Bradford Classic Car Show 2012 - Serious Headlights

Serious headlights on this car, I think it was a rally spec Subaru.  They could be quite useful though in Bradford, picking out all those potholes in the road at night.

Bradford Classic Car Show 2012

I initially thought that this magnificent Jaguar car was an original model, but it is actually a replica, built by the owner, sat in the driver's seat there.  He apparently did own an original model back in 1959 but did not keep it all that long as it was a single seater and was not really all that practical to drive around in.  He did stumble across that original car 40 years later, purely by chance, and it was then valued at 1.5 million pounds, he had sold it for around 380 pounds all those years earlier, quite a substantial sum in those days, enough to buy a house.  If  I've got my facts right, this replica took him ten years to build and he does use it quite a lot, having covered over 10,000 miles since the car was put on the road.  I did have a look under the bonnet at that lovely 6 cylinder Jaguar engine, there was also a spare set of spark plugs mounted on a little rack in the engine bay, what were they for?  " Racing plugs - these cars were never meant to be driven slowly!"

Radio Roy

This is my good friend Roy Hampson from the Yorkshire town of Castleford.  Roy contacted me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that he was appearing at a restaurant in the Yorkshire Dales and would be entertaining a coach party on a mystery tour, and he thought the visitors would be from the Bradford area.  The coach party was actually from Pudsey, not a million miles from Bradford, an over 55's active group who really seemed to enjoy Roy's 1940's style disc jockey (or is that radio presenter, I don't think they had DJ's back then) act.  Roy is also a photographer and writer, his work appears on a fairly regular basis in Yorkshire Ridings magazine and his articles also appear in nostalgia magazines such as Down Your Way.  You can catch up with Roy and see some of his pictures on his Facebook page.

Just A Bucket And Spade - Holy Island

I can remember letting my kids play at this exact spot, next to the causeway on Holy Island.  It doesn't take much to keep kids happy at this age, just a bucket and spade.  This little lad is being called by his father, it's time to go, but he is not going anywhere, he wants to stay right here!

Viking Raiders - Lindisfarne Priory



I'm sorry there have not been any posts for a few days as I have been away on holiday, up to the Northumberland coast and a Holy Island occupied by Viking raiders.  The Viking re-enactors set up camp in the grounds of Lidisfarne Priory to demonstrate Viking skills such as woodworking, braid making and the making of leather goods, and to re-enact a battle using real weapons, very educational and very entertaining! 

Juggler - Ripon Market Square

This juggler was part of the St Wilfrid's Day entertainment in the market Square, Ripon, last Saturday.

St Wilfrid - Ripon

A solemn looking St Wilfrid about to turn the corner into the market square at Ripon. I had to abandon picture taking at this point as the rain was just too heavy, there was still quite a crowd waiting to see the procession pass through the square, and I did manage to catch up with St Wilfrid a little later when the rain eased off.

St Wilfrid's Feast Procession - Ripon

Not Bradford I know, but I thought you might like to see some pictures of the annual St Wilfrid's day parade in the cathedral town (oops, city) of Ripon which lies about thirty miles north of Bradford.
The cathedral at Ripon is dedicated to St Wilfrid and the parade is led by an actor playing the part of the Saint on horseback, followed by musicians, dancers and colourful floats.  The parade lasts around three hours as it zig-zags its way through the narrow streets until it finally arrives at the cathedral where a special St Wilfrid's Day service is held. 

Lister Park Bandstand - Caribbean Samples

I had to do a bit of running backwards and forwards last Sunday, Caribbean Samples were playing a blend of soul and reggae in the bandstand at Lister Park, and the Games In The Park event was in full swing at the same time.  The band play at pubs and clubs in and around Bradford and also play at weddings.  I've also had a quick look at their website and they supply reggae samples and loops (don't quite know exactly what that means), I did have a tape recorder with seven inch reels at one time, but I think things have moved on a bit since then!

Games In The Park - BD4 Youth Dance Group

This was an impressive piece of choreography by the BD4 Youth Dance Group, performed to a Caribbean tinged version of Dave Brubeck's Take Five at the Games In The Park event on Sunday. The group of thirteen to eighteen year olds have performed before in Centenary Square and were due to appear at the Bradford Mela which was sadly cancelled due to bad weather earlier this year.

Games In The Park - Scouts With A Boxing Glove

This enthusiastic and energetic local scout group played some unusual games at the Games In The Park event in Lister Park on Sunday.  In this particular game each scout had to jump in turn over a boxing glove which was being swung in a circle at just above ground level, quite hard work, but fun, and fun to watch!

Games In The Park - Lister Park

This was seriously good fun, Games In The Park in Lister Park on Sunday, an event aimed mainly at children with traditional children's games and other entertainment, such as African dancing, and as you can see it wasn't just the kids having some fun!

Aire Do - Samantha Binns

A good performance from singer/songwriter Samantha Binns in the Musicians Centre marquee at the Aire Do. 

Aire Do - Dawn Chorus

Talented Acoustic duo Dawn Chorus in the Musicians Centre Marquee on Saturday, and they are from Bradford.

Aire Do - Madonna

Not actually Madonna, but Jam Radio presenter Sharon Cooper who happens to be a really big Madonna fan, and does a pretty good tribute to the pop superstar too.  Sharon is originally from Dublin and hosts the Friday evening 'Suki Sounds' slot on Jam Radio, Keighleys community radio station.

Aire Do - Jam Community Radio

This is Jordan Cooper outside of the Jam Radio marquee at the Aire Do in Keighley.  I had not heard of Jam Radio before today, so my thanks to Jordan for telling me a little bit about it. It's a community radio station based in Keighley (about eight miles west of Bradford) which is available to listen to via the internet, and Jordan is one of the presenters.
The Aire Do is an annual two day open air music festival held in the grounds of Cliffe Castle on the outskirts of Keighley, hosting bands, singer songwriters and tribute acts both from the Keighley area and further afield.  I did visit the festival last year and it rained, heavily, all day, but today the weather was much better and there was a much larger crowd.  I will hopefully be able to post some more pictures of the event in the next few days (I'm having some computer problems at the moment, so don't hold your breath).

J. B. Priestley

Bradford born novelist, playwright and broadcaster J. B. Priestley looks out over the city.

United Reformed Church - Saltaire

The Italianate United Reformed Church in Saltaire looking resplendent in the (long awaited) summer sunshine last weekend.  The Queen and Prince Phillip paid a visit to a Saltaire based electronics company in Salts Mill last week as part of the Diamond Jubilee Tour, which might explain the bunting in front of the church.  Unfortunately I was working on the day of the royal visit and it was apparently more of a private visit than a public occasion, but a picture of the Queen would have been nice!

Preacher - Shipley Market Place

A billboard, a Bible, a voice, and a message.  Baptist preacher, Shipley Market Square.

Bounce For Bradford

Contestants warming up with their spacehoppers at Bounce for Bradford yesterday morning.  The event was organised to raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Research and to try and set a new world record for the largest number of people on spacehoppers at the same time.  Turnout was a bit on the low side, too low for a record attempt, I think mainly because the weather has been so poor lately, those that did turn out certainly had some fun though!