Bradford

Light fitting seen from below in Cartwright Hall, Bradford

Shirley dropped me off at our railway station and I journeyed north to Leeds. There I climbed aboard the connecting train at Platform 11d and twenty minutes later I reached Bradford Interchange Station. Though it didn't rain today, there was very little of the sunshine and blue sky that the weather folk had predicted.

After loitering in the city centre for a while, I headed north to Manningham Lane which is a major route out of  Bradford - heading to illustrious satellite towns like Bingley and Shipley which are both associated with the mass murderer Peter Sutcliffe - usually known as The Yorkshire Ripper.

Manningham Lane was once a prosperous thoroughfare of grand stone mansions and solid businesses but in any city neighbourhoods can experience dramatic demographic and commercial change as decades pass by. In the 1960's the Manningham area began to attract waves of South Asian immigrants so that now white Bradfordians are very much in the minority there.

Local council elections are coming up in May

Along Manningham Lane there are Muslim takeaways, grocery stores, clothing and book stores and with it being a Friday, I saw many men and boys in their mosque clothes - garments that would not look out of place in Islamabad or Karachi.

Lister Park was partly given to the city by an industrial magnate called Samuel Cunliffe Lister. The park opened in 1875 and to this day it is well-maintained. In the heart of the park is Cartwright Hall which houses the city's premier art gallery.

Bronze stag in Lister Park

There were perhaps less paintings than I imagined there would be but even so some were of excellent quality. I especially liked the gallery that was devoted to Bradford-born David Hockney - an artist I have admired for many years. He is now 86 years old and by all accounts still producing his art like a man possessed.

Leaving the park, my  left heel was smarting once again so I curtailed my walkabout and caught a bus back into the city centre. There I sat on a bench in Centenary Square, reading a book in the shadow of Bradford's magnificent city hall before heading back to Leeds and thence to Sheffield. Mission accomplished.

Humble saree business on Manningham Lane

Bronze business plates in the city centre.

The third one underlines Bradford's important historical connections with the wool trade.