Category Archives: Friend

Dec 24 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Interior, Portrait

Railway, reopened

Saturday 24th December 2016, 4.35pm (day 1,948)

Railway reopened, 24/12/16

We approach the anniversary of last year’s floods on December 26th, which took out most of Hebden Bridge’s town centre. Prior to that, this place, the Railway pub, had probably featured at least once a month for the four and a half years I’d been doing it, so say about 50 times…. But none since 22/12/15. I think this has been the last of all the businesses in the town to reopen after that day, but here you are…. One year to the day since last we drank there. Welcome back.

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Dec 06 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Sean, on my new phone

Tuesday 6th December 2016, 3.40pm (day 1,930)

Sean on camera, 6/12/16

There is a short version and a long version of how this picture ended up the way it did. The short version is, I was being creative, and the long version is too boring to worry about. Anyway here is our lunchtime seminar speaker, Sean, pictured on my new smartphone, in turn pictured on my usual camera. I like the collage effect of how this one has turned out.

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Oct 20 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Engaged…

Thursday 20th October 2016, 12.15pm (day 1,883)

DMIL class, 20/10/16

It’s nice to see I can still have a reasonably engaging effect on my students…. (with help today, I admit)…

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Oct 13 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Dina and Ellie present at ECIL2016

Wednesday 12th October 2016, 1.05pm (day 1,875)

Dina and Ellie, 12/10/16

Dina is from Greece but works in Scotland. Ellie is from Iran and works in Australia (she helped look after me when I went to Brisbane back in 2013). Both are here presenting in the Czech Republic at the  same conference session as me (from the UK) and other delegates from Croatia and Belgium, helping, in our small ways, to advance knowledge worldwide.

This is why Brexit and the isolationist, racist mentality it provokes is so utterly stupid. I don’t just mean that as a random insult. I mean vicious, ridiculous stupidity of the most damaging kind.

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Sep 21 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Welcome meeting

Wednesday 21st September 2016, 10.55am (day 1,854)

Welcome event, 21/9/16

Every year at this time the campus goes from being peaceful and quiet to a heaving mass of people. Still, if it wasn’t for them none of us would be doing what we’re doing. Sam Harris of the International Society at Manchester says hi to the gathered new postgraduates in Education: who collectively I am now responsible for…. (there are a couple of hundred more in the room than pictured here). Let’s hope they all fulfill their potential over the next 11 months or so.

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Sep 17 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Bobby Gillespie (Rock God)

Saturday 17th September 2016, 7.30pm (day 1,850)

Bobby Gillespie, 17/9/16

It was in 1990 that I first heard the band Primal Scream, when my then-flatmate Dave played me their eponymous second album. In the two and a half decades since they have released some complete shite, it has to be said, but also many moments of brilliance (like the whole album XTRMNTR for a start). And in those 26 years despite never giving up on them and them refusing to turn into their own tribute band (like so many of their peers) I have never seen them live.

Until today 🙂

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Aug 26 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

John B and Carol

Friday 26th August 2016, 5.15pm (day 1,828)

John B and Carol, 26/8/16

So let me start this blog’s 6th year, and mark my 47th birthday, by putting up a photo of someone else… After so long doing this, people are going to start reappearing after a gap of some years and this is true of John B, who first graced these pages back in November 2011. Carol can join the cast for the first time.

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Jul 03 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Ellie and Maggie

Sunday 3rd July 2016, 3.00pm (day 1,774)

Ellie and Maggie, 3/7/16

Back in January 2015 Ellie (left, at that time aged 8 months) and Maggie (right) appeared on the blog in consecutive days; here they are together. Hard to credit that in the intervening 18 months Ellie has grown from a baby into a little girl with an entire functioning vocabulary. Time passes, we all change…

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May 17 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Mr. James Brown (no, not that one)

Tuesday 17th May 2016, 3.15pm (day 1,727)

James Brown, 17/5/16

We worked out today that come September it will be twenty years since I met James, we shared a flat in my final year at Leeds University, subsequently he was best man at my wedding (coming up for 17 years ago). We haven’t seen each other much lately as he has lived in Taiwan for more than a decade now, but he passed through Manchester today, as did I briefly. Last time I saw him was 2011 not long before I started doing this blog so today was his first chance to appear on it. I know he normally looks happier than this but that’s what overnight flights from Asia do to the complexion, I guess. Good to see you mate, sorry it wasn’t for longer.

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Apr 23 2016
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

The Railway diaspora

Saturday 23rd April 2016, 3.35pm (day 1,703)

Railway diaspora, 23/4/16

Since the Boxing Day floods took out 95% of the town centre four months ago, five of Hebden Bridge’s pubs have reopened: the White Lion (which never shut), the Old Gate, the Crown, the Trades Club and the Fox and Goose. However, this leaves seven that remain closed: the White Swan, the Shoulder of Mutton, Nelson’s, the Sports & Social, Stubbing Wharf, the Albert and the one that I and many friends feel most keenly, the Railway. Martin and Shelley, pictured here, are members of the Railway diaspora, drinkers in exile (in this case in the Old Gate). Perhaps we will all return home some time soon but to be honest at the moment there is little sign of it.

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