12 Year Ago

This month in 2005 we were all in Austria cycling with Royce, Danielle's father. He was 70, Rowan was 7; we were quite a team. In this shot we are just about to go down a salt mine.

13 Years Ago

August 2004 and we were back in Aberdovey with friends Justin, Em and kids. Rowan and Danielle are seen striding boldly into the warm waters of the Irish Sea. I would have joined them but I had to take the picture right?

14 years ago

I know that I have posted this shot before, but it is one of my favourite pictures of my Mum and Rowan. It was taken at Aberdovey exactly 14 years ago. The book that has Rowan's absolutely undivided attention is The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe. Rowan was 5 and Mother 78.

Monday Joke

Rowan is a great source of internet memes. This made me laugh

Food

Friday we all went for a [very] impromptu meal at Robert and Helen's; the young folk shying away from the camera, the old folk enjoying the food and company. And the Macedonian wine.

Then Saturday we went out for an Indian with Danielle's running mates. Today was half marathon training for Danielle and Rowan.

For Fox Sake

I stayed with Mark and Mandy in London, in Wimbledon. One of the big issues that the troubled residents of the leafy glades have to deal with is "what to do with the foxes in the garden?" Peeing on the grass does not work, the post modernist sculpture of a dog does not work, lion poo is not readily available ... what to do?
Here is the ridiculously cute cub; best enjoy I should think.

Meteorite

Down in London for a work meeting at Friends House, then walked over to the Natural History Museum to finally get to see the Wold Newton Meteorite, which fell in the Wolds in the 19th Century. As it was observed landing, it helped prove that meteorites originated not from volcanoes as had been thought but from space. This in turn enabled the whole understanding of how the universe was formed to begin.

Leeds

By the time we reached Leeds on the Aire the mills are getting bigger, the skyline more dramatic.

Thwaite Mills

This is Thwaite Mills Watermill, one of the last remaining water powered mills in the country. We passed it on the Aire Navigation on our walk; a perfect looking scene.

Canal Walk

The next stage of our Canal Walk project took place on Saturday. Rowan joined us this time. We took the train to Castleford then walked by the River Aire and its Navigation to Leeds. It was a great walk passing through a reclaimed coalfield that has been converted into this beautiful nature reserve. We have now completed the first two legs of our walk. Marsden to Castleford via Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Wakefield. Then Castleford to Skipton via Leeds, Shipley and Silsden. It has been a great experience so far with plenty more to come.

Guest

Both of Danielle's parents were mid-westerners from Iowa. When she and her brother Ben were young they would be packed off to their maternal grandparents in Albia, Iowa [pop 3678]. This is the epitome of small town America. One of Danielle's playmates was Kimberly who lived across the railroad tracks from her Grandparents house. From age 6 they have been friends and they still are now; it is 19 years since we saw Kim but she is on a coach tour of the UK and called in at York en route. It was great to catch up with Kim, who still lives and teaches in Albia.

Salford

My final two Workshops took place in Salford last week. 13th floor, great view across Old Trafford and Media City.

County Hall

Here are the County Offices in Preston where I ran the workshop last week, and where my Mother worked 70 years ago. The fact that Preston was the county town for then-mighty Lancashire was a source of great pride back in the day.

University

Rowan and I walked across to the University on Sunday. This is part of the newish Heslington East site; well worth a walk across town to.

Veg News

The courgette plants are going well in the raised bed at the front of the house. Milo on sentry duty.

It was Helen Cadbury's funeral on Saturday; Danielle was in charge of it all and did a grand job.

Don Valley & The Broken Promises

Well, the band is now four strong. Robert on drums, Peter on bass, Greg on guitar, me on guitar and harp. Played for the first time this week; went great.

Proud Preston

After Warrington came Preston. I cycled from the station to the Tickled Trout at Salmsbury where I stayed ahead of the first session in the morning at County Offices by Preston Station. In these very offices my Mother worked 70 years ago; it was a very strange feeling as I walked into the impressive Victorian interiors of the old Lancashire County Offices. This was from when Lancashire included Furness, Manchester, Liverpool and the rest of the county. Today Lancashire is a tiny forgotten remnant stretched between Merseyside, Great Manchester and Cumbria.

The second session was in Leyland, so I cycled down the old tramway to the town. The once mighty motor works are reduced to a tiny plant producing some trucks. My meeting was in one of the recycled buildings from the old British Leyland works.

Cycling through Avenham Park is always a joy.

Warrington

I was running workshops in Warrington yesterday; I am really enjoying revisiting the North West. Preston and Leyland are next on the dream itinerary.

I have always loved a signpost on a footpath, especially a distressed old wooden one like this.

