This weekend, Hebden Bridge marks six months since the floods of 26th December. There are various festivals and events taking place over today and tomorrow (Sunday). In Calder Holmes Park today was a ‘Fair for Youth’ which seemed to involve a lot of people sitting on the grass watching a stage on which not much was happening; but this climbing tower seemed popular.
Hard to know what to say about this one. On the one hand, it was an incredible experience to be present today at Middlesbrough v. Brighton and Hove Albion, touted as one of the richest single games of football ever played, and certainly the richest ever played by my lot — £170m was the quoted purse, the prize for the victor being promotion to the Premier League and next season’s big fat TV money payout. If it finished a draw, Middlesbrough would be the ones going up. The atmosphere today was intense, until the very last seconds there was all to play for, and it was amazing that I and Joe were both there.
On the other hand, we lost. Actually we didn’t lose (the result was 1-1) — but of course, in the way that matters, we did.
One reason for going down south was to attend a game at Brighton & Hove’s other football team, Whitehawk FC. Why? Why not? They have an active set of Ultras, anti-racist, anti-sexist, a no bad language policy (exemplified by the chant, “the referee’s a… referee”) and the atmosphere put many much bigger clubs to shame. Right result too — Whitehawk 3, Wealdstone 0. Perhaps I have just found my second team.
The photographers gather just after half time at the end being attacked by Brighton & Hove Albion FC in tonight’s game versus Birmingham City: and they made the right choice, as barely a couple of minutes after I took this picture the Albion scored to go 2-1 up, and that’s how it stayed. St. Andrew’s becomes a new ground for me, pretty decent one too I thought, right result…
Thought I’d better do a photo of Glasgow today even though I saw nothing of it except the hotel, the room where we did the viva examination, and a restaurant for lunch. Still, the view from the second of these, being up on the 11th floor of a building at the University of Strathclyde, was a damn fine one and included this monumental structure (in both senses of the word). Celtic Park (aka Parkhead), home of Celtic FC, one of the best-supported football clubs in the world, towers above its surroundings and seems colossal even from two miles away. The ‘mist’ is, rather, steam from chimneys between it and where I stood.
Of all the genres of photography that I get the chance to try on this blog I think sports photography is the hardest. In part this is because I a) just don’t have the right equipment and b) when I am watching an event, at least one like this football match, I’m usually stuck in the same seat. This shot is OK, thanks mainly to the light, but it’s still not that great really because it has been cropped hugely, so has come out grainy. Brighton & Hove Albion hit this free kick towards the goal of their hosts, Preston North End, but nothing came of it — which was the story of the match as a whole, it finished 0-0.
He got up again…. Pictured during today’s Brighton half-marathon. I don’t do these kinds of things any more, though the wife does, which is why this event also made it onto the blog last year.
David Stockdale, Brighton & Hove Albion’s goalkeeper, ponders today why he has a job that requires him to work outside on a day like this. But then again he’s quite handsomely paid for it. And, at least at one level, earned his money today, keeping a clean sheet as the Albion won 1-0 in the Blackburn snow. Snow has definitely been a key theme of this weekend.
Joe and I made one of our occasional trips to the Shay today to see Halifax v. Woking. Had never previously seen Halifax lose a match in 12 games spread over the last 18 years or so, but today they lived up to their league position and were comprehensively stuffed 3-0. Hence, the title of this post is somewhat ironic. Perhaps they would have done better had the furry bloke at the back been on from the start.
Cripes. Can it get any more English? Midsummer’s Day, the weather wasn’t great, but then again it wasn’t terrible either (certainly better than three years ago today, and its aftermath); in all, a good day was had. I have no idea how this match turned out by the way — I was just passing.
Being 42 