Emerging from winter hibernation - a few pages have been added. The short and fairly positive Foss Bank (with riverside rabbit). The short and rather negative dirty old river, down Hungate way, and a longer page on a place soon to be bulldozed: Groves WMC.
There are many changes I haven't mentioned - there are too many - everywhere you look there's a planning notice. I guess we're lucky to be living in such a popular place . . and so many people will be flocking to live by our river Foss. Where there are flats to sell, it looks nice and clean. Where the flats aren't ready yet it's like a 21st century version of the old polluted thing it used to be, with water birds choking on the rubbish.
Pages have just been added on the cholera burial ground, the Dean's Park memorial, on the old St Lawrence church, on Homestead Park, and a few thoughts about wastelands.
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Taking the photos doesn't take long (though anyone with me while I'm taking them might disagree), but writing and doing the HTML bit on these pages takes a bit longer - so, rather overdue, some summer wanderings and autumn musings: the new York College and the demolished Barbican baths. Also a visit to All Saints church, North St, and its amazing stained glass.
With more half-written - so please call back soon.
Thank you to everyone who has emailed me over the summer. And to everyone who has helped with website costs by buying from www.amazon.co.uk
Holgate Windmill is a local landmark not yet featured on this website - because last time I was down that way I got distracted by West Bank Park. Just wanted to let website visitors know that the windmill will be having open days this summer and autumn. You can view recent restoration work and learn more about the plans to restore the mill to working order. For more information see the Holgate windmill website - open days.
Just recently, in a quest for some sense of spiritual depth in the midst of the general vacuous emptiness of our smoke-free, soul-free, brain-free, "celebrity"-soaked, spin-cycled modern existence, I have mostly been looking at - churches and trains . . .
Pages added on St Martin-le-Grand, Coney Street and All Saints, Pavement. And an indoor wander through our fabulous railway museum.
Another rainy night in Yorkshire. I've just added a short wander on one of the recent rainy evenings: wet Sunday, and in an effort to brighten things up a bit, some photos taken during the rare sunny spells on recent wanders down by the riverside.
Recently there's been news on a few York buildings that have been empty and boarded up for years, and have been mentioned on this website. The Bonding Warehouse has just been sold, and the Shipton Street School buildings too are to be redeveloped. Both these (listed) buildings should be sympathetically remodelled, retaining their external appearance at least. Also disused, but for a shorter time, the York Odeon, on Blossom Street, due to reopen this year.
Some thoughts about selling York, and a look at the changes on Layerthorpe and Heworth Green. Also a page featuring a few painted wall ads has just been added. There's also a piece in Miscellany - The Permanent Way.
An afternoon wander recently included the Hungate area development site (also visited in June 2006) and Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate. A bit of modern-about-to-be-redeveloped-York and a bit of carefully preserved historic York.
Apart from the substantial development planned for Hungate, there are new apartments popping up everywhere. It's a shame the people I know can't afford to buy them.
I've just emerged from under the leaf pile I've been hibernating in. Thank you to everyone who sent kind emails over the winter.
I haven't been wandering around much recently taking photos of York, but the dark winter evenings have given me the opportunity to catch up on things I've been wanting to add, and to organise some of the photos I've collected of various churches and memorials.
Most of these pages are "Yorkshire" rather than "York", though the memorials section was inspired by a visit to the churchyard of St Mary, Bishophill Senior, York - where some of the headstones remain, though the church has been demolished.
There's also a page on Sledmere, in the Yorkshire pages. (Added a little late (the photos were taken last May), but sometimes the time hasn't been available to add pages when things were current.)
There's also an updated, relocated bookshop page, in association with www.amazon.co.uk
Over the winter, this website disappeared for a while. Apologies to anyone who got "page not found" errors. The hosting ran out, and I needed to change web hosts, and didn't have the money to renew it. As other people with personal sites no doubt know, it can be a little frustrating at times, when the general perception is that the web is all "free stuff". For me and many like me, it's often a hole in our bank balance (though on good days it's a labour of love as well).
If you would like to support this website at no extra cost to yourself, please have a look at my Bookshop page for recommended books. As an Amazon "Associate" I receive a small percentage on any purchases made at www.amazon.co.uk