Author: Alan Burnett

Pretty Good

Let's start a new month with something pretty. This begins with a photograph I took a few years ago of a bit of land near Upper Edge, Elland, known locally as "The Wilderness". I fed that photograph into an AI machine and instructed it to come up with something interesting. This is the image that … Continue reading Pretty Good

Entering Slaithwaite

For status and gravitas, you can't beat a triumphal arch. Rome has several, Paris has a famous one, and now Donald Trump is getting in on the act in Washington. Few of them can match the triumphal arch you have to pass under when you enter Slaithwaite in West Yorkshire. Here's a photograph I took … Continue reading Entering Slaithwaite

This Is My Space

I know that look; I know that stance. This chap might be in a shed surrounded by pots of this and jars of that, and I might be in my room, buried under piles of paper and layers of ephemera. The message is the same, however: "This might look like chaos to you, but I know … Continue reading This Is My Space

Geometric Ramblings

The cubist painters of the early twentieth century revolutionised art by breaking objects down into geometric, fragmented forms. If Picasso, Georges Braque, and the rest had wanted a real challenge, they could have done a lot worse than coming to Halifax and applying Cubist techniques to Square Church. Once they had finished they could have popped … Continue reading Geometric Ramblings

Up Gog Hill

This is a photograph I took at the bottom of Gog Hill in Elland about fifty years ago. Because my in-laws were living near the top of Gog Hill at the time, I assume I was about to walk up the hill - which is a substantial climb at the best of times. Of course, … Continue reading Up Gog Hill

A Nice Collection

This postcard was sent from Budapest to North Wales 126 years ago, during the height of the early twentieth-century postcard-collecting boom. It dates from the period before the postcard backs were divided to accommodate both the address and the message, so any message had to be squeezed onto the front of the card. No problem … Continue reading A Nice Collection

Bank Holiday Monday

What better way to celebrate a Bank Holiday Monday than to stride across the green fields of Yorkshire, leaving the smoke-filled streets behind, and then scale the gorse-clad valley sides in search of a perfect English pub and a foaming pint of ale? Or, alternatively, you can retreat to the safety of your room - … Continue reading Bank Holiday Monday

Shared Art

These days, if you buy shares in a company, the best you can expect is a pro-forma PDF digital certificate - with all the elegance of a breeze block. Back in the last century, you'd receive a work of art to record your acquisition, with classical figures and semi-naked gods welcoming you into the realm … Continue reading Shared Art

Waiting For The Cable To Drop

This is an old photograph, picked at random from the boxes and drawers of old photographs I live with. There is nothing special about it - I have no idea who Mac and Burbidge were - other than that it sums up everything I love about old photographs. I could no doubt feed it through … Continue reading Waiting For The Cable To Drop