The band played in the 4th Section and was pleased to be placed a very creditable 8th out of 15 fiercely competing bands – it being only a few years since Deepcar was an unregistered village band. Although there were many great bands to hear and superb evening concerts, the thirst that one experiences from blowing a brass instrument meant that much beer was consumed and so it all became a bit of a blur (a bit like the quality of these photos).

We stayed at the excellent Boggle Hole hostel, near Whitby, risking treacherous walks along the coastline to Robin Hood’s Bay and Ravenscar in search of good food, beer and wine.

A recommended retreat. But watch out for the tides though, coming right in from below even as the land is also eroded by water from above.

In more recent decades, Parkhill was a sink estate with problem families and druggies dotted amongst decent people, some of whose families had been rehoused there at the start of the 1960s after slum clearances across the city. Despite its ’60s brutalism, the concrete behemoth was awarded Grade 2* listing about a dozen years ago.

Now they are in the process of being modernised – with a mixture of flats for sale and others for social renting – and already there are show flats for anyone thinking of buying. Urban Splash is the name of the development agency tasked with what has turned out to be a pretty radical but sympathetic redesign that they say will take 15 years to complete.

Despite liking what Urban Splash have done, in terms of modernising lifts and dwelling interiors, I do admit to a touch of nostalgia for 32 Norwich Row that I rented from Sheffield City Council all those years ago.

Usually, we go off into the Scottish Highlands, but this time it was the Borders and some of Lothian.

Here are pics from the trip, covering Linlithgow Palace, Black Ness Castle, Jedburgh Abbey and more!

Leeds boasts loads of cultural, leisure and sports attractions and was England’s fourth largest city until boundary changes dropped it to fifth place behind South Yorkshire rival Sheffield a dozen or so years ago.

For shoppers and those who like to hang out during the day, there is a Victorian-era Corn Exchange (pictured below), an indoor market and a sizeable pedestrian precinct with shopping arcades.

The indoor market is just along from the beautiful Corn Exchange and caters more for those needing essentials at a decent price. However, the arcades crossing the city-centre precinct are filled with classier shops – er, including Ann Summers (see pic below) – and out of the eight arcades built between 1870 and 1900, four remain intact.

As in most cities nowadays, you’ll find a Greggs, Caffè Nero, River Island, WH SMith, etc, etc. But Leeds does boast a Muji store and so, for me at least, exudes added class.

On and around the precinct this fine Saturday, I found buskers, preachers, street-photographers, charity collectors and a Pot Noodle promo. The place was packed, but there were plenty of places to rest weary feet and recharge with good coffee.

So here are some photos from today:

The western edge of Sheffield city centre feels like an arrested development when walking round it. Much work was done at the turn of this century but the appetite (or budget) for further progress is clearly exhausted.

On a round trip that covered more than 700 miles, there was little sun but plenty of humidity that is so favoured by the flying plague.

All of that aside, my good friend Mr Smith and I set off from Edinburgh for a mixture of wild camping at Glenetiv and a stay at the Apple Cross campsite (across the water from the Isle of Skye and looking out onto the Outer Hebrides). We took a detour (slightly unintentional) to Mallaig en route and stopped awhile at Glenfinnan.

The trip over Apple Cross Pass is scary. Around 3,000 feet up, the road is basically a single lane winding cattle drovers’ track (with passing places) set to test the clutch and brakes of any modern vehicle (I can smell the burning still).

We came back via the Great Glen, the Cairngorms and then down through the Central Highlands, past Perth, back towards Edinburgh.

We could have done with a longer time away and there was some foolish but exciting talk about returning to cover at least some of the area again during the winter. We’ll see – I’m certainly up for it.

Here is a small selection of still photographs from the trip:

Family run hotels at this Kent coastal resort provide decent B&B deals from as little as £35 p.p.p.n. Many offer rooms looking out onto the beach and English Channel beyond.

