Mr. John's Karaoke Night

Albeit with a little reluctance!

Last Sunday I stood on these steps, of the Boy and Barrel Pub, heard the wailing and the cheering inside, and did a runner. As I parted company with Mr. John that evening we challenged each other and set a date to return. That was arranged for tonight. A year ago I could not possibly have conceived of an existence in which I'd set out into Bradford to go visit a Karaoke Bar!

It was something of a Rite of Passage I guess ... not that there was any singing involved for either of us. We just wanted to join in with the craic and take a few pictures. And the whole experience was actually rather enjoyable. It was certainly a whole other world in there, but one not as alien as I had expected it to be. We got up to a few other things, but I'll let you read about that on Mr. John's blip tonight.

The clag finally lifted today at around lunchtime and my spirits seemed to lift in turn. I eventually made some progress on a piece of work that's been giving me grief all week. By the time I left the office to get the train into Bradford the sun even made a brief appearance. What a difference that makes.

Before meeting Mr. John at the City Park I had twenty minutes to spare so I took a wander to do a bit of street photography. In that short time all kinds of opportunities presented themselves. I used to go into Bradford two or three times a week but this is the first time I'd really looked beyond its surface shabbiness to properly see the people and the wonderfully multicultural character of the place. Now observing with the eye of a photographer it took on a whole new rich appearance. I'm likely to become a regular visitor.

I have some good portraits in the bag, including one of a guy with dreadlocks down to his knees, but I think I have to post a shot of the Karaoke Bar tonight, for the journal. And Mr. John doesn't get nearly enough exposure on this site!