Friday, September 18, 2015

flags & bunting from some grimy republic


I am nearly 65. Yorkshire Born & Bred! I was brought up in Halifax in the 50/60/70's . I always throught it "a grimy republic" . I love the place, but i still think it dark.......
(n.b. all photos below are NOT B.H.'s )
Halifax.(origin unknown)

Although ,a case in point, clickthis Martin Parr photograph of Old Halifaxto see a photo  very similar to some of B.H.'s photos. Now Martin Parr    is probably my favourite English photographer. Remember ,me & Cath went to his curated exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery recently.I beg to suggest that several of B.H. 's unseen photos stand comparison with Parr's?
n.b. I wrote  this very brief overview
of Martin's work.  
This is a Sepia Saturday post.

My previous post here reports of my visit last Sunday night to Hope Baptist Church in Hebden Bridge .
I heard the political commentator & journalist Owen Jones speak.
 He talked about how we English are becoming disenfranchised from the  politics in our life.We  start  to believe poverty ,hunger& unemployment etc are all'Acts of God' .Inevitable ...just like the rain outside......
 As it happens, the BBC are filming a new series of Happy Valley at the moment ,in Hebden Bridge.
Two nights ago, on the street that I work, they were filming this scene.
Given the nature of Yorkshire weather,dig the irony.It wasn't raining,so they had to use artificial rain!

As a Halifax child of the 50's, I remember during our Wakes Week some people , not themselves away on holiday, would climb to the top of Beacon Hill to admire the view.
 We live in a beautiful place.During Wakes Wake all the factories shutdown spewing smoke,so it was the only time you could  see the beauty!
The photos I share here show plenty of washing-lines.All those white clothes! How did they keep'em clean within the smoke & rain?
To me,the clean washing look not like white flags of surrender ,but  defiance .
 I believe we see the same defiance in the works today of Jeremy Corbyn & that fine American Bernie Sanders.( a tad strained link....but there you go!)
Incidentally,Mr Sanders name was respectfully mentioned several times at the  church on Sunday




Halifax

I must admit,i cringed a little when i saw this on the telly live.('seemed a little bit too "Bono" for my taste ) But I agree with the sentiment , and it does make for a cracking end to this post.....
. Although!This is a Beautiful Englishman singing the song to its best
.Everytime i hear Robert Wyatt's voice ,i sort of roll myself  into a ball & weep gently...it's so beautiful in my humble opinion.

3 comments:

21 Wits said...

Your first photo and the bike being pushed up ever so slowly are my favorite photos! Need I say, this is a dreamy song playing....makes me want to keep on commenting just to hear it all! Okay, must put on youtube! Hehehe! Enjoy your weekend it was fun stopping by today!

Alex Daw said...

Love that photo of the bike being pushed up the hill....such feeling in it. Gawd if you and my husband ever got together, the music would never stop...John Martyn, Wyatt....all very familiar household names here.

Kristin said...

I think that first photo is one I asked my daughter to take a photo of with her phone in my dream the other night.

I always liked hanging out washing and bringing it in. Clean wash lasted a bit longer than a meal that's eaten in minutes or dishes washed and reused.

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