Have been kind of saving this one for a day like today – a full-on hectic scramble from meeting to meeting where I barely had time to sit down let alone take photos. But here are the seats on Exchange Square to provide an abstract. (One irritating bit of litter, that I noticed too late, has been cropped out…)
Off to a new country tomorrow: first ever visit to sub-Saharan Africa, as I’m going to Kenya. 3.15 am alarm call coming up…
In some city down South the Olympics are on, and Manchester (which is hosting some of the football tournament’s games) gets in on the act with a ‘village’ built around Exchange Square, where the wheel used to be (see previous photos). Judging from this shot, it is doing about as well at filling its seats as London is.
Cynical? No, I’m not, not about the athletes anyway. But we all knew that the promises of a ‘people’s Games’ were rubbish when they were made in 2005, so why are we surprised it’s turned into a corporate love-fest in which the relatives and friends of athletes can’t see them perform, while swathes of corporate junket seats sit empty, because bigger profits are made that way? I also remember hearing that the ‘brand poiice’ don’t want anyone to link to the official Olympic site if they are going to be critical of it.
“Ere, mate. Dontcha think it’s ironic, like, that the day we put up this ‘summer house’ in the city centre, it’s the first rainy day in a fortnight?”
“Yeh, it’s all part of the comedy of life innit. Or maybe because it’s a Bank Holiday weekend. Anyway, sod that. I want to know why Jack ever thought that those shorts were a good idea.”
I’m off to Norway tomorrow – most likely there won’t be posts on here for a few days but you’ll get a big lump of them all at once when I get back. Including one of a fjord. If it kills me, there’ll be one of a fjord this time.
This is rather boring and abstract. Then again, so was my day.
It’s definitely a dull one to mark the 9-month anniversary of this blog. Three-quarters of a year done: one quarter to go.
Where, a month ago, the Wheel of Manchester still stood, there was today this gymnastic display by a group of energetic ten year-olds. This’ll all be some Olympic games run-up thing. I snapped this one as I went past on my way to the station: luck more than judgment, I can assure you.
Being 42 