Located under the arches of one of Leeds station’s approach roads, the Cockpit is surely a familiar place to anyone who has been a student at Leeds University in the last 25 years or so. I had my 30th birthday party in this club — quite some time ago.
Apart from any innate qualities this pic may have, it is about time I proved to the world that I do occasionally stop up past midnight now and again. This is taken near City Square, Leeds. One guy makes his way home, the other may already be there. The third of the 941 pictures to be taken between 1.00 – 1.59am.
We had gone out last night to celebrate Clare’s birthday and stayed over in Leeds. I was inspired by great light in the hotel breakfast room but C. did the ‘no pictures!’ thing, perhaps not feeling as if she was looking at her best after the night before.
I didn’t even realise these guys were on unicycles when I took this shot, otherwise I would have waited for them to come closer. I think it works anyway, just a shame the detail is lost.
You saw Whitelocks not so long ago but, well, here it is again. The channellng of the sun down the alley to hit the blonde hair was too nice to resist. This was the prelude to a long weekend away, which I’ve just returned from, so there’s some catching up to do.
The new Championship season kicked off. for me, Joe and about 33,400 other people, at Elland Road this afternoon. I enjoyed the first 15 minutes or so.
L. S. Lowry painted a famous picture in the 1930s called ‘Going to the Match’, showing people flocking to Bolton Wanderers’ ground amid a sea of cobbles, factories and back-to-back housing. There aren’t many grounds left where you can still get that kind of vibe 80 years later, but Elland Road is one of them.
I took another picture I quite liked this morning, at Leeds station; but it was kinda brown, and the last two have also been very brown. So here is some colour, not to mention shape, on the blog courtesy of the wife’s legs.
What have I missed while I’ve been away? Little things, the family, my DVD collection, pubs. Whitelock’s has in the past won ‘Best City Pub in Britain’ awards and is this great little oasis in the middle of Leeds’ shopping district. Plenty of reference is made within to its foundation date of 1715 AD: fifty-five years before any Europeans properly set foot in the country I have just left.
What have I not missed while I’ve been away? The weather…
A mundane subject to mark the end of the first year of this blog, perhaps: but it’s all been an attempt to just capture a life, and here I am in Leeds tonight, celebrating my birthday tomorrow with a night out. These gates just grabbed my attention as we came in this afternoon on the train.
I’ve posted what I think are the top 10 pictures from the first year; also some statistics, feel free to browse and comment. But I’ll be back tomorrow…
Alma Mater (noun): ‘The school, college or university that one attended. ORIGIN [17th Cent]: (in the general sense of someone providing nourishment): Latin, literally ‘Bounteous Mother’.
I was here from 1993 until I achieved my doctorate in 2001, then I worked here until 2005. I’ve not been back much since, but I was here today for a meeting. Nice to see it again. They say ‘never go back’, but sometimes you should do.
Being 42 