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.
Let there be joy and celebration, in the away end, anyway. After only being on the field five minutes, Hadjam has just scored the second and decisive goal for Brighton and the victory over Sunderland is complete. It was 1st December 2018 when I last saw the Albion win a Premier League game. Worth the wait? Just about.
A protest about being given a Friday afternoon lecture slot (don’t worry guys — it’s not every week)? The payoff from that Student Disintegrator Ray that I have been secretly developing? No, I just sent them out to take some photos of stuff. All part of the thinking process…
The 8:10 to Wigan Wallgate, via Manchester, decided not to bother this morning so there was plenty of time to appreciate the light pouring down the tracks and platforms: everything positioned just so at 8:25am. In fact the person depicted here had lifted their head a little, a moment before I pressed the shutter, so the full rimlight-and-red-hair experience was not forthcoming, but never mind, it has still mostly worked.
Had I posted this on the Wednesday or the morning after I would have had to question the notion that this extensive display of cirrus presaged a change in the weather, for the worse. But sure enough, Thursday night and Friday morning have just been pretty revolting, so there you have it. Autumn does seem to be here, in some form or other.
