Friday 8th August 2014, 4.05pm (day 1,079)
Actually today was a relatively pleasant day — apart from this 30-minute period in the afternoon. Look in the background — even the Canada goose is taking shelter.
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Category Archives: Urban scene
Outside the tourist information centre, Hebden Bridge
Tuesday 29th July 2014, 5.10pm (day 1,069)
A day at home, no work, no responsibilities, no worries. I have no idea how to caption this photograph — so I’m not going to worry about that, either.
Blast from the past
Monday 28th July 2014, 11.00am (day 1,068)
Located under the arches of one of Leeds station’s approach roads, the Cockpit is surely a familiar place to anyone who has been a student at Leeds University in the last 25 years or so. I had my 30th birthday party in this club — quite some time ago.
The Forum
Saturday 26th July 2014, 11.35am (day 1,066)
Last full day in Rome. The Forum was the heart of the ancient city and this picture is meant to epitomise some kind of glorious decay, the ruins of the Eternal City left to moulder pleasantly away, returning to nature or whatever. Of course it’s nothing like this. Really it’s just a big park with thousands of tourists swarming over it daily. But it does have a certain grandeur. It’s been a good trip here, a fine city, I recommend it should you ever get the chance.
The Tiber at night
Thursday 24th July 2014, 9.25pm (day 1,064)
Lots seen today. Visited Ostia Antica, the port of ancient Rome, an extremely extensive site which once again emphasises the sheer scale of the old city. But though I had a couple of candidate photos from there, this one wins; we went to the Trastevere district for an excellent meal and I took this on the way back. What you see here is the island in the centre of the Tiber that is one reason Rome is here, as it makes for an easier crossing point on the river, that then flows through Ostia on its way to the Mediterranean and the rest of the world.
The Trevi Fountain (under repair by Mr. Happy)
Wednesday 23rd July 2014, 1.10pm (day 1,063)
If you know Rome, you know the Trevi fountain I am sure, at least by reputation. Over-the-top baroque wedding cake of a water feature, throw a coin in you will come back to Rome, Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita etc. Well, at the moment it’s surrounded by scaffolding and being repaired, at least in part by this jolly chap, which I’m sure will give all you Romanophiles pause for thought.
Trajan’s Column
Monday 21st July 2014, 4.20pm (day 1,061)
I may not have mentioned I am in Rome this week, but here we are — the 19th country to appear on this blog in its three years (and the 20th will come on Friday, if the schedule works out). Expect to see more than one ancient Roman monument appear on this site over the next few days, I love all this stuff. This is Trajan’s Column, erected to commemorate the victories of the eponymous emperor in Dacia, modern-day Romania (hence the name of that country). The column is 30 metres high, and the carvings on it form a continuous frieze of nearly 200 metres long, with lots of detail depicting Trajan’s victory. Note the heads on spears in the centre of this image.
Old St. Paul’s church, King Cross, Halifax
Saturday 19th July 2014, 10.25am (day 1,059)
Two otherwise rock-solid photo opportunities were snatched away from me today by poor weather. My first plan was to do a walk in the Lakes, and even after that was cancelled due to forecast thunderstorms, a 5K run in Halifax which Clare and Joe had planned was also postponed for ‘safety reasons’ (e.g. it would have been a bit wet). Wet it was, so I fell back on this random architectural curiosity, a church that seems to have misplaced most of itself. I assumed as the result of WW2 bombing but apparently it has been like this even longer, since a fire destroyed most of it in 1930. Hardly the best photo I’ve taken — I manage to make it look even wonkier than it already is — but it’ll do.
Selfridges, Manchester
Thursday 17th July 2014, 9.25am (day 1,057)
Last day in Manchester until well into August. People seem to have disappeared from these photos in the last few days. Indeed, in the last 6 I’ve depicted nothing more sentient than a raspberry.
The turf roof, finished
Wednesday 16th July 2014, 9.15am (day 1,056)
Poor photographic pickings today as I was working at home all day, and it wasn’t sunny. This deserves documenting however — the finished turf roof on the Calrec Audio extension below our house. It took them a while to get it done, but at least it is now complete.
Being 42 