Room with a view

I'm not sure it's right to put these on my main blog but I was playing with the view from the window at my daughter's. Just a phone shot on a wet day - something about the balance of the three vertical elements that appelaed to me - and that mill chimney in the background. 

Family fun

Fun in the park after Hebden Bridge's Handmade Parade. I'm posting some photos of the parade itself on my main blog. These pictures were taken in Calder Holmes Park at the end of the parade, when we met up with family and friends. There were some food stalls and the music/rhythm carried on, with a performance by the Drum Machine collective. Down in the park it was actually quite chilly, with a keen wind, but the children were racing around with their friends and seemed mostly oblivious to the cold. 

When I see how settled and happy they are in Hebden Bridge, I am so thankful that they made the move up from London a few years ago. It's a compact town in a narrow valley and they are surrounded by a close and creative community. The girls go to a small primary school, literally just across the road from where they live. With many of their close friends living within walking distance of their house, it's a supportive and close-knit neighbourhood. They have chance to get involved in activities that are happening in the town, where there is plenty going on. I'm really grateful they have such good friends, with all the enjoyment and support that that provides.  

Cloud Inversion

I'm thrilled to have this hanging on the wall in my kitchen-diner. It's a hand-finished, limited edition print: 'Cloud Inversion', by the Hebden Bridge-based artist, Kate Lycett. I've admired her work for a long time, and have enjoyed seeing her finding her style over the years and creating work with an increasingly sure touch. She originally trained as a textile designer and you can still see that influence in her work, with soft inks and gouache overlaid by characteristic embellishments and the use of gold thread and gold leaf. You can just about see from my photo how the patches of gold leaf catch the light so that the print shimmers and changes as you move around it. I absolutely love it! I never thought I'd be lucky enough to own one of her larger prints, though I have cards and a beautiful book already. This was a gift for my 70th birthday - print edition 70/150. I am delighted with it.  

On the back it has this note from the artist:

That makes the scene even more special as this place is just across the valley from where my daughter lives.