A Frosted Fishy Tale

Well the big freeze continues.  Winter 2025 has been pretty forthcoming when it comes to evocative, atmospheric weather conditions.  After the mists of Christmas, we're now shivering in sub zero temperatures with an apparent permafrost!

I've been adding more layers when venturing with old and new technology working in harmony to keep me toasty - a vintage sheepskin coat layered over one of those slug-like long line padded zip up gillets.  If my core is warm, then my fingers stand a change against the elements.  Obviously gloves are a little pointless when I'm carrying a camera and the fingerless ones don't really cut it.

I captured yesterday's frost and got a little creative with the photos (one example below).  I'm finding winter increasingly inspiring and decided to place an order for a print of each photo in a gorgeous lustre finish as I have some spare frames knocking around. 

Today's walk was short and sweet and I'm totally guilt free about it!  I've hibernated all afternoon, thankful that I have nowhere I need to be.  

Here's the morning sun poking through the clouds above the hedge.

It was an effort to wean myself off black and white for frosty photos...but I managed it.

Check out these brush strokes in the sky.

A load of hot air!

Out onto the fringes, the fields were awash with that tell tale frosted sage green watercolour.

I love a sun spot!

Finally, I couldn't resist a return to black and white.  That's Wordsley Church in the distance where my parents and numerous friends and relatives exchanged their vows - and where I was christened.  

Now.  Here's a challenge for you...our latest bargain acquisition which is now sitting on the other side of the fireplace, staring back at the gurgle jug.

It's very heavy and hand blown amber glass.  I've investigated and am aware that numerous glass manufacturers have produced fish glass vases, including Blenko, Sowerby, Libbey, Bagley and the Murino, but I can't find anything resembling this one.  I found its twin online, described as 1970s, but sadly sold some time ago, so I have no further clues.  Anyone?

I met up with Clare, my most recent client, to hand over her photos stored on a keepsake memory stick) in person and we had a catch up over wine and coffee.  Clare handed me the most thoughtful Thank You note, tied up with a ribbon of excess material from her dress.  

I'll be sharing more from Clare's wedding day in my next purpose built post.  

In the meantime, my Polaroid obsession continues and there are certain Birthday celebrations to be had! See you soon!

A Month In Pictures

December will be magic again.  I'm only just starting to believe Kate's festive lyrics after a couple of weeks of neck/shoulder pain (finally resolved by a pummelling from the chiropractor), swiftly followed by one of the worst colds I've had.  Here in the UK, we're dropping like flies with a perfect storm of Covid, flu and various other seasonal viruses circulating and spreading their own individual Christmas messages.

Should anyone fall foul of one of these viruses, I've done thorough market research on the over the counter remedies available.  The upshot is, most of them do absolutely nothing, so keep your hard earned cash in your pockets.  However, for persistent coughs, the only throat sweets I have found to be remotely effective are Lockets.  The only cough medicine that packs a punch is the Lemsip one.  But for evenings in, I recommend ye olde hot toddy, comprising the juice of half a lemon, a good teaspoon of honey, hot water and don't spare the brandy.

Anyway,let's move on.  The only good thing I can say about the last week is that I've stayed close to home, not wanting to spread my germs with the rest of the family by driving anywhere and consequently, I've managed to get some moody shots of the Black Country, by venturing out on foot.  The seasons definitely dictate how I see the world and I'm currently finding it impossible to extricate myself from my love affair with black and white.  This one was taken a couple of streets away.  I love this tree lined street and the way the sun bounces off its rain slicked surface.

Here's a suburban snapshot in a puddle...I was drawn to the lines.

Here's a typical Black Country boozer.

Venturing on to the neighbouring village, Wordsley, here we glimpse the old house at the entrance to King George V Park, flanked by some impressive monkey puzzle trees.

Another day, another detour through the side streets of Wordsley.  Can you spot the famous Red House Glass Cone?

Some old factory units, still in use and housing a small car repair service.  I wonder how many more years these buildings will exist?

Onto the canal...a sure sign you're in the Black Country.  The network was used to move coal, limestone and iron around the country and whole communities sprung up around them.  Life on the canal is much more sedate these days.

Onwards we go, past my first primary school, The Brook, first established in 1872 and attended by my Mom when it was a secondary school.  Some time in the 70s, the secondary school relocated and this building reverted to being a primary school.

The only pupils in attendance on the day of my visit were of the feathered variety and had flown in from Canada.  

This was my regular route to school as a small child.  For the longest time, there was some graffiti dedicated to the Irish band Thin Lizzy on the white expanse of wall.  I felt a little sad when suddenly one day, it had vanished.

