It’s good to have some sustenance while waiting for colleagues (and Peter is a Professor, a rank I will now almost certainly never attain) to offer their opinions on one’s writing. That paper might even get finished one of these days.
This is definitely a stock shot, but what the hell. The Rochdale Canal is definitely worth a regular viewing, particularly at the peak of autumn.
An early morning derailment at Shap, in Cumbria, meant the West Coast Main Line was completely closed. Fortunately we were heading south and not trying to get to Scotland, but I suspect this gentleman was one of the many people in Preston station this morning for whom that was the intended destination.
The Bay in question being Morecambe Bay. I wonder how often these get used — going on the state of the sail of the one on the right at the back, I assume, not very often, even when the tide is in. Perhaps this shot is a little too over-contrasted but I was playing with settings on the camera, and it was a rather moody day of weather — note the chunk of rainbow to the top left.
I do generally limit the number of football shots published on here but after having had a couple of extra days to think about it, I do think this is the most pleasing shot I captured today. The view from the terrace at the Giant Axe (the name of Lancaster City’s stadium) encompasses both Lancaster Castle and the railway station — though I never captured the money shot, including both the ball and a train.
This shot was better than the match itself, which finished 0-0. In fact, the shot of Clapham Common two weekends ago was of a match that also finished 0-0. I doubt this coincidence is a meaningful one however.
I am against the exploitation of Halloween when it comes to the selling of vast amounts of ephemeral plastic tat. But we had an invite to a party tonight, the costumes we wore had been worn before and will be worn again — though maybe not that V mask which I found terribly uncomfortable and which, all evening, was worn purely for the photo opportunities. C’s ‘Corpse Bride’ wedding dress was definitely getting another outing, though. Preparations are, here, still in train (pun intended).
One of those days where I had to accept that every photo I tried today was either boring or out-of-focus. This one is certainly the latter, but hopefully the pink octopi are interesting enough. They are advertising baubles, though. Other energy providers are available.
Yes guys — you’ve been spotted. Then again with those bright buttocks you might as well paint a target on your behinds: I have relatives who will get itchy trigger fingers just looking at this photo.
This is not the nearest to the centre of Hebden Bridge that I’ve ever seen deer — that award is still held by the one spotted at the railway station in April 2019 — but let’s say it’s the second-closest: 15 minutes’ walk from the market square, at most, and with houses just yards away.
Manchester’s creative destruction is an ongoing, continuous thing. The pagoda in Chinatown has been boarded up for a couple of years now. Attractive murals were painted on the bare boards — or stencilled on them, as this shot from September 2023 depicts. At some point since then, Michelle Yeoh’s not-unattractive features were added. Time passes. And then everything gets ripped down again, board by board. Nothing behind the screens is any different, and we wait for it to all cycle round again.
Wherever it actually resides depends on the university’s deployment of ‘cloud storage solutions’, I guess, but the interface that allows oversight of this ‘digital twin’ of Manchester resides in the Business School. Want to keep an eye on the city’s start-ups? energy use? property prices? infection rates? It’s all here. There’s something mildly sinister and undeniably impressive about it all, both at the same time.
Being 42 