A couple of songs by Faerground Accidents

Un altra troballa gràcies als misteris de Twitter. Suposo que hi ha milers de grups nous sortint a Anglaterra, però per casualitats que no acabes d'entendre - perquè tu has seguit tal, o has parlat de tal - de sobte un dia et trobes amb un grup de Sheffield per Twitter i escoltes les seves cançons i penses, wow! Vivim en un món on la sort té molt a veure, si el grup x cau al twitter del nou George Martin en comptes de Brian Cutts, ves a saber com acabaria ... mentre esperen aquest cop de sort, només els queda l'opció de continuar fent allò que els agrada i juga a totes les opcions de publicitat que poden trobar.... 

.... 

Another pretty amazing group I've found thanks to the whims and quirks of Twitter. There are probably thousands of new groups out there just waiting to be discovered but by chance this is one of the few to fall into my lap. Maybe I followed someone who follows them, or entered a key word related to this group, or whatever... but somehow I ended up finding this twitter account and listening to their music. A crazy mix of great music and black humour lyrics, just up my street. I think only a northern-England group could pull this off! Who knows where destiny takes us - if the same tweets sent out into the dark reach the twitter-feed of the new George Martin, the sky's the limit. If they reach mine, well, I just hope my followers enjoy them as much as I do - and I'd encourage the band to stick at it, doing what they enjoy and playing the social network publicity show for all it's worth. 

Valentine - Richard Hawley

What a song! What a singer! What a video!
Another great Yorkshire artist of course ...

Sweet Bells - Kate Rusby #Barnsley

Res més complicat que la pregunta "d'on ets?". No ho sé. Mons pares i mons iaios vivien a un poble petit anomenat Blackerhill, i jo vaig viure allì fins als 7 anys. Però no vaig neixer allì, vaig neixer a un altre poble que es diu Chapeltown. Vam marxar de Blackerhill per a viure al poble del costat, Hoyland, i vaig viure alli fins els 18 anys - i mons pares encara hi viuen. Però si algu de fora de la zona vol saber d'on soc, sempre havia de contestar Barnsley, la ciutat "mare" d'aquests pobles, ja que no son gens conegut un cop surts del condado de South Yorkshire. Per tant, passo, o passava, la vida dient que era d'una ciutat que era una mitja-veritat. Del 18 als 21 anys, vaig viure a Birmingham per anar a l'universitat, i dels 21 fins ara a Tortosa, Catalunya. Aqui si algù em pregunta d'on soc, no puc dir ni Barnsley - com a molt els sona Yorkshire, o frases tipus "a prop de Manchester". 

Bé, tot aixo ve perque volia fer 4 frases sobre Barnsley, però he trobat una entrada a un altre blog que ho explica molt millor que jo, per tant, li he demanat permis per fer un "copiar i pegar" i ho verem a continuació - en anglès.

.....

So, where are you from? Such an easy question but I have such a variety of answers. My grandfolks and parents lived in Blackerhill, as did I until the age of 7. However, I was born in a nearby village called Chapeltown. When I was 7, my family moved to the neighbouring town, Hoyland. However, outside a radius of 20 miles, these places are unknown so I usually just say/said I was from Barnsley - the "mother" city of these places, and a well-known town in England - for many reasons!

From 18 to 21 I lived in Birmingham trying to work out why I'd gone to university. Since then, I've been in Tortosa, southern Catalonia. In fact I've now lived here longer than in England. Nowadays, over here, I can't really say I'm from Barnsley either as a quick answer - the easiest solution is to say Yorkshire (the county), or something vague like "north of England", "somewhere near (but not too near I hope) Manchester".

Anyway, all this waffle is because I was going to write about Barnsley - but someone's beaten me to it, and wrote a much better description than I could ever do. So, with the author's permission, here goes:

Barnsley is a town of some 75,000 souls situated twelve miles north east of Sheffield. It was once the capital of the Yorkshire coalfield - a hard-working town for which the saying "where there's muck there's brass" was probably created. 

