Duttyo has pointed me towards this advent event in Bridlington.  See if you can get along!

The gorgeous Clare

On the 19th November I captured some portfolio shots for the gorgeous Clare in Leeds.   I also captured some fun, relaxed shots that show Clare as her beautiful smiley self!

Clare is a fantastic actress and a great friend of mine, she also helps me on my photography exhibitions! and I owe her a HUGE thank you.

“Thanks Clare for all your help, here are few images that I think capture you …. hope you like them!”

Clare love's being in her allotment!

Some family fun on the swing (made by Neil)

On the 7th November I photographed Susan, Neil, Kate and Ellie at their home in Leeds. What a great day we had!  They were all such good sports and really up for having a fab time.  Even their lovely dog Izzy got in as many shots as she possibly could. (She’s actually a human pretending to be a dog)

Sisters Kate and Ellie have such a special bond that is fantastic to photograph, they are so close and more like best friends than sisters.  Their wonderful mum and dad were brilliant to photograph too!

We used the family home and gorgeous garden for most of the back drops, then we finished the shoot with a few studio shots on the black backdrop.

The family are viewing the images this week, so I am just showing a few of my favourites on here for them to peek at:

A cuddle in the corridor

The beautiful sisters: Ellie & Kate

Izzy doing her best human impression

Kate, Ellie, Neil and Susan

Pillow fight and girly giggles

Squeeze!

Great friends

To see more portraits taken on location please click here to visit the gallery

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]]> http://countrygirlsthoughtsoftheday.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/no-thought-worth-writing-down/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:53:58 +0000 countrygirluk http://countrygirlsthoughtsoftheday.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/no-thought-worth-writing-down/

I am sitting here, listening to Sigur Ros, wondering if that makes my mood even more melancholic. Rather then finishing my novel, I am writing poetry that will never see the light of day.

I bought a car today. Yes, boyfriend finally got me to a point where I just said yes. Should be happy, I guess, but I just dont know what to feel anymore!

I am working out lists in my head, trying to fingure out my life and I am not getting anywhere. The more I think about it, the more I get depressed. If I think about it less, well, try to, anyway, I feel like I am becoming one of the robots around me. Weird, eh?

Here are the things that I would like in life in no particular order:

1. Be a published writer.

2. Wake up happy at least 5 times a week.

3. Love my life.

tbc.

I think I have to many doubts in my life. Must make a list of that one day. Would be so much longer.

To finish this of, some beautiful pics.

Yorkshire

St. Michaels Mount, Cornwall

Graveyard, Yorkshire

I am off to bed now.

Good night.

Me x

British Playwright Alan Ayckbourn in NYC for his play "My Wonderful Day." © 2009 Karen Rubin/News&PhotoFeatures

“My Wonderful Day” in NYC Theater has inspired me to travel to Yorkshire, England.

 What is the connection, you might wonder?

 “My Wonderful Day” is a play written and directed by Alan Ayckbourn, who comes from Yorkshire, England. He came to the 59E59 Theater in mid-Manhattan, where the play is being staged through Dec. 13, to participate in a fascinating “Conversation with Alan Ayckbourn.”  The be-knighted playwright discussed his inspirations, his technique for playwriting and directing.

 He is also an unofficial Ambassador for his hometown of Scarborough in Yorkshire, England, and the Yorkshire Travel Bureau used the occasion to invite travel press. Over lunch, I became intrigued to experience the landscape, coastline, people, history, art and culture. The region is about 2 hours by train north of London, half-way to Edinburgh (www.yorkshire.com).

 I became most intrigued to experience Harewood, Yorkshire’s visitor attraction of the year, which celebrated its 250^th anniversary this year. Harewood House, in Leeds, is a fabulous mansion home built in 1759, which offers tours of its state rooms, its “below stairs” experience, gardens, an Adventure Playground and planetarium, art exhibits and theater, cultural events and festivals (the VW Festival in August offers caravan and camping); www.harewood.org.

