In the midst of busy family photographs, you sometimes find a special moment: a look, a touch, a smile that can scream down the generations and remind you that the great thing about common humanity is that it is common to all. This photograph was taken shortly after my brother, Roger, was born in 1943. … Continue reading A Look
I Will Return
Whilst on a walk yesterday, I got to thinking about all the things I have missed over this last lockdown year. There are, of course, family and friends, holidays in the sun, meals out and parties at home. And there is the pub: that depot of contented neutrality, that refuge from the outside world; that … Continue reading I Will Return
History Hits You With A Punch
We had a computer when I was at university. When I say "we", I mean the university had a computer. Just the one. An enormous mainframe job which had a building to itself. If you were lucky you might get to use it once in your university career. When I say "you" would get to … Continue reading History Hits You With A Punch
Brighouse River And Bank
This photograph of mine of Brighouse from fifty or more years ago has always been one of my favourites, and for years I have assume that it was taken from River Street, looking west towards the town. Stuck in the fag-end of lockdown, I have little better to do with my time these days but … Continue reading Brighouse River And Bank
Impossible Honley
We took a walk around Honley yesterday, with its cobbled streets and picturesque stone cottages. It was all very pretty and a welcome escape from a lockdown winter, but by the end of the walk I wasn't sure what was real and what was imagined.
‘Nuff Said!
First Day Of Spring. 'Nuff Said.
Leather Settees And Decorative Bournemouth
I am not sure which seaside this "seaside snap" from the 1930s was taken at. If it was any other member of my family I would say Bridlington, Scarborough , Blackpool, or - if they were being adventurous - Skegness. This, however, is Auntie Annie (left) and Uncle Harry (second from left), and they led a … Continue reading Leather Settees And Decorative Bournemouth
Grass Is Green, Sky Is Blue
To prove a point I made yesterday, here is a hand-coloured postcard view the Lock-keepers cottage at Salterhebble from around 1905. The artificial intelligence behind this bit of colouring would have been a studio artist, but they would have worked on the same basis as their modern AI equivalent: grass is green, sky is blue, … Continue reading Grass Is Green, Sky Is Blue
50 Shades Of Reality
An old negative of mine from 50 years ago with a dusting of colour provided by some Artificial Intelligence App. The results of such experiments remind me of the artificial colouring of vintage postcards during the first decade of the twentieth century: the results are not exactly accurate, but are attractive to the eye and … Continue reading 50 Shades Of Reality
