It is unfortunate that the most widely broadcast publicity concerning our city of late has been the frequent entries in the 'Rotten Boroughs' column of Private Eye.
In contrast, Royston Thomas's calendar for 2000, produced by the City Council in his continuing 'images of Durham' series, this year takes 'Buildings of the last Millennium' as its theme. Perhaps as a result, there are fewer unusual angles or close-ups on detail evoking the whole. Nevertheless, even wider views often incorporate a lone figure which arouses interest and entices our own entry into the scene. Some of the best of Thomas's previous photographs were collected in a volume last autumn and published under the only possible title, Images of Durham (published by Thomas, £13.95). The evocative black and white photographs are without text or even caption. They have no need of such. The volume does however have an introduction by Sir Peter Ustinov, the University Chancellor, which captures perfectly the genius of the landscape architect turned artist. Thomas, incidentally, is also the official photographer to the University.
The use of photographs as an historical record is exemplified in the volume, Durham Then and Now (Tempus Publishing Ltd, £9.99). Compiled by Durham Photographic Society in association with the Durham Record, it has pairs of illustrations comparing the present with the past in several parts of the city. Trustees will recognise some photographs from the unique collection of their former respected colleague, Des Kelly.
Publication of your Secretary's Durham: Essays on Sense of Place (£5.99; £5.00 to members) was unexpectedly delayed until after last October's open meeting. It has since appeared and attracted appreciative comment, not least from travel-writer and author Jan Morris.