 In the interim, to get a British fix here in the Big Apple, a number of English themed properties that have opened recently in NYC; Crosby Street Hotel in Soho – Firmdale Hotels (www.firmdalehotels.com) first property outside of London, Brit-owned new restaurant Le Caprice at the Pierre Hotel, The Spotted Pig’s Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield’s new restaurant Breslin at the Ace Hotel (http://thebreslin.com), The Clerkenwell in the Lower East Side – named after London’s Clerkenwell (where the first gastropub appeared) and Brinkley’s, recently opened gastropub in Soho (http://brinkleysnyc.com.) New York Magazine ran a piece just last week on the rise of the English breakfast (http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/61830/) and traditional English afternoon tea has long been a trend in NYC. Other English exports include Tea & Sympathy (www.teaandsympathynewyork.com/restaurant.php), the “quintessential corner of England in the heart of Greenwich Village” and Myers of Keswick (www.myersofkeswick.com) traditional English shop on Hudson Street, and of course the theatre – “Brits off Broadway” (which runs until January 3, 2010) and Sienna Miller is currently staring in After Miss Julie on Broadway while Jude Law is in Hamlet.

 For more destination features, visit www.travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate.

Chris Berry’s latest CD – The Smiler – The Easy Listening Album features 18 tracks varying between his big band/swing songs and acoustic versions of hits from through the decades.

Chris Berry cover pic for THE SMILER CD

 ’I really enjoyed putting this album together,’ says Chris. ‘Everything on here is really just a nice, easy listen and that’s why we’ve called it The Easy Listening Album. I’ll leave you to guess why we called it The Smiler, but I think anyone who knows me will know why!’ The Smiler makes an excellent Christmas gift and was recorded at the same studio where Chris’ good friend Joe Longthorne recorded a number of years ago. Chris is presently writing Joe’s autobiography. The Smiler is available at the special offer price of just £7.

Chris Berry in acoustic action

And there is a further special offer with a copy of the CMC CD – Chris & Mick’s Acoustic Jukebox – featuring 15 tracks added to your order for just a further £5. Please add £1.50 for postage and packing. Please make any cheque payable to CHRIS BERRY and send to: Chris Berry CDs, 2 Elmete Croft, Scholes, Leeds LS15 4BE

www.chrisberrysingerandwriter.wordpress.com   www.myspace.com/chrisberrysinger   www.myspace.com/cmcacoustic  www.the-fog.talktalk.net    Email: chris@chrisberry.tv   Chris is also on Facebook and Twitter     Also check Facebook groups… CHRIS BERRY Solo CMC & FOG gigs;    CMC – Chris & Mick  …;. and FOG – The best..

Track Listing for THE SMILER – Chris Berry’s EASY LISTENING CD

1. Nice ‘n’ Easy    2. The Young Ones   3. New York, New York   4. Daniel   5.  Fly Me To The Moon   6. Bachelor Boy  7. It’s All In The Game  8. California Dreamin’  9. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do  10. Brown Eyed Girl  11. When I Fall in Love  12. Bye Bye Love  13. My Way  14. You’ve Got A Friend  15. It Had To Be You  16. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore  17. The Next Time  18. The Gambler

Further turmoil for Yorkshire Tories; after revelations of their relationship to Hizb ut-Tahrir, it now turns out their MEPs are no longer on speaking terms.

(Report from BBC Politics Show Yorkshire)

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Tomorrow (Sunday 29th) there is no painting session at Patriot Games in Sheffield – instead we’re off to Leeds to the Owls club in Headingly.

Platoon Britannica members in Yorkshire have organised a meet up and painting session for local painters/PB members. The Sheffield Irregulars are travelling over in style in the Pimp Mobile minibus and looking forward to meeting up with some new faces, and saying hello to some friends.

Should be fun, hope you can join us.

We’ll be back at Patriot Games for the usual 11 – 16:00 session next Sunday, 6th December.

I write today’s post in the evening as if from inside a disco, because there is a wedding at the village community hall just opposite our house.  The village is very often a quiet place but this not even this evening’s heavy rain can drown out the celebrations for Fabio’s wife’s female cousin’s marriage.

Earlier today, the onset of a light rain brought a surprise visitor to the banana feeder in the form of a beautiful male Hoffmann’s woodpecker with its yellow nape and red crown.  It stayed for several minutes and came back at least once for more banana.  That adds one more to the species that I have seen at the bananas, although I am sure I’ve missed several others.  Perhaps the Golden-olive woodpecker that I spotted as it made a brief stay in the guayabo was also waiting to dine on bananas.

When I first came to San Antonio, I saw several Hoffmann’s woodpeckers and assumed that this was the common species here.  Almost two years later, I have had to change opinions.

I have seen four different species of woodpecker here at the house, plus Lineated woodpecker down near La Suiza, and Hairy woodpecker up on the Turrialba Volcano road and at the mountain community of  Cariblanco.  Well, it says Cariblanco on the road signs, but locals tell me that it’s a mis-spelling for Variblanco.  I had fondly assumed that either White-faced monkeys or a nineteenth century general had originally given their name to the location, but it seems not.  It’s a cold location for monkeys up there, and for generals too.  Not just brass monkey weather, then.

