Tag Archives: street

Jan 21 2020
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Abingdon Street, reopened

Monday 20th January 2020, 10.00am (day 3,070)

Abingdon Street, reopened, 20/1/20

Abingdon Street is one of the keys to making my walk between Victoria station and my office as peaceful and traffic-free as is possible. In summer 2018 it was closed off, to allow for the building of the latest boutique hotel that Manchester city centre doesn’t need. This annoyed me so much that I specifically moaned about it, twice, in the manuscript of the book I wrote on sabbatical last year (due out in March, apparently). However, last week it looked as if preparations were being made for its reopening and today I got to walk the length of it again for the first time in 18 months. Thankfully, despite the concrete carbuncle now stood at one end, it remains as peaceful and traffic-free as before. Welcome back. These are the little things that matter, sometimes.

Not that I’ll be using it again for a couple of weeks — I’m not back in Manchester for work for a fortnight.

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May 09 2019
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architecture, Daily Post

Zagreb street

Wednesday 8th May 2019, 7.15pm (day 2,813)

Zagreb street, 8/5/19

When I was younger, propaganda convinced me that everywhere behind the old Iron Curtain was grey, drab and polluted. This is of course not the case, was never the case. Eastern European cities (see also Prague, Tallinn, more) seem to have this effortless sophistication, a handsome civility that should shame all who voted for the idiocy that is Brexit. Britons have much to learn from such places, the trouble is that 17 million of them said, we don’t want to. (The Croatians have also learned from us though — at least, they have acquired an understanding of ‘the pub’.)

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Dec 03 2018
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Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Urban scene

Soggy “Sun”day

Sunday 2nd December 2018, 11.30am (day 2,656)

Soggy Sunday, 2/12/18

The weather’s been fairly disgusting for several days now, and today was no exception. One of those days when the term “Sun”day is simply incorrect. I dislike this time of year: it always seems grey and cruddy, and it’s still getting darker. Roll on the Solstice.

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Nov 14 2018
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Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Urban scene

The immediate vicinity

Tuesday 13th November 2018, 5.05pm (day 2,637)

Lees Road, 13/11/18

The immediate vicinity… being that region around my house (not quite visible on this shot)… which I did not leave today, at least not in any meaningful photographic way. The red lighting is explainable by being under the traffic lights at this point: one could get a green-tinted version of the same shot if one so desired.

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Feb 20 2018
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architecture, Daily Post, Hebden Bridge

Eiffel Buildings

Monday 19th February 2018, 3.50pm (day 2,370)

Eiffel buildings, 19/2/18

If it wasn’t for the distinctive topography of my home town, Hebden Bridge, I doubt I would have felt inspired enough to keep this blog going for 2,370 days. I do spend quite a bit of time here — some 40% of the shots are from HB. And, well, it does look rather good in the right light. I try to do it justice.

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Feb 10 2018
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Neither one side nor the other

Friday 9th February 2018, 9.25am (day 2,360)

Richmond Street, 9/2/18

Richmond Street, Manchester. Overnight I have cogitated on a possible pithy commentary for this one and none springs to mind so let me allow the photo to stand on its own for a change…

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Jan 01 2017
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Daily Post, Urban scene

The seller of balloons

Saturday 31st December 2016, 12.55pm (day 1,955)

Balloon seller, 31/12/16

2016’s last day was an enjoyable and sociable one, but these balloons were as near as I got to what might be called a ‘party’. But either way — hope you had a good evening, and a good 2016 as well. Personally, mine’s been up and down, and there hasn’t really been a ‘big event’ (like Kilimanjaro in 2015 or Australia 2013) to inspire me behind the camera. There are possibilities emerging for 2017 though. Favourite photo of the year? Probably the proud-looking frog in our garden on 30th June, because of its willingness to pose while I maneuvered the lens two inches from its nose. Happy New Year.

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Jul 26 2016
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Street scene, Lisbon

Tuesday 26th July 2016, 5.05pm (day 1,797)

Lisbon street scene, 26/7/16

I said I was due a holiday, and so it began today: a 4.15am alarm call was the only downside. But here we are in Lisbon, Portugal — this blog’s 25th different country. Not a new one for me, I spent quite a lot of time here in 1990-91 when I had a Portuguese girlfriend for a little while (an experience I recommend if you get the chance…), but very little since. So it’s nice to revisit it. Today was just a settling in, but you’ll be seeing plenty more of it over the next few days, I guarantee it.

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Feb 12 2016
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Crossing the road

Friday 12th February 2016, 9.30am (day 1,632)

Crossing, 12/2/16

Sometimes you don’t even realise you’ve got the shot until it’s been sitting on your camera all day then you upload it. This was just a general scene but once I saw how glorious her hair was she became its obvious subject. Had to crop it down a lot, hence its loss of sharpness and increased grain — but that’s then helped by going monochrome.

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Dec 08 2015
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

Outside Victoria station

Tuesday 8th December 2015, 10.40am (day 1,566)

Outside Victoria, 8/12/15

I wasn’t taking a photo of this guy, but just of the scene. He then stopped walking, turned straight into the shot and lit his cigarette. Sometimes it just works out.

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