YSP - again - I Know!!!!

One of my favourite places in the UK for a day out is the Yorkshire Sculpture Park - and fortunately it's only 15 minutes from my home!  

 I had wanted to catche the Angie Lewin exhibition as it is nearly finishing - it was fab.  Her work is so "me" .  I think I have the exact spot for a couple of her prints in my home - when funds allow!

 I've never done any lino printing - I think I'll have to have a go.

 I couldn't pick my favourite piece but I loved the miniatures on driftwood........

 .... and of course the Agapanthus.

 It was a very grey and dull day, but the rain finally stopped and we got to take a stroll around the grounds - which are very spectacular.

 The massive TV mast at Emley Moor was shrouded in cloud.

 The exhibits are always changing at YSP so always something different to see.

 The works by Tom Price were exceptionally lifelike.

 Even the miniatures in the Bothy were incredibly lifelike.

 The grounds are great to explore and more and more area's are now accessible.  You really do need a full day (and bags of stamina) to see it all.  It's great living close by as I can pop and do bits of it on days like today when the weather is not so brilliant, and you don't get enough day light.

 The old house was used as part of Leeds University up till a few years ago.  I did read that they were going to open it as a hotel (which would be great) but nothing seems to be happening here.

 All the exhibits today were brilliant and the walk was most welcome, but the best bit of the day was the exhibit in a purpose built "shed" by Roger Hiorns.  I didn't know what to expect at all, but was completely blown away by this exhibit and the story behind it.  READ ABOUT IT HERE.  It will be at YSP for the next 10 years, so plenty of time for you to catch it!

Leeds

On Sunday morning, we took the young man back to Uni in Leeds.  He didn't want to hang around with us as he has exams this week, so once we had taken his gubbins into the flat, we left for a wander around.   We were able to walk from his flat into the city.

 Hubby could not help but gloat about these wonderful golden owls.  His football team, Sheffield Wednesday (AKA The Owls) had beaten Leeds Utd 6-0 the previous day!

 You will be seeing a lot of Millenium Square on TV in the summer as The "Grand Depart" for Le Tour de France is set to start from here I believe.

 Leeds does have some stunning architecture.

 You don't often see Palm trees up here in Yorkshire!  The old Victorian Town Hall is a great example of the wealth that northern towns and cities had at that time.  Leeds was a wool town, but after the slump in the trade, it has successfully adopted the finance industry and seems to do OK with this.  

 We headed to the art gallery as my bloggy pal Lyn at Everyday Life had tipped me off that it was the last day of this exhibition.

 The exhibition was very good.  I love Alfred Wallis - a St Ives artist, and the works of Winifred and Ben Nicholson were excellent too.  We loved wandering around the gallery - they had an excellent selection of the work of John Atkinson Grimshaw.  His work is so atmospheric and I could easily hang any of his work on my walls.

 We then debated whether to have a quick look around the shops or do the Museum.  The Museum won hands down.

 Like most British Cities, Leeds has lots of fascinating history and the museum was really interesting with lots of great displays.

 We had a great afternoon, and apart from an enormous scone with clotted cream and jam, and a lovely coffee (in the art gallery - the meals looked gorgeous too!)  we didn't spend a penny as admission to both gallery and museum was free.

We did pop into the Henry Moore institute too, but it was one of these places where the building was far more stunning and spectacular than the exhibits - which were all a bit whacky!!

The Railway Man

Hubby and I went to see Colin Firth's latest film at the cinema - The Railway Man.  It is an amazingly powerful film about a man who was broken in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in World War 2 and is struggling to live his life many years later.  He discovers in the early 1980's that his Japanese tormentor is still alive and giving tours of the railway that the prisoners helped to build and he goes to find him.  It is a true story and shows the power of forgiveness and strength of human character - go see it if you can.

When I was younger, I knew 2 men who had endured horrors beyond belief in Japanese prison camps.  The first was the Bishop of Wakefield who came to open our new school when I was 8 years old.  He had a pronounced lisp and told us how the Japanese had sliced his tongue, then sewed it up again with a rusty needle.  I suppose when I was at school, the war had only been over for just over 20 years, but it still seems an horrific story to tell little children.  I remember sitting listening to him like it was yesterday.
 The other chap was a neighbour of ours - Jack.  Jack lived behind us in a Prefab with his wife Elsie and his daughter Hilary.  Jack was a broken man.  My mum used to tell the story of how the whole street (when they lived in the pit yard) had turned out to welcome him home when he was released - even painting "Welcome Home Jack" on the end of a house.  However on his return, he swore at everyone and stormed into his house slamming the door behind him.  The street party in his honour fizzled out and everybody thought he was a miserable so and so.  No one could have possibly known what to expect from him - I suppose they thought he would be so happy to be home.  When Jack lived behind us, I don't think I ever heard him speak.  He would sometime appear at the door, and he had a wildman look in his eyes.  Most people were afraid of him as he  became very unpredictable - his poor wife and daughter had a tough life with him.  Jack sadly could not live with his demons and took his life in a most horrific way in his own home in the mid 1970's.
I thought about Jack constantly throughout the "The Railway Man" and shed a tear at the end for him and his family for all their suffering and heartache.
This post is in memory of Jack and Elsie Speight.

Edited - to say that a lot of comments say that you would find it too upsetting, but it is actually very uplifting.  It has made me think about the power in "forgiveness" all day.

Worksop

A few days before Christmas, I needed to visit Sainsbury's.  We don't have one nearby so we decided to to combine a supermarket shop with a much needed stroll.  It was a very murky day so we settled upon Worksop and a walk from the store to the town via the canal path.

We were lucky enough to spot the bright blue flash of a Kingfisher - but not lucky enough to photograph it.

We have walked this stretch of the Cuckoo Way before  and if you are reading this Roger, we were watching out for you.

I think Worksop is a strange place.  It has some very obvious problems as you walk round the town, but it has so many beautiful buildings and some great history.  It sits in North Nottinghamshire in an area called "The Dukeries" because of the four Ducal families that lived in the area.  Evidence of past wealth in the town is very evident.

It has plenty of shops and some lovely places to eat.  The cafe we had lunch in could have done with a complete makeover, but the staff were so friendly and the food was great (best coffee I have tasted in ages!) and so reasonably priced too.

It usually has a very good market but unfortunately it wasn't market day.

It unfortunately has a lot of empty buildings - like most provincial towns in the UK.  Victims of "out of town" shopping malls - a huge failing in town planning in my opinion.  Worksop does have a lovely little mini shopping mall bang in the centre of town - where it should be.

We came across a Liquorice grower and processor at a Victorian Fair over Christmas.  He told us that the plant was common in the UK in Victorian times, but very rarely now.  We got to taste some freshly processed Liquorice.  It was very strong flavoured.

There is a lot to see architecturally, including an avenue of huge Victorian/Edwardian Villa's.

We enjoyed our stroll along the canal and around the town, and the supermarket wasn't too busy when we got there either thankfully.