Christmas knit wit

Even with my newly discovered love of knitting, I don't think I'll be bothering with post box toppers! Whilst I can appreciate the skill that goes into them, they seem akin to 'graffiti' to me. This one (crocheted) has recently appeared on a post box nearby. 

Knitted figures are perhaps more appealing, especially if you want gifts for children. Our local yarn shop has a number of them with a Christmassy theme in the window. 

Gladys Cooper

The remainder of my little postcard collection, which I started to document here a few months ago, is pictures of an actress, Gladys Cooper (1888-1971).  I remember being fascinated by her and by the wide variety of pictures of her so I started to collect them. 'Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musical comedy and pantomime, she starred in dramatic roles and silent films before the First World War.'

She continued working in film, stage and TV right up until the 1970s. 

 One postcard is used, though must have been posted in an envelope as there is no address. 

'Dear Nellie  How as (sic) work gone down today, I expect you will be properly done up. I got home in fairly record time. It must have been the rain that help me along. I am not feeling like work today, could just do with a day in bed. I don't think never mind hell. I might have the good fortune to win Tit Bits or Ideas (?) compin (coupon? competition?) some of these days. When the world comes to an end. Sorry I have not any news, Dear but will have more on Wednesday night. Hope you like the postcard. She looking very downhearted. With Best Love From Your Loving Sweetheart, Billy G.  X (a kiss) Only one (I don't think)' 

Aw, how sweet. That’s what we all used to do before email and texts! 

Gladys and her daughter Joan, born in 1910.

Christmas Tree Festival #2

 

Guides, Brownies, Rainbows and a local Nursing Home supplied colourful, prettily lit trees displayed down the side aisle of St Paul's Church. 

Cliffe House Day Nursery had the clever idea of making a tree out of green handprints, decorated with ornaments the children had painted. 

Shipley Baby Bank is a recently founded group that supplies baby clothes, nappies and other necessary items to help new parents. I'm intending that some of my knitting projects will go their way. 

I omitted to write down the name of the group sponsoring the Remembrance tree but I'm fairly sure it was St Paul's Mothers' Union, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. (Oops, no - it was Leela's Ladybirds, which is a childcare provider - see comments). 

The Zephaniah Trust, who take music and Christian worship into our local schools, had decorated their tree with stars and angels made from sheet music. 

Woolly (below) paid homage to Bradford's wool heritage and our City of Culture 2025. All the decorations were made by volunteers at Scraptastic, a fabulous store that recycles craft items and rescued trade waste to be re-used in creative projects. 

Christmas Tree Festival #1

On the same evening as the town's Christmas lights were switched on, Shipley's St Paul's Church held its annual Christmas Tree Festival. The church looked very inviting from the outside, with warm lights sparkling through the stained glass windows. 

Inside there were thirty two decorated trees, each sponsored by a local community group. The variety and ingenuity always amazes me and it's heartwarming to know just how many local groups are thriving, making a huge difference to the lives of children and adults in our area. 

Most of the trees have hand crafted decorations. I loved the little pink angel with her smiley face. The beautifully decorated stars, below, were made by members of St Paul's Active Seniors group. 

Some of the trees make it very clear what the group is involved with. The Bradford North Foodbank had one covered in tins and packets of the food they collect and distribute to those who need the support. 

The Baildon, Shipley and Saltaire Men's and Ladies Shed, based in Northcliffe Park, work to improve wellbeing, reduce loneliness and combat isolation, raising funds by selling crafts they make, like the little wooden reindeer in front of their tree. The tree itself was a skilful and innovative creation made from logs. 

 

The lost generation

I'm scraping the barrel somewhat here, as I've pretty much run out of decent photos to post. I've been really busy the last few weeks but not the kind of busy that has taken me anywhere photogenic. 

My uncle Colin, one of dad's brothers, died recently. Aged 91 and in frail health, his death wasn't unexpected, but it still feels significant. He was ten years younger than my father and when I was born he was only 17. That means my earliest memories of him are of his playfulness. They say that some of my first words as a toddler were 'Up the Stags', the Stags being the local football team - and guess who taught me to say that?  Another vivid recall is of when I was dressed in my 'nurse's outfit', aged about four I guess, and my uncle was my 'patient'. He groaned and writhed around so realistically that I got scared and thought he really was ill! He was a competent cricketer, playing in the local village team. I remember weekends at my grandma's, the womenfolk making sandwiches for the 'cricket teas' and then going to watch Colin and his younger brother play. He was also a master player of 'the bones' - a folk percussion instrument used in a similar way to playing 'spoons'. He did try to teach me once but with little success. 

It was his funeral in Retford, Nottinghamshire the other day, so of course I attended. The eulogy and all the photos on display reminded family and friends of his great capacity for fun, alongside his caring for others. It is a shock to realise that Colin was the last of my parents' generation, now 'the lost generation'. Now I'm the oldest person in my family! 

I took the train to Retford as it's a long and scary motorway drive from here. I arrived in plenty of time and, as it was a chilly but bright day, I decided I'd walk the two miles to the crematorium, rather than get a taxi. Not an especially pleasant walk as it was on a narrow pavement alongside a fairly busy road, but the sunshine was nice and the landscape different enough from my own locality to be mildly interesting. Retford is a small but very historic market town in the wide, flat, flood plain of the River Idle. It has, tragically, suffered many floods (even quite recently) and fires. In 1528 nearly three quarters of the buildings in the town were destroyed in a fire. In 1916, the local gas works was bombed and blown up spectacularly by a German Zeppelin. It may be a small place but it's had a wild ride over the years!  