I have rarely had  reason to visit Barnsley. Once, when I was little, Dad drove us through the town and I observed first hand the black "mountains" that appeared to surround it - giant slag heaps made up of spoil from the local coal mines. It was a very different landscape from my rural birthplace in East Yorkshire. There was something of the "dark satanic" about Barnsley whereas we looked out over green or golden arable fields that stretched across the Plain of Holderness all the way to the Yorkshire Wolds. I could hardly imagine what it might have been like to grow up in all that muck and industry as my mother's family had done....

..... and now VISIT the full Barnsley description blogpost HERE and that way you can see the photos too :)

But remember to come back here to hear the Barnsley Nightingale ...

Birds of Chicago, plus loads more ... #Madfest (3)

Ultima, però no per això el menys important, de la trilogia d'apunts sobre Madfest. Lo que ens va agradar més d'aquest festival, potser és aixo de sentir musica de gent com tu o jo - vull dir, crec que m'agrada tant o més anar a petits concerts al poble per sentir un desconegut, que anar a la Gran Ciutat per sentir les Estrelles. Com hem dit abans, la majoria de concerts eren fins i tot gratis, de gent que passa la vida segurament fent una altra feina i intentant tirar endavant aquesta faceta de music. Per aixo, sempre que podem , comprem els CDs que tenen per vendre (o samarettes). Igual que no ens dona cap remordiment baixar musica de U2 gratis, trobo que els petits artistes que necessiten un cop de mà, mereixen això i molt més.

Destacarem un dels grups que vam vore per la nit - els Birds of Chicago, una combinació molt interessant d'estils i veus - pero també podem recomanar que mireu als Mambo Jambo, Lauren Tate, Plum Hall, Baghdaddies i, potser el grup més famos que van tocar, els Capercaille - segur que hi havia molts més també,. pero ja no vam tenir temps per a escoltar més. Com hem dit abans, a banda de musica, n'hi havia un munt d'activitats per a fer en els petits de casa també.

....

Last but not least of the Madfest blogpost trilogy. Before we sign off, I think we should offer a final thought on this kind of event .. alongside the small concerts we've seen back home in Tortosa by local or just-starting-out artists, we've come to realise we enjoy them just as much, and probably more, than going down to the Big City to see a Superstar. I think I'd much rather see a small group in it for real, than the likes of professional people who've seen it all, done it all. Mainly for this reason, I believe these artists should be supported - save your bootleg downloads for U2 or Elton John, and buy the CDs and merchandise of this kind of artist! Which is what we did.

Anyway, we saw plenty of groups but the one we'll focus on in a moment is Birds of Chicago, mainly as we were left in awe by their amazing combination of styles and singing. Before their video, though, other groups we saw included (and are worth checking out with these links): Mambo Jambo, Lauren Tate, Plum Hall, and the Baghdaddies, as well as, probably the most famous group of the weekend - Capercaille. Plenty more, but we also had to spend time on all the other activities available, especially for kids :)

Le Vent Du Nord - #Madfest (2)

Continuant amb més música que vam coneixer al festival Madfest (llegir l'apunt anterior), aquí tenim a Le Vent Du Nord - un grup del Quebec que ens van encantar.
...
By popular demand, let's have a few more recommendations from the music we heard at this year's Madfest (see previous post). From Quebec, Le Vent Du Nord. Great stuff, great people, great for dancing.

The Mistakings #MadFest #Elsecar

Com els meus seguidors regulars sabran, vinc d'una zona "post-industrial", uns pobles on la gent abans vivia de les mines de carbò i ara viuen de la sort o de les subsidis de l'estat. Quan Thatcher va tancar les mines, per exemple, va acabar amb pobles com Elsecar a South Yorkshire. Poc a poc, però, els governs locals han intentat donar una sortida a la seva gent i/o promoure el poble, aprofitant, precisament, les instal·lacions historiques de la mina. El Centre de Patrimoni Local (Elsecar Heritage Centre) és un lloc ple d'edificis vells, antics tallers i magatzens, i vies de tren, i canals de transport, que s'ha intentat donar una segona vida. Ara hi ha artesans o petits botigues i organitzen activitats diverses en cap de setmana. El primer cap de setmana d'agost, organitzan un festival de musica folk i actes culturals, el Madfest. Aquest any hi hem anat. Està molt bé. No és Glastonbury - no trobarem a gent que són "cools" ni van d'hipsters ni hippies. Simplement s'hi atansa la gent del poble, els iaios i els nets, els gossos i els adolescents. Vestits tal com rajen sense pensar en un minut del "look". I a passar-ho bé. Com que cada any el cartell de grups aconsegueix portar noms més coneguts (en el món del folk), també vé alguna gent de fora. Molt de tallers d'artesania, molts d'actes pel carrer, poesia, un escenari per espontenis, molts de contes i teatres pels petits, i moltissima musica - ah, i molta cervesa artesanal. Fins i tot hi ha gent que porta el seu propi got de peltre de casa.

