Farsley Christmas lights and fireworks 2012

The month of December has many an important dates; the 1st, when you can open the first door of your advent calender, the 25th, when the presents are opened and the family comes round and the 26th when you start to think of ways to finish off that giant turkey. For the village of Farsley, Wednesday 5th was one of those important dates as it was the night the Christmas lights were turned on.

* photos by Simon Cliff

The event was held on Farsley town street, the road being closed for the occasion. The lights were switched on at 7.00 pm, by our very own Ronnie the Rhino, the Leeds Rhinos mascot, followed by a spectacular firework display. But before that there was lots to do.

Sat waiting for various members of my party who were going to attend the switch on with me, I looked out of the window to see if I could catch a glimpse of preparations for the event. I watched trickles of people all dressed in their winter warmers heading down to the town street, children excitedly dragging their parents along. Not long after, I heard the faint sound of bagpipes and drums drifting though the window. It was the bagpipe players who were to take part in the parade practicing outside the library.

Now my party had arrived and I was feeling festive after listening to the music, we headed down to the town street. By 6.10 the street was full of families, young couples and groups of older children all wandering around. A lot of businesses had agreed to stay open till 8.00 pm and were getting involved in the festive spirit with stalls of sweets and food, raffles and one even roasting a boar. There was a lot of support from local businesses for the Christmas lights event.

For The Lounge, a cafe located on town street, it was a big evening for more than one reason. It was also launching it's brand new soft play area for children. The cafe has become a real haven for families and mums who need somewhere to go with their children, the soft play area will no doubt be well received. People were free to go in and order food and hot drinks, with glitter tattoos and face painting was also on offer.


At 6.15pm there was a parade down town street, Santa in his sleigh, bagpipers and children from the local infant and junior schools.

Having strolled up and down the town street, taking in the sights and sounds my hands started to feel the chill so I joined the queue for hot drinks. Feeling quite happy with my hot chocolate in hand, I was ready for the big switch on. It was hard sifting through the endless crowd of people, everyone had now gathered outside 'Dawson Wake' ready for the show.

There was two local radio station attendeding to provide music and to assist  Ronnie the Rhino with the countdown. As the clock approached 7 o'clock the countdown began 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,1 ....... The evening was rounded off with a spectacular firework show, the whole crowd cheering with excitement.

This was the first time I had attended the Christmas lights switch on in Farsley but I was thoroughly impressed in the size, effort and support of the local businesses and people. It was a lovely evening which certainly kick started the festive season.

* The fun doesn't end there though. For more information on Christmas events in Farsley through December visit the Farsley visit website (linked on this blog page).

Sunny Bank Mills 'A Vision of the Future' Open Day.

William and John Gaunt along with their site Architects and site Property consultants held an open day to launch their "Vision for the Future" of Sunny Bank Mills. it was held on 27th November between 3 and 7 pm at the The Sandsgate Gallery, Sunny Bank Mill. 

* photos by Simon Cliff

The open day was held in the main room of The Sandsgate Gallery, where the general public were free to attend and have a look around. The aim of the day was to offer people the chance to see what plans and ideas for the regeneration of the Sunny Bank have been drawn up.

William and John Gaunt, their site Architects and site Property consultants circulated the room, taking time to talk to attendants and answer anybody's questions.

William and John are passionate about restoring the family business and promoting community and business in the village of Farsley.

"We are returning the buildings to their former glory for future generations to enjoy. In much the same way as we produced the highest quality cloth, so we approach the regeneration of Sunny Bank Mills, to produce buildings we can be justly proud of".

The open day was hosted in Sandsgate Gallery, which was one of the two buildings (the other being the 1912 Mill) the brothers have refurbished over the last 2 years. They're now looking to develop the site further, stripping back newer buildings to expose the more striking, historic ones. The whole site could become more accessible with access and parking within the site being considered.

There are a number of uses being considered for the future refurbished buildings; including retail, offices, residential and leisure. Speaking to William Gaunt he said that preferably they would like the Mill to offer employment first and foremost, especially to the local community. The woodland area to the north west of the mill will be largely retained and managed under a woodland management plan.

