Vesna Armstrong Photography

Last Sunday I attended a literary talk event organized by the Brontë Society. The speaker was Rowan Coleman , an acclaimed writer from Hertfordshire who has recently written books inspired by the Brontë Sisters. The venue for this most enjoyable talk was the very beautiful Holdsworth House Hotel on the outskirts of Halifax. It is a 17th century Jacobean manor house surrounded by stunning landscaped gardens. It has been privately owned through centuries by people of wealth and distinction, and in 1963 it opened to the public as a hotel. Awed by the photos of the house I'd seen on internet prior to the event I decided to arrive a bit earlier and have a look around the gardens and the exterior of the house. It was a cold, dull and drizzly day.... It was lovely to meet the charming and friendly writer Rowan Coleman and listen to what she had to say about herself, her writing and her books. She talked about her Brontë inspired novels- "The Girl At the Window", publis...

It's mid November and there is still a lot of beautiful autumn colour around. Mud as well, mind you, as we have had more than fair share of rain lately, but it didn't spoil our dog walk in the lovely Tong Valley last Sunday. On the contrary, I enjoyed the little ramble very much and ended up with some pretty moody shots I am quite pleased about:). I am getting more and more fond of this area on the border of Leeds and Bradford; it is fast becoming my favourite place within a reasonable distance from our home to go dog walking and, of course, just watching and enjoying Nature.

It was one of the most lovely and pleasing dog walks I've had since we got our puppy Midge: all three of us were together; it was a very beautiful time of the year; and we rounded up the walk by a warming cup of coffee and a slice of scrummy homemade cake at the park's cafe. We are so lucky to live a short drive from this gorgeous park where we can enjoy the seasons to the full and take our doggy for a great walk. I watched the last of the vibrant autumn colours: The golden yellow of the leaves still left on the trees and the copper and maroon of the ones long since fallen to the ground; the stunning vivid red of acer (red maple) trees, young and old, scattered randomly all over the park; the fading magenta pink of wondrous dahlia.....Soon the only colours that remain will be grey and brown as the nature takes its long winter slumber. Yay, bring on the new season....

Last weekend I wanted to stay at the wonderful Ponden Hall and go for a walk around Ponden Kirk on Stanbury Moor. However, Ponden was closed as the owners, my dear friends, were away on holiday. There was a room available at the nearby Old Silent Inn; I thought of the amazing Halloween decor I saw there previous years and booked the room hoping to experience the season's atmosphere at a leisurely pace through staying at this ancient pub, which is said to be haunted by a couple of ghosts. My two day visit didn't start off very well. On the Saturday it rained heavily till afternoon, so the planned walk to Ponden Kirk went out the window. Instead, I visited Brontë Parsonage Museum and popped into the old School Room where there was a craft fair. I thought it was a good time to go and have a look at the Scartop Furniture shop too, which is tucked away up the hill past Ponden Reservoir; but when I got there I learned that it was now permanently closed. On arriving at the Old Sil...