Firefighters Charity

These helmets for fire fighters were selling well in the town centre last Saturday. The yellow ones were for junior firemen and the pink ones were for junior firewomen, the proceeds were going to the Firefighters Charity.

Red Chairs - Centenary Square

These chairs have recently appeared outside of a recently refurbished restaurant in Centenary Square, quite a striking colour.

Cider Drinkers Bench

Most towns and cities have an area where alcoholics gather to drink away the day. Bradford has a few of these places including this park bench, no drinkers on this occasion but the evidence is there. Out of curiosity I tried to find out the price of a large three litre bottle of cider, £2.66 for a supermarket own brand 3 litre bottle, and I paid £1.40 for a cup of tea in a plastic cup the other day. So will I be changing from tea to cider? Well the answer is no as I had my first experience of drinking alcohol as a teenager with a large bottle of cider from a corner shop. They would sell you cider back then, but not beer or spirits. I was so ill the next day that I never touched the stuff again (cider, that is). I can't even stand the smell of it to this day. The government is trying to raise the price of cheap beer and cider, I don't know whether the policy will work, heavy drinkers will probaboly just move to illegal sources of alcohol, I don' really know if there is an answer to the problem.

Greek Protesters - City Hall Steps

These Greek protesters were on the steps of City Hall yesterday. They were trying to raise awareness of the financial and political situation in Greece at the moment. I believe most of the protesters were Greek students studying at university, some here in Bradford. The shot was set up by a professional photographer who was happy to let me take the same picture. I've got to give him credit as it's a better picture than I could have managed.

Mark Power - The Sound Of Two Songs

I visited the Impressions Gallery in Centenary Square this afternoon to attend a talk given by Magnum Photographer Mark Power. The talk was about Mark's recently completed project 'The Sound of Two Songs', a personal view of Poland, which is currently being exhibited at the gallery. I'm always fascinated by the different techniques photographers use to make their pictures and Mark gave us an insight into how he works. He uses a tripod mounted large format (5x4) camera and slow colour film which is unusual for a documentary photographer (he doesn't like classifying photographers as 'landscape' or 'documentary' but if pushed would say that he is a 'documentary' photographer) and often looks around an area without a camera before taking pictures. Mark did mention the cost of using such a camera, around £9.00 an exposure with film and developing costs and over 2,000 exposures made over the five year period of the project.
Mark kindly allowed me to take his picture and suggested the red background, which I like, but boy was I nervous when taking the picture!

(There is also a book available which contains more pictures than the exhibition).

Delivery Van - Manningham

A clever way to advertise your business. A stylish delivery van.

Roadside Cafe - Gargrave

Gargrave near Skipton is one of those places most people drive straight through. I find the place quite interesting though, it has a nice stretch of the river running through it, an old church, canal locks and this roadside cafe and sweet shop, and free car parking!

Freedom For Syria

It's a strange coincidence, but today I was going through the pictures of the Milad parade that I attended on Sunday, whilst listening to the radio, when the sad announcement was made that a journalist and photographer had been killed in Syria. I was actually looking at this picture. I hadn't noticed the label on the camera at the time I took the photograph and was just enlarging a section of it so that I could read the writing. I only hope the situation there is resolved soon as it seems the ordinary people, the people who just want to get on with their lives and live in peace are suffering the most.

Looking Out From The Steps

Lister Park from the steps of Cartwright Hall on a Sunday afternoon.

Milad un Nabi - Lumb Lane

A celebration and parade took place yesterday in Bradford to celebrate the birth of the prophet Muhammad. Thousands of Muslims took part in the parade, some arriving by coach from Preston and beyond. Gifts of food and drink were distributed at various points along the route which passed through the streets of the Manningham area. The chap in pink in the centre of the photograph (Pir Sahib) is an important Muslim cleric, and was, I beleive, the main guest.

Potato Day - Saltaire

The Exhibition hall at Saltaire was very busy yesterday with enthusiastic home growers stocking up with heritage and specialist varieties of potato. The picture was taken from a convenient balcony which runs around the top of the hall.

Wood Sculpture - St Ives Estate

This is one of a number of wood sculptures on a woodland walk at the St Ives Estate near Bingley. The 550 acre estate once belonged to the Ferrand family but is now run by Bradford Council.

Wycoller

I had intended to walk the Bronte Way over the winter months, in short sections, but unfortunately haven't made much progress so far. I will complete the walk but it will probably run on into the springtime. This is a picture taken at Wycoller, part way along the route. The ruin is Wycoller Hall which is believed to be 'Ferndean Manor' in the novel 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte.

