Wayzgoose

A few more pictures from Otley's May Day celebrations... These dancers are Wharfedale Wayzgoose, a Border Morris side from Otley who 'make a lot of noise, drink a lot of beer and occasionally do some dancing'. It's lively stuff, with sticks, face paint and elaborate costumes. 

Incidentally, the proceedings were taking place under the watchful eye of Otley's Bellman (Terry Ford), the town crier (see above left), accompanying the town's current mayor, Councillor Paul Carter.

'Border Morris originated in the agricultural communities of the Welsh Marches – Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire. Farm workers dancing at festivals and collecting money from the very landowners who employed them walked a fine line. The solution was simple and brilliant: if no one could tell who you were, no one could hold it against you come Monday morning. Their disguise took many forms: rags, tatters, blackened faces, but the principle was the same. The dancer disappears; the performance remains.'

The Morris side is led by a Squire. (I assume that is the man pictured above, who seemed to be taking charge, but I may be wrong.)  They also had a (Wayz)Goose with them, dressed in a 'tatter' cloak of rags, who was delighting (or terrorising) the youngsters, depending on the bravery of each individual child. 

May Day in Otley

I realised to my surprise that it's eight years since I last went to the May Day celebration in Otley. This year it was a much warmer day, with a hint of sunshine, so there were a lot more people watching. That meant it was a bit harder to get photos but made for a great atmosphere. 

The event is organised by Otley's Buttercross Belles, a North-West Morris dance side. They are able to use the Otley town maypole. The actual pole they dance round is a newish one, but there has been a maypole on this Cross Green site for upwards of 200 years at least. Maypoles have a rich history in British folklore and celebrations, particularly on May Day, symbolising fertility and spring. It's a lovely tradition to keep alive. 

The first half of the celebration saw the team encouraging children to dance around the maypole, weaving in and out to make simple patterns round the pole with the ribbons. It was predictably chaotic!

The Buttercross Belles then did a couple of dances. They use handkerchiefs and textile bobbins in their dances, a reminder of their tradition's origins in our mills. 

They were supported by Kitchen Taps, a local Appalachian dance side: 

and The Flash Company, also Otley-based, who have taken traditional Morris a step further, dancing to more modern music designed to appeal to a new audience. They were all having lots of fun.  Morris dance is impossible to watch without wanting to jig about! 

Each Morris side has its own musicians but much of the music for the Maypole dances themselves was supplied by the band that accompanies Wayzgoose, the Border Morris side based in Otley, who were also there dancing. 

 

Apollo

To be completely honest, I'm not sure whether I was more attracted to the boat or the boatman here! 'Apollo' was moored up on the canalside in Saltaire during the World Heritage weekend, offering 90 minute boat trips. A bit cheeky of them perhaps, as there is also our own Saltaire trip boat 'Titus', though that just operates locally, a twenty minutes or so cruise, up to Hirst Lock and down into Shipley - and I noticed that business is now for sale. 

'Apollo' is managed by Best Yorkshire Boating and moves up and down the canal offering trips and private cruises from various locations. She's an authentic working canal boat, built in 1929 to carry coal and cargo on the canal network. Originally horse-drawn, she was converted in 1936 into a motor boat, and has since been refitted and restored as a passenger boat. It's lovely to see these historic craft still being used. 

Bolton bluebells

Sorry but I can't resist a few more bluebell shots... It's May Day so I need to celebrate. 

These were actually taken on April 22 at Bolton Abbey. I met a friend there for a walk. This was only about a week after I visited previously, when the bluebells were just coming into bloom. A week on - and some sunshine - and the flowers had mostly unfurled right to their top bud - 'peak bluebell'. As I mentioned before, they're a good couple of weeks earlier this year than one would usually expect. 

They look better when photographed in soft light rather than sunshine - but glorious nevertheless. 

It's by far my favourite time of year. If I was condemned to spend the rest of my life in an English bluebell wood in spring, I wouldn't complain! Happily there are a few very good local sites where you can be sure of seeing them. 

In the space of a week, the wild garlic has gone from being just leaves to being studded with white flowers too. So pretty. 

