This is a classic British "snap" from the 1930s. Amongst our island nation, there is some compelling desire to take to the nearest small boat and explore our coastline. It doesn't matter that the sea is grey, and the coastal wind is sharp enough to cut your jib on - we take to the water. … Continue reading In Search Of Neighbours
Month: June 2018
A Chocolate Wrapped In Black Crape
My first thought when I examined this old Carte de Visite from the Wolverhampton studios of Carl Holt was, who was the real woman under all these clothes? She has the look of a bleached milk chocolate wrapped in too many layers of coloured cellophane - or rather mourning-black crape. It is high summer outside, … Continue reading A Chocolate Wrapped In Black Crape
A Thriving Coincidence
I worked in Doncaster for close on twenty years back in the 1980s, and I passed this church regularly. It was an impressive building, standing within its own grounds but surrounded by busy roads. Like so many churches, however, it was showing its age. The discovery of this postcard, prompted me to check up on … Continue reading A Thriving Coincidence
Happy Birthday Albert
It would have been my fathers' birthday today - he would have been 107 years old! This photograph must have been taken in the late 1920s in Bradford, Yorkshire when, as a teenager, he would have been looking forward to what life would bring him. It brought him a long and happy life and a … Continue reading Happy Birthday Albert
That’s History For You
It started as the Wheatsheaf, way back when. The current building is part of Halifax Borough Market and dates from the 1890s, but it seems that a Wheatsheaf pub was on Market Street before that. In the 1970s, the pub name was changed to The William Deighton, in memory of the excise officer murdered by … Continue reading That’s History For You
The Power Of Elland
Another scan from my archive of negatives taken in the Halifax area in the 1960s and 1970s. This one shows Elland Power Station dominating the lower Calder Valley and the new Elland Bypass. Elland Bridge can be seen in the foreground.
Random History : A Dying Man And A Missing Girl
Historical events are not random: each follows from a series of previous events and leads to a range of future events. Causes and consequences hold history together like the threads of a spiders' web. Sometimes, however, the best way to examine these limitless connections is to jump into history at random: one day, one year, … Continue reading Random History : A Dying Man And A Missing Girl
The Mystery Of William In Katoomba
I have no idea where some of the old prints in my collection come from. This particular picture, however, comes from Tatler's Candid Camera Studio in Katoomba, New South Wales. I can also tell you that it features the unmistakable features of William O'Neill. How William got from one side of the world to the … Continue reading The Mystery Of William In Katoomba
Drainpipes At The Charity Gala
I took this photograph over fifty years ago at the Halifax Charity Gala. Even though it was the infamous "swinging sixties"; times were simpler then, and high-tech entertainment consisted of a hardboard bowing alley and some half drainpipes.
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