A very unexciting day today, not least because I had to work for much of it — but by this point, that is over, and there are only two more working days left for me until Christmas. Whether the break will get much more exciting than this, who knows; but as usual at this time of year, I couldn’t really care.
The transformation of Manchester into a city of tower blocks continues apace. Over the last few years, how many shots from here have featured some giant construction project, completed or (mostly) otherwise? The end of Canal Street, at the New Union hotel, is now literally overshadowed by this concrete lattice, which just keeps going up, and up, and up.
My working week has been busy but interesting thanks to the presence of two colleagues from the University of Melbourne, in Australia, Linda and Camille. I should depict at least one of them on the blog at some point, so here is Linda doing her stuff at a lecture this evening. It’s been nice to have them here, not least because in early April next year the reciprocal part of the exchange takes place and I (along with my colleague Lee) get the chance to go Down Under for a couple of weeks — with all its associated photo opportunities…
Travelling, and working, and having a cup of tea, in Munich central station, which is so huge that you go two stops on the S-bahn train before you actually leave its awnings. I found my little corner of it for a time. A decent trip to Germany, but time to go home.
Sometimes I have to work on Sundays, though always at home. Today, a sudden desire for soft-boiled eggs was one unexpected consequence.
Altrincham Street marks one of the edges of the Manchester campus. Officially, it ends just behind where this shot was taken: here, we are looking through a gate that blocks off this extension, squeezing itself through the gap between the car park and the (overcrowded and inadequate) cross-Manchester railway line on the right. Why this shot, and the second monochrome shot in a row? I just like the perspectives. And it’s a kind of non-space, forgotten, unused. In some cities there’d be a whole thriving community down here.
This building was built in 1899 as a Baptist chapel. Worship (and/or baptisms) haven’t taken place here since the 1970s, but it is now a conference centre and youth hostel. As it is only a few minutes’ walk from my house it was nice to work here today rather than in Manchester, but it does lie halfway up a fekkin’ steep hill, which I had to climb three times in the morning. Maybe that’s why the Baptists stopped worshipping here after a while, and moved to the much more conveniently sited Hope Baptist Chapel down in town…
I started this blog on 26th August 2011, my 42nd birthday — hence its name. We can now demonstrate that I am 2,619 days old than Clare, who reached that same milestone today. It is right and proper therefore that for this one day she can be both the subject of, and co-contributor, to the blog: as she is, today, “Being 42”.
As subject — above, Clare on the phone to Joe, who has been whisked off to Berlin for the weekend with 25 other 15- and 16-year olds on a school trip (no, I don’t really want to think about it either). We took advantage of this opportunity to bugger off down to London for a couple of days, but this shot is taken in Manchester’s Piccadilly Tavern before we got on the train. And no, it wasn’t deliberately taken at 4.20pm either. Honestly.
And as special guest contributor to the blog — we decided that as I was always going to offer one of her today, she would offer one of me. Here’s me descending to Euston tube station in London, later in the journey… being 42 years + 2,619 days old.
Happy 42nd birthday darling xxx…
Pulled duty on the 6:32 train to Manchester for the first time in a while, making this the earliest true morning shot since January 2017. Maybe I wasn’t the first one up in the whole town but there weren’t many of us. A long week of work comes to an end. Is it Christmas yet?
The second monochrome shot in a row but it was a way of bringing some added interest to this view. I worked at home all day and did not leave the house. I know it’s a pretty distinctive view, in relative terms. But it is also everyday, for us at least.
Being 42 