Saturday 4th August 2012, 3.30pm (day 345)
The Blue Pig sits in the woods and opens at random and unpredictable times. It’s a kind of Harry Potterish pub. I quite like this shot because of the double reflection of the guy in the picture frames.
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Category Archives: Interior
Pop-up Shop
Wednesday 1st August 2012, 12.30pm (day 342)
A few of these have emerged around Hebden Bridge in the last couple of weeks. Businesses that occupied premises that were damaged in the flood have been invited to set up shop (literally) where they can. They’re calling them ‘Pop-up Shops’ round town., The main road, Market Street, is still a dead zone – about 3 out of 20 shops open – but one of them, Valley Organics, has a temporary home in the Hope Baptist Chapel, pictured here. It doesn’t have electricity at the moment, as the chapel’s cellar was also flooded on both 22/23rd June and 9th July, but it’s a start. I’ll tell you one thing – a disaster like this sure helps you see who your friends are (yes, we’re looking at you, Punch Taverns).
Hey, it’s August. My birthday’s in August. That means I’m coming to the end of the first year of this blog.
Atlanta airport mural
Friday 20th July 2012, 6.40pm [Eastern time] (day 330)
On my way home. Quite liked this mural, which came in two parts, the full classical quote being ‘Let each man pass his days in that endeavor wherein his gift is greatest’, which if we can excuse the sexism and include women too, is a worthy message. What I liked about it was that it is all made up of thousands of business cards. A neat idea.
Working in Phil’s pub
Wednesday 18th July 2012, 2.35pm (day 328)
Free wi-fi. You gotta love it. A proper working lunch.
Had planned to get a photo of a fraternity house today, this being ‘Idiosyncracy part 2’ (see yesterday) but Tuscaloosa was having a dull and rainy day and the pictures I got were not very interesting. So I stopped myself from feeling constrained by my own plans and got this different side to campus life here at the University of Alabama. Phil is not a person, incidentally – apparently it is short for ‘Philibuster’s’.
Airport security, MAN T2
Tuesday 10th July 2012, 8.10am (day 320)
Well, I made it out of Hebden Bridge – in fact the train this morning was perfectly punctual. No water left in the town but a lot of debris around.
18 hours and a few thousand miles later, I type this sat in New Orleans, but the photo is of Manchester Airport; I boobed and did not get a window seat for the second flight in from Atlanta, thus missing some great shots of the Mississippi delta, Lake Ponchartrain and the city of NO itself, glimpsed as I craned my neck round my fellow passengers from my position on the aisle. And I’m not heading out into the city tonight – it’s too late (in my head) and I’m here until Sunday anyway, so you’ll see it, never fear. I do quite like this shot however.
The Railway, in exile
Friday 29th June 2012, 5.45pm (day 309)
While I have been away in Russia, the clean-up has continued back home, and the end cost starts to be more apparent. My local, the Railway – where I have probably drunk twice a week, maybe more on average, for 10 years, is closed for two to three months. Several other businesses may not reopen at all, the cost of the cleanup not being worth the trouble. A furniture retailer in Mytholmroyd lost half a million pounds of stock in a single night. And probably the insurers will bicker about something.
Anyway, those of us who frequent the Railway have, for a while, had to find somewhere else to spend our Friday evenings. Today it was Marshall’s bar: themselves unable to serve anything on draught, cans and bottles only. It felt slightly wrong, but not too bad. I wish it hadn’t had to happen, however.
Arrivals hall, Domodedovo airport
Sunday 24th June 2012, 8.10pm (day 304)
Well, here we are, off again. To a country that may have massive political and social problems, but has at least heard of the notion that in June, it’s supposed to be summer.
Fire buckets, Keighley station
Sunday 17th June 2012, 2.50pm (day 297)
We were on Keighley station a couple of weekends ago, but hey, here we are again. We had a free ticket and it was something to do. I choose this picture today partly because of the colour and shapes, but mainly because the sign above makes it look like these are the rudimentary toilet facilities. I mean, I know this heritage railway is preserving how things were a hundred years ago or whatever, but this seems to be taking it a bit far.
Making pickle
Saturday 16th June 2012, 11.40am (day 296)
Nutclough Pickle. Ingredients: 1 cauliflower, 1 cucumber, a few small onions, 2 pints of vinegar, mustard powder, turmeric, 2 cloves garlic, some salt, 300g sugar, nutmeg, allspice and a few tablespoons of flour. Cook up together and bung in a jar for a few weeks, then give to relatives and keep some for yourself.
Kilden performing arts centre, Kristiansand
Tuesday 5th June 2012, 5.40pm (day 285)
Norway is a sensibly governed country, compared to others I could mention: the best example of this being that the Norwegian state retains a 51% share in the main oil company and in each of the national banks. The result: it’s very wealthy. (Citizens of countries whose governments have, instead, chosen to squander all the revenue from North Sea oil over the last 40 years might like to take note.) Which is why it can afford to build vast and impressive new performing arts centres like the Kilden, in small provincial towns like Kristiansand.
This picture was taken during the conference reception. There are other people all around, but somehow, on this trip, it didn’t really seem to be about the people. At least, not photographically.
Being 42 