Sunday 25th July 2021, 11.55am (day 3,622)
Hats! And much needed — it’s still damn hot out there, particularly for the Lake District in late July.
Hats, Keswick
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Category Archives: Urban scene
Unexpected rain
Thursday 22nd July 2021, 5.45pm (day 3,619)
After another hot and dry day it was a surprise when Hebden was drenched by a substantial storm in the early evening; such things can be expected in high summer, of course, but the surprise came more because there weren’t really all that many clouds around, and the sun mostly kept shining throughout. But rain it did, and hard; these two were not the only ones scuttling for cover.
Emergency response, 2
Tuesday 20th July 2021, 11.10am (day 3,617)
Like the shot four weeks ago, one saw the response this morning, without necessarily being aware of the emergency. There were a significant number of fire engines in town — five at least — and a sense of urgency displayed by the running fireman here, but nothing all that apparent seemed to be actually happening. It’s not as if I was being barred from the area.
Hebden evening (black and white)
Tuesday 13th July 2021, 6.55pm (day 3,610)
An uneventful day to bring to an end a relatively Hebden Bridge-bound period of the blog, but there are trips away planned for much of the rest of July. Why the monochrome? As so often — because it covers up red blotches caused by lens flare.
Festival Square (rain)
Monday 12th July 2021, 4.00pm (day 3,609)
After a good and enjoyable weekend — the comedown. Rain all day and the streets of Manchester still empty, this is a city with a lot of ‘recovery’ needed; and at the moment it’s not happening. From next week there’s more of a chance but there are a lot of political interests who, seemingly, would rather it didn’t — for whatever reason. “The struggles of the past have resulted in great gains”, quotes the Guardian (via its sponsored deckchair). Not this one, so far.
Taking a walk
Thursday 8th July 2021, 4.05pm (day 3,605)
Just an ordinary Thursday on Main Street, Haworth. Is there still an obligation to follow a pet like this around with a pooper-scooper?
The Palace of Dance
Thursday 1st July 2021, 9.00am (day 3,598)
9am on a Thursday morning is probably not the best time to catch any building at its best, but one certainly feels that this place has seen better days. Even the Bingo has died, if the boarded-up doors are any indication. Is it another place that has died ‘for the good of our health’? Who knows, any more?
Still pondering the future
Wednesday 30th June 2021, 9.35am (day 3,597)
One year ago today, 30th June 2020, I was ‘allowed’ back on to campus for the first time since all the shit started, and took the picture linked here, of a student sat among the lush June foliage, alone, wondering where his future had gone.
One year on, this photo is taken from more-or-less the same point, and little has changed, has it? The huge Manchester campus still just sits there, mostly unused. Maybe my managers, our ‘leaders’, would like to ask, what am I complaining about? These people are still going to get their degrees are they not? They’ve got what they paid for? Yeah, well, if you reduce the experience of getting an education to a pure cash transaction then yes, they have indeed. But what a wasted year it has been, and I mean that also in the sense of wasting away, eroding, no longer vital and healthy. This is not because of some virus, but because of fear and paranoia, a desperate urge not to do anything that could see fingers pointed.
But I say this again, sorry to be repetitive but it deserves repeating. There were more than 40,000 people in Wembley stadium yesterday afternoon. This proves that if the will is there, this ridiculous fear can end. Is it so impossible to accept that once you are vaccinated, and the guy next to you is vaccinated, and the people who can’t get vaccinated (like those under 18) brush off this thing as if it were water in the vast majority of cases — then there is no longer any need to live life in this state? The most worrying thing for me is that such views now seem to be considered subversive. There are groups out there who are quite happy for most people to be frightened of shadows, and they’ve won.
Alleyway
Saturday 26th June 2021, 1.45pm (day 3,593)
Spent part of the afternoon in what you might call the low-rent part of town; which is not to say that it was unpleasant. When Clare saw this photo she said ‘It has a Morecambe feel’ to it. In fact this is Laisterdyke in Bradford.
Another inanimate object with a secret inner life
Monday 21st June 2021, 12.10pm (day 3,588)
“Oh my God!! We’ve been sliced!”
Being 42 