A day to reacquaint myself with people, who, generally, have not been seen on here for the last few days. Not that there will be many visits to Manchester coming up; I’m trying to minimise the need for them. And. by the way — Japan, brilliant stuff guys.
I’m sure it’s up to something useful. One of those shots which, I am very aware, would have benefited from better symmetry, but there’s only so much preparatory work one can do while stood in the middle of a street.
I know this photo is technically dubious though I do quite like the way they arrange themselves on it. It’s chosen more to symbolise the fact that, including today, there will be eight Tuesdays between now and Christmas where I will be obliged to be in Manchester at around this time, facing 9am teaching duties. For now, it’s still light, even when I get up, but that won’t be the case for long.
Today was a pleasant, sunny morning, all the way in to the final stretch of the walk to campus, when suddenly everything became covered in a light and melancholy mist. It didn’t last long, but at least gave the locality a bit of atmosphere.
I would not normally go into Manchester as late as this, particularly not on a Friday. But my employers said in order to get my new hardware, hard-wired, I needed to pay homage at the Desk of Service. In person. So be it — I ultimately cared as little as the owner of these legs.
This scene is very Dutch, even without sight of any canals, windmills, cheese, cannabis retailers and so on — all of which Wageningen has, I can assure you. There are plenty of bikes visible here however. Conversations in the pub this evening suggest that the Nethlerlands faces just the same problems that are familiar at home right now, such as rising energy bills, neoliberalist shite in power, etc., and I sympathise, belive me. But all the same it seems just such a civilised place, compared to almost anywhere else I can think of.
Someone Else’s Art — but very fine it is. It doesn’t matter that her left eye is mostly replaced by the window, and the security camera totally fails to intrude, too. Great work. Sometimes even just a minor variation in one’s route to work brings new sights in view.
At the moment it’s a case of — do I sit at home all day working, or trug into Manchester and sit in my office all day? Well, at least going into Manchester gets me a bit more exercise. There always seems to be at least one person smoking outside this building on Booth Street in the city centre, no matter how early I pass by.
A first ever visit to Arbroath. The town has offered plenty of things to the world, not least: the Bell Rock lighthouse (the world’s oldest extant lighthouse built directly in the sea); Arbroath FC who still hold the world record for the largest ever win in an official, senior football match (36-0 in the 1880s); and the Arbroath smokie, a very fine way to treat a fillet of haddock. But in 2022, while it’s attractive enough, not a lot seems to go on there. Though I admit I spent a good few minutes to get this shot without cars on it.
A Tuesday morning in Manchester. Either I was having a major case of déjà vu, or this same guy was still sat in the same spot when I came back past this point in the afternoon.
Being 42 