As I walked around I took the opportunity to talk to a few of the attendants. One gentleman I came across, Mr Pattison, had worked in the Mill in 1983, in the die testing house. He said,
 "The improvements have been done to a high standard. The plans have been done on a proper scale with a long term view in mind".
Mr Pattison had come down, interested to see  the changes, as an ex employee but also as an artist keen to see what would happen with the Sandsgate gallery. Another young couple I spoke to had come down to the open day from Yeadon, a neighboring town,
"I've come down on previous occasions to the art gallery and on heritage walks. The key is to get the community involved as the regeneration of the mill will be really good for it", on the regeneration, "it's wonderful, very exciting".

What was very clear from the open day and what most people mentioned when I spoke to them, is that the local community of Farsley and surrounding areas is a fundamental part of the regeneration of the Mill.

Sunny Bank Mill embrace any opportunity to open their doors for people to explore and appreciate the charm of the buildings and spaces within. They host educational, cultural and historical  events for the general public. They currently have a drama group using their archives on a Friday evening.  The 'Vision of the Future' is no different, written on one of the boards found in the display was 'consulting with the local community at an early stage of the proposals is an important part of involving you in the decision making process'.


The display will run until 11th December and everybody is welcome to go down and take a look.

Authors note.

I would just like to thank those people who took the time to talk to me and my dictaphone about the open day and their opinions on it. Due to technical problems with my dictaphone I was unable to use those interviews. Thank you for your time and your interesting thoughts. 

Exposure Leeds Photowalk round Sunny Bank Mill

* photos by Simon Cliff

Exposure Leeds, a photographic society, held a photo walk on 17th November at Sunny Bank Mill in Farsley, Leeds. 

The photo walk was a Joint Event with the hosts Sunny bank Mill, with the hope of involving local people along with Exposure regulars. Learning a bit about photography and the social history of an important and prominent Building in Farsley.

The Mill owners are keen on promoting Farsley and also getting some interesting images and story's for the community web site, "Farsley Village". Some of the images will also hopefully be added to the Archive that they are building. The photo walk was a perfect opportunity to record a little of the history of a fascinating mill before it is fully refurbished.

There was a tour of the Mill lead by John Gaunt, whose family have owned the mill for decades. We started down in the Sunny Bank gallery, allowing attendants to gather and muse around the work of Shane Green, the artist responsible for the Calverly Angel.

From there it was on to the mills archive. This was an absolute treat for historians and photographers alike. A room full of 200 years worth of cloth samples filed along the edges and typewriters, telephones, beautiful cracked leather seats and office and mill equipment displayed along the length of the room. 

Next it was on to the Spinning mill and Weaving shed, rooms in which the echos of gentle chatter between the photographers really gave you a sense of the volume of noise and atmosphere that would have filled these rooms over a hundred years ago.

One member of Exposure Leeds commented on how it's interesting to see evidence of the remnants of the industrial past mingling with more modern items. Pieces that have been left, scattered about like little snapshots of history.

The walk was rounded off with a visit to either the 1912 mill tower or to the Northern Lights studio, which was opened up by Flickr member Tom, allowing attending photographers to have a fun session playing with lighting. The 1912 mill tower is an example of what the whole mill will hopefully look like. At the top the photographers found a room with wall to wall windows, filling the room with beautiful light with views of Farsley village and small patches of woodland surrounding.

Seeing the interest and excitement on the faces of the photographers and the amazing photos that have come from the event, it's clear to see that the photo walk was a great success on all counts with people of varying ages and experiences all getting involved and creating some fantastic images. Photographer Simon Cliff said "it was an interesting and rare opportunity to see parts of Farsley that aren't often seen by local residents".

On Tuesday 27th November 2012 3pm to 7pm, John and William Gaunt, together with their site Architects and site Property consultants are hosting an Open Day to launch their "Vision for the Future" of Sunny Bank Mills. The open day will be held at The Sandsgate Gallery, Sunny Bank Mills and the display will run until 11th December.


