Spectacular urban decay. Oldham doesn’t look all that great at the best of times but on a dreich day in December it really comes into — or perhaps gets out of — its own. Bear in mind that not only is this clock wrong, but I suspect has been stopped for a couple of decades by now.
Wire Man — his official name, according to the ‘information sheet’ he dutifully carries — sits in one corner of the Albert pub in Hebden and has done so for some years now. He is quite an interesting creation, but he doesn’t do much. Visitors like him at first. Then they get annoyed that he is basically occupying two seats in a prime spot, particularly on busy weekends (and they’re all busy at present).
On the tourist trail today, and boy were there a lot of them, or should I say us. People everywhere, cramming the narrow streets of York, maybe they were enjoying themselves or maybe they were just participating, robot-like in the early stages of the now-mandated 7-week Thou Shalt Shop And Wear Silly Jumpers period: a reminder to some, there’s a whole month yet before Christmas Day. Anyway, this included walking past the Minster, as one does in York, and taking pictures of the people taking pictures — surely I appear on the shots captured by the woman in the red hat and the guy two places to her left.
The water is that of the Tame Valley Canal. Above, thunders the M6, doing its rounds just north of Birmingham. Whoever marked the crossing point of these two transport arteries with this piece of work was inspired. Someone else’s art, again, but worth sharing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Being 42 