The crematorium had a large memorial garden around it, with a small, reed-filled lake providing a quiet spot to sit and contemplate in the gentle, late autumn sunshine. 

A hint of sunshine

More of the artwork I have in my home...

I absolutely adore this little print. I met Rob Friel, the photographer, many years ago: a fellow participant on the first photography workshop I ever attended. We subsequently became Facebook friends and it was on his page that I saw this picture, which I believe he took on holiday in the USA. For some reason I fell in love with it and asked Rob if I could buy a print. He very kindly sent me a copy as a gift and I've had it on my wall ever since, now happily hanging in my study. I've never been quite sure exactly what about it appeals to me so much. It's quite a simple image; its square format, the 'magic' three trees and a gentle colour palette give it - to me - a calming, almost Zen-like quality. Those little yellow flowers shyly peeping out from behind the birch trunks bring a hint of sunshine. Gorgeous. I love it every time I look at it. 

 

Christmas comes

My home is a resolutely Christmas-free zone at least until December. Not so for our town centres, which milk the season as a commercial enterprise and switch on the lights before the end of November. I happened to need to pop into Shipley anyway, which coincided with the Shipley lights celebration. I was pleased to see that, now the market square has been expensively revamped, they have eschewed the silly modern tree they've had for a few years (just a few wires and lights) in favour of a real fir tree - and it looked quite pretty. So did the banners dotted around the square. 

There were masses of people milling around, with market stalls selling Christmassy items and advertising local groups and services. One was a local amateur dramatic group, Drama Unlimited, which has been performing shows since 1977. They were colourfully dressed to promote their production of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears', coming to Bingley Arts Centre in February. 

The Kirkgate Centre has a herd of reindeer on its roof. I'm sure they'll thrill the little ones coming to the nursery next door. 

Knitters' Paradise

I made the most of a bright but freezing cold late autumn day with a trip to Cullingworth, to visit Coldspring Mill. A friend had recommended it to me as it has a huge yarn store. The mill - quite hidden away down a lane - was built in the 1880s as a soap mill. It used lanolin from a local tannery to produce soap that was used in the wool scouring trade. During WWII farm machinery was stored there and then it became derelict. It was rescued and refurbished in the late 1980s and now sells yarn from local Yorkshire producers, at lower prices than traditional shops (as it doesn't have high street overheads). It now also has a large store selling outdoor clothing, and a coffee shop. 

I intended to take a few photos inside but quickly became so fixated on all the gorgeous yarn on the shelves that I forgot! (I'm sure I'll make a another visit so there'll be another chance.) 

Outside there were a few interesting things - this vintage Jowett van was one of them. Jowett was a local vehicle manufacturer between 1906 and 1954, producing lightweight cars and vans that could cope with our area's hilly terrain. 

Round the back there was a (knitted) lady who looked as if she'd rather tired of her knitting. But who wouldn't sit outside to knit in these attractive surroundings? (Though she'd probably died of hypothermia, it was that cold!) 

All in one walk

I feel very fortunate to have such beautiful scenes within a short walk from my home. 

All in one walk: I could monitor the rising river level after a few days of heavy rain. (No worries about flooding yet but it is thankfully improving the water stocks in our reservoirs, which have been critically low.)

Then I could enjoy the contrast of the calm before the weir (and that nice reflection of the New Mill) and the turmoil on the other side. 

The view of Saltaire's church, from across the canal, is clearer now most of the autumn leaves have been thrown to the ground. 

Walking back up the hill through Saltaire village, I was alerted to something happening at the Victoria Hall. There was a sudden burst of a bright blue smoke bomb and some rhythmic Bhangra dohl drumming. When I got nearer, I realised it was an Asian wedding. I witnessed the Baarat: the arrival of the groom and his entourage, with lively music, dancing and lots of people wearing garlands. You may be able to pick him out at the bottom of the steps, wearing a turquoise jacket and with what looks like a red shawl around his shoulders... (though that may be someone's arm around him! He would be greeted by a member of the bride's family.)  Somewhere in the middle is an Imam with a white hat, waving a censer of incense. It looked like a really joyful occasion. 

We've got our beady eyes on you

Another in my occasional series documenting the artworks I have in my home...

This photograph of two little owl fledglings was taken by professional wildlife photographer Oliver Wright. I had the good fortune to attend a photography workshop that Oliver co-led a few years ago in the Yorkshire Dales. Fast forward a year or two and he came to give a talk at a nearby camera club, so I decided I'd go along. He was generously offering two of his prints in a raffle to raise funds for the club. I bought some tickets, never imagining I'd actually win anything but, to my surprise, one of my ticket numbers was first out of the bag! I had the choice of which prize to go for and chose this one. 

The cute, comic, little owls are among my favourite birds and these two have a kind of 'Mona Lisa' quality, in that their eyes follow you around the room! Add to that the gravestone they are perched on - poor little Roland, whoever, he was - and the whole image has a charm and poignancy that I love. 

On Oliver's website he says this about it: 

Doubly blessed

I caught an epic double rainbow after a biblical deluge the other day. They're always so uplifting to see, a real blessing I think. The rain is welcome too, as it is topping up our depleted reservoirs quite quickly, according to the TV weatherman. 

'I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'

Genesis 9:13

(Apologies to those who've seen this twice as I initially put it on Facebook.)

Such a still day

Storm Claudia passed over, with lots of rain and wind but not a lot of damage here (compared to other areas, particularly south Wales). It meant most of the remaining leaves were blown down, and the lovely colour has largely disappeared. The aftermath was a significant calm, so still that the reflections on the canal were strikingly bold.