At least I had finished my work for the day by this point. Sometimes you just have to like the photo you got, while simultaneously wanting to apologise to the innocent model. There is still wine in the world, at least.
Going on how dominant his team were today in the FA Cup Final, I guess he has a right to be happy — and this was only half time. The Villa fans and neutrals around him can raise little such enthusiasm.
We are all paying attention, honest. Not an exciting photo (with due respect to the people in it) but I should somehow depict the conference which actually got me to Paris. Last day here, a mixed break, to put it mildly, but life goes on. It’s certainly a fine city, undeniably a world centre.
Going a bit out on a limb with this shot because it’s out of focus, but I think it captures quite well the atmosphere of this totally unreconstructed bistro which we stumbled across at lunchtime. Food, wine, this is why I came to Paris… (well, OK, I came for a conference, but y’know).
So as you might have gathered from yesterday’s post (I said, don’t ask), we have been in Paris for a few days. France becomes the 22nd different country to feature on the blog. Not a new country or place for me, but it’s been a while (2003 was the last visit to France and around 2000, I forget exactly, to Paris). We were staying near Montmartre, a good place to amble around on a warm sunny day and enjoy the view over the city from the steps below the Sacre-Coeur, as these people (and several hundred others) are doing.
Clearing up after the Bank Holiday crowd. Saturday’s walk notwithstanding, it has not been the most eventful eight days, but there’ll be a burst of activity from tomorrow.
At the end of a week that I have mostly spent marking but which tired me out anyway. Where else to go but the pub?
Went to the cinema tonight to see a superb film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — if you’ve never seen it I highly recommend it. It was being shown as a charity fundraiser, which meant we were obliged to listen to the speeches beforehand, hence this picture. But I am being unfair — it was for a good cause. And did I say it was a very good movie?
Last game of the 2014-15 Championship season. Most Brighton fans will follow this with, “thank God”. It’s not been one of our better ones. But we have avoided relegation, anyway, and today marked this with our annual ‘Flying Squad’ gathering at the last game, which this year was in Middlesbrough. A good atmosphere, a reasonable game, but 0-0, sums up our season. The Flying Squad are so named because many of them come in from abroad, including Phil here, who lives in Canada.
A happy Christening day to Ellie (Eleanor Mary) who becomes the youngest person to appear on the blog twice (after this shot last January). Father Loyd last appeared on his wedding day, so you see, they’re doing it all in the order they’re supposed to.
