Pulled duty on the 06:31 train out of Hebden Bridge and it was still dark by the time it finally ambled into Manchester. This looming darkness will briefly be relieved this weekend when the clocks go back, but all the same, winter draws inexorably nearer each day.
No big message today, I just like the shape it makes. And the little bloke in his hi-vis jacket.
This blog isn’t intended to be political and it’s been a little while since I had cause to depict the lousy state of the local train service. I know this can be a default position for the commuter, that it’s always terrible, but really, Arriva Northern have surpassed themselves in recent months with overcrowding and cancellations. I am lucky – I can organise my day to avoid peak rush hours, on the whole, hence the timing of this shot. Many cannot and are forced to put up with the same crap every week day.
Hey, I’m not morally censuring. A few seconds after taking this shot (oh look…. sunshine!), I also ignored the signage. Everybody does. Come off the footbridge leading to platforms 4-6 on Victoria station and you can ignore it, too.
February dawns bright and clear, with snow on the ground on the Lancashire side of the Pennines, but not in Yorkshire — which is unusual. The light covering of white that was on Victoria station roof in the morning would not have taken long to melt off in the sunshine.
Or Southport, or Bury, which are other towns named on the facade of Victoria station in Manchester and to where one can still catch a train…. unlike Fleetwood, Goole and other places where trains haven’t gone from here in a long time. Hope he/she locked their bike securely, wherever it was.
Whatever has happened down the years to the configuration of Manchester Victoria station, this footbridge is definitely less used than it must once have been. The only time it’s really worth using it is if you’re sat at the back of the 8:05 from Hebden Bridge, which stops on platform 6 and the principal footbridge gets clogged up with the contents of the full train, this one is slightly nearer. But hey, it’s got an interesting view.
First trip into Manchester for nearly two weeks. Last week I stayed at home and worked, which was the easier option due to the closure of Victoria station. Half-above the station stands Manchester Arena, scene of what we could refer to as ‘The Events’ of Monday 22nd May but which one might also reasonably call ‘the slaughter of 22 people by a psychopath’. *Sigh*. And I had decided to try not to mention it.
Sunny but chilly day in Manchester, trains being obedient. Got out of the house at least, even if it wasn’t a very profound change of scene. However, some very good travel news received today — looks like in two months’ time I will be in Japan for the first time in my life, a long-cherished dream destination.
Doubtless there is a parent just out of shot waiting to make the strategic grab if necessary, but at some point in the future these two will be going through their big scary doors all by themselves. Good luck to them. Pictured at Manchester Victoria station, as I ventured there purely for shopping purposes — the return to work can wait another 36 hours or so.
