Cawood...

A quiet corner of Cawood, yesterday...

Acaster Marine...

Shot today: a boat being launched from the slipway at Acaster Malbis, just south of York…

Rudston...

The tallest standing stone in the UK, at 25 feet, can be found in the village of Rudston, near Bridlington (and an excavation conducted by antiquarian, William Stukeley, in the late 18th century suggested that there might be as much of the stone underground as there is standing). The monolith is believed to date from the late Neolithic period (4400-2500BCE ) or early Bronze Age. It is hewn out of Moorstone grit, possibly from the Cleveland Hills at Grosmont, and it’s anybody’s guess how this immense stone was transported over 40 miles to Rudston.

A church may have been built here in Saxon times, though all traces have now vanished. No church building was recorded in Rudston in the Domesday survey of 1086. The present church, All Saints, dates from the 14th century, and my pic dates from last Saturday…

CalMac ferry...

Licensed today: a CalMac ferry leaving the Isle of Iona, heading for the Isle of Mull…

Another lucky shot...

The camera was tripod-mounted, and the composition locked, when this stag wandered into the picture area, posed for a couple of seconds and then sauntered out of shot. The imposing facade is Belton House, near Grantham, Lincolnshire, licensed today…

The most punchable face in Christendom...

I was standing around in Driffield today, waiting for the light – not the lights – to change, when a middle-aged guy sidled up to me and said “My, that’s a big camera”. People often see me, with my camera, and take the opportunity to chat about photography. That’s fine. But this guy changed tack, abruptly, after a couple of minutes, and tried to force some leaflets – about salvation – into my hand.  

“I’m not a believer”, I said. “Where do you think I’ll go when I die?” He seemed reluctant to say, so I tried to help him out. “Am I going to hell?” He looked at me sadly and said “I’m afraid so… yes”. “So here you are, in Driffield, on a sunny afternoon, stopping a total stranger to tell him that he will suffer an eternity of conscious torment in the fires of hell merely because he doesn't subscribe to your religious fantasies?” After a couple more words, short and to the point, the conversation reached its predictable conclusion.

Licensed today: a portion of Cwmhir Abbey, in Abbey Cwmhir: one of the principality’s less impressive ruins… 

The Tom Pudding Hoist at twilight...

‘Tom Puddings’ was the name given to the tub boats used on the Aire and Calder Navigation, to transport coal from the open-cast collieries of the South Yorkshire coalfield near Stanley Ferry to the port of Goole. Tom Puddings were introduced in 1863 and used until 1985 (I remember seeing them on my first bird-watching trips to Fairburn Ings). The hoist lifted up the tubs, one at a time, to tip the coal into the cargo holds of seagoing ships...

Smoking guns...

Sometimes numbers tell the story, especially if they are presented in graphic form. I remember this graph being displayed on TV to represent the times of day that Harold Shipman’s patients died. He visited a lot of his elderly patients in mid-afternoon – often without being asked to do so – which is why his line, in blue, ‘spikes’ at 3pm.

The second chart shows which nurses were on duty at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester hospital, when premature babies were being injured or killed. As with Dr Shipman, the evidence is clear and unambiguous: the blue column indicates that Lucy Letby was present on every occasion...

Getting lucky...

How much does luck play a part in photography? I’m happy to subscribe to the old adage that “the harder you work, the luckier you get”, because it suggests that our hard work will be rewarded. But what about dumb luck?

I was having a coupla pints with an old mate last week, in a pub in York. The sun came out for a few seconds, so I reached in my bag for my camera and fired off a couple of shots. It was luck, not judgement, to capture the enigmatic, ‘Mona Lisa’ smile of a man who can't quite decide whether his glass is half-empty or half-full…  

Cartmel...

Licensed today: the old market cross in the village of Cartmel, South Lakeland…

Buckinghamshire...

This cottage in Buckinghamshire seems to tick all the boxes for quaintness…

Morecambe...

If Morecambe has a ‘cultural quarter’, this is it. Licensed today: an artwork of Venus and Cupid, by Shane Johnstone, on the promenade… 

Brill...

A house in the village of Brill, in Buckinghamshire, where the Morrisons gathered, a couple of days ago, for an al fresco lunch, and to hear that there will be a new addition to the family at the end of the year.