Bradford City Of Film

Bradford was made the world's first UNESCO city of film in 2009, and I've just discovered that there is a 'Bradford Movie Trail'. The trail visits the locations of films made in the city and sites associated with film heritage in the Bradford area.

Talbot Hotel

This is the side entrance to the former Talbot Hotel in Bank Street in the City Centre. The hotel was built in 1878 to a design by architects Andrews & Pepper. The hotel took its name from a large hunting dog said to be capable of bringing down a fully grown stag, the breed is now extinct. The hotel closed in 1974 and the ground floor of the building is now used as a shop.

Toucan Crossing

Not the most exciting of pictures, but it's the first time I've managed to capture somebody using this combined pedestrian and bicycle crossing on a bike. A lot of effort is being put into the promotion of cycling at the moment, but I don't think Bradford is ever going to match places like York and Oxford for cycle use, this place is just too hilly!

Gravestones - St Paul's Church, Shipley

I was driving past St Paul's Church and noticed these gravestones with a dusting of snow on them. The gravestones must have been moved from the graveyard at some point as they now stand propped up against the perimeter wall. I drive past the church regularly but never stop to look around. The church itself looks quite interesting and worth a picture, but I think I'll wait until the weather warms up a bit, it was absolutely freezing this morning!

National Cycle Network - Route 66

These finger posts for the National Cycle Network route 66 have appeared recently in the town centre. I haven't seen any publicity for them in the local news but I believe the route links the Leeds-Liverpool canal with the Spen Valley Greenway via Bradford town centre. When the weather warms up a bit (it's very cold and wet at the moment) I will cycle the route and post some pictures.

Phone Boxes - Channing Way

Can't help feeling these phone boxes look a little out of place (too modern) outside of City Hall.

Saltaire In The Snow

The United Reformed Church at Saltaire, part of the original model village built by Sir Titus Salt. Sir Titus is buried in mausoleum on the south side of the church.

Saltaire Llamas

These two bronze statues stand in front of the Half Moon Cafe in Roberts Park at Saltaire, they are generally referred to as the 'llamas' but I think they are more likely to be Alpaca.

Keighley

The town of Keighley lies in the Aire valley, roughly nine miles northwest of Bradford and in some ways mirrors Bradford in that it was built largely on the wealth of the textile industry, an industry which has now sadly all but disappeared. The town also has a large Muslim community, arriving mainly from Bangladesh and the Mirpur region of Pakistan in the 1960's and working in the textile industry, a very similar story to that of Bradford.
I went along to the Markazi Jamia Mosque today for a parade, a celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, which took place in the streets of Keighley. The picture above shows a typical side street and the mosque in the distance.
(There are some pictures of the parade on my Flickr stream).

Trike In The Park - Saltaire

I'm always interested in unusual bicycles, or tricycles, and this one really is unusual as it has an electric motor as well as pedal power. The motor is built into the wheel hub at the rear and the battery is in the compartment between the front wheels, energy from the braking system is also used to charges up the battery. The acceleration of the machine is quite remarkable and it looks great fun to ride, particularly in an empty Roberts Park at Saltaire. I had a very brief chat with Tom, the rider, who kindly let me take this picture, and who also mentioned that he regretted the decision to wear shorts, it was very very cold!

First World War Memorial

The First World War Memorial in Bradford was designed by local architect Walter Williamson and built from locally quarried stone. The monument was unveiled on the 1st July 1922, the 6th anniversary of the first day of the battle of the Somme when the Bradford Pals Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment suffered massive losses. Both the bronze figure on this side of the monument and the figure of the sailor on the other side caused some controversy because of their fixed bayonets and aggressive stances. The bayonets were eventually removed and are temporarily replaced on Remembrance Day.

City Hall Reflection

A reflection in the new mirror pool of City Hall, the building was opened in 1873 and designed by local architects Lockwood and Mawson. Mounted high up on City Hall , somewhere, there is a web cam which looks down onto the mirror pool, I think it records one picture a day or posts one picture a day to the Internet. If the pictures were run together you would have a speeded up version of the construction of the pool. Just imagine though, if a web cam had been installed in 1873 (yes, I know they weren't invented then), wouldn't it be fascinating, numerous mill chimneys on the skyline, smoke blackened buildings, trams, trolley buses, buildings being built, buildings being demolished, and there might even be an odd frame with me on it, trudging to school with my leather bag full of homework that I hadn't done (that's in the 1970's not the 1870's).

Garage Door Artwork

I quite like the artwork on this garage door. The garage adjoins the Treehouse Cafe which in turn stands next to Desmond Tutu House. The cafe serves locally sourced vegetarian meals and is believed to be the first Fairtrade cafe in the UK.