July 2007

On a late evening walk yesterday I noticed a large brown bird of prey, flying 2 or 3 meters above the West Pennine Moors. It flew irregularly, and seemed to be looking in amonst the peaty gullies and brown streams. As it came closer I could see that it was a Tawny Owl, presumably looking for small mammals and fros that are its prey. Normally moorland isn’t one of their commonest habitats, but I realised that woodland and farmland were nearby, so perhaps I shouldn’t be suprised to see one. I also managed to shoot this video, which show how the owl was flying, but not much detail of the bird itself.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCQaSphES7c]

Think of an artist and you’ll often end up thinking of a specific place. Think of Constable, and you’ll have a mental image of Suffolk countryside, think of Monet and you’ll get a mental picture of Giverny, or think of Cezanne and a you’ll think of Provence. Whether we realize it or not, many artists are unalterably associated with a specific place.

So here’s my list of British artists with their mental associations of artist = place. Its not scientific, and not in any particular order, and some of the associations might not even be factually correct, but they how I perceive the artist:

Augustus John = Tenby, South Wales
Stanley Spencer = Cookham
LS Lowry = Salford
Patrick Heron = St Ives
David Hockney = Los Angeles or Bradford
A Heaton Cooper, W Heaton Cooper = Lake District
Christopher Wood = Cornwall
Leon Kossof = London
John Sell Cotman = East Anglia
Samuel Palmer = Shoreham

If you regularly drive along the M61 you’ll have seen the Rivington Pike on the crest of the moors, overlooking Bolton and Horwich. There has been a structure on the site for hundreds of years. Originally the pike formed part of a nationwide network of beacons that were lit at times of national danger. According to some sources the beacon on the pike was lit in 1588 when the Spanish Armada threatened Queen Elizabeth I’s fragile reign. More recently, beacon fires were lit on the pike for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 and the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981.

The stone building on the site today was built in 1733 by John Andrews. It was a pragmatic gesture to demonstrate his ownership of the land surrounding the pike. The tower is now bricked up and access is impossible, but the original structure had a door and a fireplace, and was perhaps used as a shooting lodge.