This collage, featuring the Graphene Institute on the left, indicates quite clearly why I and much of the rest of Manchester city centre got very wet about twenty minutes later. But, yes, I had packed an umbrella, fortunately.
On the basis that no fewer than 23 people (because you do need a referee) can be gathered in each area of space that comprises a Saturday afternoon football match, then there must have been at least a quarter of a million people in the UK doing what this guy was doing at the same point in time, 3.20pm. That’s just the people on the pitches, too. At least 30 other people, including substitutes, coaches and slighly weird people (like me) were also persuaded that watching Sheffield Union v Thornbridge Villa in the 12th tier of English football was the best way they had of spending Saturday afternoon. So add another million or two for all of them…. it can’t be completely wasted collective effort, can it? At this level it’s certainly not about making any money.
Don’t expect to see much over the next few days, one way or another. It is, definitely, Marking Season, and I need to save money anyway (doesn’t everyone at this point in the year?). The skies are moody and so pointing the camera up at the skyline to the south of town seemed the best option today, but we’ll see how the rest of the week goes. This is one of those shots where I really haven’t changed the setting to monochrome, but can’t prove it.
Boxing Day was spent walking in the Ochil Hills. Grey skies above us were contrasted with the sight of sun shining on hills to the south. This shot, from the summit of Innerdouny Hill, was taken with a very long zoom, and I am prepared to state that what is seen here is Culter Fell, the 2,454-feet high summit of South Lanarkshire — it’s in the right direction, and it certainly looks like it (see the second image down on the page as linked). Which means that here we have a view of just under 50 miles. That’s impressive — but in the end, I pick the shot because of also capturing the aeroplane, which is just cute. (More pictures from the walk will appear on my other blog in due course….)
Scene, today, of one of those ‘ghost buses’ — it appears on all the information boards, Google Maps tells us that it is merrily trundling in our direction, on schedule — but no bus appears and we get to sit around another half hour or so for the next one. I realise this is not an injustice akin to, say, slavery, or Trumpism, but nevertheless. At least the forced sojourn did leave some time for photography.
God, look at the time. If this looks like it is taken over some misty marshland somewhere, it’s an illusion — instead it was captured from the 3rd floor of the Ellen Wilkinson Building, as I made my leisurely way to my 4pm class, which doesn’t even manage to start before sunset at this time of year. And still ten days to go until the solstice.
From a deep hole going into the ground to a big thing pointing up out of it. Emley Moor’s TV antenna makes its third apperance on the blog. OK, I’ve cranked the contrasts up a bit, but after yesterday’s sunshine, different weather was definitely coming in.
Thunderstorms were coming and going all afternoon: here, we are perhaps a quarter of an hour from the next one. In response, the local rail system threw its hands up in fear and went into another one of its spasms, but I just stayed in and watched.
Orkney possibly peaked several thousand years ago, at which point in time the local inhabitants constructed a number of stone circles that still look spectacular to this day. Places of worship? Or, possibly, goals for some big game of community v community football matches? We will probably never know.
After plenty of fine days since we left home the weather for much of today was dreadful, but it did improve. The trouble with trying to capture a sunset picture in such a northerly latitude is that it always goes down so slowly, and this evening, time was a little limited and waiting much longer not really practical. But this one will do.
Being 42 