Day Of Action - Centenary Square

A large crowd gathered in Centenary Square this morning to protest against proposed government cuts to public sector pensions. Some of the protesters had marched from the Bradford Urban Garden and through the city streets before arriving at the TUC organised rally.
Union officials made speeches from the steps of City Hall to a crowd that was attentive, good-humoured and, er, just a bit noisy!

Strike - Bradford

Thousands of public sector workers across the country are expected to be on strike tomorrow. A large number of supporters of the strike are expected to attend a rally in Centenary Square organised by the Trades Union Congress. I'm hoping to attend the rally and may be able to put some pictures on the blog tomorrow.

Skipton Santa Fun Run

The weather was bright and blustery for The Great Skipton Santa Run today. The market town of Skipton is located about twenty miles West of Bradford and holds this Santa run to raise money for charity. The runners, several hundred of them, start their run from a nearby park and then head for the town centre. The picture shows some of the runners passing through the churchyard at the top of the High Street. This years charities are the Sue Ryder Hospice, the Martin House Hospice for Children and the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association.

Bradford Chorale - Bradford Industrial Museum

A Victorian Christmas market was held at the Bradford Industrial Museum today. Eighty stalls selling Christmas gifts were located around the museum with stallholders, staff and entertainers wearing Victorian costume. Members of the Bradford Chorale provided the Christmas carols, and beautifully sung they were too!

(Apologies for the quality of the picture, it was taken on my old compact camera which doesn't work well in low light).

Ice Sculpture - Kirkgate

This is one of the exhibits on the ice sculpture trail at last Saturdays Fire and Ice event. This one was in Kirkgate, one of the busiest shopping areas in Bradford.

Breakdancing Santas - Fire and Ice

A pair of breakdancing santas battle it out against local crews in Centenary Square. The Fire & Ice event at the weekend was really good fun. Who won in the battle of the breakers? Well I'm going to be diplomatic here and say it was a draw!

Fireworks Display - Fire And Ice

A large crowd gathered in Centenary Square for this spectacular fireworks display on Saturday. The display preceded the Christmas lights switch on and was part of the Fire & Ice event.

Ice Sculpture - Fire And Ice

This ice sculpture was part of an ice sculpture trail around the town centre on Saturday. I've never seen one of these sculptures being made before, from a solid block of ice to the finished article takes quite a while so I kept returning to see how work was progressing. The finished article was quite impressive but I don't think it will have lasted very long, the weather has been fairly mild for the time of year.

Christmas Crackers

These two Christmas crackers were definitely crackers at yesterdays 'Fire and Ice' event in the town centre. I believe the town council wisely spent their budget on entertainers rather than a big celebrity act to switch on the Christmas lights, there was certainly plenty to entertain shoppers throughout the afternoon.

Fire And Ice - Bradford

The start of festive shopping in Bradford has been marked by a Christmas light switching on event today. The entertainment included ice sculptures, street entertainers, a dramatic fireworks display, and this large mobile robot which reminded me of the Terminator films, a bit unusual and a bit scary, it actually frightened some of the younger children as it made its way through the streets.

Topiary

These shrubs stand at the entrance to an office block in the city centre, I don't know who looks after them, but they seem to be doing a good job with the box trees.

Newsagent - Ivegate

This newsagents shop is in Ivegate in the centre of Bradford, the items in the window are, I think, hookah pipes.

Northcliffe Park

The main entrance to Northcliffe Park is situated on the busy Bradford to Keighley road at Shipley. The upward path from the park gates takes you away from all the traffic noise, past playing fields and allotments and onto this high ground, very pleasant, even on a dull autumn day.

Remembrance Sunday

A dull and damp but not particularly cold morning for the remembrance day parade and wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Bradford. The picture shows the parade returning to Centenary Square and City Hall after the ceremony.

Scroggling The Holly - Haworth

The start of Christmas shopping was marked by a 'scrogging the holly' event in the main street of Haworth today. Local children were accompanied by a stout gentleman called a 'beagle' to the church steps. Apparently a beagle was an officer of the law before we had policemen.

Delius Sculpture

I was taking a look at the Delius Sculpture in Exchange Square the other day and I noticed that you could see a reflection of leaves on a nearby tree in the glass panels. The sculpture itself is based on a skeletal leaf.

Stage Door - St. Georges Hall

I was passing St. Georges Hall in the centre of Bradford earlier today and noticed that the stage door was looking a bit tatty, in need of a coat of paint, and that the step was quite worn. How many people, I wondered, must have crossed that threshold since the building was opened in 1853, famous people, John Barbirolli, Janet Baker, the rock group Genesis. I remember Genesis coming to Bradford, it must have been in the late 1970's, they were probably the biggest rock band around at the time, fans queued all night for tickets, it was a really big thing. I used to sit at the bar in a pub opposite St. Georges Hall, the manager of St Georges would sometimes come in for a drink. Shortly after Genesis went on stage he came in for a drink, astonished pub-goers wanted to know why he wasn't watching the concert. He replied that he did not like pop music, any kind of pop music and that he would rather listen to Elisabeth Schwarzkopf any day of the week, he really didn't like pop music, any kind of pop music, not even Cliff Richard.

Patient Gull - Whitby

The gulls at Whitby can sometimes be a bit of a nuisance. This one was quite patient, it waited next to this couple eating fish and chips until eventually the chap turned and offered the gull a piece of his lunch, naturally the bird accepted.

Whitby Goth Weekend

I visited the seaside town of Whitby at the weekend for one of the twice yearly Goth events. Goths from all over the country gather in the town to parade up and down the narrow cobbled streets, posing from time to time for the large number of photographers also at the event. I've been to these Goth events before, and you do see some unusual things, like the babies in the picture. They are not real babies, they look just like real babies, you think they are real babies, but they are not, they are incredibly lifelike dolls, creepy or what!

Anti-Capitalist Protest - Bradford

Not exactly on the scale of the London protest, but Bradford has its own anti-capitalist demonstration in Centenary Square. The picture was taken last Sunday morning, there may be more tents there now.

Autumn Colour - Lister Park

It doesn't seem long since I was stood in this spot looking at spring flowers, and now it's autumn, I don't know where the summer went. Still, autumn is a nice time of year, and there should be a few more weeks before the trees lose all their leaves, so we may as well make the most of it.

BMX Bikers - Belle Isle Road

I was driving back from the Halloween parade at Haworth on Sunday when I spotted these BMX bikers practising at the side of the road. I'm no expert on BMX, but these lads looked pretty good at it.