I tot gratis, menys uns concerts en recinte tancat a la nit - pero durant el dia hi havia una quinzena de concerts gratis - amb els cantants passejant per allì i aixi vam poder saludar a diversos.

Per cert, quan diem "folk" en anglès no vol dir simplement rotllo Bob Dylan o Lluis Llach, sino musica tradicional.

Anyway, anem a repassar un parell o tres dels grups que ens van agradar. Primer The Mistakings, un grup de 3 noies joves que encara no han gravat disc, pero tenen coses penjades al Youtube o Facebook. Canten moltes cançons tradicionals, i molts de shantys - cançons tipiques de la mar, dels pirates ... a vore si us agraden:

...

So, as regular readers may remember I come from South Yorkshire, a place we may define as post-industrial! To be specific, Hoyland, next to Elsecar. Elsecar, a village torn apart by Thatcherism when the mines were closed down. Ever since then it's struggled to get back on its feet. One of the positive things local governments and citizens have tried to do, though, is make the most of the old mine buildings, workshops, storerooms, railway, canal and so on. The Elsecar Heritage Centre rents out many buildings to craft shops, artists, small businesses, and puts on many fantastic events at weekends to draw the crowds in. One such event is the folk festival known as Madfest, held every August. This year we were lucky enough to be there.

It was great. No Glastonbury or Woodstock - this was no place for the ultra-cool hipsters or even hippies, more a grandparents and grandkids' day, dog walkers, parents and pushchairs, just the locals wandering through, and fans of good ol' fashioned traditional music; more a beer (or tea) and pie event, than a joint-smoking love-in. Walking boots on their feet, rather than flowers in their hair.

A great weekend - loads of free music (and a few paying concerts at night), pies, real ale, poetry, street art, kids' theatre shows, dancing, chatting, a really good time. Nothing pretentious. The singers came off stage and just mingled in with the "crowds" - well, let's say "bunches of people" then!

Anyway, highly recommended - just remember you can take your own tankard :)

So, we'll run through a few of the groups we really liked over the next few posts. Starting with The Mistakings, a group of three young lasses who did some amazing singing, fiddling, strumming- running through traditional songs and shanties galore. They've not even recorded an album yet, but they've got some stuff up on Facebook and Youtube of course! Judge for yourselves ...

Ghostbusters - Hope & Social #Discovery

Gracies a les meravelles de internet i alguns amics que saben molt, hem descobert un nou grup, de Leeds in Yorkshire. A la seva pagina, una bona barreja de musica, videos i bon rotllo, i tal com ells mateixos es descriuen són:

"In the tradition of the travelling bands, we guess we’re a bit like a Yorkshire E-Street Band...meets Arcade Fire...meets The Faces…meets Dexys Midnight Runners…meets Prefab Sprout…at a party...in an argument about who gets to have sex with David Bowie...."

... that's how Hope & Social describe themselves, a group from Leeds of all places, whom I've only just stumbled across thanks to a good (over)dose of internet and some friends in the know.
The party starts here:

Passejada per l'historia de South Yorkshire / A walk through the history of SYorks

Avui intentarem explicar una bona passejada que podeu fer – si aneu 1000 km cap al nord, al comtat de Yorkshire! Dic “intentar” perquè això farem de memòria i amb el mínim ajut del Google. El començament serà als aparcaments del Elsecar Heritage Centre, just detras del pub el Market Inn, on podríem acabar la ruta amb una bona pinta. Aquest Centre és un intent de trobar una utilitat als antics edificis de les mines de carbó d’Elsecar, i aportar algo de diners i feina a aquell poble, al qual se’l va treure el seu motiu de ser als anys 80 quan van tancar la mina. Com podeu veure, la ruta és una bona excusa per a conèixer algo de l’historia d’aquest lloc. Fa un segle hi havia uns 100.000 persones treballant a les mines de South Yorkshire, fa 50 anys uns 50.000, i ara potser uns 5. Sis dels meus 7 oncles hi van treballar i diversos cosins, alguns van morir massa jovens i un va morir en un accident als 20 anys. Ara molta gent d’aquí estan a l’atur o han hagut de marxar. Gairebé tots els pobles del South Yorkshire tenien una o més mines de carbó i si no treballaves, depenies dels treballadors indirectament. Tot això va acabar quan Thatcher les va tancar, sense res a canvi.

Detras del aparcament veurem un camí que puja cap a un bosc (Kings Wood). Anem-hi. Passem el bosc i sortirem a uns camps enormes de blat. Per sort a Anglaterra hi ha molts de camins públics i aquí n’hi ha un que creu el camp. Desprès, un altre camp, fins que arribem a dalt d’un turo, sempre direcció sud/sud-est. A dalt de tot el camí continua, ara entre uns camps de blat a l’esquerra i un bosquet (Lee Wood) a la dreta. Passat uns 20 minuts, trobarem una clariana a ma dreta. I veurem això!

Aquest “monument” és de fet un folly, en anglès, aquests edificis sense gaire sentit ni utilitat que construïen abans els rics als seus terrenys. I amb això tenim el segon punt d’història del dia. Tot aquesta zona abans pertanyia al Earl of Fitzwilliam. Les mines, les cases, les granjes, tots els pobles dels voltants hi pertanyien. Ara no, però quan l’últim hereu de la família va adonar-se que ja no era una situació sostenible, va crear una fundació per tenir cura de tot, una entitat que vigili per a que la gent pugui continuar treballant en les petites industries o empreses ques’han muntat, i per a que un estil de vida i una estètica de poble tradicional no es perdis. Evidentment no abarca tant com abans, però si tot un poble, Wentworth, on totes les cases son de llogar, de la fundació, i les granjes i empreses.

Bé, aquest monument es diu Needle’s Eye (l’Ull de l’agulla) ja que es diu que el Earl ho va fer construir per guanyar una aposta – va apostar que ell podria conduir els seus cavalls per l’ull d’una agulla ...

Continuem pel camí i d’aquí 5 minuts sortim a la carretera. La creuem i seguim per un estret camí asfaltat (Station Lane) que ens porta a un grapat de 4 o 5 cases, amb cabina vermella de telèfons si no l’han tret;)

Davant nostre, veurem un altre bosc a l’esquerra i un monument que en sobresurt. Entrem el bosc i podem arribar-hi. No està obert per pujar normalment però és un altre folly, és diu Hoobers’ Stand i si tenim la sort de poder pujar dalt de tot, hi ha unes vistes espectaculars.

OK, tornem pel camí d’asfalt fins la carretera i baixem cap a l’esquerra. Sortirem a una carretera nacional però amb una bona vorera. Seguim-la 5 minuts, i veurem l’entrada a Wentworth Park a l’esquerra. Entrem-hi. Ja estem en els terrenys del parc, on els Earls tenen la seva residencia, Wentworth Woodhouse, encara que el parc sempre ha estat obert al públic. Abans els miners hi celebraven quantitat de festes, i ara la gent a l’atur hi passeja. El parc és preciós i al mig trobarem aquesta casa !

Té la fatxada més llarga d’Europa – és una casa poc coneguda però tots els experts diuen que té poc a envejar als palaus i mansions més famosos com fins i tot el palau de Buckingham. Encara que el parc és públic, la casa en si és privat. La fundació de Fitzwilliam no va poder seguir pagant els costos del seu manteniment i ara ho han comprat una gent, que sembla que la volen obrir per poder visitar i tornar a donar una mica de vida a aquesta zona.

Si continuem pel parc, veurem una manada de cérvols (que pertanyen a la reina Isabel!), i al final del camí, arribarem a uns llacs. Aquí jo pegaria mitja volta, i tornaria a pujar i sortir del parc. Seguim la carretera cap a l’esquerra 200m i entrem el poble de Wentworth. 

Si agafem el primer carrer a l’esquerra podem entrar el Centre de Jardineria que ha aprofitat una part dels jardins de la mansió. És un petit “poble” amb activitats pels petits, tea-rooms, restaurant, gelats fet a ma, carn produït al poble etc –perfecte per a dinar! I si entrem els jardins antics que han conservat, podem veure el ossera que tenien els Fitzwilliam !

Sortim del Garden Centre i entrem el poble. Bàsicament és un únic carrer ple de cases molt paregudes entre si, ja que totes pertanyen a la fundació. Hi ha dos pubs tradicionals que valen la pena visitar! I en un carrer secundari podem visitar les esglésies, una de “nova”, i una antiga on estan enterrats els Earls of Fitzwilliam.

Bé, continuem atravessant el poble, fins una carretera a la dreta senyalitzat Elsecar i Hoyland. Anem-hi i després de 5 minuts veurem un camí públic a ma dreta que tornarà a creuar camps i boscos fins arribar a l’aparcament original. Sense parar, potser el camí dura uns 2 o 3 hores, però evidentment s’ha de gaudir del dia i fer-ho durar aprofitant els photo-opportunities i llocs per beure i menjar!

Davant de l’aparcament podem trobar el parc públic d’Elsecar, amb un gran bandstand on podem sentir musica en directa si és un diumenge d’estiu, i on poden passejar els jubilats i aturats dia si dia també.

Passem de llarg el Market Inn de moment i entrem al Heritage Centre (centre de patrimoni històric). 

Hi trobarem lavabos on potser ja tenim ganes d’anar, segons quantes pintes hem begut, i un centre de visitants on t’explicaran que hi ha. Bàsicament a tots els petits edificis antics de la mina, hi ha botigues i tallers artesanals que intenten donar sortida a la gent d’aquest poble. D’iniciatives n’hi ha, però de diners de gastar, pocs. També un petit tram de via de ferrocarril on uns voluntaris han restaurat un tren de vapor. Alguns dies funciona. És un lloc interessant per a visitar per l’historia que hi ha, i a la vegada trist pels mateixos motius ...

Com a punt principal de la visita, val la pena visitar la maquina de vapor que usaven antiguament per bombejar l’aigua de les mines. És del tipus de Newcomen (un Newcomen steam engine), i és l’únic que queda en peu en el seu lloc de funcionament original a tota Anglaterra. Alguns dies de l’any uns voluntaris ho obren i fan una visita guiada. Valdria la pena abans de planificar la ruta, posar-nos en contacte amb el Visitor Centre per saber quins dies/hores ho obren.

Bé, encara que jo he fet aquesta ruta milers de vegades, l’idea d’escriure l’apunt m’ha vingut al cap llegint aquest llibre, Black Diamonds, que explica l’historia fascinant de la família Fitzwilliam i la casa Wentworth Woodhouse, i de pas l’historia social i industrial de South Yorkshire.

La musica, la típica musica de les bandes de vent dels miners al bandstand d’Elsecar ....

...................

 

Inspired by an amazing book I’ve just read, Black Diamonds,  I’ve decided to post on one of my favourite walks in South Yorkshire – basically as it’s one I can do from “home” (i.e. my parents’ home), but also as it is beautiful, peaceful and educational etc. Enough struggling for adjectives and let’s get to it ...

One possible starting point (it’s a circular route) would be the Elsecar HeritageCentre car park behind the Market Inn at the bottom of Elsecar. The Heritage Centre is basically an attempt to give some use to the old pit workshops and buildings left behind after the pits were closed down, while offering the local community a chance to get back on its feet after Mrs Thatcher so determinedly destroyed their lives back in the ‘80s. Anyway, more later when we come back here at the walk’s end. 

