Full-on day of work today, both in Manchester during the first part of the day and in Hebden Bridge on into the evening. Very few chances to snatch photos of anything, and they were all snatched in transit from one meeting to the next. These guys were taking life rather easier than me today, but I still like the juxtaposition of their gathering with the sign in the windows of the Town Hall behind them.
Clare’s alter ego – whose identity, of course, I could not possibly reveal – was doing a burlesque show in Chester tonight, and I got to go along for a change. Here is another of the lovely performers (5 female, 1 male). I like taking pictures of people candidly – it helps you see what they really look like. I get the impression Ginger looks rather like this most of the time, in fact. (Even if her right leg does appear to be stood in a big glass. Perhaps I should have cropped that, but what the hell.)
We transited down to Kristiansand today, in the southernmost part of Norway (though still as far north as Aberdeen in Scotland). Wouldn’t have chosen to come here normally, but was invited to give a keynote speech at a conference. It’s not as dramatic as the western fjords but it’s pleasant enough, and the sun was shining. This picture makes it look like it’s got wide, sweeping sands, but actually it’s a pretty scrubby bit of beach, probably artificial. Nevertheless, the kid’s having fun, and it was quite a sunny and pleasant evening.
“Ere, mate. Dontcha think it’s ironic, like, that the day we put up this ‘summer house’ in the city centre, it’s the first rainy day in a fortnight?”
“Yeh, it’s all part of the comedy of life innit. Or maybe because it’s a Bank Holiday weekend. Anyway, sod that. I want to know why Jack ever thought that those shorts were a good idea.”
I’m off to Norway tomorrow – most likely there won’t be posts on here for a few days but you’ll get a big lump of them all at once when I get back. Including one of a fjord. If it kills me, there’ll be one of a fjord this time.
Worked today at Rose Bruford college, a partner of the University of Manchester, located in Sidcup, near London – the epitome of suburbia. No hardship to be down there today, however: a glorious, sunny late spring day.
I should also point out that about 10 seconds after I had taken this picture, another student came and tipped a bottle of water over this girl’s back. Sweet.
This is officially Clare’s favourite movie and when the cinema ran a poll a while back to vote for which films the community would like to be shown at our excellent local movie house, she engaged in some serious lobbying on its behalf. Whether it made the final difference, who knows, but sure enough, we had the chance tonight to see Brief Encounter as all films are meant to be seen – at the cinema. So me, her, and what seemed like the entire middle-aged female population of Hebden Bridge were there tonight.
Where, a month ago, the Wheel of Manchester still stood, there was today this gymnastic display by a group of energetic ten year-olds. This’ll all be some Olympic games run-up thing. I snapped this one as I went past on my way to the station: luck more than judgment, I can assure you.
I’m in the middle of what is, for me, quite a long run of days without going anywhere in particular. So I have to find photographic succour in Hebden Bridge and Manchester, familiar territory but there’s plenty to see if you look around.
Don’t ask me why it’s being dismantled. It disappeared for a short time a couple of years ago, then turned up back again. Probably there’s a plan to put some big screen TVs up for all the sporting media jubilee overhyped rip-off events going on this summer (sorry, sorry). I bet these guys don’t even know. They just work here. The guy on the left looks utterly bored at spending his working day thirty feet up a ladder spinning a huge wheel around with his hands (well, that’s what they were doing).
This is obviously the place to sit in the evening at the present time – the light is hitting just right for portrait work (see the photo of Mick presented as an alternative option a couple of days ago). I don’t know this couple, but they look real good on this pic. I did show them it after it was taken, and she loved it, he hated that he had been snapped. What that says about them I don’t know. I did tell them I wouldn’t put it on Facebook. Which was a half-truth.
Being 42 