We are quite proud of our gibbet here in Halifax. For those unfamiliar with the town and its somewhat unique approach to the punishment of petty criminals, a gibbet was an early form of guillotine used in Halifax to decapitate thieves between the 13th and 17th centuries. The gibbet featured in the photo I took … Continue reading Decapitating Shadows
Tag: Halifax
The Arts And Crafts Town
I've shared this photograph of Blackledge in Halifax before - not on my daily calendar, however - but it warrants a second outing. I think it was about 1982 when I took it, and Beacon Hill was just beginning to gather the verdant covering we are familiar with today. If you ever needed to give … Continue reading The Arts And Crafts Town
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
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
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
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
Old Friend, Old Pub, Old Ship
A very good old friend came to visit yesterday and we went for lunch to a very good old inn. I've been visiting the Old White Beare in Norwood Green for more than half a century, but that's only a moment in the life of this 500-year-old village pub. Some of the timbers within the … Continue reading Old Friend, Old Pub, Old Ship
We Love The Hebble Day
The Hebble Brook has an odd relationship with the town of Halifax. Over history, it has had such a defining impact on the town, carving its valleys and draining its hills, and yet now it slips almost unnoticed towards its rendezvous with the Calder - sometimes above ground, sometimes culvert-deep in the darkness. I demand … Continue reading We Love The Hebble Day
Feel The Rain
Grey rain on grey roof slates and smoke dawdling out of endless chimneys: two of the memories of my youth that are encapsulated in this photograph of mine of Brighouse back in the 1960s. Close your eyes and you can smell the smoke; put out your hand and you can feel the rain.
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