Category Archives: Portrait

Dec 13 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait

Class of 24/25 (and teacher)

Thursday 12th December 2024, 1.30pm (day 4,858)

Class of 24/25, 12/12/24

In the last of my taught classes last year, it took about three-quarters of an hour (or felt like it did) for all the students to get their shots with teacher that then go onto social media, somewhere. (And, see also 2022’s version of same.). As I am, essentially, a grumpy man, I insisted that this year I would do it on everyone’s behalf. Apologies to those whom I have eclipsed.

There have been very few shots of my 4,858 so far which have been taken using the self-timer, but there have been some: any of the astronomical efforts (e.g. this shot of Jupiter and its moons, of which I’m still quite proud) will have used it. But I’m sure this is the first where I’ve used the timer to take a photo of myself, with or without others, and used it as the daily picture. So there you are, this is what I look like when I’m not taking a photo.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 11 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger, Transport

How we feel about the trains

Wednesday 11th December 2024, 2.40pm (day 4,857)

Train delay, 11/12/24

Christ Almighty you have no idea about the shite that is the local train service. Don’t think that the one you see here is pictired trundling happily onto the platform — instead it is hanging there, just for arbitrary reasons. Not only that, but it’s the first train out of Hebden into Manchester for some hours. The giuy’s face says it all. In the end I didn’t even bother.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 08 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait

Sister and brother-in-law

Sunday 8th December 2024, 2.25pm (day 4,854)

Vicki and Pete, 8/12/24

A visit from Vicki and Pete, and as I get inexorably older, days like this are increasingly welcome. I think the relatives are happy about it too, despite how Pete may look on this shot.

Tagged , , , , , ,
Dec 03 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Learning with a Psalm

Monday 2nd December 2024, 2.45pm (day 4,848)

Psalm lecture, 2/12/24

My Monday afternoons as a student continue, though the next one isn’t going to be until February. It crossed my mind today that we are being taught in much the same way as we would have been a thousand years ago, had we been doing much the same in an abbey somewhere. Look at examples of other people’s writing, be told about some idiosyncracies and abbreviations, and then do our best to reproduce it all. We don’t get handed a quill pen and some parchment, which is a shame, but then again these were valuable items in medieval times and perhaps not to be wasted on students just starting out. It does work if one merely wants to learn to write, or rather to copy: but although I admit my Latin is getting a bit better, there is no interpretation here. What does any of this text actually mean, not just in translation, but really mean for anyone’s life? Beats me. But for that, I guess we would have taken different classes.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 30 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Portrait, Stranger

Friday market (not ‘Black’)

Friday 29th November 2024, 4.10pm (day 4,845)

Friday market, 29/11/24

Another day spent almost entirely in my office at home, working, and not emerging until after the sunlight was mostly gone. The Friday market in town was still open at this point, though only just, and I’m sure this guy is considering packing up his clocks and jewellry and calling it a day.

I go monochrome here simply because it feels right for the shot and it stops the bright green stripes at the top dominating it. It is not a ‘Black Friday’ reference. I hate that bollocks, in fact: especially because, as various recent conversations about this marketing wheeze have proven, virtually no one in the UK — consumers, retailers, the media, anyone — actually understands the derivation of the term. Be honest — do you know where it comes from? (American readers don’t get to answer this.)

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 28 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

The Chief Minister introduces our gig

Wednesday 27th November 2024, 9.10am (day 4,843)

St Helena Conference, 27/11/24

Not only did I not leave the house today but I barely left this room. From 9am – 4pm at least my study, and (more specifically) the laptop within it, was the nerve centre of an international network of researchers, contributions from (at least) the UK, USA, South Africa, France, the Netherlands and — most importantly and relevantly — St Helena. Here, the Chief Minister of the latter territory, Julie Thomas, makes her introductions to the day. I have spent quite a bit of time and effort on getting this 2-day event organised and I am very satisfied that it all worked out. As far as we can ascertain this is/was the first online conference specifically devoted to the little island on which I have recently spent plenty of time.

I have met Julie by the way. If all Chief or Prime Ministers or Presidents were like her the world would probably be a better place.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 23 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Stan the stickerer

Friday 22nd November 2024, 5.45pm (day 4,838)

Stan the Stickerer, 22/11/24

You might not be able to tell this from the photos posted but, work-wise, it’s been a very busy week. Time to let off some steam on the Friday evening. Of course, because we are all middle-aged these days, these high jinks amounted to little more than Stan surreptitiously stickering the back of Mark’s hat, but that is about our level these days.

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Nov 17 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Goat (pagan rock perfection)

Saturday 16th November 2024, 8.50pm (day 4,832)

Goat, 16/11/24

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.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 13 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

Retouching the bees

Tuesday 12th November 2024, 9.15am (day 4,828)

Retouching bollards, 12/11/24

This scene has been seen a few times in Manchester city centre recently. All the bollards you see here are decorated with little golden bees, the bee having been adopted (I think fairly recently) as the symbol of the city. And it’s some bloke’s responsibility to go round and repaint them now and again. Actually I think they’re doing a pretty good job, but it must be hard on the knees.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 10 2024
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait

Parents

Saturday 9th November 2024, 3.05pm (day 4,825)

80th birthday party, 9/11/24

My Mum was 80 last month — my Dad is 80 next month. We split the difference and held a joint 80th birthday party today (hence the banner across the door), at my sister’s place. Mum and Dad do seem to still like each other after over 58 years of marriage, which, of course, is how it should be. Happy birthdays to them.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →