Misery Carved In Granite

When my time comes, I wouldn't mind a memorial like this. There's an appropriate look of regret at the passing of the person whose grave she keeps watch over (at a cemetery in Bradford). There's none of your "it's a blessed relief" or "we can now clear the house of all his junk". Just misery … Continue reading Misery Carved In Granite

Visual Toothache

I took the photograph that was the start of this image the other day as I wandered around Halifax waiting for my dental appointment. Since then, I have poked and prodded it, scraped and flossed it, and finished up with something which is quite pleasant to look at. Not sure you can say the same … Continue reading Visual Toothache

In Praise Of Picture Postcards

I miss picture postcards: that unique combination of image and words and that alignment of the public picture and the private message. They have survived a century or more and provide us with a bookmark for all our history and for all our yesterdays. This one - featuring the Scottish town of Alexandria - was … Continue reading In Praise Of Picture Postcards

Living In The Stream

There is something rather sad about the fact that this is an unknown family member - such a characterful face, such a promising pose, should never become unknown. But she lives on, she graces multiple streams of social media, she continues to radiate charm, long after the horse-hair stuffing has deserted the armchair.

A Surrealistic Vision

It is now sixty years since I came across this scene - somewhere above Claremount Road in Halifax if I remember rightly - but it's a sight I'll never forget. It's almost as though someone had carefully composed the scene, bringing together car, cart, bathtub and a couple of old masters in order to create … Continue reading A Surrealistic Vision

Selo – The Fast Film

I went digging in one of the endless boxes of old photographs that are slowly taking over our house and came up with not a photograph, but a colourful envelope used to deliver negatives and prints back in the 1930s. Oh, you digital slaves of Smarty McSmart phones, you don't know what you are missing … Continue reading Selo – The Fast Film

Repetitive Halifax

In the best part of the five years I have been sharing my picture-a-day calendar, I have tried to avoid using the same image more than once, but occasionally I have slipped up. I now realise that I used this photo of mine of Halifax in the 1980s back in September 2024. This is a … Continue reading Repetitive Halifax

Robin Hood And Philosophy

I live my life in line with a number of philosophical precepts - one of the most important of which is "never walk past a pub without taking a photo of it as it might not be there the next time you pass!" When I passed the Robin Hood pub in Brighouse back in 2009, … Continue reading Robin Hood And Philosophy

Steps Into Halifax

I'm not entirely sure which stone staircase in Halifax this was; there were - and there still are - dozens of them: over rivers and railway lines, over roads, and over nothing in particular. We just like steps in these parts; they break the monotony of life, they keep us fit, and they create dramatic … Continue reading Steps Into Halifax