Jingle Bell Jog

Sunday 12th December saw the second annual "Jingle Bell Jog" hit the streets of St Albans. A few hundred people dressed in Santa suits ran the 5km course to raise money for the local charity Grove House Hospice, which provides care to those suffering from cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

Scurry Driving at the Herts Game Fair

I'm the first to admit that I don't know a great deal about equestrian sports. Show Jumping and Racing (does that even count?) are probably the only two disciplines that I could name that involve people riding horses competitively. So when I went along to the local game fair & country show I was quite interested to see people riding around very fast on small carriages pulled by pairs of ponies. It's a sport called Scurry Driving and it's quite exciting to watch.

Dancing in the street part 4 - from further afield

So we come to the final set of pictures from the St Albans Festival of Folk. Most of the performers taking part were British and as a result most of the folk dancing was Morris dancing of one form or another, which seems to be the predominant style of folk dancing in the UK, or England at least.

Killer Whales [From The Archive]

Taken back in 2004, on one of the most exciting photography days I can remember, this picture captures some of the greyness, cold and wetness of Arctic Norway in November. I hope it also conveys some of the majesty, power and downright awesomeness (and I use that term deliberately) of a pair of Killer Whales as they swam alongside our tiny rubber boat.

Dancing in the street part 3 - crossing the border

The Border style of Morris seems to be a rather more raucous form than what most people think of when Morris dancing is mentioned. Originating in the Welsh borders it often features dancers with painted faces, rag covered tatter jackets and feathered hats which combine to project a slightly darker image than some of the other Morris styles.

Dancing in the street part 2 - more Morris but with added clogs

A few more pictures from the Festival of Folk. This time we have some pictures of dancers from the North West style of Morris, typically performed wearing clog type shoes.

Dancing in the street - Morris men, women and more (part 1)

A few months ago a "Festival of Folk" came to town in St Albans. Featuring traditional folk dancers from the UK and further afield it provided a colourful and energetic spectacle which I set out to try and capture on camera. Late morning on the hottest and sunniest day of the year doesn't provide the best lighting in the world, but I'm happy to take what I'm given.

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