From the car park, head up a lane/path between the car park and the centre. You should be heading roughly south-east (I say, roughly, as I’m currently sitting 1000 km away writing this from memory) uphill. You soon enter Kings Wood, and have to stay left going up the hill, as opposed to veering right along other paths. After a short while, the path comes out into a corn (or wheat?) field and goes straight across it, still climbing. Another stile and another field and keep going up until eventually the fields “move”, and you have field to the left and wood to the right (Lee Wood for those of you with the sense to have packed an OS map). After another few minutes (maybe 20 from the car park), you will see a clearing on the right with this little beauty!

It’s one of Earl Fitzwilliam’s follies. The Fitzwilliams used to own everything you can see around here - villages, mines, farms, the lot. As you can see, apart from the views, this walk offers a good insight into the history of this area; mines, Earls, the rich and the workers, and this is why I insist on reading Black Diamonds before setting out. This particular folly is called Needle’s Eye and the story goes that Fitzwilliam built it so as to win a bet that he could drive his horse and carriage through the eye of a needle. Anyway, the woods are private, as are the lands hereabouts, and most of the village we are about to enter (Wentworth) – owned by Wentworth Estates, set up when the last generations of Fitzwilliams realised their situation was unsustainable and set up this entity to take over the running of this area as a private concern. A wise decision which has enabled this village to retain its character and many local people to work or set up their own businesses. So, the wood is private land but there’s nothing to say we can’t wander up to the folly to sit down and have a snack – and enjoy the views in both directions.

Afterwards, continue along the path till it comes out on a road. More or less straight across, you will see a country lane (Station Lane) continuing in the same direction as the path. Along here you will pass a small hamlet, farms, fields, and come up to small wood on your left. You should be able to see another monument sticking out of the wood. Walk up the path towards it. Known as Hoober Stand, the views from the top are incredible – but it’s only open on odd days (usually Sunday afternoons in summer) so it might be worth finding out when, before doing this walk – or doing it twice!

Having visited Hoober Stand and checked out its history on your smartphone internet, walk back through the wood, and along the lane to the road you crossed earlier. Turn left and walk down this road until you come out onto the main Wentworth-Rotherham road. There are wide verges to walk on.

 Turn right and walk towards the village of Wentworth. In no time you will see the main gate into the grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse on your left. Cross and enter (ice cream van sometimes available!). You can walk through the grounds, admiring the buildings of the Woodhouse on your right, and eventually you will get this view.

The Woodhouse itself – residence of the Fitzwilliams until halfway through the 20th century when they handed it over to the local council who opened a further education college, which closed down in the 70s or 80s. The house slowly went to ruin, while the grounds were an excellent place for dog-walking or for kids to spend long summer holiday days languishing about. The council eventually sold it to a family who tried to restore it but it's a black hole for investments. A heritage association took over (not sure if they are linked to the NT) and have opened parts to the public while they try to restore it. Other events take place too, Christmas fairs, gin tastings, summer pop festival etc. As you can see, the front of the building is amazing, the longest in Europe and many “experts” say this house is a hidden treasure of England with nothing to envy of other more well-known stately homes. It has been closed to the public for decades but tours are slowly becoming available, and as you can imagine, the interior is amazing. All in all, mixed feelings. Built on the back of people's labour and the riches of the earth (coal), but still fascinating and local families have fond memories of the Fitzwilliams - despite having little option but to send their 8-year-old kids down the mines working back in the day!

Once you’ve taken a couple of photos, follow the path downwards to the bottom of the park, as far as a couple of lakes, passing along the way a herd of deer – property of Queen Elizabeth II.

Turn round and walk back up and out of the park. Follow the road left for two minutes and you enter the village. But just before that, at the war memorial, turn left, 200 yards up this road, and into the Wentworth Garden Centre, wherein you can enjoy homemade ice-cream, a cuppa, or a full blown meal in its recently enlarged tea-room. Plus you must pay the 70p to enter the Walled Gardens! Originally belonging to the Woodhouse, they are amazing and include a bear pit (with no bear at present)!

Back to the village. The main road goes straight through and is worth following to see how beautifully kept the houses and cottages are, as well as visiting two great pubs – The Rockingham Arms (my personal fave) and The George and Dragon (worth visiting too!). However, you should also allow time to follow the tree-lined path which runs parallel (behind the row of houses), and which you can get onto opposite the garden centre exit. It’s a nice walk up to the churches – the “new” one and the old one where we can see the graves of the Fitzwilliam dynasty.

As you reach the end of the village, turn right down the road to Hoyland/Elsecar. 5 minutes later you see a wood-yard on your right with a public footpath to the side. This path will take you through woods and over fields back down to the car park you started out from. Depending on how many pubs you visit, how much you eat in the garden centre and how long you stop and stare at some of the sights, the circular walk could have taken between 2.5 hours and a full day!

There are actually two car parks, connected, and they lead into the Heritage Centre, but maybe first you’d like to cross the road and visit Elsecar Park and its bandstand (summer  Sunday afternoons often feature music).

The Heritage Centre is a fascinating place for many reasons. To breathe the history in these buildings, and to see what it meant to this area (and others nearby) to lose all their industry at the stroke of a pen. There is a Visitor Centre which may be a good place to start out, after a quick visit to the loos if you’ve followed my advice so far on cuppas and beer.

 The buildings themselves are under-used and under-visited (thanks, I believe, to the council's failure to really get behind the area) but show a desire by many people to set themselves up in business or share their initiatives with others. Many art and craft places, a cool printing place, traditional sweet shop, children’s indoor playhouse (avoid!!) etc. Down at the bottom of the pit yards, the old steam railway is gradually being restored by volunteers and may be working the day you visit. Ask at the Visitor Centre for the Newcomen Engine, a steam-operated engine for pumping water out of the mines, it is the only one of its kind still in its original location. I have never been inside, but apparently there are also the odd guided tours nowadays if you ask about them. 

And that’s all folks, unless you fancy another quick pint in the Market Inn – if you’re not driving.

If you know anything about the mining industry, or if you’ve read the Black Diamonds book beforehand, this walk is full of history. The contrast between the luxury and wealth of the Fitzwilliams, and the lifestyle and conditions of the miners is clearly on show – but also the connections between them as the Earls were “good” rich folk, those philanthropist ones who really seemed to care for “their” workers. Please read the book before passing judgement!

And now back to Elsecar bandstand ...

Blooming Heather - Kate Rusby #JoanMiro_a_Yorkshire

Abans de caure a Catalunya, vivia als People's Republic of South Yorkshire, a uns 15 minuts en cotxe del Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Hi anem sovint perque és un lloc molt bonic per passejar, un parc enorme amb molts d'entorns diferents i sorpreses a cada rinco. No entenc res d'art, pero igualment em fa gracia trobar esculptures i ceramica al mig del paisatge natural.

Segur que si entenia més, encara m'agradaria més - o no. Pero el fet és que, per bé o per mal, a Anglaterra no s'ensenya l'historia de l'art a l'escola obligatoria. Abans de caure a Catalunya, ja de gran, no coneixia qui era Miro ni Dali, ni Moore, ni Monet. I ara, ben just! Em quedo amb Lennon i MacCartney.

Aixo no m'ha impedit disfrutar, però, d'algunes obres. Potser el que més m'agrada, pel sencill i llamatiu, és l'obra de Miro. De fet, hem anat al museu a Barcelona ja 3 cops, i aviat hi tornarem amb els petits - que ja saben molt més d'art que jo.

En fi, tot aquest rotllo per arribar a explicar que aquest any fan una exposició a l'aire lliure (o sigui, pluja) de Miro al Yorkshire Sculpture Park!!

Per acompanyar, ja he posat sovint musica de Yorkshire, i avui no fallaré. Es el turn de Kate Rusby ...

...

Before I ended up in Catalunya, I used to live about 15 minutes' drive from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. A place I've always loved as being a great place for a long walk, with surprises around every corner - even though I know nothing about art. Nothing meaning nothing, not false modesty. I didn't know Miro or Dali before I came here. Or Moore or Monet for that matter. Catalan kids actually study art history at school and my 6 and 8-year old kids already know more than me about art and artists. Having said that, though, I do have a soft spot for Miro - who I didn't discover till I actually went to Barcelona for the first time.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, there's a Miro exhibition on at the YSP this year, and I strongly recommend it!

