YOS Day 3

Jo and I ready for day 3 of Open Studios. Weather good, confidence high.

YOS 1

The first two days of Open Studios are over. Exhilarating, tiring, encouraging, disappointing; all emotions fly around. This year I had Charlotte, a second year Photography student from Gloucester University on placement with me to help. She was a great help, and came up with some really good ideas in terms of curation and display for the show.

Rowan Photo

Rowan took this photo of a cyclist on the Knavesmire today. I've got to say I think it's pretty good.

Bramham

Rowan is back from her rowing trip to the Netherlands and will be at Warwick for her final term at the end of this week. So it was good to get a family walk in at Easter. We went to the woods at Bramham which were as dry as ever I have seen them.

Canal Walk 7

The latest stage of our Canal Walk took us from Skipton to Silsden on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Another great walk on this contouring engineering marvel. There were a lot more boats about than in the winter months. Because of the frequency of swing bridges on this stretch it was actually quicker walking than taking the boat.

With the Quakers

I do get roped into various photographic assignments for Quakers, which I am happy to do. This is a shot of this year's Overseers [each overseer "looks after" a number of Quakers]. Both Danielle and I have done it before now. So this was my attempt to re-imagine that early Beatles shot that was on their greatest hits albums; can barely tell the difference.

YP Mag

All publicity is good publicity, so this might be a small bit in the Yorkshire Post Magazine this Easter weekend, but it all helps ...

Milo and signs

One of the lessons I have learned in life is that if you see a sign on an snicket that says "no cycling" then it must be a useful cycling route [or else they would not have put the sign there]. Milo obviously feels the same way about dog signs.

Derwent Valley

Tuesday I went to Wheldrake and the Derwent Valley National Nature Reserve; a lovely marsh / flood lands area. I saw my first Swallows of the summer as well as Teal and Egrets, and also this ancient wind pump. It was the opposite of a well-oiled machine. Despite quite a strong wind it would only occasionally creak and crank into rusty action before stopping in exhaustion a couple of minutes later.

University

The University is a great place to walk around [particularly when the students are away]. Here is another shot from last Sunday.
I am busy getting ready for York Open Studios - and have a 2nd Year Photography Student on placement with me to help; I think it should go well.

Topiary

Sunday Danielle and I walked over to Lamel Beeches Quaker residential home where she attends meeting for worship. I walked around the University with the dog. This topiaric fantasy land is always good to attempt to photograph; the hedges are huge and make for great images.

US Trip

Ro [my sister] and Pete are visiting niece Sarah and family who are in DC for six months on account of Marcus' work. Sounds like a good trip. The photo is of Pete, Sarah and Rosalind and Felix.

Funeral

I took some portraits at Christmas for a family who I had worked with before. This time the Mother was dying of cancer, so the portrait was to be of all the family. When you are taking a photo you always form a relationship with the subject; this was a poignant session, commissioned by the Father. He cycled round last week to tell me that his wife had died, and asking if he could use the photo on the order of service for the funeral. I went to the packed church for the funeral today and found it very moving - more than I can say.

Thames

Rowan and Danielle flew back from the US on Thursday. Considering Rowan took this photo using her phone through the plane window, it is pretty good I think. That is Tower Bridge in the centre of the shot.

The Stone

This is the stone for mother and father, replacing my father's one which had faded so much as to become unreadable.

Changing Times

Putting the clock forward at the Quaker Meeting House in York is an all generations affair. A young man [me] got it down from the wall, the old folk re-set it, and the kids watched on. All done with much love.

More Churches

Robert and I had a short time for a ride on Friday, as part of the great church exploration. We got to our 54th visit so far, Burythorpe in the Wolds, one of my favourite places. The church is nothing special [standard Victorian] but the location, in the middle of a field a kilometre from the village on top of the hill, is something else.

19

Rowan and Danielle are in the US for Aunt Sheila's funeral. They are sorting out the house a bit too, and found this photo. July 1998, Mount Rushmore. A long long time ago.

Literate Dog

I didn't know that Milo could read, but here he seems to be taking in the message on the pole.

Wanstead

Last week I drove down to London with Rowan to take down the exhibition, deliver those I had sold to various people, and stay over with Victor and family in Wanstead [where this picture was taken]. It was a complex logistical exercise and happily it all worked. The next tasks are to prepare for York Open Studios in April, get the Wolds book printed and start the next book ...

Rowan's Tree

Whilst we were in Kirtlington we took the chance to visit the Quarry and, in particular, Rowan's tree. As you can see the tree has not grown quite as much as Rowan has.

2017

2003

Interment

It is nearly a year since my mother died, and yesterday we interred her ashes with my father's in Kirtlington church yard in Oxfordshire where she lived for 30 years. It was a gathering of village friends and family, and it felt a very positive occasion to me. Afterwards we went to the farm cafe on my cousin's farm and had some tea and cake (which mother would undoubtedly have approved of].

We drove there and back in the day, so were glad to have the S-Town podcast [from the makers of Serial] to keep us entertained, which it surely did.

Bingley Five Rise

Also on the Canal we passed the Five Rise locks at Bingley, a beautiful solution to a practical problem.

Swans Way

Last week my church bike ride with Robert took us to the flood plain of the Derwent east of York. In winter it is a lake, with these Whooper Swans making a lot of noise.

Spring Watch

I saw a Treecreeper by the pond, a Brimstone while out cycling, and a Chiffchaff in the garden. Plenty going on as spring arrives.

