← The Register, all years
The Register — 2021
21 entries, #183 to #203 · transcribed from the notebook
Transcribing 2021 now and it reads calmer than folk expect. This is the year of the pair, and people who've heard about the register generally ask about the pair first, and I generally tell them it's two entries, numbers 198 and 199, October, and everything I had to say is in the entries. Twenty-one shoes altogether. The range opened back out after the year before, which I were glad of without making owt of it. The Milnsbridge sandal went missing between visits in August — first one lost since the Meltham brogue — and it keeps its number, same as anything lost does. Biro this year, blue, and my writing's better in biro, so the transcribing's been straightforward. A wet February, a decent summer, frost early in the autumn. Barry features twice, once by telephone and once in person, both times to do with the layby. Linda kept the sandwiches going all year and I don't note that often enough. A steady year. Eventful isn't a word I'd use.
#183
16 January 2021 · Right trainer, white
Castle Hill, Almondbury
Right trainer. White originally, grey now. Halfway up the path on the Almondbury side, sole facing out. Laces present, frozen stiff. Snow still lying in the shadow of the wall. First of the year and a cold start to it. Flask conditions good — you appreciate a flask more in January than any other month. Photograph came out grainy, which suits it. Home by dinnertime.
#184
7 February 2021 · Left boot, black
Canal towpath, Slaithwaite
Left boot. Black, laces gone, tongue folded back with rain sat in it. Towpath at Slaithwaite between the lock and the bridge, up against the wall. Rained the whole walk out and the whole walk back, the even sort that doesn't let up. Photograph didn't come out well but I kept it. Cheese and pickle under the bridge. Flask conditions fair.
#185
13 March 2021 · Right trainer, blue
Blackmoorfoot Reservoir
Right trainer. Blue, white sole, laces in and knotted. On the reservoir path at Blackmoorfoot, the west side, sat upright on the grass verge. Bright morning, cold wind off the water. Brought the stool and were glad of it. Good condition, this one — hardly worn. You do wonder, but wondering's not the job. Noted and left where it stood.
#186
27 March 2021 · Child's shoe, left, black
Scar Lane, Golcar
Child's shoe, left. Black, the school sort, buckle rather than laces. Bottom of Scar Lane, Golcar, on the low wall by the ginnel. Scuffed at the toe the way they always are. Grey morning, dry. I don't linger over the children's ones any longer than the rest — same entry, same details, same care. Photograph came out clear enough. Home for half twelve.
#187
10 April 2021 · Left boot, brown
Wessenden Head, above Marsden
Left boot. Brown, heavy sort, one lace missing and the other perished. Off the path above Wessenden Head, ten yards into the heather. Been out a while by the look of it — leather gone stiff and pale at the toe. Set off at half seven, up there by nine. Wind steady from the west. Flask conditions very good. Sat half an hour on the stool. A crackin' morning for it.
#188
8 May 2021 · Right plimsoll, white
Magdale, Honley
Right plimsoll. White, or had been. In the beck at Magdale, Honley, wedged against a stone with the water going over it. Noted from the bank — you can't interfere, and I weren't getting in the beck regardless. Laces trailing downstream. Warm day, first proper one of the year. Egg and cress. Photograph has the light on the water in it, which is more than I usually manage.
#189
29 May 2021 · Left trainer, grey
Conduit path, Deer Hill
Left trainer. Grey, mesh sort, sole coming away at the heel. On the conduit path at Deer Hill, laid flat, toe pointing towards Meltham. Laces present, double-knotted. Overcast, close, midges about. Flask conditions middling — I'd not screwed the cup on square and lost a bit down me bag. Linda had words about the bag. Photograph came out, more or less.
#190
12 June 2021 · Right shoe, brown leather
By the church, Farnley Tyas
Right shoe. Brown leather, proper sort, five eyelets, laces in. On the grass verge opposite the church at Farnley Tyas. Polished within recent memory — only a bit of dew on it. Fine still morning, church bells going while I noted it, which felt fitting though I couldn't tell you why. Photograph came out well. One of the smarter ones this year.
#191
26 June 2021 · Child's trainer, right, red
Beaumont Park, Huddersfield
Child's trainer, right. Red with a white stripe, hook-and-loop straps rather than laces. On the steps below the bandstand at Beaumont Park. Saturday, so there were families about, and a little lad watched me photograph it and asked what I were doing. I told him. He nodded and went off. Sunny spells. Flask on a bench after. Good condition, hardly a mark on it.
#192
17 July 2021 · Left boot, tan
Butterley Reservoir, Marsden
Left boot. Tan, work sort, steel toe by the look of it, lace snapped short. On the spillway wall at Butterley Reservoir, Marsden. Warm and hazy. The spillway's a grand bit of stonework and the boot suited it. Sat a while on the stool with a Penguin. Photograph a bit grainy — the camera does that and I've never bothered to fix it. They suit the subject.
