Category Archives: Urban scene

Outside the stadium (with the Burj Khalifa)

Saturday 22nd February 2025, 7.25pm (day 4,930)

Emiratis and Burj Khalifa, 22/2/25

Getting out of the general area of the hotel was desirable so I did what I usually do under these circumstances and went to a football match; this is taken outside the Zabeel Stadium. There were far more Emiratis there than are typically seen around the city, at least in the bits that I have been (only just over 10% of Dubai’s population are Emirati).

And this also offered an opportunity to add to the blog’s list of ‘Superlatives’ (see the bottom of the stats page) — the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 2,722 feet/829.8 m, or over half a mile. It really is ridiculously tall. One day I might try to go up it but there’s no time on this trip and apparently the queues are outrageous anyway. I imagine going to the football is a better way of plugging into local culture.

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Gray day in Manchester

Tuesday 11th February, 9:25am (day 4,919)

Gray day, Manchester

From the colour of one specific bit of Manchester yesterday, to this scene of utter grayness. Or is it greyness with an E? I’ve never been sure. Gra/ey it was today though, for sure. Such a gloomy day .

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Chinatown

Tuesday 4th February 2025, 8:55am (day 4,912)

Chinatown lanters, 4/2/25

One of those seasonal themes, coming a little late this year — Chinese New Year celebrations have yet to make it to St Helena. Manchester always sprouts a healthy crop, though.

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First light

Monday 3rd February 2025, 7.45am (day 4,911)

Walthamstow view, 3/2/25

The last night of the trip was spent on the 12th floor of the Walthamstow Travelodge, from which this was the view on opening the curtains in the morning, the first rays of light just catching some of the buildings and, in the background, the smoke or steam rising from the industrial area over there.

This afternoon, four weeks and five hours after leaving, I arrived back home. Time to rest for a little while…. well, a couple of weeks anyway.

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Sunday morning on the marshes

Sunday 2nd February 2025, 10.20am (day 4,910)

Hackney marshes, 2/2/25

I went to two football matches today. In the evening, one at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, a vast construction of steel and glass and with all these escalators that make it look like an airport. In the morning, here — Hackney Marshes, with none of those things. I have to say, I preferred the morning.

This trip started in London on 6th January and ends here too. But it’s time to go home.

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Early, Leicester Square

Friday 31st January 2025, 7.20am (day 4,908)

Leicester Square, 31/1/25

Landed at 5am at Heathrow. Just over two hours later I was here, looking for a cup of tea, which was surprisingly difficult to find in Leicester Square at this early time in the day. But one could still enter the casino, which two guys in the middle distance are seriously considering. And so ends the monstrously long month that has been January 2025: did it really only have 31 days this year? I don’t believe it.

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Futility

Sunday 5th January 2025, 9.45am (day 4,882)

Snowbound station, 5/1/25

You thought you were leaving Hebden Bridge today? Naaah. Ain’t gonna happen, not at 9.45am, not at any other point either (though there were unsubstantiated rumours that the 13:48 may have run, probably to get some people home — that was it, though). Just as well I gave myself three days to get to Heathrow, huh. Let’s try again tomorrow.

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Friday market, dead

Friday 3rd January 2025, 3.35pm (day 4,880)

Dead market, 3/1/25

This was never going to be the busiest or most retail-friendly Friday market day of the year, but even so, it was particularly absent of life today. Anyone who wants to pick up a yellow and blue plastic crane, though — here it is. Or was.

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The Moon and Venus

Thursday 2nd January 2025, 4.45pm (day 4,879)

Moon and Venus, 2/1/25

Clear skies are not always a feature of the time of year, so let’s take the chance to photograph this impending conjunction tonight, although surely the Moon is going to move even closer (apparently, anyway) to Venus before the weekend. A fleeting contrail decides to butt its oar in, too.

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In the Sheffield fog

Thursday 26th December 2024, 1.30pm (day 4,872)

Wheel and fog, 26/12/24

Until about 2.30pm on Christmas Day I had not anticipated spending December 26th in Sheffield, but at that point an acquaintance told me of a spare ticket for a coach trip to go there and see the football (Sheffield United 0-2 Burnley, in case you were interested), and so it came to pass. In fact there were quite a few games in the area postponed or abandoned because of fog, which was certainly the main weather feature of the day. This is one of those shots that looks as if I’ve post-processed it and turned it monochrome, but that’s not the case: this is really what Sheffield city centre looked like at about 1.30pm.

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