Dried Fruit

Today's blip comes from me practising with the flash. I've been asked to take pictures of 'Santa's Grotto' at my wife's school in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd better work out the ins and outs of using the flash on manual.

I was quite pleased with the result and it wasn't as complicated as I thought it was going to be. In the picture itself, the gold cloth on which bowl stands is probably the most interesting thing. It originally belonged to my Grandma and Grandad and when I was about five, covered the table in their best room.

They lived in Speedwell Terrace in Staveley, Derbyshire. A mining community now long gone. The Terraces were rows of two up and two down houses. No gardens, just a small yard outside the back door and an outside loo across the road. As you went in the only door, you came into the kitchen, which had a small range for cooking and a door in the opposite wall which led into the back room. This was only used for Christmas dinners as far as I can remember, and was always dim and cold.

I used to go in there and play, and the cloth covered what to me was a huge table. There was a window, but that looked out onto the back of the next terrace, so that didn't let in a lot of light. I remember the room was full of dark wood furniture, and there were mirrors on opposite walls, so that when you stood in front of one, you could see hundreds of yourself getting further away into the distance.

I used to like staying there, because from the front bedroom, you could see the railway line and the passing steam trains. Milk was delivered by horse and cart and the mine building were very close.

A vanished way of life.