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......
Thursday, June 11, 2015
ßeñeath the southern cross
More developments since last week's post concerning my stable~ come~ £6000 Italian Ruin......
I found out this week that the 'mystery offer'comes from an Italian government/EU initiative to regenerate the region.(details below) .
It's a bit like a 'compulsory-purchase'.
Nominally , the price is negotiable .
However (because my & some other buildings are rundown /that's why I got it cheap in the first place) if i don't negotiate a selling price ,I will be ordered by the commune to bring it up to a certain (new) standard. This will be expensive.
Basically it's double or quits.
Which,realistically means that the cost would have to make it become my first & only home.Now, even before any haggling, they seem to be offering me a fair price (just above what i paid initially plus any legal costs involved in the
Take the money & run?
I,ve no idea yet what time deadlines are involved.....
....... it does feel a bit like selling a dream.
I always suspected the area had potential.I guess it will have to develop without me.
A shame.
*
in other news....I booked tickets to see Simone Felice at St.Michael's Church in Ancoats on 8th October ( Manchester's "Little Italy") {buy TICKETS}
Today Me Chris & Cath buried Chaz's Ashes in the Yorkshire sun above Hebden Bridge.
It felt like Italy a little..........
Friday, May 15, 2015
love never came
.........in case you didn't know,the Tories got in again.Britain is not happy.Mr Cameron has grounded us.Sent us to bed early,without our supper........It shall end in tears........
Life, they tell me, goes on.....So I went out in Hebden Bridge last night.
Its never happened before , but one of the people with us drinking throughout the night is rather famous .(Listen to his music!)
Richard Bedford came drinking with us in the Fox&Goose & Railway Pubs!
We sat in the Railway and Ken said "is that you on the jukebox?".Richard said "yes".
You can see his photo below& above if you look ( and know your onions...}
Richard is a very lovely bloke.
A nice night. Hopefully we will do this again soon.
Sunday, May 03, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
miscellaneous manchester
Well .We had planned to go by train to see the new Whitworth Art Gallery.
But, on getting off the train, we needed to go for a piss,so nipped into The Royal Exchange Theatre to use their loos.
While in there, we heard they had cheap seats going for the Saturday Matinee
.So we had a spot of Tolstoy instead of going to The Whitworth (another day now i guess).
We saw Anna Karenina.I dont know why..It;s not like she ever came to see us..........
It is,of course,theatre-in-the-round & our cheap seats were right at the front on low benches, so we got to see it all up close.
Ive never seen the Boy Tolstoy before ,but i thought it rather good.
Fine acting & it was quite funky having a Afro-Caribbean Karenia.
I recommend it.Its on until 2nd May.
Above are some random photos I tookbefore & after.
But, on getting off the train, we needed to go for a piss,so nipped into The Royal Exchange Theatre to use their loos.
While in there, we heard they had cheap seats going for the Saturday Matinee
.So we had a spot of Tolstoy instead of going to The Whitworth (another day now i guess).
We saw Anna Karenina.I dont know why..It;s not like she ever came to see us..........
It is,of course,theatre-in-the-round & our cheap seats were right at the front on low benches, so we got to see it all up close.
Ive never seen the Boy Tolstoy before ,but i thought it rather good.
Fine acting & it was quite funky having a Afro-Caribbean Karenia.
I recommend it.Its on until 2nd May.
Above are some random photos I tookbefore & after.
Thursday, April 09, 2015
live at Zeppelinfeld, Nuremberg
My take on the theme this week is old posters.
This is a British Labour Party poster from 1948.
If the Tory Party wins the UK General Election in May,it will sell off our free National Health Service.And turn it into a USA-style paying system.
Its as brutal as that.
It's important the Tories lose.
For a fact ,if Labour don't get in power I will lose my public sector job.Really.It's as personal to me,as that...........
This is a sepia saturday post.
Went Indian Mealing in Hebden Bridge's Eastern Spice tonight.
With Bob:Noj,John .Jim & Ken.Hurray!
Bob Dylan:Live at the Zeppelinfeld, Nuremberg, Germany; July 1, 1978. The show is imbued with additional meaning since the Zeppelinfeld was constructed in the ’30s and was the site for the Nazi Party rallies between 1933 and 1938 and can be seen in the film Triumph Of The Will. That a Jewish artist such as Bob Dylan preformed there 40 years later provides a special irony for the setting.
Bob Dylan:Live at the Zeppelinfeld, Nuremberg, Germany; July 1, 1978. The show is imbued with additional meaning since the Zeppelinfeld was constructed in the ’30s and was the site for the Nazi Party rallies between 1933 and 1938 and can be seen in the film Triumph Of The Will. That a Jewish artist such as Bob Dylan preformed there 40 years later provides a special irony for the setting.
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Saint John The Baptist In The Wilderness: Cragg Vale,West Yorkshire.
JER
Me & Cath took these photos today.
Child labour became the norm. Now began the mill owners infamous abuses. At one time or another from 1740 to the early 20th Century there have existed around 11 mills in Cragg. Turvin, Victoria, and Pepper Bank mills on Turvin Brook; Marshaw (opposite the Hinchliffe Arms) with New and Vale mills in Withens Clough. Next down Elphin Brook were Castle, Paper (opposite the Robin Hood Inn), Cragg, Hoo Hole, and Scar Bottom mill (Mytholmroyd).
