Knighthood -The true meaning

                                                  In days of old when knights were bold

                                                      and horrors lurked every corner

                                                     there lived a king so cruel so cold

                                                 that there were enemies at each border

                                                 his highness ordered the knights so bold

                                                       to face these enemies so daring

                                                yet little did they know they weren't told

                                                    of the monsters they were facing

The above poem written by renowned poet Edgar Allan Poe is the perfect definition of a medieval knight, and the final passage surmises what they did:

                                                 in days of old when knights were bold

                                                     and horrors lurked every corner

                                           the knights so bold weren't scared we were told

                                                           and fought in every danger

To be a knight was to be revered throughout the lands in every Kingdom none more so than Britain. The term Knighthood began sometime between the 11^th and 13^th Century, it was a rank bestowed on mounted troops of lower Nobility for example Lords of the realm, perhaps Britain’s most famous Knight was William Marshall and his name was known on every tournament field in the country.

In France the Knights of the temple of Solomon or the Knights Templar were formed as soldiers of god to protect pilgrims on their passage to the Holy lands.

Throughout the middle ages Knights became part of everyday life. They fought our wars, often being the driving force of a victorious battle, Bards would sing tales of their brave deeds and the lady’s loved a man in shining armor, but could anyone become a knight? As is suggested in the 2001 movie “A Knight’s Tale” starring the late Heath Ledger it was probably not possible to impersonate a knight of noble birth but it could have been possible for the Squire of an existing knight to become one through hard work and training.

The usual method of becoming a knight was through birth or if you fought bravely on the battlefield, organised mass murder was the normality in those days and so many men lost their lives through fighting battles started by the nobility of the country, however if you survived and killed more men than the man next to you then a knighthood was probably on the cards.

It did however, take more than just being a good fighter to become a knight, more so in the late middle ages (13^th -15^th Century) when the ideals of Chivalry were introduced, although there is no proof that the seven virtues of Knighthood existed (other than in more modern writings) it is suggested that the values a Knight would hold were as follows:

Courage

This relates to overcoming obstacles and facing the enemies without fear, standing up for those who cannot and protecting the innocent and weak

Justice

A Knight upholds and serves justice, if someone has done something which breaks the laws of the land or offends then justice is served by the Knights hand.

Mercy

To give Mercy also shows strength, forgiveness is one of the greatest Knightly virtues and sparing an enemies life on the field of battle was seen as an act of Mercy and the debt was often repaid

Generosity

To be generous does not mean just to share what material wealth you had it could also mean something as simple as sharing your horse with a fallen comrade as depicted in the symbol of the Knights Templar, or it could mean sharing your food, home or even your wisdom.

Faith

Having belief in something is what drives men (and women) in the middle ages religious faith was forefront on all men’s minds especially those about to go into battle, but it also took faith in other causes and people after all who would go into battle for a King or Queen they had no faith in?

Nobility

To be noble is usually associated with birth-right and it is true that the Lords of the land were the first to be awarded Knighthoods, but being noble can also mean being true to yourself at all times and keeping your morals.

Hope

Knights were a symbol of Hope, if you were in the front line of a battle and heard the clatter of hooves behind you as your Knights move into position it would have been a welcoming sound and spurred you onward, to the common man Knights were also seen as protectors bringing them hope in a time when feuds between neighbors were rife and bandits raided their homes.

Together, these values make up the act of Chivalry and paint a picture of what we know a knight to be, someone who will stand up for the weak and defenceless and fight for them, someone who will help those in need in whatever way they can and someone who will defend the country from its enemies.

This brings me to the actual topic of this article and modern day Knighthood’s.

I recently saw that the comedian Billy Connelly was awarded a Knighthood, now I love and respect Mr Connolly to bits; not only is he a biker like myself he is a fantastic musician, comedic genius and one of the most down to earth people on the planet but does he deserve a Knighthood?

Take a look at the two links below and ask yourself an honest question, would any one person on those lists be able to uphold the Virtues of knighthood and defend the country?

Actors awarded British Knighthoods

Musicians awarded British Knighthoods

Putting the deceased Knighthoods to one side, those who are on the lists and alive such as Michael Caine, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Elton John, all people whom I personally admire as Musicians or Actors and I am in no doubt that the actors mentioned could defend any country on film but if they were to take on the true role of a knight they would probably go running to their agent or manager demanding they were flown to a safe place.

It appears that in the 20^th and 21^st Century there has been no military or services personnel awarded the honor of Knighthood, now forgive me if I am wrong here but wasn’t the original concept of Knighthood a military concept founded on the aspect of protecting the country? 

