Sunday 28th February 2021, 2.15pm (day 3,475)

Whatever it is I wanted to say with this picture, the cube is there; it is Clare (and I) who are just passing through.

Misty weather discouraged a walk up anywhere high, but a nine-mile stroll along the Rochdale Canal to Todmorden and back at least stretched the legs today. While not really visible on this shot, this boat did have the remnants of a ‘For Sale’ sign painted on the side; I guess by now it’s probably quite a bargain, if you’re prepared to do the salvage work.
The outdoor stalls at Todmorden market stay there permanently, and well before the presumed 9am opening time of the rest of the enterprise, this guy was out with his boxes trying to get the early morning trade. There wasn’t any, hence the title of this post. I like this shot because it’s the one I was trying to take, and the car headlight poking through the struts is the final bonus.
What, on the other hand, was I doing in Todmorden — as opposed to being somewhat nearer Manchester — at this time in the morning? Don’t ask. Just part of the Conservative Party’s Annual Autumn Travel Lottery.
On an uneventful, work-free Friday ungraced by stellar photo opportunities, this seemed to sum things up the best.
The monument atop Stoodley Pike is visible for much of the train journey from Hebden Bridge to Todmorden, but the best view of it comes at the end, as one crosses the viaduct just prior to Todmorden station. You get about five seconds to see it properly before trees, then the station buildings, obscure the view. Seeing as I experience this view every time I get a train to Manchester (as long as I’m sat on the left), in a sense I have been waiting over seven years to offer up a version of this picture on the blog: so if I remain committed to never repeating myself, let’s only show it when it seems particularly worth it. Did it make the 5:35am alarm call (and 7:45am arrival in the office) worthwhile? Er…. mildly, I guess.

The weather has switched from decency to foulness pretty quickly. Having once more gone into Manchester, this time with Joe to sort him and me out a new phone each, our train journey home was terminated at Todmorden due to flooding on the line somewhere between Hebden Bridge and Sowerby Bridge, so we were on the bus for the last leg of the journey. Dull this picture is, but it epitomises how it’s all suddenly got dark, cold and damp. Welcome to November for real….

A day early too. We all need a break — me, him and indeed the trains, which stop running into Manchester for the next 10 days, just for the hell of it really. Who cares: I’m now off work until the 4th April. Happy Easter.
Todmorden market‘s second appearance on the blog — though I never seem to actually catch it open. Perhaps it’s just better this way.
A sunny moment captured through the window of a train on the opposite platform. What I want to know is whether the cat is also intending to catch the imminent Manchester service.
This photo encapsulates the weather we had today: wind, rain and sun. Taken from inside the (heated) waiting room on platform 2 of Todmorden railway station.
Another very strong candidate for photo of the day is on my Facebook page, by the way. Doubtless it will make its way into the next ‘best of the rest’ collection.