November 2017 – In Search of my Yorkshire Roots

Month: November 2017 (page 1 of 2)

A busy day crossing the Pennines and spanning the centuries

27th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

Lunch in Manchester Cathedral cafe with my dear friend Katrina, was followed by my first visit to Bridgewater Hall for a concert

Handel by Candle – light

Festive!

Michael Bawtree CONDUCTOR – personable
Tereza Gevorgyan SOPRANO – amazing
Crispian Steele-Perkins TRUMPET – always a twinkle in his eye
Canzonetta Choir
Mozart Festival Orchestra IN FULL 18TH CENTURY COSTUME

We got centre front, second row seats – for twenty three pounds.

Then a quick trip by train across the Pennines to see a conversation with George Costigan (of Happy Valley and Educating Rita) and Willie Russell (who wrote Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine)

Winter festivals galore

25th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

I decided to take the bus to Haworth after the first snowfall of the winter

I love the lattice work of the stone walls

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From the moving bus

This lady was on my bus. At the highest point on the moors she got off and went to her car. The bus driver waited until she’d removed the snow, opened the door and started the engine. All in a day’s work for a country bus driver. P.s The bus is called Charlotte!

This greeted me in Haworth – it is Steam Punk weekend

Behind these wonderful characters is the cafe where Anna and i had lunch last week.

Puppy with octopus

Can I take this one home please?

Coming back on the bus we had blizzard conditions which are commonly referred to in this part of the world (if the man sitting next to me was anything to go by) as “Ee, gad! It’s snowing t’ buggery!” View from my window when I got home.

Below: scenes from Haworth’s Steam Punk excursion

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Catching up

22nd November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

With Anna and Paul at Stubbing Wharf just before they left for Naples

Lovely lunch at the Square Chapel with great friends

An icy morning

This is a perfect example of what I find so amazing about living in this little tiny town called Hebden Bridge. Judith Weir, master of the queen’s music came to give a lecture about what it means to be a composer. The lecture was in the town hall and it took me precisely two minutes to walk from my apartment to the venue.

Slowly becoming my cushions!

Christmas trees galore in Haworth

Our first trip to the Victoria Theatre in Halifax – to see Milton Jones.

Truly a laugh a minute

Anna looking gorgeous in the floodlit Piece Hall

My first gig in England in 32 years will be on the platform of a railway station!

Staying close to home

17th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

With David at Quiz night at the White Lion in Heptonstall

Trying a hand at weaving

Dressing up in the Piece Hall, Halifax

Heading for the gibbett

Hhhalifax town hall

Loom loom cafe Dean Clough Mill

Getting ready for turning on th Christmas lights in Hebden

Fireworks over my apartment

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Hebden junior band

A festive day in Leeds

16th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

In and Around Sowerby Bridge

14th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

We started off the day in Christ church Sowerby Bridge, meeting my friends at the weekly coffee morning. The font was used to baptise many generations of babies in our family, and the altar was the scene of many of my ancestors’ weddings. Then it was off to meet Jean and John from Sowerby who took us up to the hills above Elland to a farm shop that has a cafe with an amazing view. Then to walk off our lunch we had a stroll along the dam at Baitings reservoir near Ripponden. It was windy and raining but us Yorkshire folk are tough!

To Manchester – with Anna

14th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

Preparing for a shopping spree

The newly refurbished organ in Manchester Cathedral – the location of many of our ancestors’ weddings. In the summer this organ was encased in plastic wrapping.

Remembrance Sunday

A group of first graders learning how to do brass rubbings in the cathedral. Sweet school uniforms.

Freezing in Manchester Christmas market!

Warming up with hot mulled wine. This building was constructed for the market and is taken down after Christmas

Christmas cappuccino in Primark

Primark shopping spree

An escape to the warmth of Opus One

Visiting her old dorm at Manchester Uni

Stunning fashions on Curry Mile

Waiting for the train home after a lovely day out

Anna arrives

13th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

Settling in after a 22 hour journey

Sound of a brass band next morning got us running out of the house to see what was a- happenin’. It was the Hebden Bridge brass band playing for the march to the cenotaph for the remembrance Sunday parade

Then the bus up to Heptonstall for my favourite views down into the valley. It was barely above freezing with a strong bitterly cold Northerly wind blasting in right from the Arctic. The buildings below look like a tiny model village.

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The bells of the ‘new’ church were ringing for Remembrance Day

Anna paying a visit to her great, great, great, great, great grandparents , James and Mally Wrigley – so fitting for Remembrance Sunday.

And now I have each daughter photographed in front of the same pillar in Heptonstall old church.

We did a 7 mile hike to gibson Mill in Hardcastle Crags. Despite the freezing temperature the cafe inside was packed – we had a wait in line! Other, more braver souls, were picnicing on the outside tables. We remarked on the many, many young children out with their parents on this sunny Sunday afternoon.

My mum used to visit this former mill which became a tourist destination in the early part of the last century. It even had a roller skating rink inside. Anna is playing dress-up. Behind her is the pulley system for lifting bales of wool – just like in the ceiling of my apartment’s kitchen.

Lovely autumn colours

Reaching Hebden Bridge

A well-earned drink – open mic in the White Duck (sorry, White Swan!)

A Grand Day Out – in Manchester

11th November 2017 / hmcreativelady / 0 Comments

A trip down Memory Lane to see the concert hall that I used to attend in high school. It’s now a smart hotel but the Bar keeps the name Opus One which was the title of the series of concerts I attended. A nice coffee there and a friendly manager who needed little prompting to relate the story of the building’s conversion to the hotel made for a lovely hour in which to shelter from the cold north wind outside. The conductor of the Halle orchestra was Sir John Barbirolli and I went to say hello to him again after a hiatus of 44 years! Manchester’s Christmas market opened today and St Peter’s Square has been converted into a village of wooden chalets serving all manner of warming libations (check out the names of those beers!) and tempting foods. I found it too cold to eat outside – no wonder, it was cold enough for an ice rink! Talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing – how about a sheep in woman’s clothing. Just love the British sense of humour.