Scale

Just to give you an idea of the scale of these windmills, you can see a family [people, not ants] at the bottom of this one.

Walk

A beautiful day, a family walk amidst the wind turbines of Aberford; can you spot the dog?

The Docks

The old warehouses and docks are now converted to flats and bars. An impressive urban landscape that is so very different from when the docks were in use, then it was impossible to get anywhere near them as a member of the public.

Back in Liverpool

I was working in Bootle so stayed in Liverpool overnight ahead of the workshops I was running. Good to be back in Liverpool, it feels so different to Manchester. Great to walk the impressive Victorian streets again. My hotel was by the old docks, so Birkenhead looked good across the water [best place for it to be maybe].

Guide Dogs

Some Quaker neighbours who train guide dogs had a need for an emergency trainee-sitter. Rowan was happy to oblige.

Muriel

A large mural at the Science Museum in Manchester.

If you click on Flipcard on the blog menu you get a good alternative view of the past posts. 

Busy Bees

I was very happy to take Rowan to Manchester for the day, to show her what a great city it is. We popped into the Science Museum then wandered around. The way the industrial heritage has been integrated into modern city life, as illustrated here, is very impressive.

Situational Art

At Liverpool I built a tower of bricks in my room in hall: an art installation inspired by the Tate's famous bricks but costing slightly less. Later there was a 6 pint milk carton, shaped like a pint one, hanging from the ceiling. So you can see that art installations are something I have history with.

This one, involving a table verdigrised to distressing effect by Danielle, two cracked tea cups and some glue, is called Tea For Who? I am quite proud of it. Danielle is not.

More Death

Another month, another death of a good friend. Helen Cadbury [from the Quaker chocolate family] had died of cancer. She was our age, and a successful crime writer [three novels] and poet. She always helped me with my photography by pushing work my way if she could -  and using one of my photos on the cover of her book of poetry. We knew she had cancer but it is still a shock - a real shock. This photo of her with sons and husband was taken in 2004.

Weekend News

Had four new friends round for dinner, Peter, Shin-Sook, Mark and Stena. Went really well.

Then today I had a gentle cafe-ride with Dave to Tadcaster. Good day.

Another shot from Manchester - this is in the Science Museum.

Haydn: Seven Last Words - 1996

Danielle and I had cycled across Ireland to Bantry Bay where some friends were staying. We went to a concert of Haydn's Seven Last Words string quartet with poetry read by Seamus Heaney in between each of the seven pieces. It was in Bantry Hall which was a sublime setting for a really deep experience. The performance was by the Vanbrugh Quartet. The video is the same music, different band.

After the gig we went back to our B&B and watched England loose to Germany on penalties in the Euro 96 semi-final. Our hosts very kindly pretended to be disappointed too!

Rory Gallagher - 1977

Another Top Five Gig [the list might be longer than five] is Rory Gallagher. I saw him twice in the 70s, once at the Liverpool Empire and once at Leeds Uni. I think Leeds had the edge, it is a great venue, but both gigs were just fantastic. This clip is from the same tour, not like being there but it gives a taste. Just realised that both Bobby Womack from yesterday and Rory have died early. RIP Rory.

Bobby Womack - 1991

I was playing this track on my iPod to Rowan last week, telling her I was at the gig, Bobby Womack in Kentish Town, and how it was one of the top 5 gigs that I'd been to. So I googled it and here is a video of the performance of Harry Hippie with the incomparable Alltrina Grayson  [same surname as Danielle's grandmother so you never know]. Straight to the soul ...

York from the Sky

There is a drone filming company based in York, that put up images online occasionally. This shot is of the Ouse flowing into York [the Minster is in the middle distance, the Millennium Bridge cycleway crosses the river in the centre.

Walk

Rowan Milo and I went a walk - here is the selfie.

L&Y

This huge tile map is still intact at Manchester Victoria station, showing the lines of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, one of the Victorian companies that covered the north with lines. Primarily a freight company the comfort of passengers was apparently a bit of an afterthought.

Manchester Again

I was back in Manchester this week. I walked past the old market which is now part of the Science Museum [on the left] with the dramatic new high rise building in the distance.

Ribs

In the same church as the skateboard pews is this magnificent exposed timber roof.
Got the phone call [it's like an email but interactive and you can speak] from friend Derwood in California. Always good to talk.

The Skateboard Pews

One of the things that has struck me, looking around all these churches, is how impractical pews are in terms of flexibility. An old church might look impressive with heavy wooden pews but it makes it almost impossible to use the space for anything other than praying. Urban churches often strip out the pews and replace with chairs. Rural conservatism makes that harder to do, so I was impressed with the bloke we met in Tockwith who had put casters on the pews in the Victorian church, allowing them to be wheeled to the side of the church and the space to be used for other things. Smart.

