Frances, Stew and Baby Phoebe are flying to Canada tomorrow. On my advice they've booked a hotel room down in Luton for tonight. This means that tomorrow's car journey to Heathrow Airport will be much shorter and thereby far less stressful than it would have been.
To facilitate their journey even further, this afternoon I took mama and the heavenly babe to a "Costa" coffee shop at Sutton in Ashfield, close to the M1, twenty miles south of Sheffield. There we met up with Stew whose workplace is close by. Assisting in this way meant that Stew did not have to factor in his usual journey back to Sheffield. They could just carry on south.
This morning, I was able to fit in a two hour country walk in familiar territory close to the village of Hathersage in The Hope Valley. It was a beautiful early autumn day - so clear and colourful and fresh. I took several pictures of a farm called Broadhay and three of those images accompany this blogpost.
Just as I was setting off on the walk with my camera still slung over my shoulder in its case, a fellow in a pick up truck reversed back to talk to me. He lives at the adjacent farm. Still sitting in his vehicle he asked me what I planned to take photos of.
"The countryside," I said.
"You're not taking pictures of my farm are you?"
"No. I wasn't planning to. Why is it not allowed?"
"It's my house and I don't want people taking photos of it!"
"Right. Okay," I said.
In England the law says that when in a public area or on a road or public footpath photos may be taken of anything at all - houses, farms, historic sites or even military installations. There are no restrictions - unless there are people in the picture.
I knew that already. I just needed to placate that grumpy fellow. Now I am going to have to send him the relevant legal information about photographers' rights. I don't want him to err again by confronting other country ramblers in that same wrongful manner. I think he will probably rage when he opens the letter but honestly, I don't care.
Perhaps this man knows my daughter:) People need to get over themselves. My daughter doesn't seem to understand copyright either and even worse doesn't understand that if you just ask nicely, it works much better.
ReplyDeletePS the photos are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Nurse Lily. When you say "daughter" do you mean Miss Katie or your other daughter in BC?
DeleteMy other daughter in BC. She hasn't spoken to me since I posted an old photo of her on my blog in May and she found it. I took the photo down but she likes being mad at me.
DeleteHow very sad - obliging you to walk on eggshells.
DeleteSome people think they are WAY more important than they actually are and want to make everything into a confrontation. It seems to be at epidemic proportions these days.
ReplyDeleteJust because the guy lives thereabouts does not mean he has the licence to confront law abiding citizens like myself.
DeleteIt is a little different here. You can take photos of anyone in a public place. That's a nice looking house. I wonder who owns it. Hope Valley looks very nice.
ReplyDeleteI investigated this matter. It is in fact the same here re. photographing people in a public place. Legal problems only occur when they are on private property - say inside a house or in a private garden. Ihave no idea who owns that house but I do know they offer bed and breakfast accommodation.
DeleteSame as here then. I thought it might have been the farmer's house.
DeleteI wonder what Mr Grumpy Farmer has to hide?
ReplyDeleteHis bullying nature perhaps.
DeleteMakes me wonder what this man has to hide.
ReplyDeleteLove the stone walls.
Briony
x
Ironically, I have taken several pictures of his farm and historic farmhouse on previous walks. In fact, there are at least three of these photos circulating freely on the internet.
DeleteAs I understand the law, it's even OK to take pictures of people if you and they are in public places. There may be restrictions on how those photos can then be used, but there's no rule to legally bar us from taking them.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my pet peeves when someone tells me not to take a picture. It would be even worse if they said it just because I was carrying a camera! It seems so unnecessarily controlling.
I was gobsmacked that he had the gall to say anything at all when my camera was still zipped up. Anyway, he will get a surprise in the post tomorrow morning.
DeleteBe careful.
DeleteHe could be a drug dealer, a pervert released from prison, or a cheeky cop.
Challenging you, when your camera was in its case, tells me that he is paranoid as well as aggressive.
My father had a calm way of dealing with officious people.
*I think I am well within my rights,* he would say, in a civil but firm voice.
He had native charm and his blue eyes held a steady gaze.
Haggerty
If I tried that I would probably get end up fighting. I look rather menacing I think.
DeleteLovely photos - once again England's green and pleasant land at it's very best.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Mr Grumpy though you were using the photos to case the joint, with the intention of coming back and breaking in? Or he's running an illicit still or growing marijuana?
I can understand security anxieties in remote country residences but that man was just being boorish.
DeleteYou behaved like a true Yorkshire gentleman, avoiding cross words.
ReplyDeleteSir Michael Parkinson was equally restrained when interviewing Meg Ryan.
That suspicious man should look at *Google Street View privacy concerns*.
Even in France, in spite of restriction laws, it is legal to photograph a private dwelling place from a public street or park. Just be careful in the Place Pigalle !
In England a trainspotter was detained for taking photographs of a railway station from the pedestrian bridge. Peter Hitchens said we had become a police state.
Does it bother your readers if a stranger or acquaintance takes their photo (without asking) using their smartphone? I think it is rude though I never say so.
Haggerty
I have been photographed and videoed at football matches by the police on many occasions and never with my permission. Often I hold my programme in front of my face. One cop challenged me about this but his senior colleague intervened.
DeleteWhat sauce! A man of your seniority photographed at a match by the police!
DeleteAnd they let speed cyclists hurtle along pavements at 45 MPH.
They are bone lazy. Senior police officers are to blame.
Haggerty
I blame B.Johnson. I also blame him for the defeat at Bannockburn.
DeleteTony Billionaire Blair has to take some of the blame.
DeleteAnd Theresa Mayfair, for cutting police numbers as Home Secretary.
I disagreed with friends re. CCTV because I knew it would catch villains.
Yet we are monitored to an unconscionable degree.
In powdered wigs Blair + Boris would make a pair of historic costume baddies.
One of my friends is a retired Latin teacher and has the face of a chiselled rogue: John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, who planned the Glencoe massacre.
A failed actor, Robert has a laugh whenever I bring up Dalrymple.
Don't bring down trouble on yourself over this non-incident.
Drug misuse makes people angry and so does Covid restrictions.
I wonder what he would have done if you had given a carny grin and said:
*Got summat to hide have you, mate?*
Haggerty and Partners: Conflict Resolution Advisors
People are so litigious nowadays, yelling about their 'rights'. Perhaps we need the equivalent of the 'Highway Code'. There is a Country Code but is there a Photographic Code I wonder.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if there is a code but there are clear laws connected with photography.
DeleteI'm just going to focus on hoping that the lovely little family has safe travels and comes home well and happy.
ReplyDeleteAlso- lovely photos. Just keep on taking them.
As I write they are over The Atlantic Ocean, half way to Toronto. All is well.
DeleteI live among a community of people who don't believe in getting photos taken of themselves due to their religious practices. Even though I have a right to take photos of them, I still honor their practice much like I take off my shoes in someone else's house when asked too. I think it just a polite thing to do. I probably would have honored the man's request and not taken pictures of his house even though I legally could have.
ReplyDeleteThe man was quite unpleasant. I think there's a big difference between taking pictures of people and taking pictures of buildings.
DeleteI also like the drystone wall photos YP.
ReplyDeleteThey are so lovely and often taken for granted by people who live amongst them.
DeletePerhaps he's growing cannabis.
ReplyDelete