Glenn Miller

Every year the Glenn Miller band comes to Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, and every year Mum and I go along. My Dad played the saxophone in big bands like this when I was growing up, often on the American air force bases in East Anglia near where we lived. When I was old enough, I’d go with him. I loved the theatricality and team work - compelling music boosted by performance.

This time, I recognised a friend’s son in the front row of the band, with his saxophone. Blow me down - the tradition continues :-)

heaven

En route to China, I was watching a film on the plane and just had a notion to lift the blind and look out of the window.

We were passing over the mountains of western Iran, en route to Abu Dhabi, and I could hardly believe the beautiful sight below.

This is my favourite image of 2016.

Hong Kong heights

Three weeks in China, and in every city on the mainland the skies were dull and grey, filled with pollution. My daily iPhone weather update advised of ‘dangerous’ air quality, time after time. Hong Kong was our last stop, and - what a relief! - gave us sustained blue skies.

David had lived here for several years when he was younger, so we followed his journey, tracking his recollections. Fifty years had passed, meaning his memories were sharp in places, confounded in others - more by the scale and extent of development over the years than by time itself.

The Peak on Hong Kong Island was really something, so high above the incredible cityscape. Our hotel was in Kowloon, behind us, but lost amongst the buildings.

Great Wall of China

Well. Yet again, I assumed wrongly. Having seen so many pictures of the Great Wall of China filled with tourists from side to side as far as the eye could see. I’d steeled myself for crowds.

However, there's a lot of wall in the Great Wall. We drove a long way out of polluted Beijing, then walked to a part of the Wall that was almost overgrown in places with shrubs and weeds, and incredibly quiet.

It was empty, crumbly, overgrown and magnificent. How lucky we were, simply to be there.  

Budir church

The little black church at Budir on Iceland's Snaefellsnes peninsula stands between the sea and the only other building for miles around, the fantastic Hotel Budir - which I reckon to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I organised a trip to some of Iceland’s fantastic photogenic landscapes to the south and east for The Guild of Photographers, and afterwards hired a 4 x 4 and drove over here to check out logistics for a future tour, taking a couple of photographer friends with me.

Both guys loved Hotel Budir so much they decided that when they got married it would be here. (Well, that would be next time round for Chris, already married, but with the writing already on the wall.)

In just a few days on the peninsula we had some adventures: going up onto onto the glacier in a Snowcat with a stag group; watching the blood and turmoil of a fishing catch coming in; losing a camera at the Witches Hat mountain and waterfall, negotiating a single track road in a white-out over the high route back …more memories!

fast trot

This trip to Iceland for The Guild of Photographers was unforgettable. A great group, sharing experience in an incredible place. The landscape could leave us gasping, the weather shifted faster than we could believe, and every corner we turned brought us another delight.

This photogenic little horse was a totally unexpected pleasure. It appeared fast over a low hill - we heard it before we saw it - and shot past us with its strange fast short gait, peculiar and particular to Icelandic horses. Coming back ten minutes later, the rider looked a bit bemused as he negotiated a beaming group of Guild photographers who couldn't believe their luck!  

Skye croft

Here’s where I spent New Year, with a couple of big jigsaws and a bottle of malt.

On the east coast of Skye, it’s a tiny croft by the shore of the narrow waters separating Skye from mainland Scotland. That’s the other side in the picture - cattle were swum across, rather than driven round the long way.

Driving north from Manchester through the high winds and torrential rain of Storm Frank I’d wondered whether the Skye Bridge would still be open (the ferry was cancelled) but it was much calmer over on the west. The last twenty minutes was the spectacular climb up and over from the main road to Kylerhea, with the reward, when you come over the final ridge, of the little white croft-dots of the tiny hamlet spread out below . ‘Turn right by the red postbox and it's first on the left.’

Lovely to climb out of the car, walk to the edge of the water and exhale. Decompression time.

spray

Loved my pre-Christmas trip to Guernsey to see the family, including my two talented athlete nephews.

‘Let's have a walk out to the lighthouse by the harbour...’  It was fantastic!

blue mosque

I’m in Istanbul, a place that has been on my wish list for a very long time. The taxi ride from the airport took almost an hour and a half, in rush hour rain. It was awful. I arrived a couple of days in advance of the Liverpool Biennial Team. We’re all meeting up to have a look around the Istanbul Biennial.

Today, there are bad-tempered dark skies and torrential rain. I’d always visualised being here in scorching heat with unbroken blue above.

Yesterday I finally got to visit the Blue Mosque. It was magnificent. No rain, but dismal grey skies, and the many worshippers and visitors were corralled by scaffolding, both inside and outside. Another confirmation that things aren’t always what we assumed they would be, I guess.

I found a corner where I could stand still and and just gaze up at the crescendo of domes and the gentle glow of the tiles. Being content with being here was enough.

speed

My nephew Cameron has just started at Bath University, to study sport as well as train hard.  He's a talented 400m runner. 

He and his brother, an equally talented 400m hurdles athlete, both came home from the World Island Games in 2015 with two gold medals each - here he is in the green Guernsey team speedsuit, en route to one of his wins.  

india

In 2005 I went to India for the first time. I wasn’t sure how it would be - but I was amazed at the place, and just loved the people.

New sights, sounds and smells, definitely - but the overwhelming impression I came back with was of so many people living together harmoniously in what might be politely called very basic conditions. I take access to the fundamental necessities of life - as I see them - very much for granted. It was incredible to see whole families seemingly living on the street, individuals working so hard for minimum financial reward, and not just basic sanitation, but none at all.

On the other hand, I didn't once hear voices raised in anger, or children crying. There were so many smiles and I had happy conversations just about everywhere.