And a partridge?

My two favourites trees in their winter plumage, playing host (though you probably can't spot them on a small photo) to:

Eight magpies - 

'One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret never to be told, Eight for a wish, Nine for a kiss, Ten for a bird you must not miss.'

Four jackdaws and

Four wood pigeons.

(All on the ground.) 

 

I couldn't see a partridge and they're not pear trees, so there the similarity ends! But we can all have a wish...

York at Christmas

I met my family in York just before Christmas, for a posh afternoon tea at The Milner Hotel, which used to be The Royal Station Hotel, a grand place built in 1876 to serve the new railway station just outside the city walls. It was a lovely occasion, a real treat: dainty sandwiches, large scones with cream and jam, some delectable little cakes and copious cups of tea. And good company, of course. 

Before we met I had an hour or so to explore the city, so I took a quick walk round the centre, enjoying the lights and the Christmassy feel. I didn't venture as far as the Christmas market but I was pleasantly surprised that the streets weren't as rammed with crowds as I expected. It was dull grey weather (again) so I'm not pretending my photos are anything more than quick snaps, but they're a record of a happy day.  

You can walk along parts of the city walls, dating back originally to Roman times, though most of what's visible was built in the 13th/14th centuries. York has more miles of intact walls than any other city in England, and the view over the city from their vantage point is fascinating, with the famous Minster (cathedral) prominent on the skyline (above).

The walls are punctuated by four main gatehouses called Bars that controlled entry to the city, were defensive and could be used to extract tolls. You can see Bootham Bar at the end of the street in the picture below. 

Standing as far back as I could and being careful not to get mown down by cars, I just managed to get most of the Minster's west frontage in my photo. 

The old thoroughfare of Stonegate, originally a Roman road, leads down from the Minster environs, its old buildings now home to a multitude of shops and pubs.

Stonegate leads into St Helen's Square, with a big Christmas tree in front of the York Mansion House, built in 1732 as the Lord Mayor's residence. 

I was half-expecting the River Ouse to be in flood, as it often does come over its banks in this part of York (so often that they are used to it and mostly prepared for it). From Lendl Bridge at least, it didn't look too bad. 

Christmas Eve Tractor Run

Well, this was a lot of fun even if it did turn out to be a photographic disaster as far as I was concerned. Every Christmas Eve in Calderdale, local farmers and businesses put on a charity tractor run, this year raising funds for Candlelighters, a children's cancer charity, and Forget Me Not children's hospice. The cavalcade of tractors, trucks and vans travels a circular route through the Calder valley, passing right by the end of the road where my daughter lives. I've never been to see it before and didn't really know what to expect but it was long (about 150 vehicles) and very loud, with music and horns blasting. I had not expected them to move so fast and it proved impossible for me to get clear photos, in the dark, with all the bright headlights and the vehicles travelling at that speed. So I'm sorry for the blur but I did want to show a few pics, just to remember it by. I was cold too. Note to self to dress even more warmly next time... you get colder standing still, of course, and there was a long wait. I soon warmed up back at my family's home, with a cup of tea and a thoughtfully provided hot water bottle! (They look after dear old gran very well.) 

If I go again next year, I will hopefully be better prepared.

When I eventually drove home, I was followed by a tractor making its way back to its farm. It was like being chased by a Christmas tree!  😂 😂.   

Christmas Day 2025

 Nativity window, St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh (Victorian, Ballantine) 

The last couple of months, for me, have been full of all sorts of upheaval, good and bad combined (though, thankfully, even the difficult things have turned out in the end to be solvable and ultimately positive). It's something of a relief to finally arrive at Christmas. Busy and chaotic though it may be, it is nevertheless a firm reminder of steadfast love and the power of good over evil. 

Wishing all who celebrate it a very happy, peaceful and hopeful Christmas - and to those who don't, a good time nevertheless. 

'Loving Father, help us to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and with every greeting.' 

Advent Windows #6

2025 Advent Windows #6

Three windows here that are very different from each other but all quite effective. 

Paddington Bear is currently having another 'trending' moment, now that the musical has opened in the West End. He even appeared at the Royal Variety Performance. 

Given the popularity of cats in Saltaire, it's no surprise that several of the windows feature them. This one appears to be leaping down from a Christmas tree. 

And lastly, a little house with a smoking chimney, on a hill... or is it a couple kissing? Whether it's meant to be or not, this appeared to me like one of those perception tests. 

Advent Windows #5

2025 Advent Windows #5

The Living Advent Calendar windows designed by Saltaire Art Group are reliably impactful, colourful and often quite amusing. I'm not sure how a four-eyed spider fits into Christmas but he's quite cute. 

In contrast, the windows crafted by students at Shipley College are intricate, detailed and reward study. The one above is a woodland scene, a hollow tree trunk with all sorts of flora, fauna and fungi. The one below has some pretty little houses that remind me of gingerbread, and some dancers or fairies. Maybe it's the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies?

