Field of Hope

A grassy bank in Bingley's Myrtle Park is currently resplendent with 'a host of golden daffodils' and they were indeed 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze', just as William Wordsworth described in his famous poem. The display is called 'Field of Hope'. The bulbs were planted some years ago by pupils of the nearby Myrtle Park Primary School to commemorate the cancer care charity Marie Curie, whose emblem is a daffodil.  

Daffodils are always a welcome sight after a long winter, though I do find they often look better in reality than photographs would suggest. Somehow they are not the most obliging of flowers for a camera - so leggy and the heads seem to face in random directions. 

 Wishing everyone a happy Easter weekend. 

The road less travelled

Roberts Park was so packed with people on the lower field last weekend that I chose a route that meanders around along the top boundary, beyond the promenade. It was a lot less crowded up there. Despite the pleasant sunshine it was still cold and rather breezy, so it was a brisk 'exercise walk' rather than a saunter. The paths curve quite pleasingly around lawns and flower beds, as this quick phone shot shows. I've played around with the image to make it look a bit dreamy, which suited my weekend mood. 

Spooked

Out for a walk the other day, I passed a car that looked like an old hearse, parked at the side of the road.  (It appeared to be being used as an advertising hoarding for garden fencing, rather odd.) It was only when I drew level with the cab that I saw the skeleton staff. I know times have been hard lately but it did spook me out a bit, I'll make no bones about it. 

A lick of paint?

I took this picture because I liked the way the sunshine was picking out Saltaire URC church against the backdrop of heavy storm clouds. It's only in the winter that you can really see this view of the church. Foliage gets in the way in the summer. It wasn't until I was processing the image afterwards that I noticed the peeling paint on the old lamp-post. Time for a fresh coat of black, I think... 

Spring comes to Shipley

Trundling home from Asda with my groceries, I almost passed by this little patch of daffodils without a thought. Then I stopped, realising the blessing in them. They didn't just appear by magic... Someone (presumably from the Council's horticultural department) took time and trouble to plant them. As year follows year they burst into flower, bright and bobbing, to herald the transition to warmer, sunnier days. On the other side of the curved wall is a more formal raised bed, at the moment stocked with primulas. 

Beyond that is a building worthy of noticing too. Now housing a portrait photographer's studio, a hairdresser, a furniture store and our local Conservative MP's constituency office, it was at one time Shipley's Public Baths, with a swimming pool and slipper baths. The date stone on the building says 1906. It has an interesting corner, where the ground floor is rounded to allow more room to pass and the upper floor juts out square above. I also found a fascinating website with information about Shipley during WW1 (HERE) that had the following rather amusing snippet: 

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Beyond the old baths is Shipley Town Hall, still used for that purpose. This Edwardian complex also at one time held Shipley's Fire Station, which was then moved to newer premises up Saltaire Road, and recently again to a brand new building on Valley Road. 

More men at work

I found I was unable to continue my walk along the canal towpath last week, as a section was closed - yet again. I think it is at least the third separate week that it's been barred off. At one point I noticed this stretch of water, between Hirst Lock and the Aquedect, had been almost drained too, though it was filled up again quite quickly. I'm not exactly sure what they are doing. The notice said something about 'essential investigations to support future plans' or words to that effect. The CRT website suggests that they are investigating how to stop leaks from the canal along this stretch. 

I had to reroute along the river and then back through Hirst Woods. From the river path I could see a group of workers in the distance (above).  Coming back through the woods, I still couldn't really see what they were doing, though there is a kind of pontoon on the canal itself.  

As you can see, the canal runs at a significantly higher level than the river just here, along the steep hillside. The paths through Hirst Wood are higher still. I imagine leaks from the canal could destabilise the whole slope, with potentially nasty consequences. 

 

Sunday meditation: Ivy

I spotted a kind of beauty in some rather tatty but tough ivy creeping over a rusty metal door. Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea but I love the colours and textures here. 

'Beauty is a fairy; sometimes she hides herself in a flower-cup, or under a leaf, 

or creeps into the old ivy, and plays hide-and-seek with the sunbeams, 

or haunts some ruined spot, or laughs out of a bright young face.'        George Augustus Henry Sala

'But, like ivy, we grow where there is room for us.'    Miranda July

'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'        Hebrew 13:5

Early blossom

The weather has been pretty chilly of late so that spring seems a little late getting going this year. I did notice the welcome sight of some early blossom beginning to unfurl. I think it's the cherry plum that blossoms first. With a few more sunny days and a rise in temperature, I'm sure everything will suddenly burst into flower. I love spring. 

