Evening Sun

Hob Moor in the evening sun. It really is looking at its best at the moment.

Back in the day the FA cup was a big social event - some memorable Saturdays spent with Rob, Doug Mark et al. Now I don't even watch it. Things have changed.

Crossroads

The cows are late back on the moor this year, which has given the buttercups more of a chance to flourish. I like this patch where a cross roads of paths twists through the flowers.

Danielle is back from India safe and well, and Ben & Kari have got themselves a daughter.

North York Moors

Monday Rowan and I went up to walk on the North York Moors on the old mineral railway line that ran right across the moors. It is a place I have visited many times in my life, and always love it. There is something about the flat topped heather moors that is unique and exhilarating. 

We let Homer off the lead when sheep are far away, and it all goes well.

Tell it to the bees

A friend of Danielle's, Fiona Shaw, had a new book out last week and we went to the launch in town. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tell-Bees-Fiona-Shaw/dp/0955647665 Fiona came and talked to Danielle about beekeeping and had a look at the hive a while back, to inform the book. Danielle gets a credit in the book for her help.

The photo from The Walk is of trees in Kosovo

Kosovo 1984 May

This crowd of children were gathered around us in a small town in Kosovo. Being the centre of attraction like this does get tiring after a while but it is a buzz as well. To remind you how long ago this was the two "connection" phrases that they used with us were "Liverpool" and "Michael Jackson".

India

From the walk, these three boys were playing football on the mountain pasture of Kosovo. I do wonder what happened to them during the war years; they would all have been in their 20's when the wars started.

Danielle is in India on a Government organised delegation that involves going to Mumbai, Delhi and elsewhere.

Back in 84

On the Walk I would take photos on 35mm film on a very basic tiny Olympus XA then send them home to be developed awaiting my return. It went smoothly for the whole 7 months except for one batch of films sent from Yugoslavia. So there is a gap around Northern Greece and Macedonia.

This is a shot of a family that we stayed with in Kosovo. They were ethnic Albanian Muslims. Very kind hosts.

The Second Sportive

Richmond Sportive 80m Route

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

After the Brian Robinson ride, Dave and I tackled our second Sportive of the year. 80 miles in the steep Dales, going to Yorkshire, Durham and Cumbria on a great route. I managed it in under 6 hours [which got a bronze] and felt every mile. The route took in Tan Hill [highest pub in England], the Settle-Carlisle line and Wensleydale.

This is the bike I use. Bianchi blue [or celeste as it is officially known] is one of the great cycling colors so I am very happy to have it.

Another Pond

This is another of the local brick-ponds. This one has Lakeside Lodges all around it for self-catering tourists. The owner has bought a number of my photos to decorate some of the lodges.

Weathering

The top-stones on the sea wall at Weston are visciously eroded. This one looks like a body to me.

I was at a meeting for some work here in York today - I hope it works out.

A Last Resort

My favorite film of all time is Radio On by Chris Petit http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A3689364 In it there are the lines, spoken at Weston Super Mare "Why do people come here?" 

"I guess it's a kind of last resort"

That is what it still feels like.

Carrot

They do their best in Weston - this is a bus-shelter with a rather extravagant roof that is covered with light bulbs. Officially called Silica it is know locally as the carrot.

Weston

I took the train down to Weston Super Mare to deliver my photos for the exhibition. A good productive journey all-round: did some work on the laptop going down, met the gallery-owner, got some photos of Weston then worked on them on the way home. 

Growing up in Lancashire I always assumed that Blackpool and Southport were pretty much the only seaside resorts. When I was in London I could never believe people took Margate and Brighton seriously [no sand for starters]. When I lived in Worcestershire for a year people started talking about "going to Weston". Before today I had never been; I do not harbour any great sense of regret for that delay now that I have visited. Grim. But good for photos.

Wine Tasting

Danielle and I went to a wine tasting event at Jacob's Well http://www.jacobswellyork.org.uk/ last night. Had a really good time with some good company and good wine. 

The photo is of a bike that was designed to be ridden on the railway - seems a pretty perfect combination to me. 

Time was

Being self employed is brilliant for 364 days of the year. The downside day is the day you do the accounts. That was today, but it is done now and I can take the papers to the accountant on Monday. Bizarrely this gives me a real sense of achievement.

The photo is of me in 1976 with the VW in Manchester.

Nature Reserve

We have discovered a lovely woodland nature reserve nearby, so we took Homer to visit. The three are in front of the nameplate for a Rowan tree. A great success all round.

