Welcome to the Website of Alan Burnett: writer, blogger, collector of old photographs, and devotee of all things pointless and inconsequential.
Up, Down, Bump
I’ve always believed in looking up as we walk through a town or city to admire the architectural wonders that so often surround us. Equally, however, it is worth looking down – especially if, like me, you are a fan of drain covers. I have quite a collection of photographs of them; I took this one in St. John’s, on the island of Antigua. Since I spend so much time either looking up or looking down, don’t be surprised if I bump…
Keep readingSeaside Shadows
A seaside holiday: flat caps, thick overcoats, and a bench overlooking the sun-stroked sands. Watching the worm diggers and perhaps sharing a potted-meat sandwich. The sun casts shadows across the stone jetty,…
Earl Of Buffs
I’ve always worked on the principle that, if you’re walking past a pub, you should take a picture of it and then pop in for a pint – in case it isn’t…
Happy Anniversary
When this photograph was taken, Issy and I had already been together for three years. Three years later, we were married. That was 53 years ago today. That’s an awful lot of…
Set In Stone
You could walk to the top of Shaw Lane in Halifax today and take a photograph similar to this one. I took mine almost half a century ago, but the…
Peter Howell
We lost a dear friend of over fifty years last week. Peter Howell was a noted classicist, a distinguished architectural historian, and a former chair of the Victorian Society. Perhaps…





