Friday, October 30, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
don't touch the third rail
Me and Cathy went for the day to Liverpool.
photos here..................
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| Me in the Walker Gallery ,Liverpool ,Yesterday. I studied and lived in Liverpool between 1976-1980. (Teacher Training Certificate & B.Ed(hons) from Lancaster Uniy& C.F. Mott,Huyton.) My life in Liverpool was an in-between time for me. Many memories.Mostly good, tho i never loved the place the way i loved East London where I moved onto afterwards....... Saying that ,Liverpool was,and is ,a Spirited Republic. I wish it well in these dismal times in Dear Old Blighty. God.England is shit at the moment. A type of purgatory.Non?  |
"The Dinner Party" [1980] by Sam Walsh.
He was a Liverpool lecturer who painted this in the last years of his life.
The sitters , who would never meet all at the same time, are people who from periods in his life. They include neighbours, solicitor, ex-wife, partner, bank manager & friends.
Friday, October 09, 2015
Simone Felice:8th October 2015:St.Michael's Church, Ancoats,Manchester.
Me & Cathy went with Capo Martin to St.Michael's de-consecrated church in Ancoats.
It was the first ever gig in a place that the Roman Jesus had just vacated.........
(On the night, I think we all struggled with what the correct ceremony for such an occasion might be......?)
All i can say is that the acoustics in the place are superb.Its clean,it's light & it has a good vibe.
A lovely sweet venue (tho the Bar charges Old Trafford prices!)
Simone was his usual Spiritual Self........a most underrated soul.
He had flown in from New York that morning.He had been detained in a small room alone for 4 hours at Gatwick because of passport irregularities
He seemed unimpressed with UK Border Control.......
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
flags & bunting from some grimy republic
UPDATE 28 feb 2018: http://everton.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/looks-like-some-cunt-from-cheshire.html
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| Halifax.(origin unknown) |
Although ,a case in point, clickthis Martin Parr photograph of Old Halifaxto see a photo very similar to some of B.H.'s photos. Now Martin Parr is probably my favourite English photographer. Remember ,me & Cath went to his curated exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery recently.I beg to suggest that several of B.H. 's unseen photos stand comparison with Parr's?
n.b. I wrote this very brief overview
of Martin's work.
This is a Sepia Saturday post.
I heard the political commentator & journalist Owen Jones speak.
He talked about how we English are becoming disenfranchised from the politics in our life.We start to believe poverty ,hunger& unemployment etc are all'Acts of God' .Inevitable ...just like the rain outside......
As it happens, the BBC are filming a new series of Happy Valley at the moment ,in Hebden Bridge.
Two nights ago, on the street that I work, they were filming this scene.
Given the nature of Yorkshire weather,dig the irony.It wasn't raining,so they had to use artificial rain!
As a Halifax child of the 50's, I remember during our Wakes Week some people , not themselves away on holiday, would climb to the top of Beacon Hill to admire the view.
We live in a beautiful place.During Wakes Wake all the factories shutdown spewing smoke,so it was the only time you could see the beauty!
The photos I share here show plenty of washing-lines.All those white clothes! How did they keep'em clean within the smoke & rain?
To me,the clean washing look not like white flags of surrender ,but defiance .
I believe we see the same defiance in the works today of Jeremy Corbyn & that fine American Bernie Sanders.( a tad strained link....but there you go!)
Incidentally,Mr Sanders name was respectfully mentioned several times at the church on Sunday
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| Halifax |
. Although!This is a Beautiful Englishman singing the song to its best
.Everytime i hear Robert Wyatt's voice ,i sort of roll myself into a ball & weep gently...it's so beautiful in my humble opinion.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
The Annual Peterloo Massacre Remembrance in Manchester
Me ,Cath & Martin Thorpe went to the annual Peterloo Massacre Memorial in Manchester today.
Approx 600 souls attended. A Choir;a folk band and actors Maxine Peake:Christopher Ecclestone (eg Dr Who):John Thompson (eg Fast Show);John Henshaw (eg Early Doors) gave readings.A minutes silence was observed to respect those who were murdered.
For my American friends, Peterloo (1819) was England's Tiananmen Square(1989): England's Sharpville (1960): England's Kent State (1970 )
Peterloo was the subject of Shelly's poem The Masque of Anarchy
Sunday, August 09, 2015
Maxine Peake: Fundraiser for The Morning Star newspaper: Hebden Bridge Trades Club:Saturday 8th August 2015
Maxine read Shelley's Masque of Anarchy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masque_of_Anarchy
i took a wee video clip of her reading some of it tonight......(Shelly on a Saturday night!) which i will add here soon.A splendid night.A full house.
Sunday, August 02, 2015
[A Light Above Descending}: British Sea Power:Hebden Bridge Trades Club:31st July
same song i recorded live in Heben Bridge Trades Club on Friday night.
Friday, July 31, 2015
It was my Birthday yesterday.
Me , Cathy & Chris went for a meal at The White Lion in Hebden Bridge.
Afterwards, we caught the train into Manchester's Royal Exchange to see Maxine Peake in The Skriker. Here are some photos i took of the day.
Me , Cathy & Chris went for a meal at The White Lion in Hebden Bridge.
Afterwards, we caught the train into Manchester's Royal Exchange to see Maxine Peake in The Skriker. Here are some photos i took of the day.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
I can't compete with the riders in the other heats
David Byrne :Psycho Killer
(Also featuring) Joe Henry, Greg Cohen and Duisburg Chamber Orchestra
Live at the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum, Germany, August 19, 2006.