I believe firmly that only those who are deserving should be bestowed this honor, a soldier fighting for his country, a police officer or fire-person who serves the public, even our nurses and doctors who work in A&E saving lives on a daily basis are much more worthy of the title than someone who is there for entertainment.

Perhaps Her Majesty is getting mixed up with James Bond and Sean Connery/Roger Moore, no offence Ma’am but they were “Acting” and James Bond is a “Character” he didn’t really fight a cat stroking bald man or some bloke with metal teeth. 

As for the musicians who have been knighted they should throw their titles away in disgust or return them to Buckingham Palace with a note saying “give this to a deserving human who has actually done something for the people of the country to keep them safe”.

Saal Digital Aluminium print

Saal Digital is a high quality photo printing firm based in Germany, I have been lucky enough to review their products previously when they offered an excellent quality photo book with my images in it (the review of this is on my blog).

Today I received another of their fantastic products through the mail.

Having used Saal Digital’s software before it didn’t take me long to grasp the concept and find out how to upload the image I wanted, the most difficult part for me was choosing a single photograph out of the thousands I have taken.

I was given several options for the print format, these included Gallery print (behind glass), canvas and the one I chose, an aluminium board which is very sturdy and comes complete with a plastic hangar on the rear making it simple to hang on my wall.

I did find the sizing guide a little confusing as it did not say whether the prints were in Cm or Inches and I was expecting a larger print than arrived, this however did not deter from the fact that it is still a good sized print and the image looks sharp and clear.

Once more SaalDigital.co.uk have outdone themselves with a fantastic product I recommend this company to all my photographer friends and anyone who is looking for a reasonably priced, quick delivery and great quality piece to show off in their home or as a present.

Guitar money versus Real money

I recently had a conversation with a friend about guitars and the cost of them, whilst trying to explain to him that the price of a guitar often reflects its playability or the quality of the hardware/wood used, I used the expression that “guitar money isn’t like real money”.

What I meant by this was this: If a guitar costs under £100 new its classed as a “cheap” guitar, usually the quality of these instruments is low grade, they use cheaper materials to build the body and neck, if it is an electric guitar they will use low end pickups.

Most cheap guitars are ideal for beginners through to intermediate players but they tend to have issues that many long term guitarists will pick up on such as the action, high frets or high nut, fret buzz or inferior sounding pickups or humbuckers.

This isn’t always the case and sometimes a good quality instrument can be bought at a reasonable price but in my experience of cheap guitars there are very few which can boast this.

There are many quality second hand instruments available if you look around for under £200 and some new ones for just a little more, it isn’t always the case that the more you spend the better the guitar as it is usually down to how the instrument sounds and plays to the player as much as the hardware.

I own a few low range guitars of various qualities; my samick LG dreadnaught acoustic is one of the few I have owned/played which I (and many others who have played her) have found to be a beautiful sounding guitar with great playability.

I also own a cheap Ibanez Gio which is probably the cheapest of the Ibanez brand of guitars, Ibanez are a very well-known brand of instrument played by some of the world’s greatest guitarists, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and more recent the fantastic Jen Majura are all champions of Ibanez guitars.

The Gio has its limits however, the body is made from Basswood which is light and is a material used in many cheap guitars, the pickups are standard and work well giving some nice tones in the bridge and neck positions, I rarely use the other positions of the selector switch myself.

It boasts a whammy bar (tremolo arm) which is about as useful as a chocolate fire guard as once you use this the guitar goes out of tune, not good in the middle of an epic solo and makes dive bombing and other techniques impossible.

The tuning of this guitar is the main issue I find, and although it has a nice fast fretboard and is easy to “Shred” on it is lacking in the abilities of its more expensive sisters.

My latest purchase was a swap for one of my old guitars (a De-Armond M65) and is a Cheetah electric acoustic bass, this is a very nice looking instrument which were produced for a short time around 10 or 20 years ago, I’m not sure of the specs but it plays nice both acoustically and through an amplifier, there is a slight fret buzz on the higher frets but this could be due to the age of the instrument and possibly requiring a restring.

All in all though the Cheetah, which I believe retailed around £65 new back in its day, is quite a nice bass for the price but not being a bass player as such there are probably issues with it that only a seasoned bassist would notice.

Over the 25 years I have been playing guitar I have been lucky enough to play some very beautiful (and expensive) guitars, believe me, you can tell the difference immediately.