By the 1820s these were no place for any decent human, let alone the children of the poor. "If there is one place in England that needed legislative interference it is this place; for they work 15 and 16 hours a day frequently, and sometimes all night. Oh! it is a murderous system and the mill owners are the pest and disgrace of society..!"
It is on record that children died at their work in the mills of Cragg. Died from long hours and harsh treatments handed out. While the mill owners William Greenwood ('Old Billy Hard Times') and the Hinchliffe family amassed their fortunes. It took the 1833 factory act just to begin to address the appalling abuse of child labour and workers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cragg_Vale
Me & Cath took these photos today.
Child labour became the norm. Now began the mill owners infamous abuses. At one time or another from 1740 to the early 20th Century there have existed around 11 mills in Cragg. Turvin, Victoria, and Pepper Bank mills on Turvin Brook; Marshaw (opposite the Hinchliffe Arms) with New and Vale mills in Withens Clough. Next down Elphin Brook were Castle, Paper (opposite the Robin Hood Inn), Cragg, Hoo Hole, and Scar Bottom mill (Mytholmroyd).
By the 1820s these were no place for any decent human, let alone the children of the poor. "If there is one place in England that needed legislative interference it is this place; for they work 15 and 16 hours a day frequently, and sometimes all night. Oh! it is a murderous system and the mill owners are the pest and disgrace of society..!"
It is on record that children died at their work in the mills of Cragg. Died from long hours and harsh treatments handed out. While the mill owners William Greenwood ('Old Billy Hard Times') and the Hinchliffe family amassed their fortunes. It took the 1833 factory act just to begin to address the appalling abuse of child labour and workers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cragg_Vale
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Rochdale Library : Young Fathers : 14th March 2015
"inside i feel dirty;it's only cos i'm hurting........" i took this video & these other images , in Rochdale Library watching Young Fathers.
[4;05 into this video ],watch extraordinary moves. Physical poetry & voodoo combined. As i say, extra-ordinary!
[4;05 into this video ],watch extraordinary moves. Physical poetry & voodoo combined. As i say, extra-ordinary!
Friday, March 06, 2015
. Melange:
Who knows what's happening? Some kind of Beauty Parade? Some dancing competition? Whatever.....
Looks like the ship's captain is showing the lass in the blue frock the door /the plank?
All I know.This image is from the late 50's.
A cruise somewhere.I found it on the site www.viewfromthisside.com .
It shares Kodachrome slides and suchlike.Many found unloved in carboots.
I love the clarity & vivid colours these contain.
Somewhere below is a slideshow of photos from today,s night in Halifax with Phil The X Fireman & Ken .
Ken [beard]is a friend of George ,a member of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.
This is a sepia saturday post.
All I know.This image is from the late 50's.A cruise somewhere.I found it on the site www.viewfromthisside.com .
It shares Kodachrome slides and suchlike.Many found unloved in carboots.
I love the clarity & vivid colours these contain.
Somewhere below is a slideshow of photos from today,s night in Halifax with Phil The X Fireman & Ken .
Ken [beard]is a friend of George ,a member of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
i was thinking about the world's biggest necklace
Me & Cath & Martin went to see this fine play in Manchester yesterday....
Read About The Scuttlers here.
Me & Cath see Young Fathers In Rochdale Library next month.
Young Fathers - "LOW" from Ninja Tune on Vimeo.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Old Friends ßookends
ßlimey,another Valentines Day...!
Bob Dylan - Pretty Saro from Columbia Records on Vimeo.
You know,my Dad was born on this day (& died on a Boxing Day)
Strange to think he would be 98 now, had he lived.
I know no more than you do about love.Other than it is universal as much as it is personal?
And that the long applause at the end of this (or any) song is as important as the music before it.
Imagine, I only turned my head away in order he had a greater area to kiss........
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| My Son Chris & Me :Zante 1991 |
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Cathy my Missus & Me in a mirror on the Greek Island of Paros in 1987.
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| Cathy in Paros:the same year. |
This is a Sepia Saturday post.
Friday, January 30, 2015
whoa, the blue light was my baby, and the red light was my mind.....
The Rolling Stones singing "Street Fighting Man" is total nonsense.A millionaire singing working class songs is a total lie.(hello,Russell Brand!)
Saying that ,I loved this song in the 1970s.I believed every word....Sometimes artifice is a very comforting distraction.innit?
We are critical of politicians & the lies they tell us.Are we any better with the lies we tell ourselves?
Cath took this photo of me in Athens in 1987.She was still recovering from her first miscarriage.
I asked her to take it.Saying that ,I loved this song in the 1970s.I believed every word....Sometimes artifice is a very comforting distraction.innit?
We are critical of politicians & the lies they tell us.Are we any better with the lies we tell ourselves?
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| Athens:August 1987. |
I was reading plenty of Paul Bowles & Bruce Chatwin at the time.
I suppose ,in this photo , I wanted to give an impression of a 'Gentleman Abroad'.Living with 'real' people.[Not on some dodgy package holiday!]
I remember I began reading Raymond Carver on my return.("Working Class Noir"!).
Chris was born safely the following year.I guess it worked....
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