Victory celebrations

Sunday 24th May 2026, 1.35pm (day 5,386)

Cup winners, 24/5/26

The players and hangers-on of Andreou’s FC (it’s a bistro in Arbroath, apparently) celebrate their lifting of the Angus & Mearns Amateur Football Association Cup, and if you think it’s rather sad to get so excited about such a local thing, well, you didn’t live through their remarkable 7-5 win over Kirriemuir Thistle this Sunday morning. It was 3-3 at 90 minutes, and on a warm day, the period of extra time was characterised by some rather knackered defending, but I didn’t care and, evidently, neither did they. Well done to them.

I have been to 95 football matches this season — a new personal record — but today was the last. For a few weeks, anyway.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

The memorial on Dundee Law

Saturday 23rd May 2026, 1.05pm (day 5,385)

Dundee Law memorial, 23/5/26

Who knows how long The Child will stay in Dundee but for now the place is coming to feel familiar enough. I have developed a habit of ascending Dundee Law each time I come to the city. The view is excellent and the massive memorial on the summit certainly does its job. Making it up to the top from Joe’s flat, without a break, has become a good marker of whether I’m still fit enough for satisfaction.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

West Coast Main Line

Friday 22nd May 2026, 10.45am (day 5,384)

Train from Tebay, 22/5/26

My day was spent driving to Scotland. This took at least an hour longer than it usually does thanks to an excess of traffic around Edinburgh, of which, of course, I was a component part. Being whisked north by train instead does appeal but there are advantages and disadvantages to both modes of transport. (Anyway, the train pictured is travelling south.) As seen from Tebay services on the M6, a frequently-used stopping point on this particular journey — though not for rail passengers.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

It went that-away

Thursday 21st May 2026, 9.15am (day 5,383)

Car removal, 21/5/26

Particularly as I am posting rather late, I guess the owner of the red Range Rover has, by now, worked out what happened to his vehicle. I have no idea as to whether they deserved it or not. But it happened, and was duly documented (one presumes not only by me).

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Nibbling on the cobbles

Wednesday 20th May 2026, 5.40pm (day 5,382)

Goose on marina, 20/5/26

I wonder how geese judge the quality of their food. Are some particular types of moss more tasty or succulent than others, for example? Are these particular cobbles, found beside the dry dock in Hebden Bridge, considered a premium dining establishment or more of an emergency back-up, like the take-away kebab at 3am moment?

This is the second Canada goose in a week — but there are a lot of them about. And, to be honest, it was either that or the second heavy black cloud in a week, ’cause there are still a lot of them about too, unfortunately. But it is supposed to be getting more springlike in the next few days.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Crinkly rose

Tuesday 19th May 2026, 6.40pm (day 5,381)

Crinkly rose, 19/5/26

If this is a specific type of rose, I cannot identify it: Clare tried helping out by doing one of those ‘look for images that resemble this’ searches on Google and it just came up with the name of a company, proving how our informational sphere has been colonised (or something). Perhaps future Google image searches will find this picture and call this breed ‘Crinkly’ because that’s what it is. Which is why I took the shot: I like its crinkliness.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Manchester skyline

Monday 18th May 2026, 9.20am (day 5,380)

Manchester skyline, 18/5/26

As seen from the little-used western footbridge at Victoria station. This picture features many of the same buildings as were seen last Monday — but, you know, a little closer up. And a crane. There’s always a crane.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Newt (and sister’s hands)

Sunday 17th May 2026, 2.25pm (day 5,379)

Exactly what species this is, no idea, but this little creature becomes the first specimen of the family Pleurodelinae — the newts — to appear on the blog. Sister Vicki was quite concerned that a heron had been munching on the inhabitants of her garden pond, but this one, at least, is OK so far.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Leicester City have a huddle

Saturday 16th May 2026, 1.00pm (day 5,378)

Leicester huddle, 16/5/26

Lengthy huddles are a feature of women’s football, in fact it seems they are obligatory for teams at every level. Not that this particular huddle helped Leicester City very much in their match at Everton this afternoon: already bottom of the league and facing a relegation play-off, they lost 1-0. I choose the shot because the palate is pleasing: the pink of their shirts seems matched by the coverings on the seats behind. Everton’s men’s team left the historic Goodison Park at the start of the season for their new stadium on the dockside, and the women now occupy it as ‘the biggest dedicated women’s stadium in the country’, which is nice for them but does mean there was a lot of empty space: a couple of thousand people were in attendance.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m fine

Friday 15th May 2026, 4.30pm (day 5,377)

One of those occasions where it’s a case of — yes, I’ll go with that. There is nothing more to be said.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,