Category Archives: Art and architecture

Sophia’s portrait

Saturday 7th October 2023, 4.20pm (day 4,426)

Sophia's portrait, 7/10/23

Another person’s art — and this time, with the artist. Sophia is depicted at the Friends of St Helena annual meeting, telling us about her inspirations, as a person born in Britain of St Helenian descent, and never having visited the island until earlier this year (in fact she was there in January and February when I was, but I don’t remember meeting her). The guy pictured is her grandfather, born on the island but left 78 years ago. Her art is really good, I don’t do it justice here, but I like the picture anyway.

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The factory district, late

Monday 18th September 2023, 10.05pm (day 4,407)

Low Moor factory, 19/9/23

I would say that there is no reason to come through the factory districts of Bradford late at night, but this is not the first time I’ve found one: see 21st December 2021 for instance, a shot taken in much the same place as this one. Both were the result of going to an evening game at Bradford Park Avenue FC but that’s another story. I must admit that I like walking through this part of town, whether at night or not; the convolutions of the factories and their pipes and lights and ducts, clouds of steam, lights on but very rarely any people — all these make for interesting photography.

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Wembley FC mural

Saturday 2nd September 2023, 2.55pm (day 4,391)

Wembley FC mural, 2//9/23

Wembley FC do not play at Wembley Stadium — though you can see that from their Vale Farm ground about a mile away. Nevertheless, they give good art work, even if the subject matter, going on the dates, is a tragic one.

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Bromley-by-Bow

Saturday 29th July 2023, 11.40am (day 4,356)

Bromley-by-Bow, 29/7/23

After 19 different places in 23 days, London becomes the first location to make it on two days in a row since the beginning of July. This was actually the first photo I took today. While intending that my wanderings around parts of the East End of London would lead to some good photo opportunities — cobbled streets, urchins picking whelks out from mudbanks on the Thames, that kind of thing — most of it looks like this these days.

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In Broughton

Sunday 16th July 2023, 12 noon (day 4,343)

In Broughton, 16/7/23

Our nine days in Scotland come to an end. A fine trip, although a lot of driving — all by me — including today’s six-hour stint from Dundee back to West Yorkshire. Over the last two years this has become a familiar journey, and we know where to stop for tea, lunch, the toilet, etc: and also photo opportunities, as I can’t shoot whilst driving. Broughton, a little village nestling in the Scottish Borders, has become one of those spots. There’s a great little tea room just to the left of this shot. This house has a pleasing look to it but yes, the straight line on the left (coming off a telegraph pole I presume) does bother me.

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Mural by Red Chilli

Wednesday 21st June 2023, 12.40pm (day 4,318)

Red Chilli mural, 21/6/23

Another case of Someone Else’s Art feeding this blog. I assume this face does also belong to a real person; I wonder how models do actually feel about coming (literally) face-to-face with themselves now and again. I put her to the side of this shot because I also like the conjunction with the stuff in the restaurant window, and the pedestrian timed it well too. All seen on Grosvenor Street not far from my office on campus this lunchtime.

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The biscuit factory

Thursday 1st June 2023, 4.45pm (day 4,298)

Fox's Biscuit Factory, 1/6/23

While on one of my random perambulations around northern England, I found myself walking past this establishment, which is one of two factories in the country making Fox’s Biscuits. It’s in Wesham, between Preston and Blackpool. The best thing about this came a minute or so after I took this shot, when I turned a corner and was suddenly downwind of it. I had to stop walking for a while and just breathe in the delicious smell of it. How they live with that all the time in Wesham I have no idea, they must be hungry all the time, feeling like Charlie Bucket.

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Beach huts (under the A55)

Saturday 20th May 2023, 11.40am (day 4,286)

Beach huts in A55, Penmaenmawr, 20/5/23

Penmaenmawr, on the coast of North Wales, must have been a notable holiday resort in the past. Apparently the Victorian Prime Minister, Gladstone, liked it so much he came for a stay year after year. Hard to imagine him (or Rishi Sunak) doing that now, however. The A55 trunk road came ploughing through in the 1980s, ripping apart town and beach, and based on my visit there today, Penmaenmawr has yet to recover, and probably will never do so.

Still, credit for a little initiative — these beach huts are embedded right into the wall that supports the road above, which must therefore have been built that way. So you could argue that they tried. It didn’t work, though. As a result, most likely this will be Penmaenmawr’s only ever appearance on this blog, but at least it is a colourful and sunny one.

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Mural, Cowdenbeath

Saturday 6th May 2023, 2.00pm (day 4,272)

Cowdenbeath mural, 6/5/23

Cowdenbeath, a little town in Fife, offered various entertainments as an excuse to break today’s journey up to Dundee. One that was unanticipated before I got there was a series of really excellent, and huge, murals that decorate the town centre. This one is remarkably good. Look at the sense of focus, and hence realism, that the artist has achieved. Those trucks look absolutely solid. Would that I could get things in focus like that, sometimes.

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Sunglow, Eiffel Buildings

Thursday 27th April 2023, 8.50am (day 4,263)

Sunglow, Eiffel Buildings, 27/4/23

There was a bit of the sunglow thing going on in the sky this morning but this shot is more the result of me playing around with some filters which my new camera seems to have built-in. Some of them are ridiculous, to be honest. But this one produces a reasonable effect, even if it is me just messing with gimmicks as I get used to the thing.

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