Seen on my walk back to Cardiff station for my train home. This was one of those where, had I not already had my camera out and ready, I would never have got it. For once, a litter bin is not a detriment, but an active constituent of the shot. It’s a shame the crossing isn’t showing a green walking man though, but we can’t have everything.
We have become fairly regular attendees at the Picture House’s monthly Film Quiz, an activity which is as good a way of spending early evening on a Sunday that I can think of, and seemed appropriate for Oscar Night, so this evening was themed around the Academy Awards. The creator of this monthly geek-fest is Michael, seen here from our usual seat in row C, with what are, these days, the indispensable tools of the trade.
This one is the result of me sitting on a train (somewhere in the vicinity of Bolton) and feeling experimental. I did my best to capture the reflection of this man in the hat in the train’s window, really just to see how it turned out. And, well, it’s OK. It’s the shot I intended to take, anyway, and that’s always the source of at least a little satisfaction.
Most of my previous cameras have died more-or-less instaneously, but the present one is going more for the long, slow death. It stops working — the zoom lens, always that — but if I leave it overnight it seems able to drag itself into some kind of action again the next day, at least so far. (A bit like its owner, at the moment.) It was just after lunch today when I checked its status and it did, indeed, revive once more. At this point in time Clare was standing as you see her and so this is a technical test as much as anything else. But, still, the best photo taken today. C hasn’t been seen on the blog since Halloween, so it’s about time she returned.
I was about to post a picture of the year’s first cherry blossom in Sackville Gardens, flowering above the seated statue of Alan Turing, but then I realised I had done exactly the same in both the preceding Februaries (the evidence is available at this tag). I would still like to avoid such repetition if I can — for my own self-satisfaction if nothing else — but I spent all day in the office and didn’t really capture much else. Bloke on Train with Someone Else’s Half-Completed Crossword is my best alternative. But I guess it at least records a trip to the big city. With a comfortably late start (thanks to teaching until 6pm again).
It may seem surprising that these seats were not filled for a Merseyside derby, but this was Liverpool v Everton in the Women’s FA Cup, and also not being played in the city of Liverpool but in the stadium of St Helens rugby league team. There was a reasonable crowd packed into one side of the ground but the other three stands were mostly left empty. Someone’s still got to be ready to retrieve the balls, though. Or maybe this guy’s simply taking a break and hoping no one’s noticed.
This shot could be in sharper focus, but never mind, I like its repetitive character.
Hello, friend. The bloody thing is that today was another wake. Too many, too fast.
I do not know exactly how many people have appeared on this blog and subsequently died, for I cannot account for all the strangers who have been in shots. As of today, though, there are certainly at least six such people among friends and family. Steve Cooper — always known in the pub as ‘Little Steve’ (not that the other Steve is particularly large) had appeared three times, most recently on 28th March 2025. He passed away on 6th January aged 63, today was his funeral and then wake at the Railway, where it had to be. Other members of the crew are pictured looking happy, which is the main reason I pick the shot — as the booklet on the table announces, it was meant to be a celebratin, not sorrowful. But Steve will be missed, as will all friends when they are no longer with us.
I was wondering whether to go with a picture that is a little less dark, dismal, drizzly and not a little bit depressing. On the other hand this seems to sum up the evening perfectly. I’ve seen some tedious football matches in my time but Halifax 1, Morecambe 0 on 21/1/26 now ranks down there with the worst.
On the basis that no fewer than 23 people (because you do need a referee) can be gathered in each area of space that comprises a Saturday afternoon football match, then there must have been at least a quarter of a million people in the UK doing what this guy was doing at the same point in time, 3.20pm. That’s just the people on the pitches, too. At least 30 other people, including substitutes, coaches and slighly weird people (like me) were also persuaded that watching Sheffield Union v Thornbridge Villa in the 12th tier of English football was the best way they had of spending Saturday afternoon. So add another million or two for all of them…. it can’t be completely wasted collective effort, can it? At this level it’s certainly not about making any money.
Being 42 