Cath took this photo of me in Hebden Bridge last Sunday. I really dont smile a lot, do I ?
What is that all about ? Bad Teeth ?Slavic personality ? a chronic lack of humour & empathy ...?
Its a mystery......
The Rolling Stones;Start Me Up:
Live at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana; July 4, 2015.
(Also featuring) Joe Henry, Greg Cohen and Duisburg Chamber Orchestra
Live at the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum, Germany, August 19, 2006.
Cath took this photo of me in Hebden Bridge last Sunday. I really dont smile a lot, do I ?
What is that all about ? Bad Teeth ?Slavic personality ? a chronic lack of humour & empathy ...?
Its a mystery......
But!this week's sepia saturday is about "unsmiling faces" So it kinda fits the bill.Non?
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| the last time my smile was ever captured on camera was here, 15 years ago, entering a club toilet in Blackpool.So perhaps its better i dont make a habit of it......? |
The Rolling Stones;Start Me Up:
Saturday, July 04, 2015
ظافر يوسف. may your hands be full of nothing.
Fuga Hirundinum (Birds Requiem Suite):DHAFER YOUSSEF ظافر يوسف.
Jazz à Vienne, Théâtre Antique, Vienne, France; June 29, 2015
Tunisian Dhafer Youssef is a composer, singer and oud player. He developed an interest in jazz at an early age and clandestinely listened to it during his education at a Qur’anic school. He later left Tunisia to start a jazz career and has lived in Europe since 1990, usually in Paris or Vienna
.[ - wikipedia]
Smith explained that it was the spiritual leader’s 80th birthday on July 6.
“We are grateful to him for all his love of humanity and making people aware of the importance of saving the planet,” she said, before reading a poem she had written for him.
Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis then brought The Dalai Lama onto the stage to huge cheers from the crowd. “I think it would be nice if Glastonbury wished The Dalai Lama a happy birthday,” said Smith, before leading the audience in a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’.
The Dalai Lama then blew out a single candle on a cake made of fruit, before cutting it.
“Thank you, thank you,” he said. “Dear brothers and sisters, I really appreciate so many people’s expression of warm feeling.”
He then went on to joke about the age of Smith and her band. “These singers and musicians have white hair, but they look very youthful! That gives me encouragement, I should be more like you - more active!”
[click below to listen}
Tunisian Dhafer Youssef is a composer, singer and oud player. He developed an interest in jazz at an early age and clandestinely listened to it during his education at a Qur’anic school. He later left Tunisia to start a jazz career and has lived in Europe since 1990, usually in Paris or Vienna
.[ - wikipedia]
Some random photos I took in Hebden Bridge today.
Patti Smith:Live at Glastonbury, Pyramid Stage, Worthy Farm, Pilton, UK; June 28, 2015.Smith explained that it was the spiritual leader’s 80th birthday on July 6.
“We are grateful to him for all his love of humanity and making people aware of the importance of saving the planet,” she said, before reading a poem she had written for him.
Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis then brought The Dalai Lama onto the stage to huge cheers from the crowd. “I think it would be nice if Glastonbury wished The Dalai Lama a happy birthday,” said Smith, before leading the audience in a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’.
The Dalai Lama then blew out a single candle on a cake made of fruit, before cutting it.
“Thank you, thank you,” he said. “Dear brothers and sisters, I really appreciate so many people’s expression of warm feeling.”
He then went on to joke about the age of Smith and her band. “These singers and musicians have white hair, but they look very youthful! That gives me encouragement, I should be more like you - more active!”
[click below to listen}
Friday, June 26, 2015
Zy plays a trick with his teeth
I admire this series of photographs from the Hotel Austerity.
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| Brian the Poet . |
This week's sepia saturday is around "hotels".
Me &Cathy went to Bury Met with Don & Margaret to see Robin & Bina Williamson play.[Robin is ex-Incredible String Band.]
I love the music.
Robin has a refreshing lack of Ego & a grand sense of humour.
He comes from Portobello , just outside Edinburgh..where my Mam came from.
In one or two of these photos i fancy he looks a little like me.........Something genetic :)?
Here are some of my photos from day (unfortunately,my audio recorded didnt work..I would have like to have shared their music here tonight ...but some fine pix none the less)
Thursday, June 18, 2015
"its not always like what we see on the surface......" (quote from the dvd)
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| Wisconsin Death Trip |
By sheer chance on Saturday night (2oth June) i sat down to watch the dvd Wisconsin Death Trip .
The visual motif that punctuates the film throughout is that of the local newspaper Editor typing out his news reports. .....
[I got this film out from Hebden Bridge Library.Part of their current "American Gothic" promotion]
At the same time,i borrowed the book of the same name..
it's stuffed full of glorious sepia photos.Something of a Sepians Bible .
Tricky one this. Sepia Saturday this week has the topic of "typewriters"
. I have no photos of them.....
.I suppose in the those olden ,sepia, days folk were more economical with their film.? Typewriters were ubiquitous & we thought they would live forever.We thought them immortal as we were .....ha! fools, little did we know........
The nearest I have is this photo taken in my late-20th century office in Halifax with my work colleague Calla.
I like Calla, she is my type of woman.......
See other sepia saturday posts {here}
Finally.check out the ever excellent lost gallery blogspot for gallons of sepia typewriters......
Finally.check out the ever excellent lost gallery blogspot for gallons of sepia typewriters......
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