The first was a 1967 Fender Telecaster, this relic belonged to a gentleman who had passed away and left his guitars to the pub where myself and a small group of fellow musicians played together. 

I hadn’t taken my own guitar with me (at the time a very cheap 80’s single pickup Encore)and so was offered the use of one of the instruments in the pub, the Telecaster was a dream to play, whether it’s because it was a seasoned loved and used instrument or something more I could not play a bum note that night and have nothing bad what so ever to say about this particular guitar.

Next was a Gibson ES 345 (I think it was a 1978 model), again this instrument had belonged to the same gentleman, and again I could not play a bum note on it, I didn’t feel as comfortable playing this guitar as I had the Telecaster but there was no denying it was a piece of history which screamed with beautiful tones as my fingers caressed the frets.

I could not hazard a guess at the cost of these two guitars but I would put it well into the thousands, seeing a similar ES 345 on EBay as I write this for $3,200 which shows that the more expensive an instrument is and in these cases the older too, the better quality it seems.

Personally I could not justify spending that amount of money on any guitar and those are the ones I call the “expensive” range, the mid-range instruments however are those that average between £300-£800, these are usually made for the more serious regular player, your bands who tour and gig regular, a recording artist or songwriter would justify spending this amount on a guitar quite easily.

I have seen some stunning instruments in this price range from some of the world’s most renowned manufacturers, Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Epiphone and other companies such as Dean, Schecter and ESP.

It all boils down to what’s in your wallet and your own personal preferences, I tend to go for what I can afford and compensate for any issues whereas if I had the money I would go for a mid-range instrument which can fulfill my requirements without holding my playing back like the Gio does.

However to return to the comment at the beginning of this blog post “guitar money isn’t like real money” it is easy (from a guitarists point of view) to see that cheap isn’t the same as cheap when referring to other commodities and items we would buy such as shoes or electrical goods.

Preserve and Prosper.

                                           

This is Wakefield Metropolitan District Council’s motto, "Preserve and Prosper" it can be seen plain as day on the Cities coat of arms which is displayed at the main offices Wakefield One.

It seems, however, that Wakefield Council do not understand the meaning of the motto, so let’s begin by breaking it down.

Preserve:

In the Oxford dictionary the word preserve means to “maintain something in its original or existing state”

Prosper:

This is defined in the Oxford dictionary as “to succeed in material or financial terms or to flourish and grow”.

Over the last ten or twenty years we have seen a decline in Wakefield, a decline of historic buildings being sold off and destroyed to make way for newer ugly constructions, a decline in local business being forced out by high rents, a decline of a once famous market to mention just a few of the things that Wakefield council have taken it upon themselves to destroy.

As many who know me will know, I am very passionate about history especially in my local area which is steeped in rich history and archaeology and every time I hear of a beautiful old building being sold off such as Clayton Hospital to be knocked down and a sports facility built? Just what Wakefield needs are more sports facilities, it isn’t like we don’t already have this kind of thing local, there is a large sports facility in Wakefield park, another behind the old police training, one in Horbury 3 miles from the City center not to mention the several Gyms in the locality.

In my humble opinion Wakefield Council couldn’t preserve jam, Sandal castle one of the Cities greatest historical monuments which played an important role in British history has been left to get overgrown, the motte and bailey no longer accessible because the council in their infinite wisdom decided that the original path onto the castle wasn’t feasible and so built a wooden bridge across the moat and stairs up the Motte with a viewing platform at the summit.

This in retrospect was a good idea however the bridge and steps after only a few years are now unsafe and nothing seems to be getting done to improve the problem, instead the council are focusing on Pontefract and the castle there as well as the counting house, which are both important historic buildings and need to be preserved, however so do place like Sandal castle.

When are the council going to realize they are driving this City into the ground with their grand modernisation schemes, cutting down ancient trees in Ossett, selling off all our historic buildings and leaving others to rack and ruin, covering over possible historic and archaeological locations with new housing estates, the latter taking place at Newton hill where there is marked a ruin on the old maps of the 1850s, the report I read for the location which was undertaken before the estate was built gives no mention to this “Ruin” which could have been of importance to the history of the City, we will never know.

I now hear that Kirklees council are also getting in on the act and have put forward a proposal to build houses on greenbelt land at Chidswell near Ossett, this area is riddled with sites of archaeological interest, most of which are just outside the proposed boundary, however there are some features such as ancient bell pits and part of an ancient highway which ran from Chester to Leeds and passes through the proposed site.

