Apr 13 2023
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Sun hat (unused)

Wednesday 12th April 2023, 1.55pm (day 4,248)

Unused sun hat, 12/4/23

As a result of my travels down the years I have developed a theory that the general national psyche of particular places is in no insigificant way formed by its weather. A frequent British opinion is, ‘why expect good times to last? Something crap will inevitably come along soon’, and this is applicable both to our feelings about life in general but also the weather. You saw the picture — last Friday was a glorious day. Not any more, not a bit of it. This sun hat cowers under the rain-covered glass, very glad that it is not being worn.

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Apr 11 2023
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

The commute down the study wall

Tuesday 11th April 2023, 11.35am (day 4,247)

Louse on study wall, 11/4/23

I wonder how many organisms inhabit this house along with the two of us. None on an open basis — that is, no pets — but the cave spiders have long been part of the family, and then there are the more occasional sightings of tenants. This louse made a point of crawling down the study wall from somewhere behind the shelves at the top, and disappearing behind the radiator at the bottom. This may have been a one-off journey but for all I know it’s a regular commute.

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Apr 11 2023
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

Stalybridge station buffet

Monday 10th April 2023, 12.25pm (day 4,246)

Stalybridge station buffet, 10/4/23

I know I’ve mentioned this before but the station buffet and bar at Stalybridge really is one of the best there is: it’s worth breaking a journey there just to visit it. And here’s the bloke in charge. Clare was mildly peeved there was no lunch to be had today but other than that it kept up its reputation.

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Apr 10 2023
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger, Uncategorized

Eyup Keeper

Sunday 9th April 2023, 3.35pm (day 4,245)

Eyup keeper, 8/4/23

Considering that the game being watched involved women footballers, this guy might not even have turned up to play: perhaps he just likes wearing the kit. Dialect note: ‘Eyup’ is Yorkshire for ‘hello’ or ‘what’s happening’.

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Apr 09 2023
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Daily Post, Interior

Beer abstract

Saturday 8th April 2023, 12.55pm (day 4,244)

Beer abstract, 8/4/23

A week off work thus far, and, including today, three days still to come. Perhaps I could have made more of an effort today, but beer was certainly a constitutive part of Saturday 8th April 2023, so let’s celebrate it.

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Apr 08 2023
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Daily Post, Landscape

The Mellor Cross (and Manchester)

Friday 7th April 2023, 1.00pm (day 4,243)

Mellor Cross, 7/4/23

Seeing as today was Good Friday this seems an entirely appropriate post for the occasion, but I swear that until I came over a rise on Mellor Moor, above Marple, and saw this cross, I had no idea it was there — it wasn’t marked on the map. Apparently it was first erected in 1970. It has a good view of Manchester, you have to say. (Passed on my latest County Top walk — of which there are more pictures on the other blog…)

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Apr 07 2023
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Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Urban scene

Day 4,242

Thursday 6th April 2023, 11.35am (day 4,242)

Day 4,242, 6/4/23

There only really was one subject for today: day 4,242 of Being 42. The number is only meaningful right here and now, 11 years, 7 months and 10 days (including three February 29ths) since I started, but here we are. I knew this graffito was here, on the road to the railway station at home in Hebden Bridge, but for once it’s alright to choose a shot.

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Apr 06 2023
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Daily Post, Landscape

The Pyrenees

Wednesday 5th April 2023, 1.05pm (day 4,241)

The Pyrenees, 5/4/23

I think that, by law, and certainly by my own moral code, all aeroplane windows should be kept sparkling clean. The one I had to use on our flight home from Barcelona was noticeably grubby, so apologies for the ensuing blemishes on this shot (I know they’re there). Still, the view was good, at least while we were crossing the barrier between Spain and France, that is, the Pyrenees: mountains I have never visited, but they’re on the list. Named, apparently, after a woman who was raped by Hercules, gave birth to a serpent, and was then torn apart by wild animals. These old myths took no prisoners, did they?

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Apr 04 2023
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

The 33/45 bar, Barcelona

Tuesday 4th April 2023, 8.25pm (day 4,240)

33/45 bar, Barcelona, 4/4/23

I don’t feel that I have captured the social aspects of this city, which are considerable, and pleasant. What a nice place, perhaps I will never be back before I die, but if not — (as with many other places, like Saigon and Tallinn and Berlin) — that will be a shame. Viva Barcelona. There are many worse places to hang out.

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Apr 03 2023
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Vertical cemetery

Monday 3rd April 2023, 2.40pm (day 4,239)

Vertical cemetery, 3/4/23

On the hill of Montjuïc, which rises between Barcelona’s city centre and the port, there is the site of the 1992 Olympics, much of it feeling rather neglected these days. When we first saw this place my initial thought was that it was something to do with the Olympic village, rows of concrete blocks with what seemed like dark windows in them, all looking strangely moody. Closer inspection revealed why: in fact they were these mausoleums, piled on top of each other like apartments arranged into streets and avenues, with stepladders here and there so families can reach the highest. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before except, to some extent, at Novodevichy in Moscow, but even that doesn’t quite reach this level of stacking.

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