Mandarins

I spotted a pair of Mandarin ducks on the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey. Aren't they attractive? The males are very showy with their bright colours and 'sails' but I love the more softly coloured females, so dainty-looking. Originally introduced to the UK from China, they have become established in the wild following escapes from captivity. They're not particularly common here but always nice to see. 

Tiptoe through the bluebells

Our bluebells this year have flowered quite early, by at least a couple of weeks I would estimate. Always beautiful, I think our local Hirst Wood is as good a place as any to see them. They are most prolific in the woodland along the edge of the canal. It was a bit too sunny really! The colour gets bleached out in the sunshine on photos so hazy conditions tend to be better, but you get what you get when you go for a walk. My mind and body welcomed the sunshine, even if my camera lens was a bit choosy. These pictures were taken last week and I suspect the flowers there will be even more abundant now. 

Lilac

We need smell-o-vision here! On my walk down to the canal I pass a small lilac tree in someone's garden. At this time of year it is glorious, with lush clusters of blossom and the most heavenly scent. I've sometimes wondered whether to knock on the door of the house and beg a few sprigs... but I'm not bold enough! I do enjoy it though, stopping to inhale the fragrance as I pass. 

I like it especially because it reminds me of the little white lilac tree in the garden of my childhood home. White ones don't tend to be quite as strongly scented but I still loved that scrappy little tree. I've even managed to dig out an old photo of me standing in front of it. I guess I was about twelve at the time. Nostalgia! 

 

Sunny Shipley

On sunny days, people seem to be enjoying the newly landscaped market place in Shipley. What was previously a rather boring paved area has recently been improved with curving flower beds and lawns, ramps and safer steps. The old wooden market stalls have been replaced with umbrella canopies, and on market days portable booths are set up too. It's all quite a lot more pleasant - though the iconic 1960s concrete clock tower at the front of the covered market still needs some attention. People either love that as a feature or hate it - and the clock doesn't work any more.

Cavendish Seat view

This a gorgeous view in colour but, for a change, I'm enjoying the monochrome version, bringing out the shapes, tones and the contrast between the glassy surface of the river and the tangled tracery of the woodland. 

It's the view from the little bench at Bolton Abbey known as 'The Cavendish Seat', high above the River Wharfe and looking upstream towards the Strid gorge. 

Babes and bluebells

It was 14 April and I had not realised that the Leeds schools had another week of the Easter Holidays left. (Bradford's schools had already returned.) It meant there were more children around Bolton Abbey than I had expected (which means photography can be more difficult) but the bonus was that there was a coffee van parked at the Strid, only there at holiday times. It was very pleasant to sit sipping a cappucino, overlooking the water. I snapped the little group of youngsters from the back, so I don't think that's violating any principles. I thought they looked very sweet in their wellies. 

I chose the top path from the Cavendish Pavilion to the Strid, which took me right through the middle of the bluebell woods. They were just beginning to unfurl, not yet at their peak but still leaving a flush of blue across the woodland floor, as though someone had dashed a brush of watercolour paint across. There were plenty of wild garlic leaves too, with a few of their white flowers starting to poke through.

Square eyes

My mother used to warn/threaten us, as children, that we'd 'get square eyes' from watching too much television. (Worries about 'screen time' have been with us for decades!) Nowadays, I sometimes decide I'll take my 'square eyes' on a walk, just for a change. It's funny how imposing a restriction, like setting my camera to a different ratio, can sometimes make me more creative, or at least free me up to look at things a little differently. 

I made the most of a bright, dry morning with a trip to Bolton Abbey - and timed it perfectly. The rain started just as I drove away from the car park to come home! It was all very beautiful, quite possibly my favourite time of year when the new leaves are bathing the trees in varying shades of soft green and amber, interspersed with a few bursts of blossom.  

I just blissed out and really enjoyed finding square compositions. When I got home and uploaded the photos, I wasn't sure that my bliss in the moment had translated into all that many wonderful images, but it doesn't really matter. I had fun. 

Lantern Parade

As part of the World Heritage Day celebrations in Roberts Park, Cecil Green Arts collective organised a lantern parade. The puppets are amazing. Lots of children had attended workshops to make illuminated willow wands and colourful paper lanterns too. The atmosphere was wonderful as they paraded around the park at dusk. It was actually darker than it looks on some of my photos, but I've lightened them so you can see some detail.