Weekend

Beautiful weather at the moment. Been working in the garden, then met Adrian for a pint at a community-run pub - The Golden Ball. Sunday Robert and I did a few more churches in the evening then had a drink with friends in their garden. Summer!

The view from Healaugh Church

Punjabi Music

I saw a great gig by Amrit Kaur Lohia as part of the York Festival of Ideas http://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2017/performances/music-beyond-borders-2/ some really good Punjabi music. Although the two musicians used traditional instruments, they also used an app on a phone to provide the drone via a bluetooth speaker; using the new to bring us the past.

The photo is of my aunt and uncle on holiday this month.

Danielle's Mother

Danielle is in the states trying to sort out the house [it is a long job]. She found this photo of her mother at high school.

Knavesmire

The Knavesmire, the public land that has the racecourse on it, is ten minutes walk away. Easy to take if for granted, but it is a great space.

Anne

Friend John contacted me to say his wife Anne had died of cancer. He attached this photo of Anne at our wedding with baby Jack. It hit me hard.

Festival of Ideas

The York Festival of Ideas http://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2017/ is well underway. So far we have seen the best of short films at the National Centre for Early Music and a lecture on hats [disapointing - I expected a sociological perspective and got a discussion on hats in the Royal Family - oh well]. It is a great event, whatever the ups and downs. Next up is The Story of Stories and then Why English People Sailed to the New World. I'll keep you posted.

This is the building at New Change in the City that Danielle used to work out of when she was linked to Friends Provident

Wolds Walk

Rowan has one more exam before she has finished her first year at Warwick. She was up here for the weekend, so we were all glad to get a walk in the Wolds together. As beautiful as ever.

Awake!

Danielle and I had a great meal at Siobhan and Peter's last night, Patrick and Julia were guests as well. It had been planned a couple of months ago as a wake in the wake of the expected election result: how times have changed!

A selfie from Rowan and Danielle at the Awards.

Charity Awards

Danielle is a judge for the Charity Awards, a big event held this year at the Tower of London. Rowan and I both accompanied her and had a good evening. It was on Thursday, so the evening got surprisingly better when the exit poll told the story of the election. It was great to see Labour getting so much support after the horrors of brexit and trump.
This shot is of us in the AirB&B place we stayed at just round the corner from the Tower [We haven't both grown by the way, that is a model phone box, not a real one]

Steam

Steam trains are a pretty common occurrence on the main line at York Station, but that doesn't stop them always causing excitement amongst those there by accident or design. Whilst waiting for the London train yesterday this Scarborough Spa Express came in to platform 5.

Home to Home

I took a train to Preston - direct but very slow from York - then cycled back through Grimsargh [where I lived as a small boy], Longridge [where I coveted a plastic "Beatles" guitar - not a Fender], Hurst Green [where the ice cream we used to crave is still being made and sold] and on across the Pennines until at Adingham the road was closed. As usual I ignored the sign thinking "I can just get round any blockage", only this time the tarring machine was totally across the road, there was no way through. No problem, I took a footpath that wound its way down to the main road. Just at the end of the path the farmer was using it as a pen for her sheep. I managed to find a way around and then got back to York. A really great ride from home past to home present.

Music News

Looks like we might have a bass player. Met Peter at Open Studios. Turned out he played bass when he was a student at Liverpool, the same time as me. In fact we both played gigs at the Sphinx Bar in the Students Union building. Had a little jam last week, and things look promising.

Meantime here is my band from Tottenham days. Diane on vocals, John on acoustic, Simon on harp and Lynne? on bass, and me on guitar. Performing in my garden.

Honey Honey

We had our second honey harvest of the year yesterday. All together we have taken 20kg so far. That is a lot of honey and we are very grateful to the busy bees.
In other bee news I discovered a nest of angry bumble bees in the compost heap. It has taken about five days but they have finally moved on.

Modern Art

There is not a lot of modern art in the ancient churches of York. So finding this at St Martin's church on Coney Street in the centre of York was a really pleasant surprise.

Pastoral

Another shot from the great off road ride through Yorkshire. This is the Aire navigation with cattle lowing across the water.

Scran

Ordering my food in a cafe on a bike ride, the patrone castigated her staff for calling the food "scran", saying it lowered the tone. I like to think that I know plenty of Yorkshire dialect words, but this was totally new to me. I asked how it was spelt, and of course there is no spelling of dialect. So there you go, next time you hear someone saying "Let's go out for and get some scran" you'll know what they mean.

Sunday Danielle and I went a walk by the River Ouse. It is a beautiful time of year, with the wild flowers in bloom.