A little treat among the Hockneys

Salts Mill hosts a few musical interludes in the run-up to Christmas. I was able to pop down to listen to Pellingmans' Saraband: a husband and wife duo, Susanna Pell and Jacob Heringman, both distinguished scholars and performers of early music. They were playing a lute and a viol, delivering a repertoire of short pieces of music from the Renaissance and Early Baroque periods.  

It was a privilege to sit there, amongst the priceless Hockney paintings and Burmantofts ceramics, and hear these - sometimes stately, sometimes delicate, sometimes rhythmic - pieces of music played as they would have been some four or five hundred years ago.  

It was sponsored by The Early Music Shop, who have premises in the mill: a showroom/shop and a music school. 

Glimpses

As children, my sister and I used to love counting Christmas trees as we journeyed in the car to and from our grandparents' houses. That thrill of getting glimpses into other people's lives, and the joy of twinkly lights, has never left me. So when I'm walking round Saltaire village photographing the Living Advent Calendar windows, I also get a great deal of pleasure from all the displays that are not part of the official Advent trail but are still rather lovely. Here are a few I spotted. 

Advent Windows #4

2025 Advent Windows #4

Film and literary references are a popular inspiration for many of the Living Advent Calendar windows. One of my personal favourites is this Wallace and Gromit themed offering (this window rather than the movies, which I honestly find a bit tedious, though undoubtedly clever). The window is colourful and bold, competently crafted and simple enough to have real impact. 

Mary Poppins soars over the rooftops:

and I'm sure children will be delighted to see a 'Miffy' story. She was always one of my daughter's favourites. 

Advent Windows #3

2025 Advent Windows #3

A couple more of Saltaire's Living Advent Calendar windows: The first is an ongoing saga now in its fifth year, a humorous take on the 'First Day of Christmas' song ('and a parsnip in a pear tree') by the 'Veg on the Edge' people, who maintain community gardens around the village. 

The second also makes use of the multi-paned windows in the smaller village houses, in homage to some of Saltaire's key features. 

Advent Windows #2

2025 Advent Windows #2

Saltaire Primary School's window this year is a silhouette of children playing in the snow, something I'm sure the majority of their pupils would be delighted to be able to do this winter. The simplest windows usually have the most impact. 

That's true also for my second image, one of my favourites this year with its uncomplicated, graphic Christmas motifs. The 4, I think, refers to this window's number on the trail map. In the village's narrow streets it's quite usual to find parked cars getting in the way of a clean shot but in many cases the reflection of the window adds value. This one reminds me of a quilt. 

Homing in on Christmas

2025 Advent Windows #1

Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas, is the time when the Christian church prepares for Jesus' birth and anticipates his coming again. The four central themes are hope, joy, love and peace, marked in our churches with four candles, one lit each Sunday in the run-up to Christmas. 

Fitting therefore that Saltaire's church celebrates these themes in its Advent window, a typically bold, clear and positive offering from them as part of Saltaire's 'Living Advent Calendar'. Regular readers of my blog will remember that this is something our village is quite famous for, started in 2006 and replicated since in other places. Our businesses and residents decorate their windows with festive motifs and a few are 'unveiled' each night from 1st to 24th December. It makes for a lovely walk around the village at night, especially as we get nearer to Christmas and there are more to see. 

Homing in on Christmas... and homing in on the church's window:

You can see them all online HERE. I usually photograph those I like best and have been showing them on my blog for several years.

Saltaire at night

Paris by night was wonderful to explore but Saltaire, my home patch, looks equally beautiful at night, particularly in the run-up to Christmas when there are sparkly lights everywhere.

The Victoria Hall is usually floodlit and now there's a Christmas tree on the lawn, oddly wonky at the moment for some reason. Maybe the wind has caught it. Compared with a few years ago, they do make more effort to light it and it looks lovely this year. 

'Don't tell Titus', one of the bars on Victoria Road, is always cosily lit. It used to be much bigger but had a refurb earlier in the year that has reduced it to half its former size. The shop units on Victoria Road do seem to have some difficulty in thriving. Perhaps they have too much competition from the busier bars and restaurants higher up the village on Gordon Terrace. When the students and day visitors go home and Salts Mill closes, this downtown part of Saltaire is a bit isolated. 

Even 'Cultures' looked quiet and that is currently one of the more thriving café bars. 

There are now only two or three actual shops on Victoria Road. RadStudio, which sells gifts and homewares, is bright and welcoming and always decorates the windows for Christmas. 

Christmas on the reserve

The trees and shrubs may have lost their leaves but, on the small nature reserve managed by Hirst Wood Regeneration Group, they have gained a sprinkling of festive baubles instead.

There were some volunteers diligently barrrowing loads of bark chippings from where they'd been delivered at the gate across to the far side of the reserve, so there weren't as many birds around as there often are. One of the resilient woodpigeons was, however, keeping guard. They're not afraid of anything, it seems!