Tag Archives: sculpture

Sep 23 2025
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Art and architecture, Daily Post

Sir Nigel Gresley (without mallard)

Sunday 21st September 2025, 1.15pm (day 5,141)

Gresley statue, 21/9/25

On my regular visits to London I have been walking past this statuesque chap since 2016. The sculpture is of Sir Nigel Gresley, designer of the famous Mallard locomotive, which still holds the speed record for a steam locomotive. The statue is about 7 feet high — Sir Nigel wasn’t, though. Apparently, the design was to have originally featured a duck (that is, a mallard) as well as Sir Nige, but this was left off in the end, after, and I quote the Guardian (via Wikipedia) here; “possibly the most acrimonious argument in the long, pedantic history of the railway hobbyist”.

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May 22 2025
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Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait

Campus selfie

Thursday 22nd May 2025, 1.45pm (day 5,019)

First shot from Manchester since the 6th. Do I really spend so little time there these days? At some yet-to-be-determined date in the future, I will, of course, take my last ever shot from there, not so much the city but from campus more specifically. I will not be working at uni for the rest of my life unless that life ends unexpectedly, and fairly soon. But for now I am still going in. I do not know what this sculpture represents though it has clearly been built from the same stuff, and at the same time, as the building that surrounds the courtyard in which it stands. If I have a favourite place on campus, this is probably it.

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Jan 31 2024
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Daily Post, Interior

In Café la Gaffe

Tuesday 30th January 2024, 9.50pm (day 4,541)

In Café la Gaffe, 30/1/24

This is not particularly Toronto-specific. There are at least three, and probably more, blatant electrical wires running across the shot in various directions. There are all sorts of reflections intruding and the head resides above what appears to be a fusebox. Nevertheless this is certainly my most interesting shot of the day, it feels to me like a collage. (The food in this place had similar characteristics — that is, random and possibly incompatible things nevertheless pushed together into the same space — but that’s another story.)

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Dec 27 2023
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Art and architecture, Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

The Kelpies

Tuesday 26th December 2023, 1.30pm (day 4,506)

Kelpies.26/12/23

The Kelpies are sculptures a hundred feet high that sit beside the M9 motorway in Falkirk, Scotland. They are certainly impressive although I don’t quite see the point. Yes, it would be nicer if the pylons weren’t there, but never mind, you are meant to be distracted by the penetrating stare of the one on the left, while the other does that whole head-tossing thing, all in tons of steel. 

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Dec 13 2023
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Daily Post, Interior

Samuel Alexander, Professor of Philosophy

Tuesday 12th December 2023, 9.20am (day 4,492)

Samuel Alexander Xmas decorations, 12/12/23

Prof. Alexander’s bust has long graced the entrance hall of the building on Manchester’s campus that bears his name. This kind of thing happens most years, to be honest. He seems to bear it with stoic dignity. I don’t think he looks all that unhappy — a bit resigned, maybe.

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Dec 06 2023
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Art and architecture, Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Interior

Wire Man

Tuesday 5th December 2023, 3.00pm (day 4,485)

Wire Man, 5/12/23

Wire Man — his official name, according to the ‘information sheet’ he dutifully carries — sits in one corner of the Albert pub in Hebden and has done so for some years now. He is quite an interesting creation, but he doesn’t do much. Visitors like him at first. Then they get annoyed that he is basically occupying two seats in a prime spot, particularly on busy weekends (and they’re all busy at present).

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Oct 16 2023
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Daily Post, Urban scene

The Low Moor sculpture park

Saturday 14th October 2023, 1.30pm (day 4,433)

Low Moor sculptures

Just beyond the fence at Low Moor railway station, in Bradford, are stored these bizarre sculptures, or possibly they are some kind of carnival float. I really have no idea what story these make together, though. A close-up was no more revealing, so let’s go with this long shot under stormy skies instead.

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Mar 25 2022
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Art and architecture, Daily Post, Urban scene

In the Piece Hall

Thursday 24th March 2022, 1.30pm (day 3,864)

Piece Hall sculpture, 24/3/22

Since Halifax’s Piece Hall was renovated a few years ago it has become by far the most pleasing urban space in the town. The quadrangle is currently displaying a number of sculptures by Sophie Ryder, this being one of them; I recall a similar huge grey rabbit/woman at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park around a year ago, making me think, with hindsight, that this is probably the same artist. Incidentally, as far as I can ascertain, no actual rabbits have appeared on this blog in its 3,864 days.

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Oct 12 2021
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Toronto whirlpool

Monday 11th October 2021, 9.35am (day 3,700)

Toronto whirlpool, 11/10/21

My destination on this long-deferred trip outside the UK is Toronto, the largest city in Canada. As the director of this movie about my life, I did consider going with the ‘establishing long shot’, but in a way I’ve already done that, as the Toronto skyline featured in August 2017, when I changed planes here on my way to Illinois to see the eclipse. So here’s a shot from this morning’s explorations; I liked this ‘whirlpool’ sculpture. In the background, Lake Ontario, or at least, an inlet of it. I am here until Saturday: some work to do, but y’know, it’s just nice to be somewhere else for a while.

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Oct 03 2021
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Daily Post, Sport

Three winners

Saturday 2nd October 2021, 2.55pm (day 3,691)

World Cup winners, 2/10/21

This sculpture stands outside the Tameside Stadium in Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. It commemorates the three men born in the town who have World Cup winners’ medals. The trick being that only two of them — Jimmy Armfield (left) and Geoff Hurst (right) — won them with England. In the middle is Simone Perrotta, who was born in Ashton but whose parents moved back to Italy when he was young. This is a decent sculpture; it looks dynamic, and different from each side.

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