To round up this rant it is obvious that the council in Wakefield do not listen to the people who live here and do not act in favour of them either, is it just Wakefield who treats their history like it should be swept under the carpet? You don’t see York pulling down Clifford tower or the city walls to build housing estates or concrete monstrosities, Chester doesn’t destroy its wonderful Tudor style buildings or walls, Chesterfield’s crooked spire and 13^th century pub is left alone along with the other beautiful buildings in the city, do you see a pattern emerging here?

Preserve and Prosper. The above Cities have done just that and their tourism is booming maybe there is a lesson to be learned here for Wakefield Council.

A few facts about photographs and copyright.

Firstly let me begin by saying I am within no means an expert in copyright laws however I am very knowledgeable on the subject from my time working for the Performing Rights Society, although that knowledge was predominantly music related it did also include image copyright for singles, album and ep covers.

Since then I had my experience running Stageside Photography and learned much more in regards to image theft and copyright laws.

I have been the victim of copyright theft on several occasions, people take the image from either here on my blog or Facebook or perhaps one of the photograph hosting sites I have used in the past under the impression "it’s online I can use it".

Myth 1: If a photo is posted online then anyone can download it or share and use it for their website.

Fact 1: NO! A photograph is not free to use even if it is posted on social media the copyright remains with the person who took the photograph and permission should be sought.

Myth 2: it’s my camera if someone else takes a pic on it I own the copyright

Fact 2: NO! Whoever presses the button on the camera owns the copyright of the image taken at that particular point

Myth 3: if someone takes a picture of me they cannot use it without my permission

Fact 2:  this actually depends on certain factors, if for e.g. the photo was taken with your permission on private property and a model release form is signed the photographer has the right to sell, modify or use the image as they see fit, often a verbal agreement is enough to ensure this. If an image of you is taken in a public place then the photographer has every right to use that image as they see fit also, the only time you can contest this is if the photograph was taken on private property without your permission and an agreement in place, NB: pubs, clubs and venues similar all class as public places.

Myth 4: if someone takes a photograph of me I own the copyright

Fact 4: as with fact 2 whoever took the image owns copyright

Myth 5: if a picture has a watermark on it I can just crop it off and use it

Fact 5: NO the watermark is there for a reason to prevent people stealing images.

Myth 6: anyone can take a photograph so why pay for it

fact: in this day and age yes anyone can take a photograph however it takes skill, dedication and knowledge of your camera learned and processed over many years to produce a great image this is what you are paying for as well as equipment, insurance etc. even photographers have to eat so it also pays their wages and bills.

In short before you right click and save or share a picture you like ask yourself, do you have permission to do so? Would the photographer allow you to use the picture? Can you afford to use that picture? Most photographers will pursue a copyright case to the courts and they almost always win so for the sake of a few £'s or $'s and an email to ask permission you could save thousands in court costs and damages

Saal Digital Photo Books

I recently saw an advertisement from a company called Saal Digital, offering a free photo book in return for a review of the product.

I was a little sceptical at first having received free photo books in the past from a different company I found their quality to be very inferior. However putting my scepticism to one side I contacted the company and was accepted to review one of their products.

I received a voucher for £40 to spend on their website and create my own photo book.My choice was an A4, leather bound book with my images spreading across two pages.

I received my photo book within a week of ordering and was very pleasantly surprised with the overall quality.

The leather binding I chose gives the book a very professional look and the quality of printing is outstanding, making my images burst out from the pages within.

I found this image (above) to be a little darker than I thought but this was due to my editing.

I found the software fairly easy to use but feel it could be a little daunting for those not familiar with this kind of software, the choices of style for my book were minimal and I would have liked to have been given perhaps a few more interior design choices.

It didn't take long to download and install the software required to create the book and I found the hardest part was actually choosing which photographs I wanted to include in the pages.

The overall print quality is outstanding and although I found one of my images to be a little dark this was down to my own editing and not the printing itself so I would recommend checking your images are edited correctly before submitting them.

I was pleasantly surprised with Saal Digital and their photograph books, as soon as I opened the package and held the book in my hands, fantastic product and very easy to create.

You too can create your own book from your personal images at a very reasonable price, the book I chose should have cost £34 plus £4.50 p&p which itself is a very reasonable cost for a 26-page leather bound photo book.

There were plenty of other price options too.

Check out their site for yourself http://www.saal-digital.co.uk/

Preserve and Prosper - Wakefield Museum

As many people know I am a big fan of history this began at an early age visiting many of West Yorkshire's fantastic museums and historic houses with my parents.

