Unfurrowed Field performed by a jazz trio and a string quartet playing together. Great stuff.
This is Philip Slack, my favourite dry valley in the Wolds, taken at the weekend. Still looking good.Sunday, March 10, 2024
Farewell
Saturday, March 09, 2024
Well elmetic
A classic elmetic landscape near Askern last week. To the right an old bridleway heads east, to the left what will feel like a natural cathedral in the summer when the trees are in leaf.
Friday, March 08, 2024
Sutton Common
As part of my continuing in the history of Elmet, I recently found out that near Askern (north of Doncaster) an iron age collection of earthworks had been discovered that was "very important". It is rare to find iron age sites on low level marshy flatlands. I was expecting to be impressed, picturing ramparts akin to the hill top forts on the downs in the south. It was not to be. Having to trespass to get access there was not a sign of explanation to be seen, and I struggled to find the earthworks. But here they are in the photo.
Not a lot of whelm involved, but nevertheless it still felt good to stand alone in this place with a rich past and a very minimal present.Tuesday, March 05, 2024
Sunday, March 03, 2024
Wood
Cutting up firewood takes a lot of time, but is strangely satisfying. The bench is safe for now (just about).
Saturday, March 02, 2024
Nesting Season
Thorne and Hatfield Moors are now off limits for dogs off the lead until August 1st, on account of ground nesting birds. So this was our last visit for a while.
Danielle and I saw a version of Bluebeard at the York Theatre Royal this week, a fantastic production - fast paced, powerful, funny, short - all the things I look for in a play.
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
New
2024 Fragile - Hatfield Moors
There comes a time before an exhibition when you have to decide what you are going to show and concentrate on that. Trouble is I keep taking shots that I really like - and want to show. This was taken on Hatfield Moors (again) and I hope it will be loved. You never know.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Wolds Return
Monday, February 26, 2024
Bramham
Danielle and I went a walk round Bramham Park last week. In the summer it is where the Leeds rock festival takes place. It could not have been more different for our walk, very peaceful. Layla is obscuring one of the many lovely milestones that trace the old coaching routes around York. Bramham was on the Great North Road, now bypassed by the A1(M)
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Three Bushes and a Bird
Friday, February 16, 2024
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Geese et al
Geese flying over Thorne Moors last week, with a couple of lapwings looking after them.
Also last week a couple of Great Northern Divers (ducks, not footballers) were spotted on our local pond. The general consensus was that they must have got lost in the fog (they would normally stick to the coast).
I missed them!