Diwali 2026

The period from November 6th to 11th this year was Diwali, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains around the world. Diwali (or Deepavali) is the annual festival of lights. The word actually means 'row of lights'. It celebrates the spiritual triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. As has become the tradition, our local National Trust property, East Riddlesden Hall, was transformed for the occasion, with hundreds of lights, colourful pompoms and many traditional symbols. It's such an uplifting event. At this time of year, when late autumn slides into winter, I really need light! 

This year they had a puppet theatre performing traditional stories, various workshops - lantern-making, textiles, Dhol drumming - and in the evening a lantern parade. (I didn't stay for that.) There was a young musician playing and I sat and listened to his soothing sitar music for quite a while. (There was a time in my life, in the late 1960s, when sitar music was a bit of 'a thing' in the UK - Ravi Shankar, The Beatles and others - so it felt quite nostalgic.)  

One of the sacred symbols is the Lotus flower, representing purity, rebirth, strength, and spiritual enlightenment. Because it roots in dark, murky mud and pushes up through the water to bloom into a clean, pristine flower, it is a powerful symbol of rising above adversity and transforming suffering into wisdom. I've only once seen a real-life lotus - when one bloomed at Harlow Carr Gardens - and I must say it was captivating. (See HERE) 

Another symbol is the peacock, India's national bird, representing beauty, confidence, hope and new beginnings. One of the rooms was tastefully decorated with the turquoises, jades and golds of a peacock. 

When I visited there were lots of Asian families enjoying the celebrations, many really dressed up for the occasion. I had some heartwarming conversations. One young man, in the garden, asked me if I knew what a particular plant seedhead was. It was a teasel and I mentioned that they were once used for brushing to raise the nap on woollen cloth. He excitedly told an older lady in their family (in their own language), and then told me that his grandmother originally came to Britain as a young woman to work in our textile mills, which were facing a severe labour shortage. 

I was brave enough to ask permission to photograph these ladies, dressed in colourful traditional saris. They graciously obliged. I did it in rather a rush as I'm always embarrassed to ask people, and I would have done well to take a bit more care with my camera settings! But it was truly lovely to be amongst people who were clearly really enjoying their day out. It was all, indeed, a triumph of light over darkness. 

More autumn glory

I can't resist showing a few more photos of my recent visit to Bolton Abbey. The autumn colours were stunning and, as we slip into winter, I need to hold on to all this beauty. 

The top picture is a closer view of the Cavendish Memorial Fountain, but I mainly took it to capture those stupendous trees. 

The River Wharfe's water level had dropped again since last time I was there. Weather conditions up in the Yorkshire Dales cause really rapid fluctuations in our rivers. 

Looking south (below) you get a glimpse, through the trees, of the footbridge that leads to the Abbey ruins across the river.  The plane contrails were mental, for some reason, like sketchy writing in the sky!  

Autumn beauty at Bolton Abbey

It was such a gorgeous day when I went to Bolton Abbey recently. The sun came out and when the trees are golden, the effect is magical. 

The fountain pictured in the distance, erected in 1886, is a memorial to Lord Frederick Cavendish, second son of the 7th Duke of Devonshire, who was murdered in Phoenix Park, Dublin by Irish National Invincibles in 1882, shortly after his appointment as Chief Secretary for Ireland.

Taking photos into the bright sun was a little tricky but this is a good viewpoint from which to see the abbey ruins. 

In contrast, looking the other way revealed quite a dramatic stormy sky. 

The eleventh hour...

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, after four years of devastating conflict that had claimed millions of lives, the guns finally fell silent across the Western Front. The armistice had been signed, and the Great War was over. The red poppies that grew among the graves on the Western Front have become an enduring symbol of sacrifice.

We will remember them...

We also remember those whose lives are still devastated by war, especially those in Ukraine (whose agony has now lasted longer than WWI) and in Gaza. 

The poppies are, once again, those in Bolton Priory Church, whose floral displays are always beautiful and very classy. 

Icons from Ukraine

I didn't know that St Margaret of Scotland (above), Queen Consort of Malcolm Canmore III of Scotland, was (possibly anyway) the granddaughter of Yaroslav the Wise, ruler of Kyiv in Ukraine in the 11th century. I learned this from a rather wonderful exhibition in Bolton Priory Church called 'Icons on Ammo Boxes'.

In 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, Kyiv artists Sofia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko started painting icons on the wood from ammunition boxes retrieved by Ukrainian forces on the front lines of the war. Their idea is to bear silent witness to the war, to transform these 'coffins of death' into symbols of the victory of life over death.

I found them both beautiful and moving. Icons invite us to see beauty, certainly, but also to be drawn into and respond to God's living presence.

This one, 'Mother of God with the Christ Child', is painted in tempera on an ammo box donated by Special Forces fighters from near Bakhmut. 

They were all beautiful but my own favourite was St Patrick, who spread Christianity to Ireland. Just look at that wonderful, wise, serene face. 

St David, who founded monasteries and is the patron saint of Wales, has Welsh daffodils around his feet. 

