Month: December 2022

Getting A Tram To The Cemetery

Think of WhatsApp messages accompanied by fabulous photographs. Not photos of pouting lips or meaningless plates of food, but photographs that capture and preserve history. And thus you have picture postcards from one hundred years ago. Each one becomes an exploration, taking you through quiet graveyards or along disused tram lines. The cemetery along Lightcliffe … Continue reading Getting A Tram To The Cemetery

Fading In Halifax

I was flicking through the TV channels the other day, wondering whether to watch a concert from Australia, a quiz show from America or a cricket match from India, when I started getting bored with it all and reading an old newspaper instead. The newspaper was from one hundred years ago (Halifax Courier, Wednesday 10 … Continue reading Fading In Halifax

From Ward’s End To Hardcastle Craggs

I've recently acquired this picture postcard of Ward's End in Halifax. Although it is new to me, it is anything but new - having been posted the best part of one hundred years ago. The photograph on the front of the card is probably a good ten years older than that; dating from an age … Continue reading From Ward’s End To Hardcastle Craggs

Steam, Snow And Wortley

A day out with the family at Wortley Top Forge, near Sheffield. There were steam engines of every kind and a steam train that everyone could ride on. There was snow on the ground, ice on the lake and clouds of steam. There was even Santa Claus for the children. Blue skies and white frost … Continue reading Steam, Snow And Wortley

Reflections On Bull Green

Yet another of my photographs of Bull Green back in the 1960s. This one presents a bit of a challenge, however, because Bull Green and all its shops are seen as reflections in a car showroom window. You may recognise DOOWNEERG, the well-known bookshop, or you may be drawn to SNIWEL (but only if you … Continue reading Reflections On Bull Green

The Crown, The Bull, And The Griffin

I must have acquired this postcard of Bull Green in Halifax at some stage over the last fifty years. It's almost recent enough, and I'm almost old enough, to make me think I might have bought it new. Whatever its provenance, it hasn't been used, which somehow strips it of half its potential interest. There … Continue reading The Crown, The Bull, And The Griffin

Shelves Of Memories

Flicking through a copy of the Halifax Courier of the 13th December 1913, as one does, my attention is captured by an advert from Greenwoods, the Halifax booksellers. It's partly the design of the advert - the illustration and the typeface in finest art nouveau style. It's partly the tag-line "Established 1890 - Therefore in … Continue reading Shelves Of Memories

Faded Impressions Of Halifax

Over time, photographs fade and turn themselves into impressions. I took this photograph from the car park on top of the Halifax Bowl getting on for 60 years ago. The Brunswick Bowl is long gone, as, I am sure, is the car.  The photograph dates back to the mid 1960s: a time when Halifax was … Continue reading Faded Impressions Of Halifax