Spring renovations

It must be something in the air...  Spring brings the urge to start cleaning or renovating. There was certainly a lot going on in Saltaire the other day. There is a project to relay some of the pavements in the village. The stone slabs look nice but soon start shifting (especially when goods vehicles mount the kerbs, as they seem often to do) and when they are uneven they become rather dangerous to walk on. I think the Council is always wary of claims for injury, so they are funding some improvements. 

Round the corner, someone was giving the bakery a facelift. Then further up the road, I noticed the Victoria Hall has a good deal of scaffolding around it. It appears that they are doing something to the stonework.  

As if all that work wasn't enough, I kept seeing people walking around with clipboards. I'm not sure who they were or what they were surveying. Never a dull moment round here, anyway! 

Little yellow suns

Our first spring flowers to appear are the lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) - bright little suns with heart-shaped leaves that grow in damp and mossy places. As well as being uplifting to human spirits, reminders of spring after a long dark winter, they are important nectar sources for bumblebees and insects coming out of hibernation. The poet Wordsworth was so fond of them that he wrote three poems about them. 

'But the thrifty cottager
Who stirs little out of doors,
Joys to spy thee near her home;
Spring is coming, Thou art come!'

('To the Small Celandine' - William Wordsworth) 

The beauty of a newly dug patch

I'm no gardener myself yet I do get a thrill of pleasure from seeing other people's efforts. Walking past these allotments on the way into Bingley, I was pleased and somehow comforted by the newly dug earth and the spring flowers coming into bloom. There's a lot wrong with the world - but also a lot right with it. Nature unfolds year on year, mostly quite reliably and - in a world of unknowns and chaos - just to notice that and rest a while with it is somehow soothing. 

Blue sky thinking

A recent sunny, blue sky day with a noticeable uplift in the air temperature had me reaching for my big camera, feeling that spring was on its way. Sadly, I proved to be well out of practice with my camera skills and I was disappointed with all my shots. I suppose it doesn't help that, despite the spring-like intimations, nature has barely yet started to slough off the winter. Paths are muddy, trees still bare, grass worn and scruffy, even the river looks messy with debris brought down by the winter floodwaters. But still, I will hold on to those intimations of better things to come.

These pictures were taken down by the Aire in Myrtle Park, where the river is joined by Harden Beck and the waters swirl round an island, over a series of small rapids. 

 

Hirst Wood Recreation Ground

Some grant money has been allocated to Shipley from the government's Town Funds scheme 'to aid regeneration and growth'. A portion of it has been directed into our parks and recreation spaces, including Hirst Wood Recreation Ground, where - I gather - some adult gym equipment is to be installed in addition the existing children's play area. When I passed by, on a very murky, damp day, I noticed work had already started on what seemed to be a running track. There are adult gyms in one or two other local areas. I can't say I've noticed anyone actually using them... perhaps I just don't pass by at the right times. 

Bold mallard, shy swan

My photo makes it look like there was only one duck on the Coppice Pond up at Bingley St Ives. It's deceptive. It's such a large area of water that the birds spread out. There were actually lots: mallards like this one, tufted ducks, black-headed gulls, geese, at least two swans and probably more if I'd stayed still long enough to study them all. 

Further round by the jetty, a lady was trying to entice a swan to eat grain from her hand. The swan was definitely interested but not quite brave enough to reach out. It was a strangely intimate little scene. 

 

Set building

I walked past Salts Mill yesterday and noticed they are busy constructing what appears to be a film set in the alleyway. The Mill is currently closed to visitors anyway, although there are several businesses that also work out of the buildings, so they may be affected. Hard to tell what exactly it will be - clearly a street scene of some kind.  There appear to be steps on the right, a shop window, half-timbered walls? I shall have to go down again to see what it looks like in a few days. I've no idea what they will be filming, though someone told me they have been shooting 'All Creatures Great and Small', the TV series about James Herriott, the Yorkshire veterinary surgeon, in Bradford this week. I know they were shooting 'Gentleman Jack' in Bingley not long ago too. They go to such lengths for what may be really very short burst of action in the end product of the whole film. 

No doubt all will be revealed in due course. I'll keep my eyes peeled for some more action.