Happiness is ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night's sunset. Nothing overly-special about it, except that it crept up on me when I had my back turned. I'd had a busy afternoon fitting a new water-butt and, just when I'd decided to call it a day, a little weed waved at me from one of the flower beds. Before I knew it I was on my hands and knees with only a chirping blackbird to keep me company, and I'd been weeding for over an hour before our church bell chimed at six o'clock. It was a wonderful moment. Six o'clock and still sunny. Spring is on the way and I couldn't have been happier. Simple pleasures, eh? 

Treasure them ..

Now we are three ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's all happening at once ..!

 I've finally finished my latest book! Tofalofalos is the story of a man who takes a two-week holiday to forget about his wife .. the wife who's just left him for another man. It's available now on Amazon. Why not give it a try .. ?

I have also agreed to the use of my Joy Division photographs on a new range of clothing from Japan, and the press release is about to go out on a new exhibition I'm having near Bordeaux.

Three's a crowd? Man, I'm loving this crowd ..

Happy Valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight's the finale of 'Happy Valley', and that's all the excuse I need to dig out my old photograph of Sarah Lancashire. I used to shoot the PR photography for Granada Studios tour, and this was a press shot for the opening of a new 'Alien' attraction back in the 1990s. Let's hope Sergeant Cawood gets her teeth stuck into the baddies tonight!

And in other news ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Happy New Year, and it's started well. Please allow me a moment to blow my own trumpet, as I go into 2023 with exciting news. I've been asked if I can stage an exhibition of my photographs, and have been offered the chance to have my work used on a new range of clothing ..

A town near Bordeaux has invited me to show my work in a Spring solo show staged in a vineyard .. details to follow .. and a fashion designer in Japan wants to use my Joy Division photographs on a new range of clothing. All very exciting ..

In other news, our car's broken down and a friend just told me he's got prostate cancer. Life sure has a way of keeping you grounded ..

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's a wrap ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there you have it .. 

2022, over and done with and on we go. Forward to a year where countries don't fight each other, recessions are reversed, diseases are eradicated, famine and food-waste are things of the past, plastic gets recycled, neighbours smile at each other, common sense makes a reappearance in modern life, the world population starts to decline, green energy becomes the norm, the books I've written get picked up by a major publisher and I don't sit here all day daydreaming over my blog ..

Still, nice to picture, isn't it? And, speaking of pictures, here are my favourites of 2022. Not many shots of people in there, but then I don't seem to photograph people any more. Perhaps that should be my New Year's resolution. Get back into portrait photography. Yes, good idea Martin. Get it sorted ..

In the meantime, thank you for reading my blog, and may I wish you a fantastic New Year full of peace, happiness and whatever it is you might need to put the icing on the cake that is your life ..  

Big Money ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were two articles about professional writers in the 'paper this week. The first informed me that the average income for a professional author is now around £7,000 a year. Wow, I thought, I can't wait to earn that much! Of course, I don't class my writing as professional, and that's just as well, as my books earned me the grand sum of 82p last month! (The Aston Martin is on hold yet again.) The second item was about writers' book-signing sessions, in which even some of the most famous names in the book-writing world told of events where no-one has come along ..

I take encouragement from an email I had this week from a reader in America. Your story (Page 99, by Joe Bancroft), she said, is entertaining and your writing is both distinctive and interesting. She is now going to order two more copies as Christmas presents for friends. Hey, now that's a good idea. Why don't I give you a helpful link to my website, where you can read all about my books. Hey, why not buy one? Save a writer from the Job-Centre 

(Today's photo, from my archive .. circa 1977) 

 

It's written in the stars ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, let's get upbeat again .. 

I have great news! I've written and illustrated a series of children's story books, all about Space and adventures in the Cosmos. I self-published them on Amazon but, to be honest, the individual cost of each of the four books was a lot higher than I'd have liked. So, I've compiled the first three stories into one single book - The Anthology - and you can buy it now for just £15. A veritable bargain, I'm sure you'll agree, and a great Christmas gift idea if you know any kids from age eight and upwards. The stories are fun but educational, and the drawings are really amusing, if I say so myself ..

Plus, the final book 'Don't go near the Black Hole, Sunshine', will be available within the next couple of days. That book costs just a tenner. I know, so reasonable!..

You can order the book in the UK - or France - or the USA .. or just search on Amazon.

