Saturday 24th March 2012, 5.20pm (day 212)
Officially so. The clocks go forward tonight as we enter British Summer Time.
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Tag Archives: 42
Bumblebee in Guinness glass
Friday 23rd March 2012, 4.35pm (day 211)
The weather remains beautiful and springlike. I’d say it has brought out the bumblebees but actually, for some reason this year there has been a real crop of big, fat dozy bumblebees doing the rounds for about two weeks now. This one I trapped in a glass to get it out of the pub, but then couldn’t resist using it as a model for about twenty photos during which it got increasingly pissed off and eventually started zooming up and down the glass so fast I couldn’t photograph it any more, so I let it go.
This shot I love, though, it looks like a little mouse with a single wing. You’re viewing it from behind: the two legs to the right are its rear two legs; its head is facing away from the camera, and its left wing is obscured because it lies along the line where the glass meets the paper. The magazine underneath it gives an interesting background. Yeah, I’m happy with this one. Nice photo to end a good week.
University of Manchester campus
Thursday 22nd March 2012, 1.55pm (day 210)
I know I did this theme a couple of days ago but there really wasn’t any other photo today which encapsulated what was an absolutely glorious spring day.
Incidentally, those who know the Manchester campus may be bemused as to where this is, because it really must be one of the least green campuses in Britain – there is hardly any green space, plus this bloody big road running right through the middle of it. Trust me however: this is just outside Blackwell’s, under the ramp to the shopping precinct and opposite the Kilburn building.
Mini-jungle, Keighley Road
Wednesday 21st March 2012, 8.50am (day 209)
It’s nice to have a change of scale occasionally. I can quite see this as a luxuriant jungle, hard up against some crags. If a condor were to be flying past in the middle-distance, or there were a little human figure in the foreground, about to plunge into the darkness beneath the trees, it would not look too wrong.
Actually this is a patch of moss on the top of the stone retaining wall between the A6033 and the Hebden Water, a minute’s walk from my house: total area covered by this photo, less than a square foot. How much of the world do we so often miss seeing?
Rook and daffodils
Tuesday 20th March 2012, 9.15am (day 208)
Had this one all lined up, as the bird perched on this fence pole, but then it moved just as I pressed the shutter. Ah well, it’s still interesting, though it might have done the decent thing and flown down to the ground in front of the pole instead of behind it.
Seacole Building, Birmingham City University
Monday 19th March 2012, 9.20am (day 207)
A trip down to Birmingham today for a one-day conference. It involved me getting up at 5.10am, but that’s by the by. I’ve been to all the major cities in Britain except Bristol, and I do think that Birmingham is the blandest. There just doesn’t seem to be much reason to go there. Apologies to the Brummies out there, but this is probably why I’ve nearly spent more time in Birmingham, Alabama in my life than in Birmingham, England. (Birmingham AL isn’t that exciting either, though it does have one really cracking pub.)
Spring Sunday in town
Sunday 18th March 2012, 1.30pm (day 206)
Beautiful day today, a proper spring Sunday. Lots of activity in the town square, including this busker and then there’s the kid on the right auditioning for his part in the local version of We Need To Talk About Kevin. All fairly normal for Hebden Bridge.
School gym during building works
Saturday 17th March 2012, 10.05am (day 205)
A group of volunteers are renovating a room at Joe’s school and using the gym as a workspace. Happened to pop in today (was bringing food), hence this shot. It’s got nothing to do with Ireland, in case you were wondering.
Girl and birds by the river
Friday 16th March 2012, 9.15am (day 204)
Yes, I know it’s blurred. But one of these days I’ll take a photo like this and it’ll be sharp, and then the world is my oyster 🙂
Blossom in Calder Holmes park
Wednesday 15th March 2012, 8.40am (day 203)
I have been trying hard not to repeat myself on this blog but there was a good excuse to do so today. One thing I hope this blog will come to show is the changing of the seasons, particularly in Hebden Bridge which for obvious reasons is going to provide the majority of these shots. Compare this shot to the one taken nearly six months ago, on October 20th, from exactly the same position, and you’ll hopefully see what I mean.
Being 42 