Published and Sold a Picture!

As my friends know, I do have quite a few pictures on Flickr. A few times I have been asked for permission to use them for non-commercial purposes, and I have always granted this permission.

At the beginning of September I got an inquiry through Flickr about a picture I had taken a few years ago during a visit at the Ellenroad Engine House:



This picture will now be used in the editorial local guide of the North Manchester Yellow Pages - and I have actually received a payment for this commercial use! This is the first time I sold a picture. Hope that there are many more to come.

So if you want to use one of my pictures for any commercial purposes, just let me know.

(I really need to tag my pictures properly with location, keywords, fitting title etc.... currently my collection is a bit difficult to browse).

And Selling a Car

When I had decided buying that Renault Megane, I naturally HAD to sell the Citroen. Since it only had 2 months left before the MOT was due I felt that I could not ask for a large price. It has more than 189k miles, 12 years old. Still running strong, so I considered a price of £ 350 was reasonable. Posted an ad in the Autotrader for £ 9.99 which would run for 2 weeks. Already one day later the first phone call came. A few more calls came in before the first caller actually wanted to see the car. So I prepared and cleaned it a bit.

Night fell, and the potential buyer still had not shown up... I was wondering if I should reschedule the appointment. But then he came with his wife, in a taxi that drove off after they had gotten out. Seems they were really determined to buy the car. After a short test drive in which he commented on the relatively hard suspension (must be because of that hydraulic leak that happened two years ago, some of the suspension-air must have gotten lost), he offered to buy it; obviously the car was irresistible (or maybe it was the price...). He paid cash, and after filing the formalities they drove happily away with the Citroen.

Missed opportunity: Silver Well Cottage (Ilkley)

The Silver Well Cottage, Ilkley Moor.

A few months ago, on a short hike along the Ilkley Moor, we saw a house, with boarded up windows, and partially unvocered roof. Located above Ilkley, with a drive access way, a large ground around it, and a spectacular view above the Wharfedale, I thought this would be a great buy, with some work to fix it up. But there was not any "For Sale" sign on it, nor did I know the name or address of this place. As we walked this past weekend again there, I noticed on the map that this building actually has a name: "Silver Well Cottage". Not to be confused with the "Silver Well Baths" which are just about one mile east.

How was I surprised to see tonight in the BBC local news "Look North" this cottage being announced as being sold today: an aution had taken place, and the selling price was 375,000 pounds. A bit expensive for my own wallet... so I would not have bid for it. But I probably would have shelled out about 200k pounds - provided I would have found a decent mortgage.

Article in Ilkley Gazette, 14. June 2007
Advertisement of the Silver Well Cottage Sale