Bradford City Fire Disaster - 28th Anniversary

A memorial service was held in Centenary Square this morning marking the 28th anniversary of the Bradford City fire disaster.  Fifty six people lost their lives and many more were injured in a fire that engulfed the grandstand at Bradford City Football Club during a match against Lincoln City in 1985.  Wreaths were laid at the Bradford Fire Memorial by the Lord Mayors of Bradford and Lincoln, the Fire Service, relatives of the bereaved and representatives of Bradford City AFC.

Speak Out - No To Harassment

This giant megaphone in Centenary Square was part of an event aimed at highlighting problems of verbal abuse and sexual intimidation in the city.  As well as this huge megaphone there was a demonstration of self defense techniques aimed at escaping an attack or abduction, and a large map where passers by could attach a marker at locations where they felt unsafe.  Volunteers were also on hand to show residents how to report incidents of harassment.  I'd just like to add that I don't think Bradford is any worse than other large UK cities for this kind of behaviour, but it's good to see people out on the street raising awareness of the situation.

Bradford Epilepsy Action 10k

The Epilepsy Action 10k was held in Bradford yesterday, starting and finishing in Centenary Square.  The event should have been held last month but was postponed due to bad weather conditions.  The event was won by Bradford Airedale Athletic Club runner Tesfaye Debele with a time of 31 minutes and 2 seconds.

St George's Day Parade 2013

Scouts marching from Centenary Square along Market Street on their way to Bradford Cathedral for a special service to mark St Georges Day, possibly for the last time.  The event has been marshalled by the police for many years but due to financial constraints the scouts will have to pay for marshalling from their own funds from now on, which may mean there will be no parade at all next year.

Flying Scotsman Endurance Rally 2013

This event sounded incredible, a three day endurance rally starting in Hertfordshire and finishing in Scotland at the Gleneagles Hotel, traveling in pre-war cars along some of the remotest country lanes with timed sections thrown in for good measure. The participants were stopping for lunch on day two at Skipton, twenty miles west of Bradford, I couldn't resist going along. 
Over 100 vehicles were taking part in the rally with driver and navigator in period dress and some absolutely fabulous cars, like the one in the picture, a 1912 Chalmers 10 with a 7.5 litre engine.  These cars must be quite difficult to drive, very heavy steering, drum brakes, skinny tyres, driver and passenger open to the elements, nice on a sunny day, but not so nice in wind and rain. A fantastic event for participants and spectators alike.

Vaisakhi Celebrations

The annual Vaisakhi celebrations took place this weekend in Bradford.  Thousands of followers of the Sikh faith took part in a procession which called at each of the Sikh temples in the city.  The picture was taken at the Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara.

Bolling Hall Reopening

Hmm, a bit of a surreal picture, the Lord Mayor of Bradford with two visitors from the middle ages and a large blue and white bear.  It was the official reopening of Bolling Hall museum at the weekend after recent refurbishment work on the building, parts of which date back to the 1370s, and also the official opening of a small public library in one of the rooms there, which will be open during museum opening hours.  There was also a family fun day being held as part of the celebrations which explains the bear, still think the picture looks a little bizarre though.

Fair Fun At The Funfair

The weather has finally warmed after weeks of bitterly cold winds, and people have started to venture out of their houses.  Out into the garden to tidy up, to put a few plants in and maybe to cut the grass, or out for a walk in the countryside or the local park.  Lister Park was very busy today, probably because of the weather, and probably because of this visiting funfair.

One Year On

     It's almost a year since the mirror pool opening ceremony took place.  People still stop at the poolside, even on a cold and wet March day.  I think this group were on their way to the World Book Day celebrations in Centenary Square.

How do you see yourself?

  This is one of the interactive displays at the National Media Museum.  I'm not really quite sure what point the display is trying to convey, in one picture I'm nearer the camera, and in the other I'm slightly further away and at a slightly different angle, puzzling really.  I think I look a bit like a ghost in both pictures though, so if you visit the museum and see a strange apparition (with a camera), it could be me!

Beware Of Trains

     I spent a couple of hours at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway yesterday morning.  The heritage steam railway society was holding its annual Winter Steam Gala, a weekend (well, three days actually) of  special events on the Keighley to Oxenhope branch line.  The picture was taken at  a pedestrian crossing point just below Oxenhope station and shows locomotive No. 80002, which I believe is shortly to be taken out of service for a major overhaul, on its downward journey to Haworth and Keighley stations.

Too Much Energy?

     Some people have just got too much energy.

Sophie Ryder Sculptures - Cartwright Hall

     This is one of a pair of large scale sculptures by artist Sophie Ryder currently on display at Cartwright Hall.  The sculptures are made from galvanized wire, lots and lots of it, formed into these huge mythical creatures.   Unusual, striking, and impressive.

Chinese New Year Festival 2013 - Leeds

     There was not a great deal going on in Bradford this weekend so my wife and I took a trip to Leeds for the Chinese New Year Festival and the year of the snake.  It's quite a colourful event, held in the concert hall at Leeds Town Hall, a marvellous venue for a marvellous event.

Bradford Industrial Museum

     It was one of those nasty winter days yesterday, rain, sleet, snow, and strong winds, so I spent an hour at the Bradford Industrial Museum.  The upper floor of the museum contains a large selection of textile machines, from the earliest weaving looms to machines probably built in the 1960's, many of them manufactured here in West Yorkshire. These older machines were really built to last and were exported to countries all over the world and I wouldn't be surprised if there were still a few of them running in some distant region.  The machine in the picture was built by Smith & Sons, Royd Works, Keighley..

Jamia Markazi Mosque - Parade

     A parade was held in the Aire valley town of Keighley on Sunday to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Mohammad.  Several hundred members of the Keighley Muslim Association took part in the annually held procession which started at the Jamia Markazi Mosque in Emily Street and proceeded through the streets of Keighley, stopping at intervals for warm drinks, food and prayers.

Windy Westgate

     Westgate is at the top end of Bradford and it always seems to be windy up there, even when it's not particularly windy in the rest of Bradford.  Well it was particularly windy in the rest of Bradford earlier today, so it was very, very windy in Westgate.

Misty Morning

     Another picture from yesterday down at the river, taken before the sun had burnt off the early morning mist.  I haven't done anything to the picture in photoshop, except convert it to black and white.  All that snow has now entirely  gone.  A change in temperature and heavy overnight rain has melted it all away.

Overnight Snow

     Joggers, dog walkers (and photographers) were out enjoying glorious sunshine this morning after fairly heavy overnight snow.  This section of path runs alongside the river Aire at Thackley, the area of land on the left of the picture is to be built on at some time in the future, a shame really as this is a nice habitat for wildlife, and as you can see it's also popular with humans (and dogs, and photographers)!

Protest Against Shia Killings

     A demonstration  was held in the centre of Bradford last Monday to draw attention to the killing of members of the Shia Community in Pakistan.  Around a hundred protesters gathered outside of the Pakistani Consulate, some of them from the area in Pakistan where a recent targeted bombing took place, a bombing which claimed the lives of many Shia Muslims.  The demonstration was peaceful but the protesters were angry at the failure of the Pakistani authorities to protect the ordinary citizens of Pakistan.