I know nothing of Marvel iconography. OK, I suppose that’s possibly Captain America centre left but that’s as far as I am taking it. So quite who the guy on the right might be, I don’t know, but he looks pissed off enough: if I was the too-relaxed figure in white in front I would be worried.
I knew in advance that today’s shot would be taken at home in Hebden Bridge, meaning it would become the 2,000th HB shot to feature on here. Knowing also that not a great deal was going to happen on the day I thought I might as well make #HB2000 as typical as possible. Hi to Johnny and Mary therefore, who I see often enough in this spot, particularly in the summer. (In the winter we would be twenty yards to the right, and inside….)
The week ends where quite a few of them do. Neither Steve nor Dex look particularly enthused by the prospect, but the weekend remains young.
This was never going to be the busiest or most retail-friendly Friday market day of the year, but even so, it was particularly absent of life today. Anyone who wants to pick up a yellow and blue plastic crane, though — here it is. Or was.
Another day spent almost entirely in my office at home, working, and not emerging until after the sunlight was mostly gone. The Friday market in town was still open at this point, though only just, and I’m sure this guy is considering packing up his clocks and jewellry and calling it a day.
I go monochrome here simply because it feels right for the shot and it stops the bright green stripes at the top dominating it. It is not a ‘Black Friday’ reference. I hate that bollocks, in fact: especially because, as various recent conversations about this marketing wheeze have proven, virtually no one in the UK — consumers, retailers, the media, anyone — actually understands the derivation of the term. Be honest — do you know where it comes from? (American readers don’t get to answer this.)
I used to smoke tobacco, but quit in 2008 (it remains the only one of my addictions which I can claim to have truly quit). Still, I couldn’t care less whether others still want to use the stuff, and it does sometimes look good. This is, of course, an optical illusion, but an effective one.
May ends with a burst of sunshine and this shot offers the chance to inspect the range of slightly-toasted pink and vaguely brown skin tones that the average English visage offers up at this time of year. My Friday evenings may seem to often be spent at the pub, and specifically this pub (the Railway), I admit — but in fact this is the first one for eight weeks.
Another day of data inspection and introspection brings to an end a whole week of much the same kind of stuff, so ending it with a rather ghostly self-portrait seems appropriate. Yes, I’m in a pub (The Albert), though not drinking rum.
I would not normally go into Manchester as late as this, particularly not on a Friday. But my employers said in order to get my new hardware, hard-wired, I needed to pay homage at the Desk of Service. In person. So be it — I ultimately cared as little as the owner of these legs.
I continue to not get out: this is the 9th of the last 12 pictures to be taken in Hebden Bridge and the coming weekend ain’t gonna see me explore the world much either. Today, the stall full of digital info (DVDs, CDs) at least offered a new perspective on the Friday market of which it is a part. No purchase today though: a quick review suggests that any of these I might be interested in watching, I already own (Ted, Black Swan, Gravity and I am Legend — happy hunting)…
Being 42 