Spring Glory

This photo has all three elements of a good York spring: May blossom, gorse and buttercups. It was taken on the Knavesmire, the common land that is used for York racecourse. Today was the first race meeting of the year - so the weather has been back to its freezing May best after the lovely warmth we have enjoyed.

Chapmans Pond

Preston failed to make the play-off final; well at least the disappointment of the final will not make a third appearance.

The photo is of Chapmans Pond, one of the many old “brick ponds” in York. There is a pair of Great Crested Grebes that nest here. Early this morning [walking the dog of course] I saw a Heron over the Moor – this is another first sighting. Red Kites are now within 12 miles of York on a regular basis, I am just waiting to see one soaring over the Moor.

Homer is here

Three years ago Rowan was so scared of dogs that we went to the Doctor. With some help from the NHS she got over her fear so much that she declared that she wanted a dog. Although neither Danielle nor I had ever wanted a dog, we both had them when we were kids and both loved them then. So how could we say no?

Eventually we worked out amongst ourselves that a puppy would be too jumpy for Rowan [who still has residual anxiety] and too much work for us [we are out a lot]. That meant we needed an older dog. So we went to the Dogs Trust [a national dog-rescue organisation] at Leeds a few times but found it all a bit overwhelming. Then Danielle discovered Ryedale Rescue which is a local, small scale, volunteer run scheme for re-housing dogs rescued in the area. We found one on the website that looked suitable, Rowan and I went to visit him at the kennels he was housed in, and he arrived for a trial week on Friday.

Homer was found on the streets of Goole [which pretty much lives up to its name] and has obviously been cared for then discarded. He is about 4, and has Spaniel and Labrador in him somewhere and maybe a bit of Collie. He is just right for Rowan, very affectionate but not too jumpy, and so far so good.

Wembley

York City were in the final of the FA Trophy at the new Wembley. Rob got me a couple of tickets in the Club Wembley section. These gave a great view of the pitch. I met nephew Will at Kings X and got to the match. York were pretty awful and lost 2 - 0  but it was a good day out, and good to see the ground.

The photo is of York on the attack - hoof it up for a long throw.

Battle of Bramham Moor

Rowan and I rode over to the Dog Rescue home a few weeks ago. It was a good ride on which we came across another battle field. This one was Bramham Moor. There are many battle fields around York [Stamford Bridge 1066, Marston Moor - Civil War, Towton - War of the Roses] on account of York being somewhere of political and strategic importance. All of them are bleak and thought provoking places that have a strange pull.

Exhibition

I have been invited to exhibit at this exhibition in Weston Super Mare. That is my photo at the top of the flyer. I will be showing 6 photos as part of a multi-media exhibition. So if anyone is down that neck of the woods do have a look. [details are on the website, address on the flyer]

Glasgow

On Sunday we went to the Burrell Collection at a new museum in Glasgow http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=1 it was impressive - and free. Some of the exhibits had been pillaged from ........ Yorkshire, which seemed a bit odd.

Big In Falkirk

At the weekend we used our free rail tickets to visit friends in Glasgow. Bizarrely we went to Falkirk [capital of Swine Flu in the UK] to http://www.biginfalkirk.com/ Big In Falkirk, a big street entertainers festival with bands and food and everything. We had a great time in the beautiful parkland where it took place. It is odd to have such a big international event in a declined industrial town like Falkirk, but a good thing.

The photo is of one of the sculptures in the park

Viva North End

Down the other side of the mountains was Kosovo. These shepherds were from the village of Brod which is a Slav village amidst the predominantly ethnic Albanian region; it is a complex area.

Preston North End are into the play-offs for the Premiership [again]. They got in by having scored one more goal than rivals Cardiff over the entire season.

Lomnice

This shot if of the village of Lomnice which is in Macedonia but is an ethnic Albanian village. There were no roads to the village, one of the men put our rucksacks on his horse and tooks us up to mountain pastures above high above the village. "Be careful of snow, Albanian border guards and wolves" he said.

Meanwhile 25 years ago...

By now we had walked north through the Pindus mountains of Greece and into Jugoslavia. First republic was Macedonia and the great lakes of Prespa and Ohrid where Pelicans cruised overhead. [The photo is of an orthodox churchyard overlooking Ohrid lake]

Modernism

One of my meetings in London was in Redbridge near to the fantastic Newbury Park tube station - a modernist classic.

Today I went a ride with friend Robert in the Wolds. We discovered a biker's cafe which was great http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1025479 . Then my route happened to pass a friend of Robert's house. Sean gave us a cup of tea and a look around his walled vegetable garden. Good day.