Welcome to the Website of Alan Burnett: writer, blogger, collector of old photographs, and devotee of all things pointless and inconsequential.
Albert And The Machine
The photograph was taken 70 years ago at Mackintosh’s factory in Halifax. It shows a group of mechanics and engineers proudly gathered around the latest wrapping machine they have installed. My father, Albert, appears to be the proudest of the lot (seated just to the left of centre). The machine looks like it could launch a rocket; in fact it could wrap a strawberry delight or a toffee finger.
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Cathedral Of Commerce
An early colour photograph of mine (note the pre-decimal currency) and one where the exposure left a lot to be desired. What it lacks in technique, it makes up a little for…
The Valley
I half painted this picture, which I am calling “The Valley.” It was an exercise I undertook with the grandchildren to try and avoid the dreaded screen-time, and their paintings – even…
Forever Gaumont
To me, it is, and has always been, the Gaumont Cinema. It’s had other names and been other things, but even today I would probably still refer to it as the Gaumont.…
A Pint, A Course And A Castle
I will always have fond memories of Wentworth Castle near Barnsley, back in the 1980s when Northern College was first established there under the legendary Michael Barratt Brown. Many are…
The Light Of Day
This is a photograph of mine from the late 1970s of St Peter’s Square in Manchester. It dates back to the period when limitations on time and money meant that…
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