I thank you, and Merry Christmas. It's written in the stars ..

 

Rest in peace ..

 

 

 

 

 

I woke this morning to hear that Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie had died. It's the third death I've heard about this week, and one of those I literally heard about as I walked into the crematorium for the funeral of a friend who died last week! And that on the day we went to pick up the ashes of our poor little Cocker Spaniel ..

So .. 

Fucking enjoy yourself. That's all I've got to say today. Make the most of it whilst you're here, and try to rise above the bitty shite that makes us humans. Not too eloquent, I grant you, but there you are. 

 Sermon over .. 

Fireside football ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful and, do you know what, I'm really getting into the fact that this year's world cup is in the 'winter'. Gone is the guilt of a July tournament, sitting in front of the telly on a glorious summer's day, missing out on a tan, worrying about how much gardening needs to be done. Oh yes, this way it's so much better. The weather outside is frightful - far too horrible to be out there gardening - and you can't beat stacking up the wood-burner ready for the first afternoon kick-off of the day, so yeah, bring it on. Even my teams have joined in with the feel-good stuff, with 6-2 and 4-1 wins in their first matches ..

England, England, allez les bleues ... 

(Today's shot? One of my earliest ever colour slide photographs, taken circa 1977 outside an electrical store in Eccles.)

COP out!

 

I'm a bit confused. It seems the Egyptian COP 27 climate talks have been hailed a great success .. yet not a thing's been done to slow the burning of fossil fuels. It would appear that the ever-hastening decline of the planet is not really of any concern as long as the world's richer planets pay the poorer ones for some of the damage it causes. I mean, fucking crazy, or what???..

We can't go on like this. Something has got to change. But it never will, will it? I'm not going to spout on as if I knew the answer, 'cos I don't, but having eight billion people on the planet is never going to help, is it? So yes, I'll put my recycling in the correct bins, cycle rather than drive if I can and watch the developing world pop out those wee bouncy bundles of fun. Aw, lovely .. 

 

 

 

Read all about it .. or not!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did I mention I'd written some books? 'Page 99, by Joe Bancroft', SNAPS, and an illustrated children's book series about Space. Anyway, time for an update on their sales. 'Page 99' got off to a flying start, and I've sold at least 20 copies since it launched in June. SNAPS is a different matter. It launched a month ago and to date has sold .. one copy. My children's books have sold none at all.  (Stop playing that violin!!)

Like I've said in my blogs, I knew it was going to be a tough job to get the books out into the public realm, but I didn't think it would be this hard! Why not help a starving author and treat yourself to a nice Christmas present at the same time? You can find details of my labours here ..  Merry Christmas!

Oh baby ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I find it rather depressing to hear that there are now more than eight billion people on Planet Earth. Eight BILLION!! Isn't that horrendous? But what I find odd is that no-one ever seems to mention the population as a cause for the global climate mess we're in now. It would appear that 'having a child' is everyone's inalienable right, which is all well and good but half the people in the world can't afford the kids they've so desperately wanted. The headline next to the 'eight billion' is the forthcoming famine in Somalia ..

Blackmail, kidnap and sponge-cake ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the radio today I heard 'Don't stop the cavalry' by Jona Lewie and I froze. What? Christmas songs already? But we've only just hit November ..

Fear not. If the thought of the approaching Yule has sent you into a present-buying frenzy then I can help. I have the perfect gift for the person who has everything. My second novel, which I launch today and just in time, if you ask me ..

SNAPS is about the members of a Yorkshire camera club, following their lives and photographic projects as well as - as a pal of mine so succinctly put it - their petty rivalries, backbiting and illicit sex! All that and blackmail, kidnap and sponge-cake (as it says on my back cover!) And don't worry if you have no photographic knowledge. You won't need any of that pesky stuff as you follow the fourteen club members on their adventures around South Neldon ..

The book costs a mere tenner and, funnily enough, I highly recommend it! Search on Amazon in your country. 

UK readers can buy a copy here, US readers here, French readers here and Aussie readers here ..

Enjoy!!!!

Nowt but a lad ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always feel like today's a day worth commemorating. October 11th was the day I was offered my first ever job as a press photographer. October 11th .. 1978! (OMG, forty-four years ago!) I still have the letter I received from Eddie Shah, the renowned newspaper tycoon who went on to stir up the print unions in London. He threw in a motor-bike and forty-five quid a week. I was on my way ..

