Some Pictures Must Be Taken. Some Quotes Must Be Quoted.
It’s the 7th day of the new year and by now, I should have posted a photograph of something to do with sky–sunrise or sunset or perhaps a moon, as I usually do at this time of year. I’m not doing that because I have no such picture; I’ve not taken up my camera this year yet. So, instead, here’s the photo of my cat Pepper, being a, well, cat.
How are you holding up in 2019?
And it’s the last day of the year and as usual here is my Best Nine on Instagram.
Thank you to everyone who liked my 2018 Recap post. I didn’t think anyone would care ‘cos it was so personal. You guys are amazing!
Happy new year!
I’ve not done this ever but I had such a productive year of photography, I decided to post some pics from this year that didn’t make it to Some Photoblog. I will also look back to some of my memorable posts from this year.
A snail, snapped not far from my neighbourhood.
City Tower in Manchester city centre. Taken by my smartphone, from the Piccadilly Bus Station. I like this angle.
Radcliffe area, near Bury, north of Manchester. Not quite the moors of Yorkshire, but still offers a great scope for imagination, as Anne of Green Gables would say.
This is in the above mentioned Bury, away form the town centre. Proper farm area, I heard cockerels and everything!
Save the best for last, this is Formby. Visiting Formby was definitely one of the highlights of the year for me. Here I am holding a pinecone, which I have actually kept and even used it in my autumnal and Christmas still life posts!
To say 2018 has been a turbulent year is not an exaggeration. The Beast of the East freezing conditions in February and March were followed by scorching hot summer (there was like four months, of no rain in Manchester and that happens, like, never). Climate change is here–so what are we gonna do about it?
Elsewhere, politically, I best not to even talk about it–but a huge shout out to Ireland, who knows how to do referendums right! (They voted in favour of making abortions legal, which is an issue I will never not feel strongly about, even when I’m dead in the grave.) I also went to two anti-Brexit marches, the second of which was attended by 700,000 people; an event I will never forget for the rest of my life.
Creatively for me it’s been the best year ever. I took over 1000 photographs between May and July, ran a dystopian series, blogged about Kindle eBooks, ducks and trees that look like Yggdrasil. Although I wish WordPress didn’t kill their Weekly Photo Challenge. That was not cool, guys.
So there it is, my 2018 end-of-year recap.
Raise your glasses for 2019 and let’s hope for the best.
I’m back with another sign.
This is a new one in Heaton Park, warning the visitors of sudden drop from the Ha-ha. (I blogged about Ha-ha before.)
Quite right.
If you’re not careful, you’ll fall on your nose. Or worse.
Maybe not purple exactly–not sure what I’d call this shade–but it sounds good as a title, so I’m going with it.
Photo is from Heaton Park on Boxing Day.
Because I did a Not-Christmas post, I’m doing a yes-Christmas post, so that you don’t think I’m some kind of a downer.
Here are two pics I put exactly zero effort into:
But those visibly hand-made pieces of art? I made them myself!
Merry Christmas!
And if it’s not a merry time for you, have a peaceful Christmas.
Yeah, I had to go there.
But at least I’m doing this on the 23rd, not on any of the Christmas days. Reality is… well, reality, even at this time of year.
So first of all, I had to make a Brexmas card, because of course.
Open it!
UK seems like it’s very sick and needs some good care. Just check this out.
It also looks like an England flag, which was not my intention–just a coincidence. Moving on to:
You know how the word snowflake has gained a completely different meaning to what it actually is. Used by people who can’t get over the fact that the world is changing to describe mostly liberals and/or socially conscious (aka woke) people. Snowflake? I give you snowflake.
Bonus – a not Christmas throwback
I found this anti-Christmas card I forgot I had among my Christmas drawings and cards (I have this thing I call the Christmas Book, where I’ve been drawing Christmas scenery and stuff since I was very young and in the last few years been saving cards in it, but that’s not what I want to talk about now). I should say I’m not the artist of this brilliant piece–it was done by a coworker. It’s from 2014 and I think it’s hilarious:
The point is, some people just hate Christmas, or can’t handle it. And that’s okay. It’s not an easy time for everyone, whether it’s for mental health issues, having lost a loved one or working in retail, you are all valid. One can also enjoy some aspects of Christmas and not the others. So maybe you like the food but are not thrilled about having to spend time with annoying relatives. I get that.
I have received shit from someone earlier this year when I said Santa Claus wasn’t real. I said it by mistake. (I think I meant to say something else but my communication skills are so poor I’m glad I can express myself on most days, also remember please that I’m not speaking my native language.) But as a result, I ended up hating that figure. Pass me those anti-Santa rockets, by all means. Ironically, the person who gave me the said shit is exactly the type who says “people are too touchy these days”. She’s not called anyone snowflake only because she’s not familiar with the term, but she got so offended by me suggesting a black actor, Idris Elba, should play James Bond, she stopped speaking to me. (You can’t imagine how much I want him to get that role now!) But then Idris Elba got named the People magazine’s sexiest man alive, so nyah nyah nyah.
Let’s just be good to each other, not just at Christmas, but all year round.
Unless you’re a bigot or a horrible person. Then you don’t deserve to be treated nice.
Merry Christmas.
Or not.
Oh hey there, this blog still exists!
November and December seem to be dry months for me when it comes to photography (and by extension, blogging). Strangely, in January it picks up again, even though the landscape tends to be just as bad. I’m an indoors person all year round and hate the cold, so you can imagine I spend winters at home under the blankets.
So since it’s that time of the year again, I decided to do a little photoshoot using an assortment of Lindt chocolates, seasonal products of nature, decorative beads and fairy lights.
And another one with Christmas cards.
I got the kitten card yesterday from a colleague. Because there are never enough Christmas things with kittens.
Have you ever walked in a park or a wooded area, admiring the nature; the trees and flowers and maybe some wildlife, when suddenly you come across this:
What?
Not really a Random and Weird Phone Shot, as this fits more with my Statements-in-the-city themed posts, though much like the RAWPS, it is temporary, but it doesn’t matter anyway. What matters is the message.
Just wondering, how do you think we will justify ourselves to future generations?