The Lineated woodpecker can’t be counted among My Turrialba Woodpeckers because I have seen it only much lower down on the other side of town, out past the CATIE towards La Suiza.  Stiles and Skutch maintain, however, that it occurs locally as high as 110o m on the Caribbean side, so I live in hope.   The Hairy woodpecker seems common enough not too much higher up the mountain, and it might just drop in here some day.  It seems worth mentioning that the Hairy woodpeckers I have seen in Costa Rica seem more like the size of the North American Downy woodpecker.

And now for the four species I’ve noted here in San Antonio.  First mention must go to the Golden-olive woodpecker, which offers an understated beauty with its barred front and olive back.  It’s the only Costa Rican woodpecker whose colouration brings to mind the Green woodpecker of my home town in Yorkshire, England.  The Golden-olive takes the prize for most numerous woodpecker here in San Antonio, but even then I see it only very sporadically.

Next up is the Hoffmann’s, which purportedly is at the eastern extreme of its Costa Rican range here near Turrialba.  Today’s bird was the first in a long long while.

The Black-cheeked woodpecker appeared twice in December 2008; the visits were about a week apart and each time the favoured tree was what I’m told is Fruta de paloma, a tall tree on my top fence-line that is noteworthy for having attracted, in January 2009 but in numbers and with daily regularity, Long-tailed silky flycatchers and Mountain elaenias.  This tree is fruiting right now, so I’m hopeful that something may turn up in the coming days and weeks.  A single male Black-cheeked came first in the first week of December, and about a week later I noted a pair.

The Yellow-bellied sapsucker, the only Costa Rican migratory woodpecker, according to Stiles & Skutch, made my day on November 30th, 2008.  There were  two birds, actually, (at least two, say my field notes,) one an immature (possibly two), and the other with a red nape.

I stress the red nape because I didn’t see this bird’s crown colour, which presumably would also have been red, making this (according to Sibley) an adult male.  Sibley says that the Yellow-bellied male can ‘occasionally’ have a red nape.  Stiles & Skutch say that adult males are rarely seen in Costa Rica and make no mention of red napes on what is anyway, by all accounts, a very uncommon migrant and winter resident.  No Costa Rican field guides mention the North American Red-naped sapsucker as a possibility, but Howell & Webb’s Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America mentions vagrants as far south as Honduras.  I find all of this stuff just fascinating and hope to get visits from sapsuckers again this December or January.

Perhaps we should get near Patrick Henry’s language this way: “Is life’s span so dear and are home comforts so engrossing as to be purchased with my unfaithfulness and dry-eyed prayerlessness? At the final bar of God, shall the perishing millions accuse me of materialism coated with a few Scripture verses?

“Forbid it, Almighty God!  I know not what course others may take; but as for me, GIVE ME REVIVAL in my soul, in my church and in my nation—or GIVE ME DEATH.”

                          –  Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship Inc, 1959), 166.

Leonard Ravenhill died this date, 11/27/1994.  He was born June 18, 1907, at Leeds, Yorkshire, England.  He married Martha, an Irish nurse, in 1939 and twenty yeares later the Ravenhills moved to the United States eventually making their home in Texas.

He penned some books among which are Why Revival Tarries (1959), Meat for Men (1961).  Heard him preach twice and was introduced to him either by the late Steve D. Herron or by the late Paul W. Finch in the late 60’s.

Jessica's amazing pram .. . a beautiful addition to the photographs

On the 6th November I travelled to York to photograph Sarah, Geoff and their gorgeous little girl Jessica.  I had such a great time working with this family, capturing a variety of  images inside and outside their home. We even got the family dogs and cats in a few shots!  We used natural backgrounds mixed with studio lighting throughout this shoot and captured a huge variety of photographs  that I am really excited to show the family next week.

Sarah & Geoff, I hope you like your sneak preview! and I’ll see you soon …

Making use of the family farmland!

Jessica, all snuggly in her winter coat. (it was freezing outside!)

"wheres my lunch then?"

Jessica having a giggle in her cot!

Bendy legs!!

Sarah having a squeeze of her scrumptious cat

To see more portraits taken on location please visit the gallery, click here

]]> http://irritatingfootball.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/barnsley-mivvahhh/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:36:12 +0000 Wilky http://irritatingfootball.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/barnsley-mivvahhh/

A lot  has been made in the preceding weeks of ‘Oakwellgate’. Spotty, Henri Lloyd wearing 16-year-old div’s trashing the concourse and petrifying staff. With ticketless United fans apparently let in to the ground at half time, the Daily Mail was sent into a frenzy- we’re heading back to ‘dark old days’.

