It's a grainy old photograph of a bus stop in Halifax. When I took it fifty-odd years ago, I'm not sure what I thought I was taking. In retrospect (one of the most powerful lenses available to any photographer) I captured a slice of social history. There is something about the confident walk of the … Continue reading Home 3 : Bus Stop In Halifax
Category: Old Halifax
Home 2 : Bank Bottom, Halifax
The second picture in my "Home" collection is this photograph of Bank Bottom, Halifax, which I took somewhere around 1970. Square Church spire is framed by the old Riding Hall Carpet Mill and the Halifax Gas Works. If you would like to see this picture in person, it is currently on view as part of … Continue reading Home 2 : Bank Bottom, Halifax
Home 1 : Halifax Piece Hall
I decided to gather together some of my favourite photographs under a variety of headings: home, away, family, strangers etc. It is a pointless project, and therefore one I am particularly drawn to. This is the first photo in the "Home" category. I took it over half a century ago. It was home then. It's … Continue reading Home 1 : Halifax Piece Hall
Pain And Suffering In Downtown Halifax Part II
This was one of the first posts I ever put up on my blog, I posted it fifteen years ago in 2006. It came to mind because .... this morning started with a visit to the dentist! Actually, in the intervening fifteen years the dentist has moved, even closer to the town centre. Whist waiting … Continue reading Pain And Suffering In Downtown Halifax Part II
Reclining Figure, Halifax 1970
One of the least known of Henry Moore's monumental sculptures is his 1970 Reclining Figure which has been on permanent display in Halifax for the last fifty years. In order to overcome the civic antipathy to major arts projects, Moore cleverly disguised the sculpture as an overpass.
Spot The Difference
Social Media is full of memes proclaiming "You have an IQ of over 150 if you can spot the difference between these two pictures!" You don't need an IQ the size of Wainhouse Tower to spot the differences here, but you could probably host a seminar on the social, cultural and photographic differences on display. … Continue reading Spot The Difference
A Return To The Shoulder Of Mutton
We took a walk yesterday down the Shibden Valley with some friends, and finished up at the Shoulder Of Mutton pub in Northowram, which was open for outdoor service. We had a pleasant drink and some excellent food and eventually the discussions got around to the pub itself and its history. Google eventually led me … Continue reading A Return To The Shoulder Of Mutton
Shame About The Moral Philosophy
Heywood Chapel, Northowram, (Alan Burnett c1973) Although I was born in Bradford, I was raised in Halifax, and, in particular, in the village of Northowram. It was there that I first wandered the streets, looked at buildings and thought about the past. It was there that I went to school, rode my first bike, and … Continue reading Shame About The Moral Philosophy
Arsenic And Old HAlifax
It's time for another helping of mindless rants from some self-obsessed old fool with too much time on his hands. Now, I know what you're thinking - it will be something like "You are being a little too hard on yourself .... but, there again, I can see where you are coming from"; but you … Continue reading Arsenic And Old HAlifax
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