Juniper
In another attempt to dust off the cobwebs and stretch the trousers we embarked on a walk around Juniper on New Year’s Day; it was a dull morning threatening yet more rain across the Shire. Juniper is a delightful, rural hamlet which achieved some local notoriety in 2010; this article appeared in the the Hexham Courant on 1st April of that year:
A Hexhamshire hamlet is changing its name in order to cash in on the millions of a sixties superstar. The tiny community of Juniper will in future be known as Jennifer Juniper, following a request from hippy hero Donovan. Cash-strapped Northumberland County Council is understood to have agreed to the name change in return for a £5 million donation to council coffers. The denim-decked singer made a fortune in the 1960s from songs like Catch the wind, Universal Soldier, Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman, but his personal favourite was always Jennifer Juniper. He took a tour of Tynedale whilst staying at Slaley Hall and fell in love with the quaint hamlet of Juniper. He spotted a dappled mare grazing in a field and just wanted to be part of the place. Villagers have reported being offered large wads of cash for their properties but no-one was prepared to move out of the close-knit community. A consultation exercise on the name change is being carried out by the county council, but comments had to be in by noon yesterday.
It was a quiet morning, just one horse and rider struggling up the steep bridle path from Devil’s Water and in the woods, evidence of avian tragedy:
(click on images to enlarge)
northumbrian : light 
Luv this post. Jennifer Juniper was my favorite Donovan. The photos are beautiful as always.
Thanks for your generous comments Cate. A great track, can’t believe it was released 45 years ago! Just looked it up on Wiki – I never realised it was written for Patti Boyd’s sister, Jenny Boyd who maried Mick Fleetwood.
Truly fantastic images! Thanks for sharing your day with us! Happy New Year!
Many thanks Robyn and all the best for 2014!
Thanks for the blast from the past! I haven’t thought about Donovan much in years, now I cannot wait to hunt down some of his old tunes. Jennifer Juniper has a nice ring to it… Hexhampshire could have done a lot worse as far as quirky artists and town-naming requests!
He wrote some lovely stuff in his early days but then lost his way, unlike Dylan who is still producing works of genius.
I’ve been singing Jennifer Juniper all morning, except with a lot of la la la’s because I can’t remember the words!
I have been subjected to the same 🙂 except Pam can actually remember the French verse in full – too clever by half 🙂
P.S. Beautiful photographs, love them in black and white!
Many thanks, it was a very dull morning and especially in the woods – they looked very flat in colour.
Nice images and monochrome adds to the feel of wilderness.
Many thanks, much appreciated
Love the tinting on these. Very atmospheric. As for the name…it could have been worse. They wanted to name a bridge in Bratislava after Chuck Norris. 😉 Happy New Year, Robin.
They needed a bit of gold to pep them up a bit 🙂 A very Happy New Year to you as well Julie. I had to Google Chuck Norris – shows what I know…..which prompts a question on cultural differences – did you get the significance of the 1st April date in this post or is that purely a UK thing? (apologies if you know only too well)
I totally spaced on the April Fool’s joke. But I usually get fooled. 😉
Thanks, me too. On reflection, it seems like a daft question but I am worrying about cultural differences at the moment as my next post will explain.
I really enjoy all of them… Great work Robin!
Many thanks Malin, all the best, Robin
PS – I am getting hooked on trees 🙂
Getting hooked on trees, that is something good. 🙂
Lovely photos!
Many thanks Dave, much appreciated
What beautiful photos….trees can be hard to do well…..and you did 🙂
They are quite easy really – they stand still, unlike your dogs 🙂
…and in the standing still they can all look a bit samey 🙂
I think it’s the way you processed them, you’ve sort of highlighted some of the trees so they really catch the eye amongst the others.
A very good series. Happy New Year, Godt Nyttår!
Many thanks Bente and a very Godt Nyttår! (my first Norwegian phrase 🙂 )
I know I’ve already commented this post… but I had to like the post too 😉
And I still love these images, a lot…
Many thanks Malin – it is always good to hear from you.
Always good to hear from you too Robin.