To match goers like myself, the hysteria surrounding the Barnsley match was hilarious yet sobering. With 6,000 tickets at a reasonable £25, it’s rare for United fans to get such a fair deal that was accessible to all. Barnsley should be applauded for the pricing, they could have easily gone and done a Birmingham or West Brom and charged 50 sheets for their cup final, but the ‘Yarkshare’ club reflected the prices by the players on the pitch, which effectively saw an understrength United team.

From the off, United dominated the play, Ferguson’s reserves made the Championship outfit look futile, ad an early Wellbeck header reflected this. All the fun and games was yet to arrive though….

It would be easy to blame solely United fans for what was to come and no doubt we deserve our fair shame of the blame, but wider questions have to be asked around the circumstances that caused the uproar. South Yorkshire police issued a statement suggesting United fans shouldn’t be mooching about town but should instead head for a beer in Barnsley’s near-by sportsdrome. Now if anyone has ever been to one of those souless shit holes (like at Wigan) then you will know how crap the atmosphere is, how warm the beer is and how immense the stupidity of cramming thousands of fans in to one small area can be. Statements like the one issued may be written with good intentions but as football fans we don’t like to be told what to do. An away day is about having the craic with your mates in an unusual and distant town and feeling of the buzz of the unity that binds us together as we sing songs present and old under the banner of United.

The police have to to look at their tactics and the antagonism that can ensue from their heavy handed actions. This was no more apparent than when they let ticketless United fans in at half time. The mainstream media have glossed over this but those present know how United fans do like a ‘jib’ when possible, but this was a case of letting 300 United fans in to an already crowded stand. It is possible to paint our support as angelic and innocent but scousers we’re not! The presence of the police kitted out in full riot gear does nothing but intimidate and the direct action undertaken to march United fans back to the train station brings in to question the issue of civil liberties.

We live in a liberal democracy yet the police would have the public believe football fans are terrorists leaving us feel like we’ve been interned in Guantanamo. Obviously people will point to the actions of a minority as evidence that football still needs stringent enforcing. However, those of us that follow United regularly know, (as the annual big allocations at Blackburn and Wigan show) that self policing is the best form of practice. It’s up to experienced match goers to take a stand on these Danny Dyer wannabee’s and let them know there is a way of conducting themselves at the match and of following their team so implications such as banning orders and cut allocations don’t come in to effect.

Any comments welcome please. It may take me a while to write back though as I’m currently writing to the British embassy from my cell in Cuba asking for my release and a flight home for West Ham away next week!

John Lambert

John Lambert was born in autumn 1619, Calton, West Riding, Yorkshire and he dies on March 1684, at St. Nicholas Isle, off Plymouth, Cornwall.  A leading parliamentary general during the English Civil War (1642-51) and the principal architect of the protectorate, the form of republican government existing in England from 1653 to 1660.  Coming from a well-to-do family of gentry, Lambert joined the parliamentary army as a captain at the outbreak of the Civil War between King Charles I and Parliament.  He first distinguished himself in encounters with the Royalists at Bradford, Yorkshire, in March 1644, and he fought bravely in the major parliamentary victory at Marston Moor, Yorkshire in July 1644.  A major general at the age of 28, he helped Henry Ireton draw up the “Heads of Proposals,” a draft constitution aimed at reconciling the  conflicting interests of the army, Parliament, and the King.

At the beginning of the second phase of the Civil War in 1648, Lambert was commander of the troops of northern England.  He and Oliver Cromwell routed the Scottish Royalist invaders at Preston, Lancashire, in August 1648, and on March 22, 1649, Lambert captured Pontefract, Yorkshire, the last Royalist stronghold in England.

Second in command under Cromwell during the campaigns against the Royalists in Scotland in 1650 and 1651, Lambert and Cromwell, on September 3, 1651, decisively defeated Charles I’s son, Charles II, at Worcester in the final battle of the Civil War.

In succeeding years Lambert played a key role in Cromwell’s experimental governments.  He persuaded Cromwell to dissolve the “Rump” Parliament in 1653, putting the army firmly in control of the government, and was responsible for drawing up the Instruments of Government under which Cromwell assumed dictatorial powers as Lord Protector of the commonwealth in 1653.  Lambert served on the Council of State and was Cromwell’s right-hand man until, in 1657, he outspokenly opposed the proposal that Cromwell be made king.  When he refused to swear allegiance to the Protector, Cromwell deprived him of his offices but granted him a substantial annual pension.

