Awwww. Snapped today during a working lunch in the Students’ Union in Manchester. As well as her super-cuteness I like the symmetry of the various hands and limbs of both mother and baby but also the asymmetry of the other face in the background. Iris (5 months) thus becomes the youngest person to feature on this blog.
Here is not the place for the fine detail, but the ‘significant’ news that hit on my first day in Tuscaloosa, mentioned below, was that the giant ‘pubco’ (pub ownership company) that owns the Railway has decided that it is unwilling to stump up the cost of a refurbishment following the damage caused by the floods on 22nd/23rd June and 9th July. They want to sell the pub, but no one is particularly convinced that they have an interest in keeping the pub in the hands of someone who will, well, keep it as a pub and not convert it into something else. The last few years in the UK have, to say the least, not been kind to the pub trade.
Well, we – the customers – want to keep it as a pub, so today we had a meeting there to discuss what we were going to do. It was a lovely sunny day and there was also a social aspect to it – no one wanted their last drink here to be that horrible 22nd June. But it shouldn’t have to be the last today, either. We’ll try not to make it the last.
More performance: but that’s because it’s Hebden Bridge’s annual arts festival at the moment. This is the Great Mandavi – a.k.a. Dave from across the road – captured just at the moment he warms his tongue up and his hat falls off. How do you decide you can do this kind of thing, by the way? I mean, what drives you to try it that first time?
It rained all day again and Hebden Bridge was one thunderstorm away from flooding once more, but the heavens relented at about 7pm, and we were spared. I don’t want to talk about the weather. The evening was a much better distraction. But I am supposed not to publish any photos of the burlesque performers so here’s the compere, Lady Wildflower, a much more pleasing shot than one of flooded fields and replacement bus services and rain and general weather-related gloom.
Even the keenest follower of this blog is unlikely to have lost a great deal of sleep over the fate of the mölkky (Finnish skittles) set last seen on Christmas Day. But here it is, providing an excuse to involve Joe, Clare and our neighbour Keith in some enjoyable physical activity out in the woods across the road, on another glorious evening. Better than just hanging round the pub anyway. (Which we did anyway, afterwards…. too nice to stay in.)
Every year I invite my students to come to Hebden Bridge for a day out in the countryside. The end of May usually does see good weather but – especially considering what it was like a week ago – this year we were spectacularly lucky.
I like this photo because although Myu is at the back of this line of people (and I cropped a couple more off the right end) she is also quite clearly its focus, with that happy smile. Incidentally she is also the striker for the University of Manchester women’s football 2nd team, who have just finished second in their league: so she’s probably better at football than you are, as well.
Yesterday was good, and today continued very fine: best weather since the end of March. Here we are sat out in front of the Railway; yes, it’s by a main road, but it’s a great little suntrap. This is Jack: you will recognise him better with the hat and glasses on than without them. There’s me, too, if you look carefully.
Despite how it probably appears from this blog, I do spend the usual proportion of my life at work. But it appears relatively rarely on here simply because it’s not usually appropriate to whip the camera out and start taking photos of colleagues, students, whomever I should run into in the course of working life. Here’s an exception. And well done to my student Ainna (not pictured) who passed her part of this event unconditionally.
Friday evening, end of the week; doesn’t matter how busy I am, I don’t work Friday nights or at all on Saturdays.
Friday evening is George’s [Georgina’s] night on the bar in the Railway. Cheers, George. Mine’s a pint of Black Sheep.
Bye bye to Rebe, who – via a roundabout route – is now off to live in Belgium for a year while her husband does post-doc work there. One of my recently-graduated students (see Dec 14th), and a very good advert for her native Costa Rica.
Being 42 