After spending the last four days almost entirely at home, claustrophobia was definitively overcome by having a day out here. Looking rather different from its last appearance on the blog in August 2016, Llandudno was all built in the 1850s and 1860s as a massive piece of real estate speculation by landowner Lord Mostyn and architect Owen Williams. And I have to say, you can see their point.
As the St. George’s Square market packs up for the night, you can’t help wondering if one of the stall holders has forgotten something.
With the whole of 2018 so far having been afflicted with grim, grey weather, there has been little motivation to go out in it; in fact in the last three days I’ve only left the house once, for about two hours last night. There’s work to be done, I might as well get on with it. It doesn’t make for gripping photography, I realise that, but I’ll do my best.
Why is this sign here? No idea. They never tell us anything. Perhaps it is purely metaphorical….
Mildly aggrieved at having to go back to work today, but I reflected on the fact that without this kind of infrastructure, I’d have had to yomp into Manchester and back today, as indeed I would every other weekday. It’s therefore as good a subject as anything else to epitomise the day. Was it Rimmer from Red Dwarf who had a photo collection of late 20th-century telegraph poles?
2018 doesn’t get off to the greatest start, as our attempt to see a second football match in three days was thwarted by the weather; Accrington Stanley versus Morecambe being abandoned at half-time due to the rain. Although my suspicion is that the referee had a New Year’s hangover and just got pissed off with being drenched so couldn’t be bothered any more. During the half-time-interval-that-wasn’t, it in fact stopped raining. We, however, had paid £55 in total for two adult and one child’s entrance fees, so I make that £1.22/minute to watch some fourth-tier football that is now meaningless. They also suggest we should now pay another £25 to watch the replay. Previous positive feelings I had towards Accrington Stanley FC largely evaporated today.
New Year’s Eve was celebrated in the household, but it’s been a while since I could really raise it to go out on this date, and all the associated hassle. Beer in the pub then back for some gaming that kept us up, just about, until the bells. Happy New Year to you all.
My favourite photo of 2017? I think the one of Tromsø on June 19th; three visits there this year and it was definitely the travel discovery of 2017, Japan notwithstanding. I actually had a lot of decent weather on my visits to northern Norway but the shot on that June day was taken in a foul rainstorm, with snow in the background, and looking naturally monochrome even though this was one where I didn’t mess with the colours. It’s sort of how I picture Murmansk as looking. Anyway — onward, into 2018. It’s not going to be a year of change for me, but we’ll get through it I’m sure.
I have been to a lot of football matches in 2017 — around 25, give or take (I have lost count myself). But one distinction was claimed by this, the last match of the year — it had the biggest crowd. Around 52,000 were present at St. James’s Park, Newcastle, today to see them take on the mighty Brighton and Hove Albion — and everyone to leave rather underwhelmed by a 0-0 draw in which neither team seemed willing to take on the initiative. Frankly if there’s one thing the year’s football has shown me it’s that the 220 people at Mossley v Kendal Town last week (5-4) may well be getting rather more for their money. But we keep coming back, week on week. Amazing what tribalism can do isn’t it?
On the return home, a healthy dosage of the white stuff. This being a maritime British winter, not one of these more robust continental versions, by tonight it had all gone.
‘Detectorists’ = ‘people who head out and comb fields, beaches, toxic waste dumps etc. with metal detectors’. There was an agreeable TV series featuring these lovable rogues, I believe. Well, not these two perhaps.
Excellent day for photography today by the shores of Morecambe Bay. For the first time in ages I feel minded to add something to the Best of the Rest page as well as this shot. It’s certainly an attractive corner of this island, I’ll give it that.
Being 42 