It continued throughout my teens as I spent a lot of time at our local castle ruin, Sandal Castle famous for its role in the 1460 battle of wakefield and death of Richard the grand ol' duke of York (as in the nursery rhyme).

I also spent a lot of time in the local museum which was situated at the old Mechanics Institute on Wood Street, a beautiful Georgian building in a fitting location close to the center of the City.

This building housed a plethora of local artifacts and informative displays.

When you entered the building the atmosphere hit you, a grand staircase greets you and two rooms lead from the entrance hall to the left and right.

Into the left  room and you were greeted by a figure wearing the armour of a Roman Centurion, beside this exhibit a glass case held models of Sandal Castle and opposite a wall depicted the depths at which certain periods of archaeology could be found.

There were a lot more finds from this early period of Wakefield's history in this room including swords and armour from the battle of wakefield 1460 and the English civil war of 1640.

The room on the right contained artefacts of modern history from the late 19th through to mid 20th Century including a rare Cameron motorcycle built in Walton a small village on the outskirts of Wakefield.

As you ascend the grand staircase and reach the landing you could walk either to the left, right or forward, I don't recall what was to the left but on the right were doors from Wakefield Prison.

The large room straight ahead contained the large collection from Charles Waterton a 19th Century explorer and naturist who owned Walton Hall, much of this collection were strange looking animals that Mr Waterton is said to have created through the art of taxidermy but also holds a gigantic Boa constrictor and an Aligator which Mr Waterton is reputed to have wrestled and killed.

For any child, the exhibits in this building were bound to set his/her imagination running wild and I will always remember fondly the times I spent there.

This brings us to the reason for this blog post.

The museum has since been moved into the newer Wakefield One building which also houses the Library and several other of the council's departments.

I have only visited the museum here twice, both time to meet with the finds officer from the Antiquities department to identify items I have found whilst metal detecting.

I am appalled at the meagre handful of exhibits they are now offering for us to view.

It takes on average ten minutes to walk around and view every artefact, the Cameron Motorcycle is still on display (which was always one of my favourite pieces) around ten Bronze age axe heads found at Stanley Ferry, Two roman coins and some pottery all in the main entrance, there is one sword on display from Sandal Castle and the rest is Victorian information and items in regards to the Fire Brigade, Police, coal mines and some everyday items.

The largest exhibit is the Waterton Exhibit which has its own room and is much the same as it used to be.

I know that the models of Sandal are at the visitors centre which is on the grounds of the castle but where is the rest of our history?

Wakefield has such a rich history that it should be a crime what the council is doing, the motto on Wakefield's coat of arms is "Preserve and Prosper" yet all I have seen in the last ten years or so is the demolition and neglect of some of our most beautiful buildings.

There is no mention of the boat building that the City was once famed for, nor the textile industries, the waterwheel which still exists in the old mills by the new monstrosity they call The Hepworth Gallery.

Nothing of the race course at Outwood, Lofthouse park, the prison of war camps which were located at Methley, Lofthouse and Crigglestone, nothing of Wakefield's claim to Robin Hood or connection to highwaymen Dick Turpin and Swift Nick Nevison.

There is no mention of the tunnels which run beneath the streets that everyone has heard about, no mention of the cell which lays beneath the pavement of the bull ring, the city wall, the cattle market on Westgate and the market in the centre of town which again the City was famed for, nothing about Low Hill castle in the park, Newland's abandoned village and Knight's Templar/Knight's of St John Preceptory near Normanton.

If you were to visit any museum around the Country, even if housed in a new build, they have an extensive collection of artefacts and displays giving you information about the history of that place, York thrives on tourism because of its history, as does Chester, Leeds, only eight miles North holds the Royal Armouries, the Thackray Medical museum and a town museum.

We have one of the tallest Cathedrals in the Country, one of only six bridge chapels left in the Country, an infamous prison, two nursery rhymes were taken from places in Wakefield, round and round the mulberry bush- Wakefield Prison and the grand Ol' Duke of York- Sandal Castle.

The Viking's are said to have been the first to land here but there is nothing in the museum to represent this, if you visit County Hall there is a large mural depicting Wacca the Viking sailing up the River Calder.

Why are Wakefield Council so adamant on hiding our history? shouldn't we celebrate such a rich and fruitful history? why is the museum housed in such a small space when there are much more magnificent buildings such as the old courthouse or Clayton hospital or even Clark Hall near Pinderfields Hospital which I believe has now been sold for office use.

The fact is the Council should be doing more to promote our history, it should be shared.