And there’s plenty to do and see: Originally built in 1838, Deal Pier has been damaged and rebuilt several times since. The current incarnation dates from 1957. There used to be an excellent greasy-spoon cafe at the pier’s far end but this is now replaced by an upmarket restaurant and wine bar.

Deal Castle was constructed during Henry VIII’s reign to defend against sea invaders using stone salvaged from destroyed monasteries and abbeys. Now run by English Heritage, it is cheap to get into and history lovers will enjoy the displays, artefacts and freedom to roam around. Kids will love navigating the narrow dark passageway running between the stone inner and outer walls all the way round before finding the entrance again.

Along from the castle and towards Walmer (alleged inspiration for Dad’s Army’s fictional “Walmington-on-Sea” setting) sits Deal Bandstand. Built as a memorial to eleven musicians killed when the nearby Marine Barracks were bombed in 1989, brass and wind band concerts feature regularly at weekends during summer months. Cold beer and a sunbathe on surrounding grass make for a splendid chill-out, and kids can run around getting tired out in safety.

Freshly cooked fish and chips from The Caterer cafe makes for an authentic seaside lunch and numerous pubs and hotels serve traditional meals at reasonable prices. There are also several classy restaurants open during the day and into the evening.

And after a nice lunch or before supper, what better than a long walk or cycle along Deal’s expansive promenade? Enjoy sitting on a bench late at night, listening to waves hissing against the pebble beach and the cry of a few still awake gulls as you contemplate everything and nothing. Spot lights along the beach, indicating anglers at work, and lit buoys marking out the treacherous Goodwin Sands where grounded ships from past centuries – even a German U-boat once! – sank without trace, to reappear briefly through time as tides undulate ever-shifting sand. On a clear evening, it’s even possible to see streetlights and car headlights 26 miles away on the north coast of France.

Away from the beach are numerous narrow streets lined with terraces of fishermen’s cottages. In days of old, anyone caught smuggling would have their cellars filled in with pebbles from the beach as part of their punishment. Over recent years, these houses have been highly sought after by London media mafia types as weekend bolt-holes – their distinctive charm and character protected by conservation zone regulations.

Genuine Deal locals tend not to mind weekenders buying up the town’s smaller properties as they are usually unsuitable for family use. (Look for the blue heritage plaque marking Charles Haughtrey‘s house, and Deal’s most famous son, deceased actor Norman Wisdom, is due to have a memorial erected in his honour.)

Tourists are made welcome in Deal. The local economy suffered when pharma giant Pfeizer closed its nearby plant in 2009, losing over 2,000 jobs. Despite this and other economic pressures, Deal appears to weathering the recession well – perhaps as the rest of us forego foreign holidays for breaks nearer to home instead. There are plenty of high street retail outlets – chain stores, charity shops and independent traders – to browse, and an open-air Saturday morning market featuring stalls selling local and continental fare.

Late June into July marks the Deal Festival of Music and Arts, which attracts local and international talent worthy of similarly styled events in any nation’s capital city. But Deal is worth a visit at any time of the year for families, escapee lovers and foot-loose single folks.

***** recommended!

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(This article is dedicated to the memory of my late brother Keith Cavanagh who passed away in January 2011, a lover of Deal residing there amongst good friends in his final years.)

"Ah'm share hi wuz oan ma Facebuuk page"

"Ah'm a teacherin' assistunt noo"

"Wur no' a' heid-the-ba's, ya f**kin' spare!"

"Ah'm watchin' ye, ya bas'!"

If I could make a living out of just photographing our heavenly firmament, my career literally would be looking up (as with short actors and astronomers).

Wherever I am, I like to see if anything interesting is happening weather-wise in the sky.

I’m off to Scotland then down to the south coast over the next week or so – my able assistant Brandy will be holding the fort here – and there will be words and pictures documenting at least one of those trips posted on this site later.

In the meantime, for your deepest pleasure and utter amazement, here are a few of many weather photos I’ve taken over the years: