Jane Dallaway

  • Mum's music collection

    15 July 2026

    Mum loved music. She sang in an operatic society, and later a choir. She went to musicals and to classical concerts. And she had records - 45s, 78s, and albums.

    At some point while clearing out the family home fifteen years ago I decided to photograph some of them and transcribe her notebook of music. So I’ve had Claude put them together into grids.

    A grid of LP covers from Mum's record collection, arranged chronologically, showing musicals, classical, easy listening and popular music from the 1960s to the 1980s

    The LPs are the most plentiful. They’ve been ordered chronologically using, in order: any date label Mum had stuck to the cover, any matching entry with a date in her notebook, or the release date.

    I have no idea whether I ever photographed the 45s, and I couldn’t locate them in my archive. I have her notebook entries but nothing else - it’s also possible she’d got rid of some over the years without updating it, perhaps when she started buying CDs.

    A grid of 78rpm record sleeves, mostly branded with the names of Hull record shops rather than the artists - Gough and Davy, Hammond's of Hull, Sydney Scarborough

    The 78s are interesting mainly for their covers - branded with the name of the shop that sold them rather than the artists. Some of those names I remember from my childhood.

    These photos have been waiting fifteen years for me to do something with them. It feels good to have acknowledged Mum’s music in some way.

  • Today’s walk: Haywards Heath to Bolney Wine Estate

    10 July 2026

    For her birthday last autumn I bought a friend a voucher for a pairing tour and tasting at Bolney Wine Estate. We got it booked in for a summer Friday and hoped the weather would be kind. It’s fair to say it was perhaps a little too kind - it was a warm and sunny day.

    We both enjoy a walk, so I was tasked with planning a route using public transport to get us somewhere close. With a lot of help from OS Maps I planned a walk from Haywards Heath to Bolney Wine Estate - about 7 miles, taking around 2.5 hours. The first part skirted around Haywards Heath, avoiding most of the built-up area before taking us through woodland.

    A shaded woodland path in dappled summer light near Haywards Heath

    About a third of the way in we reached Cuckfield, the only real refreshment stop, so we took a break and had lunch there. The walk followed the Sussex Diamond Way and High Weald Landscape Path in places, and the vistas opened out nicely.

    A grass path between a tall hedge and a wooden fence, with fields and trees beyond under a blue sky

    A wide view over a golden summer meadow with the South Downs visible on the horizon

    We were both a bit hot and sticky by the time we reached the estate, but soon cooled down in the air-conditioned cafe and shop.

    The tour and tasting was a good experience. The tastings were generous, and we both left with bottles - and some Cocoa Loco chocolate. To round off the day we sat on the balcony of the restaurant with a glass of Classic Cuvée.

    Rows of vines at Bolney Wine Estate under a blue summer sky, with tall grass between the rows

  • Spotlit silhouette

    8 July 2026

    The silhouette of the leaves cast on the tree trunk looks like a doll to me.