← The Register, all years
The Register — 2018
20 entries, #125 to #144 · transcribed from the notebook
Transcribing 2018 now, and it reads like a different man to 2011, though it were the same man with a better camera. I bought the digital camera from Argos in town in February of this year and it's the same one I use today. The photographs come out grainy and I've never bothered to fix it. They suit the subject. You'll notice the notes get longer from here — I'd started putting down fuller conditions, and now and again half a thought, which I'd not have allowed myself in Notebook 1. Twenty shoes, which were the most in a year at that point. Saddleworth got a proper look at last, twice, and the canal locks at Marsden started earning their place. What I remember most is the light. It were a good year for light and the register says so more than once. The notebook were a black hardback and the pen behaved itself all year, which is not nowt.
#125
13 January 2018 · Left trainer, black
Canal towpath, Milnsbridge
Left trainer, black, laces still in but loose. On the towpath by the old packing house at Milnsbridge, toe towards the water. Weather were grey with a bit of drizzle by ten. Flask conditions fair, tea kept its heat well enough. Took two photographs on the old camera and neither come out to speak of. Noted it careful in the book instead. Cheese and pickle.
#126
28 January 2018 · Right boot, brown leather
Blackmoorfoot Reservoir, conduit path
Right boot, brown leather, size nine or thereabouts, laces missing. On the conduit path at Blackmoorfoot, frost still white on the grass at half nine. A hard, clear morning. Sat a short while on the stool. Flask conditions very good — the cold does bring the best out of a flask. One photograph, come out dark. It were a solid boot and somebody had cared for it once.
#127
17 February 2018 · Left boot, black
Wessenden valley path, above Marsden
Left boot, black, badly weathered, no laces, tongue gone stiff. On the valley path above Marsden, just past the second reservoir gate. Snow still lying in the gullies. Wind coming straight down the valley so I didn't sit. Flask conditions poor on account of the wind, tea gone lukewarm by the boot. Photograph didn't come out. Been there a while, that one, happen since autumn.
#128
10 March 2018 · Right plimsoll, white, child's
Greenhead Park, Huddersfield
Right plimsoll, white, child's, small. Under the bandstand railing at Greenhead Park. First shoe on the new camera, which I got from Argos in February. The photographs come out grainy but I got three that show the shoe clear enough, which is three more than the old camera would have managed. Mild morning, no wind. How it come to be there isn't really the point of what I do. Noted and photographed.
#129
25 March 2018 · Right trainer, grey
Castle Hill, Almondbury
Right trainer, grey, laces tied in a double knot, fair condition. On the grass bank below the tower at Castle Hill. I've been up Castle Hill more times than I could count and it doesn't offer up many. Clear morning, good light, you could see to the Emley Moor mast. Two photographs on the new camera, both come out. Flask conditions good. Egg and cress, for a change.
#130
7 April 2018 · Left shoe, brown leather
Lock 42E, Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Marsden
Left shoe, brown leather, laced, decent condition. On the towpath beside Lock 42E at Marsden, up near Tunnel End, sat square on the coping stones. Bright morning, canal very still. Sat twenty minutes on the stool with the flask. Flask conditions excellent. Three photographs and the light did most of the work. A good spot, the locks. I made a note to come back.
#131
21 April 2018 · Right boot, tan
Deer Hill Reservoir, above Meltham
Right boot, tan, one lace present and knotted, sole worn through at the heel. On the reservoir track at Deer Hill above Meltham. Showery, with bright spells between, and I timed the photographs for the bright spells, which is a thing the new camera has me doing now. Two come out well. Flask conditions good. A curlew going over most of the morning.
#132
5 May 2018 · Left trainer, blue
Dovestone Reservoir, Greenfield, Saddleworth
Left trainer, blue, laces gone, canvas faded. On the shore path at Dovestone Reservoir, Greenfield — a proper Saddleworth outing at last, set off at half seven and over the top on the A635. The light off the water were crackin' all morning. Sat a good while on the stool. Flask conditions excellent, sandwiches were cheese and pickle. Four photographs, all come out, which I believe is a record. Saddleworth wants more of my attention.
#133
20 May 2018 · Right sandal, brown leather, child's size
Church gate, Farnley Tyas
Right sandal, brown leather, buckle fastened, child's size or near it. On the wall top by the church gate at Farnley Tyas. Warm morning, hedges full of birds. One photograph, come out grainy but the buckle shows. Flask conditions fair — it were too warm for the tea to matter much. You see more sandals from May on. That's the only pattern I'd commit to.