As for music from Yorkshire, here's the Barnsley nightingale ... Kate Rusby.

Valentine - Richard Hawley #Celebrem-ho?

Arribat el dia 14 de febrer, i arriba l'etern debat sobre si és bo celebrar el Dia de Sant Valenti a Catalunya ... si ja tenim un dia "de l'amor", el de Sant Jordi, per que importar una festa americana?

Ja sabeu el que penso, perquè sempre dic lo mateix (!): per a mi, com més festes, millor. La vida ja és prou dura per anar retallant festes!! Seria diferent si vulguessen eliminar les festes catalanes per imposar unes altres, però no és el cas (si no vols). Clar, com que no sóc tonto, també entenc les reticències a les festes americanes. Son un exemple pur i dur del consumisme brutal que domina al mon occidental. Això si que em fa rabia, però, total, és un joc  de diners en que només entres si vols. Jo, sent de Yorkshire, mai he pensat que cal gastar diners per a mostrar el meu amor... I així celebrem el Dia dels Enamorats a baix-cost :)

Bé, més seriosament, com gairebé tot el que s'ha fet gran als USA, aquesta celebració primer va sortir d'Europa. Evidentment, lo Valentí mateix era europeu i alguna mena de festa de 'amor' ja es celebrava arreu fa molts segles - fins i tot abans del Valentí mateix, els pagans i qui s'apuntava a la festa trobaven el començament de la primavera com a bon moment de aparellar-se. I si pensem en casa nostra, només cal googlejar una mica per a trobar un poema en català del Segle 14 que en parla de celebrar la festa. Pel que es veu, igual que 'halloween', son festes que aquí es feien però que 'algú' va intentar impedir en algun moment (posa-li, l'Esglèsia, posa-li Franco...).  En fi, endavant amb tot el que vulguesseu!

I quina manera millor que amb el Gran Richard Hawley - de Sheffield !! I un gran video!!

....

Meat is murder - The Smiths

És evident que cada u és lliure de menjar el que vol, però de vegades val la pena saber l'historia que hi ha detras del menjar. I és evident, per mi, que han d'haver-hi limits. I el foie gras, al meu entendre, passa de la ratlla, però molt! Si no sabeu com es fa, aquí hi ha un parell de videos interessants!

Hi ha coses que es poden canviar, però, si volem. Per exemple, l'ajuntament de York - ciutat principal de Yorkshire, Anglaterra - ha prohibit la seva venta a la ciutat.

No cal - si no voleu - arribar al vegeterianisme dels Smiths, però petits canvis com deixar de menjar aquesta crueltat no estaria malament!

....

I was very pleased to hear a couple of years back that York city council had banned the sale of foie gras - and surprised that some people still buy and eat it. Why do I say that? Check out these videos! While it may not be necessary to become a vegetarian as the Smiths propose, small changes in our consumption choices can make a lot of difference to animal suffering.

Alela Diane - Pirate's Gospel

Per aliviar la tornada a la feina, res millor que recordar les vacances de l’estiu. Van passar una setmana a la costa de Yorkshire, un lloc fascinant. Platjes on es pot fer de tot menys prendre el sol! Fòssils, crancs, barcos, mareas, i sobretot moltes histories – de Dracula, de contrabandistes, de pirates... en fi, un lloc ideal per passar dies amb família.
Alela Diane amb Pirate’s Gospel dels seu LP de l’any 2006 del mateix nom.
Looking back on the summer holidays – we spent a fantastic week on the north Yorkshire coast, fossil-hunting, rock-pooling, listening to tales of Dracula, smugglers and pirates. A fantastic place for family holidays – unless you fancy sunbathing!
Alela Diane with Pirate’s Gospel from 2006.

For Your Lover - Richard Hawley

El dimarts toca Richard Hawley a Barcelona. Com que no puc anar-hi, pos, mirem algun vídeo d’ell. El single For Your Lover, Give Some Time del LP del 2009, Truelove’s Gutter.

Since I can’t go to see Richard Hawley in Barcelona on Tuesday the 16th, I’ll have to make do with a video clip of the single For Your Lover, Give Some Time from last year’s LP, Truelove’s Gutter.