Another glimpse of that cone.

Nature overspill.

Back on the towpath and the Red House Cone in all her glory, newly restored and imposing.

Rewinding a little, we went to see some more live music, courtesy of Black Country band Headshrinkers.  Securing my position at the front because I was relying on my mobile camera (and because I just love feeling the music and leaving with my ears ringing), I took a few shots, composing, framing and checking focus single handedly, as my other hand was rarely without a beer.  We had a blast and were blown away (almost literally) by the band's raucous noisy energy, lyricism and sheer talent, plus a welcome horn section.

They were ably supported by a female fronted band, Bld Sugr! (Blood Sugar).  The vocalist loved her theatrics and had a good set of pipes as our friend Ade pointed out.

After the show, Gareth snaffled a couple of vinyl editions of Headshrinkers' new album Judgment Day.  I had a brief chat with the lead singer, Garran, during which we discovered that we'd been following each other on Instagram for the last two years.  I hadn't made the connection prior to that evening, probably because it's a personal account and he posts less frequently than I do.  I really need to address my spiralling screen time!

I loved that the band are proud of their Black Country roots, Garran's lyrics are poetry and their videos are shot at various locations close to home.  I hope they make it!  Here's a link to Threadbare, which has proved to be an earworm and also features Dudley Priory ruins, which you may recall I also used as a location for my Halloween Steampunk shoot last year.

Headshrinkers - Threadbare (Official Video)

Staying with the black and white imagery, I made a final visit to Archie's Attic in Enville.  That's the beauty of our region, urban sprawl with a gritty industrial heritage, punctuated by pockets of picturesque countryside.  

Archie's is in a hamlet called Enville, seemingly in the middle of nowhere (but a short drive from the town of Stourbridge) with views to die for, an intriguing history and at least two Knights Templar graves.  The owner and great supporter of local crafters and creatives, Clare is moving on to pastures new.  The cafe will continue though, under different management and will be reopening in mid January.

I never tire of this magical place built around the historic Enville Hall.

I want this sign!

Mistletoe.

My one regret - unavoidable as it was - was that I was too unwell to go to see Sharon Shannon's Big Band Tribute to Shane MacGowan in Birmingham's Irish heart, Digbeth, on Friday.  Unsurprisingly, it was by all accounts an incredible evening, featuring the likes of Imelda May and former Pogue Kate O'Riordan.

So, I'll just have to make do with my vinyl copy of my favourite Christmas song, Fairytale of New York.

Oh, and because they look festive, I'm sharing the spools from one of this month's rare charity shop visits, where I managed to bag all the reds; a pair of leather gloves and a cashmere asymmetrical poncho.

Whatever you're doing, have a good one!  

Lustre and A Libertine

I can't believe I'm typing this just a couple of days after the announcement that our meteorological summer is over.  I'm only just getting into my stride!  This year saw a late onset of summer and I for one am not ready for Autumn just yet.  So I'm going to recap on a few interesting local events to keep the summer vibes going.

First up, the Black Country Folk Festival, which combined the talents of some of the Black Country's most successful independent artists of the last decade and took place in Katie Fitzgerald's Secret Garden, last mentioned here: Winter Peach Photography: Learning, Laughter and a Spa Day; The Best Medicine!

This year's festival got off to a shaky start with a last minute change of venue from the original, Himley Hall, and a mix up over timings.  They say bad luck comes in threes and this was no exception.  One of the artists on the bill was forced to pull out due to a health issue and the much lauded Jess Silk, fresh from a set at Beautiful Days Festival, had lost her voice and was struggling with her hearing.  

In spite of all this, Katie's Secret Garden hosted an amazing event.  As per usual, I had my camera with me and indulged in some people watching; an interesting face here...

...a cool jacket...

...and a loved up couple there.  

Many of the punters were clearly regulars and knew each other, but we buddied up with another pair of newbies, Owen and Tracey, from Dublin and Dudley respectively and enjoyed several hours of exchanging stories, listening to live music and the odd beverage!  Gareth caught up with the lead singer of 90s rock band Pele after seeing the band perform at his old student union back in the day.  We also narrowly missed seeing Gareth's old neighbour Dan from Ned's Atomic Dustbin, performing in a side project. (It was late in the day, I knew nothing about this, we'd already been there for hours and the hunger pangs were kicking in). 

But here are a couple of the bands we did see.  First up, the excellent trio Journeyman with their own blend of traditional, foot stomping folk.

Jess Silk, in spite of her ailments, was present for the duration and popped up on stage throughout the day.

