Archives

Feb 08 2012
1 Comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna Gallery

Wrapped up against the cold

Wednesday 8th February 2012, 8.45am (day 167)

Wrapped whippets, 8/2/12_low-res

As someone who grew up in the South but now has firmly settled in the North, I do have a certain sympathy for some of the anti-Southern sniping which takes place up here and which is often deserved. However, on this occasion the reason the papers are all saying how crap the weather is in the South, and not mentioning the North, is not some innate metropolitan bias: it’s simply that at the moment the South (being closer to the very cold air settled over Europe) is having bad weather, and we’re not.

Having said all that, there was a deep, damp chill in the air today; these dogs were not the only ones wrapped up  against the cold as the kids walked to school.

Tagged , , , , , ,
Feb 07 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Landscape Gallery

Walkers on Great Dodd

Tuesday 7th February 2012, 12.50pm (day 166)

Walkers on Great Dodd, 7/2/12

No, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit and let today’s weather pass unused. I’ll catch up on Sunday instead. It was worth it.

Plenty more pictures from today have been uploaded onto my other blog.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 06 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Landscape Gallery

Full Moon, from the train home

Monday 6th February 2012, 4.50pm (day 165)

Full moon from train, 6/2/12

Not much happened today but there was some great light and a stunning full moon (well, one day short of full) in the evening. Had to snap it from the moving train as I made my way home, but even if it is a bit of an odd shot, it will certainly do for the daily pic. That’s the moon’s third appearance on the blog, I think.

Tagged , , , ,
Feb 05 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Uncategorized Gallery

Garden Centre, Walsden

Sunday 5th February 2012, 11.45am (day 164)

Snowy buddhas, 5/2/12

Had to choose something which showed the white stuff but the ‘bird in snow’ pic (of which I did get a good one today) was done yesterday, and the panoramic shot of the town… too clichéd. So let’s have the Buddhas instead. Most of the snow’s gone by this evening anyway.

Tagged , , , , , ,
Feb 04 2012
3 Comments
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna Gallery

Turned cold again

Saturday 4th February 2012, 4.10pm (day 163)

Muscovy duck in snow, 4/2/12

The forecasts have been promising a snowy turn to the weather for a while and today it duly arrived – although it was hardly The Day After Tomorrow. This did not, of course, prevent most of Britain’s infrastructure clogging up as we all fretted about the place, and councils and national government blamed each other for there not being enough gritters. But it’s the same every year.

This bird is apparently a Muscovy duck: not indigenous to the UK (a fuller shot of it is here). Either it’s stopped over for a busman’s holiday, or it’s an escaped pet. I have been told the eggs are very tasty. They’d keep well if laid outside in this weather, too.

Tagged , , , , , ,
Feb 03 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post Gallery

My roof

Friday 3rd February 2012, 11.20am (day 162)

Roof slates, 3/2/12

Another day at home working. Freezing cold outside, though bright and sunny. On current rates, of the 206 days this blog still has to run I can expect to spend about another 100 of them at home in HB, so will have to find a few more nuances in the local scene yet, if my posts are not to become repetitive. So here’s today’s attempt: poke one’s head out of the skylight on the shady, frosty side of the house and see what I can do. This was the most interesting shot I got today.

Tagged , , , , ,
Feb 02 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Interior Gallery

The Alma Mater: Parkinson Court, the University of Leeds

Thursday 2nd February 2012, 12.05pm (day 161)

Parkinson Court, 2/2/12

Alma Mater (noun): ‘The school, college or university that one attended. ORIGIN [17th Cent]: (in the general sense of someone providing nourishment): Latin, literally ‘Bounteous Mother’.

I was here from 1993 until I achieved my doctorate in 2001, then I worked here until 2005. I’ve not been back much since, but I was here today for a meeting. Nice to see it again. They say ‘never go back’, but sometimes you should do.

Tagged , , , , , ,
Feb 01 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Landscape Gallery

Another Hebden Bridge sunset

Wednesday 1st February 2012, 4.20pm (day 160)

HB sunset., 1/2/12

Spent the whole day at home grading papers. Ah well, at least there’s the view from the house to keep me (and the blog) going on such an otherwise monotonous – and cold – day.

Tagged , , , , ,
Jan 31 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Urban scene Gallery

Thatcher on a bus: Oxford Street, Manchester

Tuesday 31st January 2012, 4.55pm (day 159)

Thatcher on a bus, 31/1/12

Recently, throughout Manchester, this face has been appearing on the side of buses. Now I was sure that Margaret Thatcher had once said, “Anyone seen regularly on a bus after the age of 30 can count themselves a failure in life”.

However, I checked out the veracity of this quote and according to a Wikipedia talk page, it may be apocryphal.

Still, how much funnier it would now be if she had really said it.

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Jan 30 2012
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Friend, Portrait Gallery

Rebe, Kro Bar, Manchester

Monday 30th January 2012, 4.40pm (day 158)

Rebe, 30/1/12

Bye bye to Rebe, who – via a roundabout route – is now off to live in Belgium for a year while her husband does post-doc work there. One of my recently-graduated students (see Dec 14th), and a very good advert for her native Costa Rica.

Tagged , , , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →