“Brothers and sisters! Here we stand against the tyranny of our human masters. They hang us up on walls and expect us to be on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to guard against their own negligence. I say enough! We demand Sundays off at least!”
“And warmer foam. It’s cold enough here as it is.”
How nice it is that I have a job that frequently permits me the chance to get out of cold, damp, dark Britain in the depths of January. Many people would here make a point of going somewhere warm and sunny, like Australia, or the Mediterranean. I am a contrary bugger though, so I’ve come to Moscow.
I do like this picture, or I wouldn’t have chosen it — I always like the juxtaposition of so many random people in airports, and wonder where the yogi is off to (beyond just the answer ‘Amsterdam’, which is where the 05:55 KLM flight goes to, always the first flight to leave Manchester on any given day). The aquatic mural behind them is an added bonus.
But the main reason I chose it today is that finally, after five years and four and a half months of doing this blog, it means I’ve plugged the last gap in the hour-by-hour coverage of the day: this is the first photo to get in between 5:00 – 5:59 am. A bloody early morning in other words, I was up at 3am. Where was I heading? Well, if you don’t already know, you can find out tomorrow.
I’ve given up trying to get any truly decent action shots at football matches, I can never do it. With this one I was trying for symmetry and to capture that mother-of-pearl sky. Decent day out today — except for the result. Well, I guess our unbeaten run had to come to an end at some point.
Sometimes the light is right as I am walking to the office in the morning. Sometimes, like today, it’s better in the evening. So it goes. Why a ‘ghost’ bus? Well, there are no passengers on it; and the route indicator says something weird, like ‘Logistics’ which definitely isn’t a district of Manchester.
The second door in two days. This one not as helpful as it first appears. The irony is obvious if you read the sign. Dedicated to my friend Doug, who collects this kind of thing.
There was never going to be a great deal of excitement about today’s picture, I can assure you. Still, I get out and about more as of tomorrow. In the mean time let’s enjoy some nice afternoon light while we can — tomorrow’s weather forecast looks pretty cruddy.
“Pssst. Do you think the humans know that we have seen through their devious ruse?”
“I don’t know. If we keep looking nervous, perhaps neither they nor the evil ducks will notice how we’ve reoccupied this strategic vantage point.”
“Why the frig anyone thought a plastic owl would scare us during the daytime, I’ve no…”
“Ssssh!”
Due to the 24-hour industrial action on the Tube, the bus stops on Euston Road this morning were like scenes from Dante’s Inferno. The bus advert just adds tragicomedy.
We love them for those three weeks in December — but then we cast them out for the woodchipper. ‘A tree is for life, not just for Christmas….’? (I’m not being entirely serious you know.)
This shot is taken in London, as I had to come down to get a Russian visa for my imminent next trip to Moscow. This is the 52nd shot on the blog to be taken here, which means it finally overtakes Brisbane as the fourth-most depicted place after Hebden Bridge, Manchester and the Lake District.