#134
2 June 2018 · Left shoe, black, work sort
Ginnel off Scar Lane, Golcar
Left shoe, black, a work shoe by the look of the toe, laces in, heavily creased. In the ginnel off Scar Lane at Golcar, up against the wall. Overcast but dry. No room for the stool in a ginnel so I stood. Flask left in the car. Two photographs, one come out. An ordinary shoe in an ordinary spot, and there's value in recording those an' all, else the register would only be the strange ones.
#135
16 June 2018 · Right trainer, white
Butterley Reservoir spillway, Marsden
Right trainer, white gone grey, laces frayed, tongue pulled out. On the spillway wall at Butterley Reservoir, Marsden. Hot morning, the moor smelling of dry grass. Flask conditions poor — tea doesn't want drinking in that heat, but I had a cup out of habit. Three photographs, good light again. This were the summer the light kept being good. I don't know what were behind it but I logged it every time.
#136
30 June 2018 · Left boot, brown
Dam path, Scammonden Water
Left boot, brown, sole coming away at the toe, no laces. On the dam path at Scammonden Water, below the motorway bridge, the M62 traffic above you the whole time, which takes some getting used to. Dry, breezy. Sat on the stool for the notes. Flask conditions good. Two photographs come out, one with the bridge behind, which gives a sense of scale.
#137
14 July 2018 · Right boot, black
Chew Valley, above Dovestone, Saddleworth
Right boot, black, very weathered, laces perished, a winter or two on it at least. Up the Chew Valley above Dovestone, on the flat rocks by the track. Second Saddleworth outing of the year, on account of the first one going so well. Long walk in, so I brought the stool, having a feeling about it, and the feeling were right. Sat forty minutes. Flask conditions excellent. Five photographs. Egg and cress, and a Penguin.
#138
29 July 2018 · Left plimsoll, navy
Verge near the football ground, Hade Edge
Left plimsoll, navy, slip-on sort, flattened. On the verge at Hade Edge above Holmfirth, near the football ground. Grey morning, low cloud sat on the tops. One photograph, grainy, but the shape reads. Flask conditions fair. Not much else to report, and I've learned that's worth writing down as much as owt else. A quiet shoe in a quiet spot.
#139
11 August 2018 · Right trainer, grey
Lock 32E, Marsden flight, Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Right trainer, grey, laces tied, sat in the bywash channel at Lock 32E on the Marsden flight, dry at this time of year. Said in April I'd come back to the locks and I did. Warm, still. A boat come through while I were taking photographs and the man at the tiller nodded at me, and I nodded back. Four photographs, three come out. Flask conditions good. The locks are proving reliable.
#140
25 August 2018 · Left brogue, brown
Lane under the viaduct, Denby Dale
Left brogue, brown, polished once but not lately, laces in. On the lane under the viaduct at Denby Dale, in the shadow of the arch. Cool morning for August. The viaduct does something to the light underneath it and the photographs come out darker than the day were, all three of them. Flask conditions good. A smart shoe for a lane. I noted the smartness and left it at that.
#141
8 September 2018 · Right boot, black
Honley Woods
Right boot, black, laces missing, upper cracked across. Off the main path in Honley Woods, in among the beech leaves, which made it hard to spot, and I'd credit the new camera's screen for finding the angle at all. Still morning, first hint of autumn damp. No stool — the ground were dry enough to kneel for the photographs, two of which come out. Flask conditions fair. Cheese and pickle.
#142
29 September 2018 · Left trainer, green
Blackmoorfoot Reservoir, conduit path
Left trainer, green, laces gone, heel worn to nowt. Conduit path at Blackmoorfoot again, more or less where the January boot were — I checked against the book and it were forty yards off. Not the same spot, then, but near enough to note. Bright and cold. Sat on the stool. Flask conditions very good. Three photographs come out. Blackmoorfoot has been good to the register this year.
#143
20 October 2018 · Right boot, tan
Towpath by the Calder, Mirfield
Right boot, tan, laces knotted together and slung over the towpath railing by the Calder at Mirfield. First one I've had hung rather than sat, and I recorded the hanging as a fact, nowt more. Grey, rain by eleven. Photographed it before the rain come, two come out. Flask conditions good while they lasted. Barry rang in the evening to say he'd once seen a hung one at Batley. I've asked him for particulars.
#144
8 December 2018 · Left boot, brown
Layby on the A635, Wessenden Head
Left boot, brown, laces in, good condition considering. In the layby on the A635 at Wessenden Head, snow forecast but not yet come. Bitter wind off the moor, so the notes were done in the car with the flask on the dashboard. Flask conditions excellent, which mattered more than usual. Two photographs, quick ones, both come out. Last shoe of the year as it turned out. Twenty for 2018, which is the most yet, and the camera has earned its keep.