Incredible to think of the things I've done and seen since that long ago day. And incredible to think that, today, the skills of press photography are all but forgotten. (iphone, anyone?) So glad I was there when I was .. 

 

 

Fancy a good read ..?

 

 

 

 

 

Oh dear, that didn't go so well, did it? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you .. the September sales report for my self-published book. A little disappointing, to say the least. I knew it was going to be hard to market but .. Jeez! 

Hey ho, October is another month and, God knows, there might be ONE of you out there that fancies a read of it ..

Is there? Anyone? Help .. !

(Here comes the commercial break ..) 

 

There's nowt new ..

 

 

 

 

 

There's nothing new in photography anymore. I've known it for a long time, as I scroll through Instagram and Twitter, looking at all the 'up and coming' new stars of photography. Yeah, yeah, same old, same old. Same for music, too. Same for ..

Oh, shut up and get to the point, Martin ..

The point? There is no point. (Jeez, that sounds heavy, doesn't it?) No, I just wanted a reason to show you this pairing of photographs, taken 44 years apart - the donkey yesterday and the horse when I was a mere lad of 18. Both shots amusing in their own ways, but the 'horse' shot all the more interesting now because of its historical emphasis. You just don't see phone-boxes like those any more. (I explore the idea of photography as 'recorder' in my book, 'Page 99, by Joe Bancroft', if you're interested) ..

So perhaps there is a point, after all. The idea that every generation's got to have their spurt of creativity, before you're forty years on and your work is same old same old ..

Haven't I written this before? ..

Her Majesty, The Queen ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm proud to say I was once the 'official' photographer to The Queen. I was covering an event in London's Hyde Park, at which only one photographer was allowed to take photographs for the sponsor. This was 1989, long before digital photography, and I was shooting on both 35mm and a Mamiya 645 120 roll film camera. I'd love to be able to show you the results, but the client insisted on taking my negatives, and I've never seen them since! ..

What I can show you is this rather odd photograph, taken in about 1975. I was fourteen or fifteen, and had learnt that Her Majesty would be passing down the motorway on a Royal visit to the area. I snuck out of school, positioned myself ready for the moment and .. well, thank God that lamp-post wasn't another two feet to the right! ..

I'm not a Royalist and, despite having photographed many of the Royal Family over my years as a press photographer, I still begrudge having to kow-tow to people who are only in their privileged positions because of ancestry. However, today's a day to stop and reflect, and to think of the amazing years of service given by Queen Elizabeth. May she rest in peace .. 

The day Di died ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's twenty-five years since Lady Diana died in Paris. Time to dive into the archive for this shot of her getting off Prince William .. so to speak! The Princess was in South Manchester to inaugurate the boat, which still gives cruises down the Bridgewater Canal in Sale. (It's certainly had a better start in life than the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier!!) This is one of two times I photographed Di, and she was always great to us cameramen, squashed into whatever corner the Secret Service had corralled us into ..

Now all I want to know is .. where the hell did those twenty-five years go?

  

Working with the stars ..

 

 

 

 

Sorry NASA, you may not have blasted off to The Moon yesterday, but I've already spent the last couple of years working there. Kind of!..

I'm delighted to say I've just finished a series of children's adventure books based on Space travel. I've written and illustrated a set of four books featuring The Moon as one of the main characters, along with the Sun, the Earth and a cast of stars and planets and .. a Black Hole!

The books are aimed at children from the age of eight, and are fun and educational with lots of interesting facts about astronomy. 

(Brief diversion .. if I was ever to believe in omens, a Beatles song has just come on the radio. Which song? Across the universe! You couldn't make it up ..)

Anyway, have a look here for a glimpse of each book, including pricing and details of a free print offer, and you can contact me directly for any of the books.

I'd love it if you gave them a try .. 

 

Houston, we have a problem ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today's cancellation of NASA's moon rocket launch took me back in time. In 1989, a pal and I set off on a Pan-Am jet to Florida to watch the launch of a Space Shuttle. "Oh, don't y'all know?" said a stewardess on the Jumbo. "It's been cancelled!" ..

Cue a week of boozing on Daytona Beach and a bizarre night in a bar to watch The Climax Blues Band. 

The only song of theirs we knew was 'Couldn't get it right' .. Whoops!