← The Register, all years
The Register — 2024
26 entries, #263 to #288 · transcribed from the notebook
2024 were the year the register stopped being just me. Transcribing this notebook now, what strikes me is how many entries start with somebody else — Barry, Stuart at work, a lady off the walking forum who signs herself Meg58, even Our Linda's cousin Marjorie, who spotted one from the 324 bus. I confirmed every one in person, as is the rule and always will be, but the tip-offs came steady all autumn and the back pages of this book are full of phone numbers and forum names. Twenty-six shoes. The Rigby Woods trainer in August were the find of the year and I'd say so to anybody. June I'll pass over quickly: the Skipton business is recorded in the wellington ledger where it belongs, and my reservations about wellingtons are on record an' all. The pen held out the whole year, which is more than can be said for the 2025 book. Biro, black, from the merchant's.
#263
6 January 2024 · Left Oxford, dark tan
Layby on A640, Outlane
Left Oxford in the layby on the A640 at Outlane. Dark tan, five eyelets, leather sole, laces still in. A proper shoe, this one, not a trainer. Wind were bitter and I'll not pretend otherwise. Took five photographs and four came out blurred, which I put down to me hands more than the camera. Had the flask in the car and were glad of it. Tea held up well considering.
#264
27 January 2024 · Right trainer, black
Canal towpath below Lock 21E, Slaithwaite
Right trainer, black, sole coming away at the toe. On the towpath below Lock 21E at Slaithwaite, up against the wall like it had been set there. Laces gone. Grey morning, canal high after the rain. Ate half me sandwiches on the lock beam and saved the rest, which turned out to be the right call as nowt else turned up all day.
#265
10 February 2024 · Left boot, brown
Conduit path, Blackmoorfoot Reservoir
Left boot, brown leather, on the conduit path at Blackmoorfoot. Heavily weathered, tongue stiff as a board, one lace and it were rotted through. Reservoir were half in mist. Flask conditions good. I sat a while on the wall, not because the boot required it particularly, but because it were a decent wall and the tea were at the right temperature. Photographs came out reasonable.
#266
24 February 2024 · Right trainer, grey
Verge of A638, near Dewsbury bus station
Right trainer, grey, on the verge of the A638 near Dewsbury bus station. Barry rang on the Thursday and I drove over Saturday morning to confirm it in person, which is the rule and always will be. Still there, which counts in its favour. Laces tied, oddly. Traffic made photography awkward but I got three usable. Barry stood by his car the whole time. He does that.
#267
9 March 2024 · Child's plimsoll, left, navy
Castle Hill, Almondbury
Child's plimsoll, left, navy, elastic sort so no laces to record. Halfway up Castle Hill on the path from Ashes Lane. Small. Been there a week or more by the look of the canvas. Clear morning, first proper one of the spring, and you could see Emley Moor mast plain as owt. Noted the plimsoll, had a Penguin, came down. Some days that's the whole of it.
#268
23 March 2024 · Left boot, black
Reservoir path, Deer Hill
Left boot, black, steel toe by the weight of it, though I don't lift them as a rule — this one were on its side and the cap showed. Deer Hill reservoir path, near the shooting range end. Working man's boot, laces in, good condition. Cold wind off the moor. Flask conditions fair, milk had turned the tea a shade pale. Four photographs, all came out.
#269
13 April 2024 · Right slip-on, black
St Bartholomew's churchyard, Marsden
Right slip-on, black, the elasticated sort, in the churchyard at St Bartholomew's, Marsden, up against the boundary wall. No laces to record, obviously. Respectable condition, hardly worn. I kept it brief out of respect for the setting and photographed it from the path without stepping on owt I shouldn't. Mild day, blossom out. Our Linda had done egg and cress, which I had by the car.
#270
11 May 2024 · Right boot, black
Wessenden Moor
Right boot, black, very weathered. Wessenden Moor, off the path above the middle reservoir. This one had been out a winter at least, happen two — leather gone grey at the seams and the sole parting company at the heel. No laces. I brought the stool, having had a feeling about it, and the feeling were right. Sat a good while. Flask conditions excellent. Wind steady but nowt worse. One of the better mornings of the year, all told.