#193
8 August 2021 · Left sandal, browngone on return visit
Canal path, Milnsbridge
Left sandal. Brown, buckled sort, strap worn through at one hole. Canal path at Milnsbridge, on the edging stones by the water. Documented the 8th — photographed, measured, noted, all in order. Went back a fortnight on to check on it and it were gone. Nothing dramatic about that; shoes go. It's marked lost and it keeps its number. They always keep their number, else the register means nothing. Weather both visits: fair.
#194
28 August 2021 · Right boot, black
Pule Hill, Marsden
Right boot. Black, laces in, eyelets rusted. In the lee of the wall on Pule Hill, Marsden side. Blowy up top, the sort of wind that gets in the flask cup before the tea does. Been there through some weather by the state of it. Sat on the stool with me back to the wall. Cheese and pickle. Photographs came out — three of four, any road.
#195
11 September 2021 · Right trainer, black
Scammonden Water
Right trainer. Black, white flash on the side, laces gone. On the path above Scammonden Water with the M62 going past below, which you stop hearing after a bit. Dry, high cloud. Sole worn through at the ball of the foot. Flask conditions good. I gave it twenty minutes and a Penguin. Photograph came out grainy but honest.
#196
25 September 2021 · Left boot, brown
Bridleway out of Emley, towards the mast
Left boot. Brown, ankle sort, laces present but loose. On the bridleway out of Emley towards the mast, up against the field edge. You can see half of Yorkshire from up there when it's clear, and it were clear. I checked it against the folder as a matter of routine — it weren't anything of that sort, just a good ordinary boot. Noted, photographed, left where it lay.
#197
9 October 2021 · Right brogue, black
Verge at Hade Edge, by the Dunford Road junction
Right brogue. Black, leather sole, laces tied in a bow. On the verge at Hade Edge, by the junction for Dunford Road. First frost of the autumn on the grass and on the shoe both. A tied lace is always worth recording. Flask conditions excellent. I remember thinking on the drive home it had been a steady sort of year.
#198
23 October 2021 · Right shoe, brown leather, size ten
Layby on A629, near Denby Dale
Right shoe of two. Brown leather, size ten, laces tied. Layby on the A629 this side of Denby Dale, set neatly on the verge with its partner alongside, toes to the road. In twelve years I'd not found two together. I sat with them a good while. Weather were still, bit of drizzle. Photographed the pair and then each on its own. Two shoes is two entries — that's how the register works, and I saw no reason to make an exception. Rang Barry that evening.
#199
23 October 2021 · Left shoe, brown leather, size ten
Layby on A629, near Denby Dale
Left shoe of two. Brown leather, size ten, laces tied. Details as 198 — same layby, same make, placed neatly side by side, sides near enough touching. Barry drove over the Sunday after to see for himself and agreed there were nowt to add. Some folk have since asked whether a pair still counts. It counts as two entries. I finished the flask in the layby before I left. Drizzle eased off towards eleven.
#200
6 November 2021 · Left trainer, white
Towpath at Tunnel End, Marsden
Left trainer. White, gone yellow at the sole, laces in. On the towpath at Tunnel End, Marsden, below the lock beam. Cold, bright, the canal steaming a bit first thing. After last month a plain trainer on a towpath felt like the register settling back into itself, which suits me. Flask conditions good. Photographed twice, both came out. Home for dinner.
#201
20 November 2021 · Right boot, brown
Towpath by Ledgard Bridge, Mirfield
Right boot. Brown, rigger sort, no laces to speak of. Towpath at Mirfield by Ledgard Bridge, half under the arch out of the rain, which is where I'd have stood myself. Wet morning, proper wet. Barry had mentioned it were worth a look over that way and he weren't wrong. Condition poor — sole parting, leather soft. Noted it all the same. They all go in.
#202
4 December 2021 · Left shoe, black
Castle Hill, Almondbury
Left shoe. Black, plain, laces missing. On the path below the tower at Castle Hill — second of the year up there, which happens with the places you go most. Hard frost, ground ringing underfoot. I've walked up Castle Hill more or less monthly since 1976 and it still finds ways to hand you summat. Flask conditions very good. Photograph came out well against the frost.
#203
18 December 2021 · Right trainer, navy
By the chapel, Linthwaite
Right trainer. Navy, laces knotted together and looped over themselves. On the wall by the chapel at Linthwaite, dusted with the first snow worth the name. Last of the year. Twenty-one for 2021, which I noted at the time were tidy. Linda had the tea on when I got back. Flask conditions good, sandwiches cheese and pickle, for the record. Notebook nearly full.