It snowed heavily today in Ilkley. As I woke up I could hear clods of melting snow slide clumsily down the window pane. Goose feathers of snow drifted down to earth and I made a warming cup of tea. I looked out over Ilkley Moor which was shrouded in mist and the high ground was covered in a douvet of snow.
My mission was to drive 17 miles north to Settle and photograph some unusual chickens. It was cold and wet but I was keen to get some pictures in the bag and stick to my plan despite the awful weather.
I have been asked to mount a small exhibition of my photographs on Yorkshire food at
in Settle from 18th May to 6th July and I need some more photographs of eye catching livestock.
Jean Carr lives in Settle and is a keen allotment holder. She and her husband have acquired the equivalent of five allotments and manage them as a small holding.
Their land is beautifully kept and positioned on the edge of Settle surrounded by magnificent, towering, craggy Yorkshire landscape.
Jean keeps about fifty assorted chickens including Cream leg bars, Vorwerks, Houdans and Silkies. Silkies have foppish fringes and look stunning. She also keeps Booted Bantams who look in need of braces to keep their fluffy knicker like leg feathers from falling down.
At this time of the year the hens are laying prolifically. As we tour the spacious coop and barn I hear a hen cluck. Jean looks at me and says 'that's one being laid'. I look in the wooden nesting box and sure enough a blue egg is ready for collection. It is warm to touch and Jean allows me to take it home.
The eggs are a soft, somber palate of colour - pale blue, olive green, soft grey and cream. When the eggs are cracked open the yolks are vivid orange. This is partly because of the breed but also due to the diet of the chickens which is rich in carotinoids - the coloured pigments in a range of fruit and vegetables.
These chickens are well fed on fresh vegetable scraps from the allotment and they are free to run about outside in a very large coop.
The Gallery on the Green at Settle claims to be 'probably the smallest art gallery in the world'. It is housed in a decommissioned telephone box. Inside and just above the 'out of use' phone is a digital screen which displays A4 sized photographs. The gallery/phone box is also given a makeover at the start of each exhibition with props and decor to suit the theme of the exhibition.
The telephone box was purchased by local residents for £1.00 in 2010 and has become a popular feature of village life in Settle.
The tiny Gallery has some eminent fans including Brian May, Queen's lead guitarist who opened an exhibition of his painstaking collection of stereo images contained in 'Village Lost and Found' a book he co-authored with
Elena Vidal.
Brian loves the Gallery on the Green and has asked its curator Roger Taylor (not the one in Queen!) if he can put on another exhibition next year.
Alison Marshall one of the committee that manages the Gallery said with a wry smile 'I am not sure about that as we are very booked up. But we will try to fit him in'.
For more information on my exhibition of Yorkshire Food see
Yorkshire Food, Yorkshire People 18th May to 6 July
The Gallery on the Green, Settle