The evenings are just so long at the moment, at this latitude — the sun still comfortably high enough in the sky to give the flare to the left, even at 7.30. Plenty of light, I like it. I wish it was like this all year but I guess the axial tilt problem will always remain insoluble.
Amazingly we managed to get money off the university this year to have an end-of-year dinner. Why this particular stone started shedding blood for the first time in my 10 years there, I have no idea. Dan (left, student) and Gary (right, colleague) wait to place our order in the highly distinctive surroundings of the old vault — check out those safety deposit boxes — in the former bank building which now houses Jamie’s Italian in Manchester (its second appearance on the blog, after this one 15 months ago).
A highly unexciting day, in all senses including photographically. But exploiting the back of the coffee machine may have given some surrealist quality to my creative efforts this afternoon.
Pictured atop what used to be the Hole in the Wall pub — which has been under renovation for months now (as this photo, taken in early April 2014, proves). Why the builders felt the need to do it, no idea — ask them. Not an exciting shot but then again I have no plans to have an exciting weekend, time at home, doing nothing, is required.
The university bridge over Oxford Road is considered iconic (if only because it has the words ‘University of Manchester’ plastered on it in big letters on the far side of this shot). It’s also rather dingy — see this picture, for example. Anyway, it’s going soon, being demolished, and this week Oxford Road has been closed while they prepare for the big removal. It’s so much better to have a university campus without a big fat A road running through the middle of it. Would that it were like this the whole time.
OK, I know it’s technically a pub, but hey, you’ve gotta have lunch somewhere. Photo arrangement courtesy of a particularly shiny table.
Wednesday morning means the bric-a-brac market in Hebden Bridge. I stood by this ‘display’ (a pink storage box) long enough to get this single pic but at that point the stallholder, attracted by some logo I had on the random T-shirt I threw on that morning, started a conversation with me and I decided that if I took another one I would be expected to shell out on cutlery. We don’t need cutlery, so I moved on. I dunno, the thrills of a day working at home, huh.
This is Alan Turing’s second ‘personal’ appearance on the blog (the other being here) not to mention that of the building named after him at university. Members of my family haven’t appeared as often. Then again, I probably walk past Turing more often.
Was up at 5am to go to London for the day to work, and did take a gratuitous shot of Hebden Bridge at that time mainly because I have still yet to offer a shot from the hour of 5:00 – 5:59 in my near four years of doing this blog. However, this one twelve hours later was a more creative effort. Taken from the train home, just south of Peterborough.
You know the score by now I am sure, and in any case had a week’s advance notice of this year’s Handmade Parade in Hebden Bridge. The sun shone and a fine day was had by all.
Being 42 