General Information

During the year 2000 D J Clark built a visual record of the Lancaster & Morecambe district using photographs and information submitted by those that feature in the pictures. The project was conducted in association with Lancaster Museum and has been archived for future generations to look back at the district at the turn of the new Millennium. For more information on the project visit the information page. If you find a caption is wrong or there is a fault with the page please e-mail D J Clark.

Date: January 1st 2000 - Midnight to 4 am plus December 31st upto Midnight
Location: Various

Photographer's Diary

Finally I was able to pick up my cameras and begin. After a day watching the next century unfold around the world on TV, I set off to Anthony's (my brother in law) house to get some practice before midnight. It had been 3 months since I last took a picture and I was a little nervous about my familiarity with the equipment.

My task for the night was to start at midnight and record the celebrations in Lancaster as the local community welcomed the next millennium. The media hype in anticipation of the biggest party in the world to date had scared would be event organisers into thinking it would all cost too much. As a result Lancaster was left with a single beacon lighting at the Priory, also hushed up to keep numbers down, and about half the pubs and clubs operating in the City.

After a brief visit to Nazareth House Children's home to wish the children a happy new year and take one's girl's portrait I had been promising for weeks, I headed to Folly Cafe to unload my gear and stage the first part of the night. The Priory appeared relatively calm and very dark. At the stroke of midnight Hilton Dawson (MP) lit the beacon, I got a safe shot trying to take in the unlit Priory and a bit of the castle, while Morecambe bay lit up behind me with unofficial fireworks displays.

Rushing to find a view across Lancaster in anticipation of an equal display, I only found the odd solitary bursting rocket. My next plan was to run into the town centre to catch the celebraters hopefully dancing in the fountain in market square. In keeping with the rest of the Council's effort to put a damper on the whole occasion, the fountain had been turned off as had the Christmas lights and the streets were empty and uninteresting. The Castle Hotel let me in to grab a few drunken portraits. Some of the City's street population had gathered there which made a nice image, though everyone reacted in one way or another to the camera killing any hopes of a candid picture. Turning to acknowledge a tap on the shoulder I found two young people I had brought up in my days working at Nazareth House. It had probably been 5 years since I last saw them and I would have loved to have stayed for a drink but instead I found myself reaching for my card and asking them to call me - they probably won't.

After an unsuccessful fireworks display at Folly Cafe, I got in the car and drove to Ryelands Estate. I knew of one street party which I found straight away but it was more of a house party and a bucket of fireworks. I was beginning to worry that I had nothing great on film, but maybe that was the story of Lancaster's millennium, nothing great. Next stop was the Cathedral Social centre where I knew of a family party. It was getting close to 1 AM and to my amazement it was half empty and looked like 4 AM on a usual new years eve. A few pictures and off to Liquid.

Liquid was the latest, hippest, happening night-club in town and one I had spent a full week getting permission to photograph. Entering up a grand staircase and into a bar my ordeal was becoming worse. Most the punters looked as if they had been drinking since 10 AM and were lucky to be conscious, in fact I don't think they all were. Fortunately there was another floor and there I found the energy and excitement I had been looking for all night. True, it was likely many of the participants were being propped up by illegal drugs but it took me no time to start getting great pictures of genuinely excited and happy people celebrating the beginning of a new age. The DJ announced my presence by complaining I had missed him, over the microphone and soon the whole club was grabbing me and asking for a picture. As always I was asked what are the pictures for, to which I half lied saying they were for the paper. Half, because a reporter had asked for a couple of images earlier in the day, but I was posing as a local newspaper snapper which I was not. You try explaining to a drunken youth in a deafening night-club the outline of this project.

Contrary to rumours of violence and destruction (that were predicted after 500 tickets were apparently sold to travellers) Liquid was happy, energetic and peaceful and welcomed me to record their celebration. From here I visited four house parties, two teenage and two adult. By this time the night was getting on and the pictures were getting more tired. Again I was well received and got a chance to refuel with sandwiches and cola.

The final stop was the hospital where I was greeted by a gang of ambulance drivers and their vehicles. The night was obviously far quieter than expected. Moving into casualty I met my wife, Maggie, who was on the night shift and I went from cubicle to cubicle looking for the injured. Two broken noses was about it and an empty waiting room. As part of the millennium hype came the tales of computer bugs and crisis. Emergency services were all doubled but nothing materialised. The only bite of a millennium bug came from one young girl in the Castle Hotel who shouted out, "the Bug has got my mobile phone" to which her boyfriend replied "try turning it on".

I walked up to the Intensive Care Unit with Maggie and got a couple of still, very normal day to day pictures and back down to Casualty. This was the first time I had ever worked with Maggie and we shared a contradicting wish. Both of us were glad there was no major trauma's and kept telling ourselves that, but for our work to become exciting we needed some action. I tried phoning the maternity ward when news came through of the first millennium baby but they hung up on me, and I wasn't really that interested. I am sure the local papers will get pictures when day breaks.

I left and came home to bed. The night had started off wet and miserable but as if by magic the skies cleared before midnight and all was still.

New year's Eve December 31st

At last a cloudy day gave me a lie in and a chance to recover from what had been a non stop finish to the project. I was longing the day I could wake up to blue skies and feel no need to rush out with the camera. No more cold phone calls when I tried to persuade someone on the other end of the line to let me take their picture. I still had Bay radio and the travellers site to do, but phone calls got me nowhere and I gave up without a fight.

My final picture had been organised for Varsity Pub. A theme pub with plenty of space and a balcony I could get a wide shot of the festivities as my camera shot it's last frame at one second to midnight. I had arranged with Ben, the assistant manager to be there. Nervously I awaited midnight, first at Louise's house with drinks and food, and then on to Varsity for 11:15. It was dead, with just a handful of people who slowly left one by one. I bought a pint and chatted to the manager who was clearly upset at the fact. Everyone's in Walkabout I was told, but there was clearly not many people around the Town.

At 11:40 my bottle went and I made my excuses and left without taking a picture. My first instinct was to go to The Park Hotel, where I knew Geoff and Allison the landlady would let me in at late notice. I knocked on the door, to no reply, I could hear the music and merrymaking but it was a Sunday night and they were meant to be closed. There was only one option left, Dalton Square. I drove there and had a walk around the square. There was one clearly drunk party goer being sick on the steps and an empty space. I set up my camera and waited the final minute. With the clock in view I positioned myself in the foreground leaving the not so well reveller in the mid ground behind me. Some other people turned up but were obscured by Queen Victoria. This had all the potential of a great final picture, and all the potential of a complete disaster. The clock started chiming one minute early by my watch (earlier synchronised to Big Ben) and I fired the first frame, dashing into position. It was still 30 seconds to go according to my watch, so I fired again.

Returning to my camera Hilton Dawson, my first subject, strolled up to me wishing me Happy New year and I embraced Sue, his wife. My immediate instinct was to grab the camera but it was too late, the project was finished, it was 2001.

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