This shot captures the drizzle but it doesn’t capture quite how dim and dismal it was at 10.25 this morning in Manchester. A thoroughly depressing day, and the clocks haven’t even gone back yet. Was work itself any better? Mmm, well, bits of it, I suppose. Mainly the bits done online, when I was somewhere else, at least in spirit.
Bounding out of bed the second the alarm goes off is not something that either of us particularly do any more: if it happens, it’s only to make the cups of tea and then return to bed for a while, usually with some puzzle or other to pass the time. Mental activity, yes, but physical jerks in the morning, that’s just for other people now. I like this shot because the twin sources of light — lamp and phone — make C’s hand look rather spooky.
I admit there are times when my fantasies of both downsizing and drifting lead, perhaps even logically, to thoughts of spending the rest of my days on one of these. But I’d miss the bathroom too much. Oh yeah, and central heating. Nevertheless, these thoughts do come, particularly on pleasant Sunday mornings before it has got too cold.
I’ve never been to the ground of Dearne and District FC before but something tells me that this dog spends pretty much every home match in this position: he certainly did today. We all have to stand on the outer side of the fence, but this chap is clearly much more important than us. At least, in his head.
It’s that time of year where it can’t decide whether it’s warm or cold. Hence, this mist, which sort of springs from the boundary between the two states. The question of whether or not we should turn on the central heating is more of an economic than a climatic question, however.
The turf roof atop the extension to the Nutclough Mill is a very familiar part of the view from the house — so much so that it’s surprising to realise it’s younger than this blog. It was only completed in 2014, as attested by this photo, amongst others. Looking at all the posts tagged ‘Nutclough Mill‘ I see I pretty much did the same shot last year, but on a day working at home it was this or a shot of my laptop screen again, and this is more interesting.
Some photos just have to be taken. I don’t think she could have posed, or been lit, better if I’d tried for these things deliberately. Always, there is the recycling bin in the way — though I suppose here I can live with it. Yes, it was a very nice day, I was tempted to sit and work outside as well.
FC United of Manchester like to think themselves a sort of throwback to a more soulful and authentic era of football and, being honest, this is not an entirely fanciful self-image. Certainly they never worried about installing some fancy electronic scoreboard gizmo in their otherwise well-appointed Broadhurst Park ground. Does the operator get in for free I wonder? She only had a couple of bouts of activity: the final score was FCUM 1-1 Emley on this mild Tuesday evening.
Lately, if it’s Monday morning and I’m in Halifax, I am probably walking down to town after having returned the hire car, a route that passes a range of housing, from bourgeois to more basic. This view can’t have changed much in decades. Yes, I know it’s a little blurred, but I’m going for some kind of archaic but otherwise indefinable quality.
Coming all the way to the north-east of England only to see 90 minutes of football would have been a bit of a waste, whatever the result. I stayed over and allowed myself the opportunity to be somewhere very beautiful by 9.45 the following morning. 400 million years ago all this area was apparently a volcano the size of modern-day Mount Etna: Housey Crags are the remnant of one of its old lava vents, massively eroded.
Of all the blog’s 4,500-plus pictures taken in England, this is the second-most northerly, behind only the one in Berwick (10/7/21). For more pictures from the day, see my County Tops blog.
