This giant wheel, tipped over onto its side but still propped up a little by its axle, lies by the top of New Works Road in Bradford, remnant of, and memorial to, one of the various coal mines which used to operate around here, but no more. These days, it indicates the point at which the chemical factory district turns back into the real world. I’ve done various pictures of the factories in the past, so today (tonight), let’s see the wheel.
As stated yesterday — a second shot from the same place: from yesterday’s shot, pan to the left, go up a ways and pull back out and this comes in view. Not always with the mist, though there’s usually a bird around somewhere.
I don’t often present the shots in portrait orientation but it seems appropriate today, as the verticals are what matter here. Taken in Manchester, but don’t get used to it — even with the new term coming up. Campus will be about a hundred times busier next week than it was today, but that’s OK, because I’m not going to be there.
This shot somewhat misrepresents the day’s weather, as for most of my time in Solihull today (near Birmingham, and making its debut on the blog) I walked and sat in quite pleasant sunshine. But not from between about 2.30 – 2.50pm. And the seats for the match to come were not under cover. Fortunately, it stopped, and two other big fat thunderheads that looked like they were later coming in also passed us by.
There are thirteen people in this photo — notice the two up on the bridge heading at right angles to everyone else’s trajectory — and with the exception of the woman in pink in the background, every one of them is jogging, some more speedily than others. In Glasgow city centre clearly the banks of the Clyde are Jogger Central on a Sunday morning.
I took a picture of this mural on a visit to Glasgow a couple of years ago, but didn’t use it at the time: in fact, the one I took then was possibly better as from outside the pub courtyard we see her left hand coming down to pick up little insect-like pedestrians on the street. But from the courtyard of O’Neill’s pub the ‘Girl With a Magnifying Glass’ (look it up on Google Maps) seems to be inspecting the drinkers, somewhat scientifically…
It is far easier to buy this kind of stuff in Hebden Bridge than it is to purchase, say, socks, or useful modern technology. This is just one of at least three shops of this kind here, and it’s not even that big a town. There is something of an optical illusion going on here — things are not quite as big as they seem…
Going on somewhere between me and these two was a Sunday morning football match — the guy on the left started out as the goalkeeper but after about 15 minutes, having conceded two, he decided his shoulder wasn’t up to it so pulled out. First game of the season, too. At least his girlfriend was in attendance: which might have influenced the assessment of the injury’s seriousness. Behind them both — a bit of Leeds. August finally comes to an end; it seems a long time since I was in Orkney.
Thursday market manoeuvers. “I know it’s in here somewhere — I just have to move a few things around to find it…”
I have a feeling this billboard, found under the arch that takes the railway over Princess Street in Manchester city centre, has been subverted before. I don’t see how this can be anything other than guerilla advertising; it’s certainly a valid point.
Being 42 