First Direct Arena, Leeds

Wednesday 4 September 2013 - We were fortunate to miss 'The Boss' doing the pre-opening opening of Leeds' latest entertainment venue, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the legend that is Elton John at the proper opening. It was also a chance to check out the acoustics to see if we might want to watch other artists/bands playing here.

The seating at the arena is fan-shaped, so a good view of the stage can be had from most sections. I wouldn't fancy being down on the flat area at the front though and the boxes and higher tiers looked a bit distant. We were on the right hand side, just below half way and the view was great.

The show started with 2Cellos , a pair of Croatians playing electric cellos attached to various effects boxes. They launched into a blistering mini-set of rock material; Smooth Criminal, Where The Streets Have No Name, Highway To Hell and Smells Like Teen Spirit. This gave the rest of Elton's band a chance to filter gradually on stage whilst providing a minimalist backing to the hand-banging duo.

After the applause had died down, Elton himself came on-stage and, seating himself at his piano, immediately launched into The Bitch Is Back. Hit followed hit as we were treated to; Bennie And The Jets, Grey Seal, Levon, Tiny Dancer, Holiday Inn, Believe, Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, Philadelphia Freedom, Candle In The Wind, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time).

From his collaboration with Leon Russell (The Union) we had Hey Ahab, then I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues. Next, one of my favourite Elton John tracks, and I have a superb cover by Dream Theater, was Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding. It brings me out in gooseflesh every time and this was no exception.

From his latest album, The Diving Board, we had the first track that I was unfamiliar with, Oscar Wilde Gets Out. He certainly hasn't lost his touch. Back to the hits then; Sad Songs (Say So Much), Daniel, Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, The One and Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me. By now everyone was on their feet and desperately hoping that it wasn't all over. It wasn't. He rounded off with I'm Still Standing, Crocodile Rock, Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting), another fantastic new track Home Again, and finally Your Song.

OK, he can't quite manage those high notes anymore but we can forgive him that. His current band features drummer Nigel Olsson (Uriah Heep, Spencer Davis Group, Elton John Band and a session drummer) and Davey Johnstone from his original line-up of the 70s. Elton's four backing singers included two who are legends themselves; Rose and Lisa Stone from Sly And The Family Stone.

Acoustically, the Arena is fantastic. We could hear every single word that Elton sang, despite the fact that some of the bass notes made the legs of my jeans vibrate. Each instrument was distinct and clear. So I highly recommend the venue and, of course, do try and catch Sir Elton on his tour.

3 September 2013 - Today's outing was to the disused platform area of Bolton Percy Station which, again, is a nature reserve managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. However, I had previously spotted some bracket fungi on the road to Thorp Arch Trading Estate so thought that I might start there and also take in All Saints Church at Thorp Arch before making my way to Bolton Percy. God, that sounds so sad!

I parked up at Thorp Arch and immediately spotted a rabbit dashing back into it's burrow, so I set up my tripod and waited for about a quarter of an hour. He didn't come back of course and I took some pictures of the fungi and then made my way around to the church.

All Saints, Thorp Arch was mentioned in in the Domesday Survey and has undergone a number of rebuilds; first in the Norman style in C12, the Perpendicular style in 1485, and finally in the Medieval style in 1871/72 by the architect George Edmund Street. At the front of the church was a sundial mounted on an old looking octagonal pillar. I later found out that this was probably the support for a font presented by the mother of Revd. Christopher Atkinson in 1756. There was also a sundial on the side of the tower and a goodly collection of ancient gravestones, some looking rather Gothic in a cladding of ivy.

Then I drove to Bolton Percy, which is a rather small reserve. Most notable was a large bush just inside the entrance which seemed to be a butterfly magnet. I saw Tortoiseshells, I've no idea which variety, what I took to be Wood Whites, and a couple of yellowy Brimstones. I'm no expert so please take these identifications with a pinch of salt. Of course the trains roaring passed caused them to be very skittish and I wasn't very happy with the focus of the butterfly pictures. Hey ho.

Again, the whole set can be seen at https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100919022204905244251/albums/5919683501069738609

30 August 2013 - By way of a digression, I 'ave mostly been taking some time off work and taking pictures of stuff. I started out on Friday by visiting Hetchell Woods, a nature reserve managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. It's a mix of woods and grasslands and has Bardsey Beck flowing alongside its edge. There were quite a few dog walkers when I first arrived so initially I just had a preliminary look around.

I started at an unusual area just south of the reserve itself, a set of earthworks associated with a Roman site called Pompocali. The location is distinctive for its many small circular features, with traces of tracks. These are thought to be kiln sites from the lime burning that took place between about 1700 and 1850. The lime was used for agricultural use and for mortar using the limestone quarried from the field close by, just across Milner Lane.

The trail through the woods took me passed quarry workings, either limestone or gritstone, and a set of rocky outcroppings known as Hetchell Crags. My path took me along the top of the crags at first and then further on was a hairpin turn and I came back along the base of the crags and adjacent to the beck.

Along the way I took pictures of flowers, fungi and insects as I went. There was a bit of a breeze but fortunately I had taken along a couple of freezer clips which held some of the flowers nice and still so that I could get some reasonable pictures.

The whole lot can be seen at https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100919022204905244251/albums/5917973751674210241