I'd not heard before of St Melangell. She lived as a hermit in the Tanat valley in Wales in the 7th century. Legend has it that Brochwel, Prince of Powys, was hunting and pursued a hare, which took refuge under Melangell's cloak. Struck by her courage and sanctity, Brochwel gave her the valley as a place of sanctuary, where she founded a small religious community - and became the patron saint of hares. 

Funds raised by the icons project support charitable initiatives to help civilians, Ukrainian military and medical aid projects on the frontline in Ukraine. The exhibition closes on Friday (13th) so there is still time to visit if you're local. 

Canal walks

I've noted many times before how glad I am to live very near to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Its towpath makes for a good, easy walk - short or long depending on my mood - and always something different to observe, be that human activity or nature. 

I could, of course, if I so chose, walk all the way to Liverpool (114 miles) or Leeds (15 miles or so) from Saltaire. I've sometimes even thought about walking the whole length, though I never have done, and I don't suppose I ever will now. Bingley, however, is a different matter. Just short of three miles away, it takes me less than an hour (with photo stops of course!) and it's a lovely walk, even if I'm only going shopping. There's a really good wholefood/organic store (Hedgehog Organics) in the town centre where I buy sauerkraut and good quality extra virgin olive oil. 

Dowley Gap locks is an attractive place to linger. They've finished whatever work they were doing there now and all is peaceful again. 

Just beyond the locks, by the Fishermans pub, there are moorings and often quite a few boats 'resting' there. I was amused by the name of this one, a play on the names of Yorkshire rivers:

and this one as well, a clear reference to the much-loved comedy TV series Only Fools and Horses. I don't think I've noticed either of these two boats before. 

Remembrance Sunday

In an increasingly violent and divided world, we all need to pause for thought... 

'For those who give their lives, so that we can live ours.'

(Photos of a muted and respectful display in Bolton Priory Church.) 

Men at work

When I walked down to Hirst Lock recently, there were lots of workmen installing equipment. The nearby car park is partially closed off to hold storage containers. There is portable lighting and, by the looks of it, various generator type machines. A crane barge was in the lock, lifting steel fencing across from the towpath. 

The lock gates are in quite a bad state and I asked if they were intending to replace them. The man I spoke to just said: 'Not replace, repair...' and on the Canal & River Trust website it simply says 'Winter Works'. Someone else told me they are replacing them with steel gates. Whatever the works are, it looks as though it may go on for a while. The website suggests the navigation closure may last until 18 December. 

Inside St Paul's, Shipley

Before and after the 200th anniversary service, I took a few photos of the interior of St Paul's Shipley. It has retained many of its original features: the wooden pews, the gallery around the sides that provided extra seating, the pedestal pulpit (designed to allow all the congregation to be able to see the  preacher), the choir stalls and the elevated organ loft. 

What made it special 200 years ago isn't necessarily what now works for modern congregational worship - but no-one here, it seems, has dared to grasp the 'major re-ordering' nettle! Many years of stretched funds also means there is considerable interior damage from damp that will at some point have to be sorted out. Our churches, contrary to many people's understanding, are entirely funded by their congregations, along with any legacies and grants they are able to access. There is no ongoing funding from central government, even for our most historic and significant cathedrals. So it's a constant headache as to how to maintain them.

Nevertheless, there are usually signs of the care and affection that our congregations have for our places of worship, not least in the beautiful flower arrangements and colourful banners. 

Two hundred years

St Paul's Church in Shipley has recently commemorated its 200th anniversary with a weekend of celebration and worship. I went along to the morning service on Sunday, which was led by our vicar Rev'd Natasha Thomas and the Right Rev'd Dr Toby Howarth, currently Area Bishop of Bradford and soon to be the new Bishop of Leeds diocese. 

St Paul's was built as a 'Waterloo Church', by a grant from the British government in thanksgiving for peace after the victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The new churches were intended to provide accessible places of worship for the rapidly growing industrial and suburban towns.

Some years later, the vicar of St Paul's decided to raise funds for the construction of a daughter church, St Peter's, on the edge of Saltaire village, which was consecrated in 1909. Again, this was deemed necessary at the time to serve the needs of the growing population in Saltaire and the new housing developments in the Moorhead and Nab Wood area. Ironically, now, our congregations are dwindling and there is a plan to merge the three existing parishes of Shipley (St Paul's, St Peter's and Windhill).  

There was a service of Holy Communion, after which the Bishop buried a Time Capsule in the churchyard, full of our prayers for the next 200 years of Christian presence and ministry in Shipley. Then, of course, coffee and cake was served! 

Peak autumn

I think we've hit 'peak autumn' along the canal. I wouldn't say the colours have been as spectacular as some years but it's pleasing to see the rusts and greens mingling, especially with a blue sky.  I always enjoy the view of the river from the canal aqueduct (above). 

This year I haven't really been to any gardens or arboretums (arboreta?) so I feel I've missed out on catching the red maples and other showy trees. Because of the dry summer, many of our local trees were showing signs of desiccation long before autumn came along and I suppose that hasn't helped the colour progression either. Nevertheless I've been enjoying my walks, when I've been able to fit one in among the gales and rain showers!