Pond in Wanstead

FSD

Last weekend was a good weekend; great ride with Dave into the Wolds on Saturday. Totally by chance and on the backest of back roads I met my neighbour also out for a ride. Only in York.
We all watched one of the best Film Noir, Out of the Past by Jacques Tourneur, in the evening; it pleases me that the family are prepared to put up with one of my interests, and even enjoy it a bit.
Sunday we went to Meeting, a beautiful day then Danielle tended to the bees and I assembled a log store. And it is First Shorts Day for 2017 too.

Reeds on Wanstead Flats

Saltaire

The Canal walk took us through Saltaire and past the magnificent Salts Mill, now a complex of shops and galleries but still a great historic sight [World Heritage sight no less http://www.saltairevillage.info/ ]

Kings Cross

The whole time I lived in London the redevelopment of Kings Cross was mooted and delayed; now it has happened and is happening still. This is the latest bit to go live, on the way from the station to St Martins art college, Google to the right, St Pancras in the middle distance. The change from place-to-avoid to place-to-seek-out has been made.

St Pauls

When I was down in London last week I went to meet Danielle after her meeting in the City near the Gherkin building. This involved walking past St Pauls, it remains a great sight, somehow the new just enhances the old.

Canal Walk 6

Robert and Julia joined us for the sixth leg of our canal walking project. The route took us on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal from Silsden to Shipley. Another great walk full of interest. The canal was built getting on for 250 years ago and it remains a thing of wonder.

MrP

Going through the family photos looking for pictures of Aunt Sheila I came across this one of Rowan when she was six, playing with that high quality toy Mr Potato Head in Royce's house in Pennsylvania.

Aunt Sheila RIP

Danielle's Aunt Sheila died this week. She has had cancer for the last year. She acted in loco parentis for Rowan when she was at high school in the States and was a real friend to all our family. She will be much missed by us all.

Walk

Friends Paul & Kelly were up in Yorkshire, so we went a walk in the Wolds with them and their friends David and Jill, who we had not met before. Had a great time in the slacks at Fridaythorpe then had a greasy spoon lunch in my favourite cycling cafe - Seaways.

Thames

Last one from our fleeting London visit. This is the footbridge alongside the railway bridge over the Thames at Putney.

Honey Time

Danielle's bees are local celebrities. Neighbour Gwen spotted this one collecting pollen from a crocus in her garden. Good to know that good things are on the way.

Magazine Article

The magazine article about me and the house is in Yorkshire Living this month: here is the link. The article is on pages 26-28. http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?PBID=489fe4d6-a966-43fa-8357-cffbecbbd8e7 Not too excrutiating I hope.

Harrods Store

The Harrods furniture store on the Thames by Hammersmith Bridge has long been a landmark. It has now [surprise, surprise] been turned into the ubiquitous "luxury flats". Still a great building though.

Venice or Putney

With so many boats on the water it all looked a bit Canaletto on the Thames on Saturday.

Rowing news

Rowan was rowing on the Thames in the women's head of the river races. 320 crews, some from as far away as Aberdeen, rowed the route. This is the Warwick boat just about to row up-river to the start at Mortlake, before racing back past Craven Cottage to the finish at Putney bridge. We saw Rowan for about ten minutes after the row, but it was great to support her.

Railway Pond

The Railway Pond, ten minutes away, just gets more and more beautiful to me. A dedicated bunch of volunteers are transforming it. Good job.

Real Musicians

Neighbour Ken's father was a professional double bass player who did three world cruises before the war and worked on the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary out of Southampton after the war. Ken now has to put up with hearing me and Greg and our guitar noise once a week ...

The band on the Franconia

Portrait Artist of the Year

We are enjoying watching Portrait Artist of the Year [with the unlikely host pair of Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell] it is a great programme. This evening was the semi-final. As you can see Milo was caught up with the tension of it all.

St Olav

St Olav's church in the grounds of St Mary's Abbey is one of my favourite York churches.

York in the Winter

A nice winter sun when I was in York last week. This is the Yorkshire Museum with St Mary's abbey in the background. Rowan was up for a couple of days, which was great, and we had an Lithuanian AirBnB person which was also good.

Skosh

I've mentioned Skosh, the best restaurant in York a lot in the last year; it is just a great place to eat. So it was good to see it getting a euphoric review in the Observer today https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/05/skosh-york-restaurant-review

This is Totnes castle a week ago.

BTR

I only have three Bruce Springsteen tracks on my iPod, and they are all from Darkness on the Edge of Town which I used to own back in the day and which is atypical. So I am not a big fan of his music. But. I am listening to his autobiography on Audible which he actually wrote and reads himself; this could have been a recipe for awfulness but it is brilliant. A really great read, I might have to have a listen to some other albums after all. Recommended.

As regular rail users, we can all relate to this in our family. It is from long long ago but still hits the spot.

Dartington 4

One of Danielle's trustees lives just outside the Dartington estate, so we walked over on Sunday to have a cup of coffee with her which was pleasant. We then had a bit more time in Totnes [too much traffic up the main street - it should be pedestrianised] before getting the train back home.
The photo is of a well on the estate. I am in it - the photo not the well.

Dartington 3

I got plenty of walking in; on Saturday we both walked to Staverton on the Dart then into town. The South Devon steam railway was running at the weekend which was a good surprise. Here is a GWR tank engine in full flow.

Dartington 2

There was a big meal for the conference on the Friday evening that I accompanied Danielle to. It was in this medieval banqueting hall - a really beautiful building inside. Good company and a good meal