Joe Solo made the 8 hour round trip from Scarborough to perform at one of his favourite venues.  As the man himself later said to me, his travel schedule is "borderline masochistic."  A real trooper with seemingly endless battery juice.

Another day, another gig and a venue that's new to us.  A couple of months ago, I spotted Peter Doherty (of Libertines/Babyshambles fame/notoriety) tickets on sale at KK's Steelmill, an intimate venue in Wolverhampton and promptly snapped up a couple.

Peter is living a life of relative sobriety these days, but there's still an air of unpredictability about him and we knew we would be in for an interesting evening.

Sure enough, upon arrival, I went to check out the merch, only to find a flustered looking man setting out polo shirts for the support act on a table.  I asked whether or not he had anything of Peter's and he responded by requesting another 15 minutes as "Peter has loads in his dressing room" and yet, apart from one very tiny t-shirt and a few copies of Peter's book, nothing materialised for the rest of the evening.

Not that it mattered. We were there for the music.  Peter appeared on stage well ahead of schedule and without any fanfare, sang a song and then introduced the first of two support acts.  Throughout the gig, he would, without warning, dash on stage, dance and jump around on the sofas, harmonise with the second support act, Welshman Jack Jones (part purveyor of "bangers" and part stand up comedian) before exiting the stage again.

Peter's own set was thrilling.  He moved seamlessly from one song to another, engaged well with the crowd and was very generous and inclusive to the support acts.  There was only one hiccup when he dropped his harmonica and then cursed the fact that it had been in the wrong key all along.  Not that the crowd noticed.  He rounded the night off with an impromptu signing session as people began tossing on stage everything from pieces of cardboard to Vans trainers for him to scribble on.

As per usual, I lamented the fact that I was only allowed my mobile phone camera, but given that we were right at the front, I was able to get some slightly superior photos and chat to his old friend and official (female) gig photographer.

For our final immersion into local culture, we took a trip into town - Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter - to catch Dion Kitson's Silver Lining Exhibition, which coincides with his first major exhibition at the Ikon Gallery (you can read about that here: Winter Peach Photography: Rue Britannia And The Search For Avalon)

Housed within JW Evans' Silver Factory, which opened in 1881, Dion has carefully placed various works throughout the factory premises, playfully and poignantly drawing on his working class roots and parallels with JW Evans himself, a self made man, whose silverware castings business passed through three generations of the same family.  

Dion utilises found objects, elevating them to relatable art.  

This piece, Vice, shows gold plated cigarette butts secured in a vice...a simple concept utilising great wordplay.

This piece, a gold plated broken bottle of Frosty Jack cider, laments the addiction problems which afflicted members of the community Dion grew up amongst, often resulted in burn out.

Bob:  Mechanised dunking Digestive biscuits.  A nod to a very British tradition and the workers' tea break, these nodding biscuits could also be interpreted as subservient nods to the big bosses.

Numerous discarded footballs were mounted in a trophy style cabinet...a visual representation of broken dreams.

This clock, which has been partially filled with resin coated baked beans is entitled "Somat to ate" (Black Country for "something to eat" or a reference to the time.)   I'm not sure why I actually waited for this photo bomber to do his thing.  The result made me smile.

My favourite had to be Tin Man, created in the artists own image and an homage to his favourite childhood film, The Wizard of Oz.  Inspiration struck as soon as Dion laid eyes on this lump of metal.

Originally three terraced houses, the properties were knocked through to house the factory, before spilling out into the long, narrow gardens.  A guided tour was essential.  We may well otherwise still be rattling around inside the out buildings with the factory ghosts and cobwebs for company.  

This atmospheric place is now owned and operated by English Heritage, but is very much the poor cousin to bigger attractions such as Kenilworth Castle, receiving a smaller piece of the funding pie.  This by no means takes away its lustre.  JW Evans Silver Factory is a must visit place; a fascinating glimpse into our heritage and a rapidly dying skillset.  It remains as it was when it was finally handed over to English Heritage in 2008, complete with machinery, dies, office supplies, tools, silverware and some incredible furniture.

I loved the factory's utilitarian chic - with wood/paint patina aplenty - possibly more than the silver itself.  Sadly, no photos were allowed of the silverware, but take my word for it, there were some incredible pieces, including a silver Wee Willy Winky's "Nightcap" cup.  

Tours of the factory are available all year round with advance booking advisable.  Dion's exhibition ends on 16th September.

Soon I have my penultimate wedding of the year we've a coastal getaway on the horizon.  

See you back here soon!