#271
25 May 2024 · Left trainer, white
Spillway, Butterley Reservoir, Marsden
Left trainer, white gone grey, by the spillway at Butterley Reservoir, Marsden. Laces present, both untied. Fair condition apart from the colour. A man walking his dog stopped and asked what I were photographing and I told him, and he looked at the trainer a while and said he'd never have noticed it. Most people don't. That's not a criticism. Warm morning, midges about.
#272
15 June 2024 · Child's sandal, right, brown
Field edge off Woodsome Road, Farnley Tyas
Child's sandal, right, brown, buckle sort, at a field edge off Woodsome Road, Farnley Tyas. Small, buckle done up. Good condition — this one hadn't been out long. Hot day, first proper one of the summer, and the barley were well up. I noted it, photographed it, and left it as found, same as always. Cheese and pickle under the hedge after. Flask were more or less warm, which in June is all you want.
#273
6 July 2024 · Left trainer, blue
Salendine Nook chapel, Huddersfield
Left trainer, blue, on the grass by Salendine Nook chapel. Stuart at work mentioned it on the Tuesday — said he'd passed it twice on his rounds and thought of me, which I took kindly. Confirmed it Saturday. Laces in, tied in a double knot, which you don't often see. Sole worn even, so a walker's shoe by my reckoning, though how it got there isn't the point of what I do. Overcast, dry.
#274
10 August 2024 · Left trainer, white
Rigby Woods, near Slaithwaite
Left trainer, white, or off-white by the time I got to it. Rigby Woods, near Slaithwaite. Size seven. Lace on the left side only, threaded through three eyelets and stopping there, and the whole thing sitting upright as if set down deliberate. Heard of it in July off a walking forum and it took till August to get up there. Sat half an hour on the stool. Took fourteen photographs, which is a lot for me, but it were that sort of shoe. Went back in October and it were still there. I've added that here for completeness.
#275
24 August 2024 · Right boot, tan
Bridleway above Scammonden Water
Right boot, tan, on the bridleway above Scammonden Water. Laces missing, heel worn to the welt. Been there a while. Breezy up top with the motorway going below, which you never quite stop hearing at Scammonden but you learn to set it aside. Flask conditions good. Two of six photographs came out grainy even by my standards. They suit the subject, I've always said.
#276
31 August 2024 · Left plimsoll, black
Canal towpath, Milnsbridge
Left plimsoll, black, canal towpath at Milnsbridge, near where the sandal went missing in 2021, though I don't read owt into that. On the bank edge, toe towards the water. Elastic sort, no laces. Damp morning after overnight rain, towpath claggy. A chap from the forum had flagged this one an' all — third of the year to come in that way. The register's getting correspondence now, which takes some getting used to.
#277
7 September 2024 · Right brogue, oxblood
Ledgard Bridge, Mirfield
Right brogue, oxblood, by Ledgard Bridge, Mirfield. Barry again — he'd been over that way seeing a man about a greenhouse. Good condition, laces in, tied. A smart shoe for a towpath, but I don't speculate. Photographed it from both sides and the light were kind for once. Barry's photography has come on a fair bit these last years, but the rule stands: I confirm in person or it doesn't go in.
#278
14 September 2024 · Child's trainer, right, red
Honley Woods
Child's trainer, right, red with a white sole, in Honley Woods off the top path. Velcro sort, both straps done up. Small, size ten or eleven in children's I'd say, though I don't handle them so that's an estimate. Leaves just starting to turn. Quiet in there, just pigeons. Sat on a log for the flask, stool being in the car. Tea a touch stewed. Noted it and came away.
#279
21 September 2024 · Right trainer, white
Roadside verge, Hade Edge
Right trainer, white, on the verge at Hade Edge, not far off where the red boot were in 2022. I'll admit I looked twice on the way past that spot. Laces gone. Poor condition, sole split across the ball. Cold for September up there — it always is at Hade Edge, being about the highest village going. Photographs decent. Sandwiches in the car after, corned beef, a change from the usual.
