Sunday 9th March 2014, 1.45pm (day 927)
We are still getting through the packing for Joe’s birthday presents. Is it possible to resist the lure of bubble wrap?
We are still getting through the packing for Joe’s birthday presents. Is it possible to resist the lure of bubble wrap?
I did virtually nothing today. The pic encapsulates my indolence (those are my feet on lower left) and Clare’s industry, as she packs for her night away performing. Packing in this instance is a matter of pressure and counter-pressure.
As growing on our window sill at home, getting itself established before we introduce it into the big, wide, adolescent world that lies outside.
At a conference today, though in Manchester. Held at one of these ‘workspaces’ festooned with motivational messages. I don’t mind this one, except the subliminal attempt to highlight the value of work (for whom….?); it all looks kind of Photoshopped, but isn’t.
This morning I was invited to visit the workplace of my friend Simon, on the right here; he is the boss of the Slightly Foxed Brewing Company. I just had an interest in seeing the process of making the very nice beer his company come out with on a regular basis. We started early — the brewer, also called Simon, had started on the day’s batch at about 6.30am. Here, the two Simons inspect a brew that has been in these fermentation vats for a few days and should have been ready to go out, but it is still too cloudy.
I continue to be in a long run of time spent at home and around familiar places. This mural, next to one of the entrances of Manchester Victoria station, has been here a very long time, since the services round here were run by the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway, rather than Northern Rail. The red lines on this map were theirs. Some have now gone but quite a number remain actively operational.
I had a really nice, artistic shot of some alley in Manchester city centre lined up as today’s choice. It was a beautiful day, with great light throughout.
But…. this is JUPITER. And Io, and Europa, and (I am taking a stab at this) Ganymede. And there are colours (look how Ganymede to the right is whiter than the rest.) With an ordinary digital camera. Pictured from Yorkshire. It’s awesome.
Joe has graduated up recently from his acoustic to this axe. Note the book of music as well — his choice (he is often observed putting the very brilliant Won’t Get Fooled Again on jukeboxes). A boy of taste.
Sometimes there just isn’t the chance to take many photos. Today was Joe’s birthday party, though not his birthday precisely, that comes next week. We had a gaggle of 10- and 11-year-old boys round at ours for lunch then took them to the cinema (to see Mr Peabody and Sherman), here is the moment at which they launched themselves for the entrance, and one of the few at could deal with photography rather than general mayhem-avoidance and catering.
OK, so I know it’s a bit weird to take pictures of other people’s laundry. But it’s not like I climbed over anyone’s garden fence to do it.