The welcome news that Bradford is set to be the 2025 UK City Of Culture got me thinking about what on earth culture is? Whilst definitions abound, they all tend to be constructed from words and concepts that are about as sound and structured as a jellyfish's ribcage. Clearly culture occupies a seat right next … Continue reading Slam And Slide : Towards A Definition Of Culture
Category: Scanned Negatives
Frames Of Reference
Halifax Town Hall framed in stone. Both the town hall and the half-demolished building on Winding Road (which was probably the works of Haigh, Allan & Co, Brass Founders and Finishers) must be of a similar vintage, but when I took this photograph in 1969, one was going, and one, thank goodness, was staying.
Moral Condiments
Another of my photos from 1969, and it shows the two cooling towers - Salt and Pepper - at Halifax Power Station next to North Bridge. Between them can be seen the hill rising to Claremount, with, I believe, St Thomas Street Methodist Church at the top. It is said that it cost more to … Continue reading Moral Condiments
A Bevy Of Beanlands
My mother, Gladys (left), her sister, Amy (right), and between them someone I can't be sure of. The chances are that it is another Beanland relative, and it might be Ada Beanland. I know I must have taken the photograph in 1969, so I need to check whether Cousin Ada was still with us at … Continue reading A Bevy Of Beanlands
Remains And Foundations
A photograph of mine from the late 1960s shows Halifax in transition. It’s the area around Gaol Lane and Ann Street, caught between the remains of pubs, chapels and debtors prisons, and the foundations of stores, colleges and bus stations.
Colouring My Memory
This old photograph of mine from 52 years ago is not particularly inspiring. Unlike others on the same strip of negatives, it does not illustrate changes in landscape or architecture. It does, however, unleash a floodgate of personal memories, and it also illustrates a degree of technological change. The technology in question sits centre-stage on … Continue reading Colouring My Memory
Trees And Screens
Here is another of my photographs from the same walk around Brighouse fifty odd years ago. This one was taken from Brighouse Bridge looking down at the River Calder. Brighouse Gas Works and a variety of old industrial units can clearly be seen lining the river banks. So what has changed in half a century? … Continue reading Trees And Screens
A Commercial Death
A strange coincidence brought together a photograph and a story. The photograph was one of my own, and was taken over fifty years ago, just a mile or so from where I now live. It shows Huddersfield Road as it emerges from the town of Brighouse and the junction with Aire Street and Lords Lane. … Continue reading A Commercial Death
Taking Coal To Leeds
I must have taken this photograph over half a century ago, but I can still recall leaning over the bridge to take a photograph of this coal barge unloading its cargo in Leeds. The accuracy of my memory does not stretch to recalling which bridge it was, but I can get around that by simply … Continue reading Taking Coal To Leeds
alanburnett.com 