The Cuppa Stop

Most car journeys of my youth would involve stopping for a cup of tea. If it was a short journey - one of the regular weekend "runs" around West Yorkshire - there would be a flask of milky tea. Longer journeys - those day trips to Bridlington of Blackpool - might necessitate a Camping Gas … Continue reading The Cuppa Stop

Fish Heads And Ice

1001 PHOTOS No. 30 GRIMSBY FISH DOCKS (1985) It's the first chapter in the story of fish and chips: a concrete palace lined with fish heads and ice. The photograph dates from the 1980s: a time when I would escape to the rare beauty of Cleethorpes and Grimsby Fish Docks whenever I got the opportunity.

Triumph Of The Grey

An old fire escape and a new flyover; course concrete and bilious billboards: for me the 1980s always seemed like a monochrome decade. There was black and white and not much in-between, and we seem to be moving in that direction again. Oh, for the triumph of grey.

Brighouse In Transition

1001 PHOTOS  29 : BRIGHOUSE IN TRANSITION : This photo of mine from the 1960s shows Brighouse from the hillside above Clifton. It captures the town in transition. Look carefully and you can still see working mills before they became apartments, and flour silos before they became climbing walls. You can also see new industry … Continue reading Brighouse In Transition

Victory & Bovril

28/1001 - Victory & Bovril : My quest to identify 1001 interesting photos I took before I died continues. This was 1968, I was probably chanting some anti-war slogan as I marched from Trafalgar Square to Grosvenor Square, but I still had my camera to hand to capture the occasion.

Somewhere In Scotland

The original photograph was taken almost 60 years ago, somewhere in Scotland. As the years have gone by the original negative has faded, the grain has been pixilated, and the event has been turned into a memory. It remains, somewhere in Scotland.

Britannia Amongst The Chimney Pots

There are some scenes I return to again and again: photographs I have been taking for fifty years. One such is the statue of Britannia which overlooks Elland Bridge from her elevated position on the roof of the former premises of the Halifax and Huddersfield Banking Company. Sometimes I try and capture her in an … Continue reading Britannia Amongst The Chimney Pots

STREET SYMMETRY

I think I took this photo somewhere in the Stoke-on-Trent area and, if so, it will have been the early 1970s. It's the symmetry that is so eye-catching: it's almost as if the cars are involved in some strange maypole dance around that central telegraph pole.

THE CLEAR OUT

I remember coming across this scene whilst walking, up Southowram I think, well over 50 years ago. It was almost as though someone had set out the various objects with a composition in mind. I like to think that the pictures were priceless antiques. I left them there.