Friday 28th February 2020, 2.50pm (day 3,109)
I seem to remember praising January 2020 for its weather, and I stand by that. February 2020 on the other hand — that can piss right off, frankly. And this year we get an extra day of it.
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Tag Archives: Manchester
Princess Street
Tuesday 18th February 2020, 10.15am (day 3,099)
A familiar scene on the walk to work. This just about now passes the ‘no building sites’ rule as the block to the left, under construction for what seems like about a decade, is mostly finished. The speed camera doesn’t seem to have a great deal to do on this Tuesday morning.
L. S. Banksy
Monday 10th February 2020, 7.55am (day 3,091)
Another early morning in Manchester. The difference in the light, bearing in mind the 45 minute gap from the time of Friday’s shot, shows the current clocking on time for the sun. I love the details on this shot, the graffiti and the print.
Chinatown morning
Thursday 6th February 2020, 9.10am (day 3,087)
2020 has contained many things to complain about thus far, at least in the wider world, but the weather has not been amongst them. Perhaps it does foretell the melting of the world’s ecosystems somehow but believe me, it could be a lot worse. And time for the annual appearance of the Chinese lanterns on the blog, too.
Mural on Richmond Street
Wednesday 5th February 2020, 9.45am (day 3,086)
Was obliged to visit a place I had not set foot in since 20th January, namely campus. This mural is a relatively new addition to the landscape along the way. Very Manchester, old and new.
Just another day on Northern Rail
Sunday 26th January 2020, 12.10pm (day 3,076)
An illustration of how it is on public transport in the north of England at the present time. After making it back from Northern Ireland as far as Manchester Victoria, the (20 minutes late running) service to Heben Bridge apparently bursts into flames as it couples up with another couple of carriages. And the thing is, we all just shrugged out shoulders and ignored it. And then the carriages left anyway. This is how Keystone Kops it has really got.
Abingdon Street, reopened
Monday 20th January 2020, 10.00am (day 3,070)
Abingdon Street is one of the keys to making my walk between Victoria station and my office as peaceful and traffic-free as is possible. In summer 2018 it was closed off, to allow for the building of the latest boutique hotel that Manchester city centre doesn’t need. This annoyed me so much that I specifically moaned about it, twice, in the manuscript of the book I wrote on sabbatical last year (due out in March, apparently). However, last week it looked as if preparations were being made for its reopening and today I got to walk the length of it again for the first time in 18 months. Thankfully, despite the concrete carbuncle now stood at one end, it remains as peaceful and traffic-free as before. Welcome back. These are the little things that matter, sometimes.
Not that I’ll be using it again for a couple of weeks — I’m not back in Manchester for work for a fortnight.
Outside Victoria station, early
Tuesday 14th January 2019, 7.35am (day 3,064)
Well, early enough. Discounting the special case of the shot taken at the airport on arriving home from Indonesia, the earliest morning shot, in Manchester or anywhere else, since the end of October. I do wish the mornings would hurry up and get lighter, which they never do until well after the evenings have lengthened. I know it’s the same every year, but we should put in a complaint to the Universe, or something. The Solar System Organising Commitee (Axial Tilt Division), at least.
End of the ice cavern
Thursday 9th January 2020, 9.45am (day 3,059)
Early January, time to take down the Christmas decorations. Or, in this case, the Christmas ice-based themed dispenser of alcohol. Let’s time how long it is before the next similar installation thing goes up outside the Corn Exchange; when’s Chinese New Year, a month?
On campus (with optical illusion)
Monday 6th January 2019. 2.05pm (day 3,056)
A Manchester shot for the first time since December 19th. I must be showing my face on campus again. I like it when there’s nobody there. I only went in, basically, to up my step count.
There is a nice optical illusion on fhis shot. Look at the three pieces of guttering to the right and note how we seem here to have one of those ‘can this shape exist?’ dimensional paradoxes. I know how it’s happened, but it’s not immediately obvious on the picture itself.
Being 42 