Geologists sometimes date rocks by reference to seismic events, mass extinctions and the like. I tend to do the same with my old photographs. This photo of Halifax Borough Market fits into the pre-decimal period which means I must have taken it over 50 years ago.
Category: Old Halifax
Albert And The Machine
This is one of my favourite photographs from the family archives - or rather the box of old photographs that has been given that somewhat grandiose title. It features my father, Albert, and a group of other mechanics, gathered around a machine that looks like a prop from a 1950s low-budget science fiction film. I … Continue reading Albert And The Machine
Home 6 : A Bridge Too Far
The line went from Halifax Station to North Bridge Station via the Gas Works. At one time it carried people and goods to exotic places like Ovenden and Queensbury. It was closed in the 1950s and, thirty years later, the solid stone structure was demolished. It had become a bridge too far.
Home 5 : Halifax In The Monochrome Age
These days you can get Artificial Intelligence to add colour to old black and white photos, but if you tried it with my picture from 50+ years ago, it would never get it right. It would make the grass green when, in fact, it was a dirty seaweed colour, the stone would be rich and … Continue reading Home 5 : Halifax In The Monochrome Age
Home 4 : Stone And Sweat
Halifax in the 1970s. Carpet mills rub sticky shoulders with toffee factories, and there isn’t a nail bar in sight. The colourful Quality Street images were for tin lids: these streets were cobbled in stone and sweat.
Home 3 : Bus Stop In Halifax
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
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
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