#280
28 September 2024 · Left boot, brown
Dam wall path, Ramsden Reservoir
Left boot, brown, at Ramsden Reservoir, on the dam wall path. Tipped in by a lady on the walking forum who signs herself Meg58. Laces in, one snapped short. Fair condition. Clear still morning, water like glass, and I had the place to meself bar a heron at the far end. Brought the stool and used it. Flask conditions excellent — the best of the autumn to that point. A crackin' morning by any measure.
#281
5 October 2024 · Right boot, black
Ridge path near Emley
Right boot, black, in the hollow off the ridge path near Emley. Same general ground as the 2017 boot, which certain forum people would make summat of, but this were an ordinary find and I recorded it as one. Laces in, untied, upper cracked across the toe. Blustery, mast wires singing above. Ate both rounds of cheese and pickle in the lee of the wall. Five photographs, three came out.
#282
12 October 2024 · Left trainer, black
Layby on A629, near Denby Dale
Left trainer, black, in a layby on the A629 near Denby Dale. Not the layby. A different one, further up towards the crossroads. I checked the other on the way past, force of habit, and it were empty as it has been since 2021. This trainer were on its side by the bin, laces tied. Reasonable condition. Grey day, drizzle on and off. Tea in the car with the drizzle going. Nowt else to report.
#283
19 October 2024 · Right desert boot, brown suede
Beaumont Park, Huddersfield
Right shoe, brown suede, desert boot sort, on the steps below the bandstand at Beaumont Park. Laces in, tied. Barely worn — you'd wear it out of the shop. Bright cold morning, leaves down and the park busy with dogs. A woman asked if it were mine. I said no, and left it at that, there not being a short answer to the longer question. Photographs came out well.
#284
26 October 2024 · Left boot, brown
Sparth Reservoir, Marsden
Left boot, brown, on the bank at Sparth Reservoir, Marsden, half in the rushes. Laces gone, leather sodden and dark with it. Been in and out of the water a while by the look. Proper autumn morning, mist sat on the water till ten or so. Flask conditions good. I gave this one twenty minutes on the stool, it being the sort of spot that rewards sitting whether there's a shoe or not.
#285
2 November 2024 · Right trainer, navy
Canal basin, Brighouse
Right trainer, navy, by the canal basin at Brighouse, up against a mooring bollard. Laces in, untied. Decent condition. Tipped in by a man Barry knows from the model railway club, which is how it goes now — the thing has channels I never set up and couldn't name. Confirmed it in person on the Saturday, as ever. Cold, first frost of the back end. Photographs fine.
#286
5 November 2024 · Right slipper, tartan
Bus stop, Netherton
Right slipper, tartan sort, on the wall by the bus stop at Netherton. Our Linda's cousin Marjorie reported this one, having seen it from the 324 twice in a week. No laces, being a slipper. Good condition, hardly worn. I had reservations about whether a slipper counts, but it's footwear, it were alone, and it were there — that's the test and it passed. Bitter wind. Kept it brief.
#287
9 November 2024 · Left brogue, smart
Layby, Meltham Road
Left brogue, smart, in the layby on Meltham Road. Barry rang the Friday teatime and I were there by nine Saturday. Polished toe, laces in, tied — a shoe somebody had looked after, and recently. Good condition throughout. Sharp morning, sun low, frost in the shaded half of the layby and the brogue sat just inside it. Eight photographs, all usable. A strong finish to a busy autumn, though I didn't know it were the finish at the time.
#288
14 December 2024 · Left boot, black
Greenhead Park, Huddersfield
Left boot, black, under the bench by the top gate at Greenhead Park. First find in five weeks and the only one of December. Laces in, frozen stiff. Hard frost, paths white, park near empty. Flask conditions excellent — tea keeps better in the cold, I've noticed, or happen I just want it more. Sat a few minutes despite the weather. Twenty-six for the year, which I'd not have credited when I started this.