From the colour of one specific bit of Manchester yesterday, to this scene of utter grayness. Or is it greyness with an E? I’ve never been sure. Gra/ey it was today though, for sure. Such a gloomy day .
A sunny day in Manchester, and a good one for light rebounding off glassy and metallic buildings in various pleasing ways. The block in the middle has been a work-in-progress for at least a year now and so is still neither glassy nor metallic but surely this is planned — for now though it offers a good contrast to what turns out almost like a collage.
One of those seasonal themes, coming a little late this year — Chinese New Year celebrations have yet to make it to St Helena. Manchester always sprouts a healthy crop, though.
This was one of two photos that I took today which I like despite their technical deficiencies. I was more or less trying for this effect. My third day in a row in Manchester (and blog-wise that’s the first time that’s happened in 2024), but I was not there to work, nor, like the great majority of the people in the city centre, to shop. Instead I was going to the football and just passing through on the tram, nicely insulated from the rush — and the rather poor weather — outside, at least for 45 minutes or so.
This back street has long been a feature of my walk to campus in Manchester, and at this time of year, when the sun is shining, it is one of a number of streets on the route that channel the morning light in photogenic ways. The sun doesn’t necessarily shine much in early December in Manchester so it’s worth capturing the moments.
“Some job this is. Waiting around in line for the ice rink to open so we can be pushed around by irritating little brats.”
“Oh, cheer up, Bob. It’s a living.”
“Is it? Shouldn’t we be in Antarctica or something?”
A scene passed almost every time I walk to campus, and unusually quiet today. But that’s a good thing: the light fell just right for the shot and there are no moving cars to spoil it (well, OK, there’s the one just entering the very back of the shot but we can ignore it). All that was needed was a train coming over the bridge. Maybe next time.
This scene has been seen a few times in Manchester city centre recently. All the bollards you see here are decorated with little golden bees, the bee having been adopted (I think fairly recently) as the symbol of the city. And it’s some bloke’s responsibility to go round and repaint them now and again. Actually I think they’re doing a pretty good job, but it must be hard on the knees.
My PhD student of the last five years, Sara, passed her viva voce examination today — with only minor corrections, a very good result (for a good thesis, I honestly did think) — and so took me out to dinner at a Turkish restaurant in Manchester. The place’s waiters definitely had an overblown sense of theatrics. Salman, Sara’s son, looks somewhat apprehensively at one of them striding towards us with the kind of flamethrower that, if carried outside, would probably see him arrested for branding an offensive weapon. All this just to put a second or two of extra charring on the spicy meatballs. Food was good, though.
As I have said several times on here down the years, and all (logically) at this time of year, I think Halloween is a commercialist pile of plastic-pushing poo. On the other hand, this pub facade is quite well done. And as I have been walking past it, both to and from work, for years, I don’t remember seeing it before so someone has actually put in the effort in. Credit for that, at least.
Being 42 