Looking back at my life, I must say that there have not been all that many times when I have been happier than when I was sitting in a pub. It isn't easy to analyse the attraction: it's not necessarily the drink - I'm quite happy to let a single pint share my evening with … Continue reading Some Thoughts On Pubs
Author: Alan Burnett
Regenerative Pastures
Enough of all this modern stuff, with seagulls screaming and tall ships leaving. It's back home and back in time, back forty or more years, back to a Halifax in transition. Carpets had gone but commerce hadn't arrived, the chimneys were smokeless, but the trees hadn't grown. Ponies grazed on regenerative pastures.
The Leaving Of Liverpool
It's not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me,But the thought I might not be home in time for tea.
Seagull Landing
The building in the background is the rather magnificent former Birkenhead Town Hall. The bird in the foreground is a seagull who told me his name was Stanley. The photographer was simply a visitor to Birkenhead.
An Iconic Daffodil
When I was a little lad we would come to New Brighton on holiday. We would get the train to Liverpool and then take the Mersey ferry "across the water". Very often, that ferry would be the Royal Daffodil. It was a delight to see a later version of that iconic vessel moored in Canning … Continue reading An Iconic Daffodil
Here’s One I Took Then
Going To Liverpool today. I was there this time last year. Here's one I took then.
The Lord Of Lancashire
I bought a collection of old documents on eBay the other day, and amongst them was a share certificate from the South Lancashire Land Company. It was issued in 1873 and, as far as I can see, has never been cancelled. It would therefore appear that I own a bit of South Lancashire. We're going … Continue reading The Lord Of Lancashire
Street In Brighouse
I've always called this photograph "Street In Brighouse" because I have never been quite sure which street it was. I'm pretty certain it was Brighouse - the rest of the photographs on the same strip of negatives were certainly in and around Brighouse. As I travel through the town, even to this day, I try … Continue reading Street In Brighouse
Pawn Brokers, Heel Breakers And Empty Prams
This was taken in London more than half a century ago. My future wife was living in North London at the time, and I would make my way there from the station, as always, taking pictures as I walked. These "nothing in particular" photographs turn out to be rich sources of social history: pawn brokers, … Continue reading Pawn Brokers, Heel Breakers And Empty Prams
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