Saturday 16th November 2024, 8.50pm (day 4,832)
How Goat are good? Sorry…. How God are Goat? Surely the best band ever to hail from Sweden. OK… maybe the second, but only in more general popular opinion.
Goat (pagan rock perfection)
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Category Archives: Friend
Karaoke setup
Sunday 3rd November 2024, 5.00pm (day 4,819)
A typical Sunday afternoon scene in the Railway, Hebden Bridge. The crow is a bit of added Halloween ambience, but otherwise, we could be on any weekend in the year…. and this guy is here, every weekend.
Owter Zeds: 40th anniversary gig
Saturday 5th October 2024, 10.15pm (day 4,790)
Calling a band an ‘institution’ is something of a double-edged compliment, as it suggests they have been around a while — and the local Hebden Bridge institution that is (or are) the Owter Zeds were, indeed, celebrating their 40th anniversary at the Trades Club tonight, a gig I came all the way back from London to attend. And plenty of fun it was; if you like a bit of ska, you could do worse. The sax player gets on the blog for the second time, the first being over 10 years ago, when they were mere striplings of just 30 years’ experience.
Tony, in his spot
Friday 27th September 2024, 6.30pm (day 4,782)
Those of us who drink in particular pubs regularly may or may not have A Spot. I wouldn’t say I do, even in the Railway. I have been found in most of its corners, at one time or another. But Tony is someone who has A Spot, and here he is, in it. If he sat somewhere else we might not recognise him.
This year’s newbies
Thursday 26th September 2024, 12.40pm (day 4,781)
For the first time since 13th December last year — I give a lecture in Manchester. Most of the recipients look happy enough at this point (perhaps because I wasn’t talking).
Doug does Latics
Tuesday 10th September 2024, 6.55pm (day 4,765)
An excuse to see friend Doug, and have him make his sixth appearance on the blog, provided by the fact that Oldham Athletic (known as the Latics) were playing in Halifax, and D. can be minded to raise it for the Latics now and again. The Three Pigeons lies between railway station and ground and is rather obligatory on such occasions (see also here, for instance, which I’m pretty sure is exactly the same table). I like this one thanks to the brightness of the guy behind, who interrupts the dark line of people quite agreeably. It finished 1-1, by the way.
The world in Steve’s eyes
Wednesday 28th August 2024, 5.25pm (day 4,752)
As good a reflection of an afternoon in the Railway as any other shot I can think of. Happy Wednesdays. I should have been somewhere else, but that’s a different story.
A mask of smoke
Friday 16th August 2024, 6.35pm (day 4,740)
I used to smoke tobacco, but quit in 2008 (it remains the only one of my addictions which I can claim to have truly quit). Still, I couldn’t care less whether others still want to use the stuff, and it does sometimes look good. This is, of course, an optical illusion, but an effective one.
The online conference experience
Tuesday 13th August 2024, 6.55pm (day 4,737)
If you ask me, ‘hybrid’ meetings and conferences are a disaster, certainly if you’re one of the online participants. But online-only gigs work well enough, particularly when most of the others in the ‘room’ are located in Canada. So let’s proclaim from the upstairs office, instead: from where we get to look at the little details of other people’s offices.
Doris disdains the cigarette
Monday 29th July 2024, 7.00pm (day 4,722)
Well, that’s what it looks like. In truth we were all, Doris the dog included, enjoying the sunshine; there’s not been that much of it to be seen in northern England this year so far but summer does appear to have broken out over the last few days, at least.
Being 42 