For more photos from the photo walk visit  http://www.flickr.com/groups/2086023@N25

For more information on up and coming events in Farsley  pay a visit to the Farsley Village website or follow them on their Twitter page.

Photo Camp 2012

This is an Event blog that I wrote after being invited to attended and cover this years Photo Camp. 

* Photos by Simon Cliff

This year Photo Camp returned to Leeds and was held at St Patrick’s Studio East Street Arts. It ran over the weekend of the 29^th and 30^th September, and this year Simon Cliff and Alison Covey took over the organizing reigns from Jon Eland.

The event ran over two days. The first day being more practical with numerous workshops and events held throughout the day.  The second day was what you’d call a ‘play day’, it was much more relaxed and about putting into practice what you had learned the day before.

Saturday was kicked off by a quick introduction by Alison and then attendees were free to wander around and attend a wide range of workshops, ranging from Macro, Model shoot, Processing film, Copyright, Wildlife and more.

Possibly one of the highlights of the day was the trip to the Playhouse costume department. I found John Dolan in the Military isle and, as he had organised the trip, asked him what he thought was the main thing to come out of the trip, “it’s to give people a chance to go in front of the camera for a change rather than taking the photographs and just have fun dressing up, it brings out a different side of people which you wouldn't normally see and that’s interesting as a photographer”. It was wonderful to see a group of approximately 20 grown-ups almost reduced to giggling school children.

Now I'm not personally a photographer but I am the daughter in law of one, so when I was so generously asked to attend and offered the opportunity of some writing experience how could I possibly say no. Having not attended a Photo camp, or in fact any photography event previously, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I think I was imagining a much stricter, very structured conference but I was quickly and pleasantly surprised.

To me Photo camp had a real community feel to it. It was clear that most people had attended previous Photo camps and knew each other or at least knew of each other’s work. There were also a handful of new comers but because of the relaxed atmosphere, it didn't take long for them to integrate. No one was left out and everyone was willing to share with and help anyone who needed it.

What seems to make Photo Camp stand out is that it’s not just professional speakers addressing ‘students’, the people who run the workshops were more than often people who had attended previous Photo camp workshops and who were now giving back by imparting some of their knowledge. Everyone in attendance seemed to be able to fill both the student and teacher role.

Speaking to Jitesh, who was leading a workshop for the first time this year, really gave me, as a Photo camp novice an insight to what it’s all about, “ Mainly it’s about talking to new people, trying a few new things. Personally I'm looking for things to keep me interested, looking for different ideas and inspirations. Photo camp isn't a conventional conference, it’s a different concept. It does breed the idea of sharing. It’s fitting for this generation of photographers”.

Later on in the day I caught up with Anne  Ackers, who said about her workshop ‘Portraits not snapshots’, “It’s me trying to encourage people to take better pictures, I'm not coming here to say I'm a fantastic photographer , but my passion is to help people to do things better”.

Anne has attended every photo camp and says she’s seen it evolve over the years, “It’s about imparting with that little bit of knowledge and getting people to think for themselves”.

Speaking to people throughout the day, it was clear how highly people thought of Photo camp and how willing everyone was to get involved in one way or another.

After having so much positive feedback I wanted to know how this year’s organisers felt about it all. I managed to grab Alison Covey in a rare free moment and she said, “There’s the right number of people, a mix of people we know and a few new people. It’s a free and easy way of doing things. Everyone involved is a volunteer and I think people respect that”. Speaking to Simon Cliff after the weekend was finished, he said, “it was everything that photo camp is about, everybody sharing in their experience and abilities”.

Up and Running

Welcome to my new blog!

Some of you may know me from my book review blog, recently renamed 'Well Worn Pages'. In the last few months I've been trying my hand at event blogging. Reviewing and covering events I've attended around and about, in particular events in and around my home village of Farsley and Photography events in Leeds.

Wonderfully these blogs appear to have been well received and I had great enjoyment in writing them. Because of this I've decided to create a blog page specifically for my new area of  writing. You'll find a mixture of event blogs and reviews, information on up and coming celebrations/events and informative pieces on places I've visited.

Hope you all enjoy.