After Cromwell’s death (September 1658), Lambert gradually returned to politics.  He did not openly cooperate with the army officers who deposed Cromwell’s son and successor, Richard, in May 1659, but he was one of the most powerful figures in the ensuing power struggle.  Although he helped restore the “Rimp” Parliament in May 1659, he soon broke with it and dissolved it by force.  Shortly thereafter, his army was defeated by the forces of Gen. George Monck, who marched from Scotland to reinstate parliament.  Monck proceeded to restore King Charles I to power (1660), and in June 1662 Lambert was sentenced to death for his part in the Civil War, Granted a reprieve, he spent the rest of his life in prison.

John and James went for a quick blast out to the West of Harrogate this evening with the lights on and after the rush hour.

We left Harrogate along Whinney Lane before heading through Beckwithshaw and out and up towards Little Almscliffe Crag where we were rewarded with great views of the night lights thanks to a nice clear evening.  From there it was down to Norwood, past the Sun Inn and a return to Harrogate via Penny Pot Lane.

A great way to spend an evening and beats spending an hour in the garage on the turbo-trainer!!

View our route here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/19654841

At a recent awards ceremony held in London, Scarborough has been named as the best town in Britain.

The North Yorkshire coastal resort beat off stiff competition from Chester and Cambridge to claim the award from the Academy of Urbanism. This award completes a hat-trick of success for Scarborough as the town was also crowned winner of the 2009 European Enterprise Awards and finished top in a poll as the most enterprising place in Britain at the Enterprising Britain Awards in 2008.

Architect John Thompson, who is the chairman of The Academy of Urbanism, said:

“The awards were created to recognise places and people that have helped transform local quality of life through good design and planning. Scarborough is an inspirational, community-led example of this.”

As part of this latest success Scarborough was visited by a panel of judges in order for a report to be formed. In the report the town was praised for a variety of reasons. One of the main factors was its successful local partnership with Yorkshire Forward’s Renaissance Towns and Cities programme. The vision of this partnership is to encourage investment in the town and for local people to unite in order to form action groups to work on themed regeneration projects. A successful example of this is the restoration of the South Bay shelters undertaken by Scarborough’s Civic Society. It is hoped that in the future more such groups will be formed to work on other themed topics including tourism, urban space and the arts and culture.

Nick Taylor, who is Scarborough’s current urban renaissance manager said:

“It’s a fantastic feeling to have our work recognised in this way. I am particularly pleased for all those people involved in our town’s renaissance. “

In being crowned best town in Britain at this latest awards ceremony, and therefore completing a hat-trick of success, the profile of Scarborough has increased dramatically over the last couple of months. It is hoped that this increase in profile will encourage more people to take short breaks at the various Scarborough hotels or visit the popular local attractions that the award winning town has to offer.

I had one or two other treasures before I started school, given by neighbours usually. Mrs. Priestley next door gave me a very small porcelain figure of a little girl in a Dutch bonnet, and that became a sort of friend and confidante and comfort for many years. I still have it. I was told later that it was a cake decoration and it was hollow, about one and a half inches high. The same lady gave me a little pot watering can, with a brilliant orange lustrous glaze and a little desert scene on one side, about five inches high. It wasn’t very useful; I couldn’t think of anything much to play with it, and I always disliked orange I’m afraid, but it was mine and therefore special. Later another neighbour presented me with one of those Japanese tea sets, with very thin china and a beautiful lustre, decorated with ladies in kimonos and trees and blossoms and lakes and bridges: I really thought they were beautiful and was quite upset when my mother shattered the milk-jug. The rest of the set is still intact and still seems lovely to me – I fall for lustre, it’s so pretty and bubble-like. I suppose some things that I once liked I have grown out of, but it is surprising how I feel to have been consistent. Many of the things I specially liked when very young I still take much pleasure in.

As reported online today, some families in the East Riding of Yorkshire are still not back in their homes following the 2007 floods that devastated parts of the UK. Each family is facing being unable to celebrate a third Christmas in their own homes. Twenty-Five households in Hull and forty-four in the East Riding are affected. Some delays have been caused by problems with insurers. The June floods made thousands homeless across the region, and caused one fatality. Cumbria is currently struggling to recover following the recent floods which claimed the life of hero Pc Bill Barker.  Thanks for reading.