I took some pix around the village. The house names recall earlier times: The Old Plough, The Old Swan, The Old Rose & Crown (pubs), The Old Vicarage, The Old Rectory, The Old Chapel, The Old Sunday School, The Old School House, The Old Surgery, The Old Dairy Barn, The Old Bakehouse, The Old Bakery, The Old Post Office, The Old Forge, The Old Farmhouse, The Old Library, even The Old Gaol…

Sledmere House...

Licensed today: the parterre at Sledmere House in East Yorkshire…

Goldsborough...

Licensed today: Goldsborough Church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, North Yorkshire… 

The Forbidden Corner...

“Meditation implies a quality of mind that can completely attend, therefore a mind that can be completely still. Your mind is always chattering, always talking to itself, within itself, or to somebody, always in movement. How can such a mind that is everlastingly chattering perceive anything? Only a mind that is completely attentive has the total energy to observe” (Krishnamurti, from a public talk in 1970).

Licensed today: the green man at the Forbidden Corner, Coverham, North Yorkshire…

Howden...

A quiet corner of Howden yesterday...

Lulworth Cove...

On the rare occasions that I get a Chinese take-away from Howden, they slip a couple of fortune cookies into the bag. Last night’s ‘fortunes’ were hearteningly positive. “The current year will bring you much happiness” and “Your troubles will cease and fortune will smile upon you”. Certainly more uplifting than last month’s offering: “You will die alone and unloved, old man”.

Before I started shooting for stock, I would never have taken a pic like this, showing the less attractive aspects of well-known beauty spots. This is the car park, on bank holiday, at Lulworth Cove in Dorset, which was licensed today…

River Eden...

This pic, of the River Eden near Carlisle, has been licensed three times in the last month. Twice, alas, because two people have drowned in that stretch of river, and today, to illustrate the parlous state of our waterways…

Moresby Hall...

Licensed today: the rather austere facade of Moresby Hall, near Whitehaven, West Cumbria…

Hull...

Licensed today: an ambulance passing Queen Victoria Square in Hull…

Standing, waiting...

Asselby was beseiged today by vans, lorries, cherry-pickers and loads of guys in hi-viz jackets, to repair power lines and replace some of our telegraph poles. I got a few pix before heading off for a day in York.

“They also serve who only stand and wait” (John Milton)…

Bile Beans...

They worked for me; maybe they'll work for you too...

Listening...

“I do not know if you have ever tried to listen to your wife or husband, to your children, to the car that goes by, to the movement of your own thought and your own feeling. Out of that listening, in which there is no action at all, no intention, no interpretation, just the very act of listening brings about a tremendous revolution at the very root of the mind. But most of us are so unaccustomed to listening. If we hear anything contrary to our habitual thought, we get terribly agitated. If one of our pet ideals is kicked, we get terribly excited. We have our own vested interest in ideas, in property, in our own experience and knowledge, and when any of that is questioned, we lose balance and resist anything that is being said” (Krishnamurti, from a public talk in 1964)...

The Yorkshire Wolds yesterday...

Lucky England...

Just watched England women v Nigeria women, in the last 16 of the World Cup. Nigeria played well, with skill and composure; England played as though they deserved to win merely because they'd turned up. England’s Lauren James stamped on another player, with her studs. It was clumsy and petulant; with cameras covering every square inch of the pitch it was stupid too. She got a red card, and an early bath. After extra time, when it came down to penalties, I wanted Nigeria to win… but they didn’t.

Licensed today: some old geezer enjoying a pint…

Grasmere...

Licensed today: a couple sitting outside the Travellers Rest pub, near Grasmere…

Ravenstonedale...

The first Saturday in August is known round here as ‘Burn a Quran Day’. The excitement is building. Let’s hope the damp weather won’t spoil this special date in Asselby’s social calendar.

Licensed today: a farming landscape near the village of Ravenstonedale, looking towards Ravenstonedale Common, near Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria… 

Grange-over-Sands...

Licenced today. There isn’t much to photograph in Grange-over-Sands (I know; I’ve tried), but this luxury hotel and spa, the Netherwood, has a certain visual appeal. As the only south-facing town on the Cumbrian coastline, Grange was, during its Edwardian heyday, a popular resort for elderly visitors who wanted to ‘take the waters…

Ravenglass...

Licensed today: springtime at the Inn at Ravenglass, West Cumbria… 

Finishing touches...

Licensed today, a man painting his fishing boat on the beach in Tenby Harbour, Pembrokeshire…