This is an artificial lake in the centre of Bergen, by the art museum. It’s actually not that cold here (although the weather was still revolting today), but there’s still this scrim of ice on the surface of the lake, enough to support these birds’ weight and provide a nice optical illusion effect to add to the other nice patterns and colours on this shot.
It’s not a bad place to come and work for a couple of days, is it.
The peninsula to left-centre of this photograph is the historic city centre of Bergen. Mount Fløyen, which you saw on 27th November, is the low-looking hill to the far left, below the snowline.
Must say I approve of this recent trend, of the establishment of temporary office accommodation – offering free wi-fi and refreshments of an alcoholic nature – at several points on the way home from work. Just the thing for the tired professional who wants to marry his unfortunate need to do more work with his understandable need for a beer. The service pictured here is provided by the White Lion, Hebden Bridge. There are others. Any one would have been welcome after a day that started early, finished late, and I still have to pack to go back to Norway tomorrow.
I’m not a fan of Liverpool FC – this is obvious from this blog. I do not believe they have some divine right to success, or to be better thought of than other clubs. And today’s result, which I forebear from mentioning here, was disappointing – to say the least.
However, you would have to be a total cynic not to feel a little moved by the sight of the Kop End while ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is playing. I am glad I was able today to pay a visit to one of the truly legendary venues of world football, still here, not yet torn down to be replaced by some identikit stadium on an out-of-town site, better for the moneygrabbers who now determine the course of the sport, but with no history, no soul. Anfield might be cramped, and rather old-fashioned these days, but it definitely has soul. There is no denying it.
Neither of my parents have yet made it onto this blog, so here’s my Mum, Joe’s Gran. Brought him over here this evening for a visit, and a babysitting service, while I go to the football tomorrow (a trip about which you will undoubtedly hear). The game is ‘Monopoly City’, a kind of sexed-up version of the old game, with skyscrapers, planning blight and notes in the millions. It passes the time enjoyably enough. Joe won, incidentally. What that says about his entrepreneurial spirit, remains to be seen.
Day off today – so I went and did what I had done every other day this week, and went into Manchester. With educational ends however. This is the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), a fine place to spend time, and this is a replica of the world’s first stored-program computer, dontcha know. If it wasn’t for this thing we’d all still be communicating via radio. Or something.
Sensational happenings in St Peter’s Square, Manchester city centre, this evening, as this photographer snaps undeniable proof that we have, indeed, been attacked by killer robots from outer space. I would have stuck around to collect marketable shots of the aftermath, but I had to go home for my tea. (There are more on Facebook, if you are interested.)
Beautiful morning in Hebden Bridge today. Shame, then, that a few minutes after taking this photo I got on a train that took me to Manchester where I then spent all day sat in an office.
You nearly got something Valentines’-related… but I’ll spare everyone’s blushes. Here’s a library instead, in case you were thinking of getting too flustered about the (arbitrary) occasion. It’s got some nice lines in it. But then again so did the picture I nearly posted, only the lines were curvier.
James is an archivist at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, a historic public Victorian library in the city centre. I brought my Media & Information Literacy students here today for a ‘field trip’ and was also videoing it for the benefit of my distance learning students. Hence, being able to juggle two cameras simultaneously and get this pic using both, in effect. Who says men can’t multitask, eh?
(I’m back at the Deansgate library tomorrow morning to do some more filming, so no promises, but there may be more. If you’re interested, follow this link to their web site.)
