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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 10: Cycle

Round here Sundays are for housework.

Dashboard of a washing machine. 30 degree cycle selected. 2:25 on the digital timer.
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I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed watching England play rugby. All change tonight - a George Ford masterclass and finally playing like a team 🙌 🌹🏉

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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 9: Language

Cricket has its very own vocabulary.

England and Sri Lanka on the cricket field at Chester le Street. Scoreboard and stands in the background.
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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 8: Yonder

Church spire visible in the distance down a side street between two closeup buildings.
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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 7: Panorama

Messing about with panoramas during my lunch break for today’s photo. Managed to get 5 of Newcastle’s famous bridges in the shot (Millennium, Tyne, Swing, High Level and QE2)

Panorama of the river Tyne with landmarks of the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides.
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I’ve not forgotten about my holiday highlights series, so here’s #3…

Listening to my Dad read my nephews their bedtime story… it just so happened to be the abuelo tonto (silly grandad) chapter from Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth 😂

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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 6: Well

A good excuse to take a different route for today’s lunchtime dog walk

Stone well built into a mud bank under cover of trees. Carved inscription reads ‘Ye well of King John’.
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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 5: Forest

Rumpled duvet. The cover is light grey with green tropical leaf pattern.
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Green Sea, 2020 - ★★ (contains spoilers)

This review may contain spoilers.

Not entirely sure what to make of this film. It felt like it could be a wholesome story about friendship but there was an edge of something sinister throughout that I couldn’t let go of.

And at the end I’m left with one overriding thought: Why did she take the dog?

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Really enjoying seeing the variety in photos being posted for today’s challenge prompt 🤩

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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 4: Orange

Somewhere between green and red 🍅

Beefsteak tomatoes growing on a plant. In the foreground the tomato is orange, behind it there are three green tomatoes and one red.
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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 3: Precious 🥰

Woman gazes adoringly at dog.
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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 2: Buildup

It’s two weeks today until the first match of the season.

Two crossed field hockey sticks resting on a blue bag at the side of the pitch.
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Finished reading: Supporting Cast by Kit de Waal 📚

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📸 September 2023 photo challenge. Day 1: Abstract

Paint on canvas. Starting light grey at the bottom and gradually getting darker. Hints of purple near the top. Red string across the middle horizontal along with two blocks of silver gilt on the right.
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Derivé in Durham

This morning I took a short train ride to Durham to take a walk and explore some (new to me) corners of the city. This activity and the prompts I used to guide me were inspired by Andrew Eberlin.

Here’s what I found…

  1. Pick any direction and walk in a straight line. After 100 paces take a photo of what is in front of you. The path of a footbridge over a road.

  2. At the next opportunity turn right. Photograph the oldest and newest building on the street. An old church tower.An ugly modern block of flats.

  3. Turn down the next street that starts with a vowel. Photograph something that moves. A merry-go-round in a childrens play park.

  4. Head in the noisiest direction and find somewhere to take a self portrait. A mirrored traffic sign nestled in an overgrown wall.

  5. Wave and smile at the next surveillance camera. Photograph it. An old building with ivy growing up its side. A surveillance camera is attached to the wall overlooking the entrance.

  6. Turn left. Find a place to sit for a while and watch the world go by. Walk to the subject that most captivates you. A statue of Neptune on a plinth in front of a decorative white building with lots of windows.

  7. Go north until you see something red or yellow. Or both. Take its photo. A courtyard with multiple small trees growing in wooden planters that are painted with the colours of the rainbow.

  8. Take two lefts and photograph the middle of the road. If it’s safe to do so. A major road pictured from a footbridge over the carriageway.

  9. Take the next right and photograph something wonderful. Red geranium flowers.

  10. Find something that no longer works. Looking up from underneath an old lamp attached to the side of a building.

  11. Meander to a nearby tree. Photograph it close up and far away. A small tree with overhanging branches growing in the middle of a grass lawn.

  12. Take a typical photo of Durham. A view from a bridge crossing the River Wear. Trees line both banks. A double scull boat is in the water. Durham Cathedral peaks out from behind the treetops on the right riverbank.

  13. And then photograph something discarded or lost. A fridge sitting on the pavement outside the walls of a churchyard.

  14. Stand somewhere and photograph a passer-by. Two people walking in the road in front of an old church building now a museum.

  15. Walk until you notice something unreasonable. Document your experience. Sign in a window reading 'You Should Have Gone to Hatfield'.

  16. Continue until you want to photograph something. You choose the subject. It’s a free world. Side of a concrete building with multiple narrow vertical windows and a small bust of the architect Ove Arup sitting on a plinth attached to the wall.

The End.

The walk took about 90 minutes in total with 60 minutes time on the move. This final image is the route the prompts took me in.

I enjoyed seeing some new parts of this small city. I know it a little but definitely found some areas new to me, and appreciated some places I used to frequent during my lunch breaks when I worked here briefly. I’ll definitely do this again and maybe see what new perspectives it can bring to my home town.

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Someone wrote recently about the reason for blogging / who a blog is for. Can’t find it now and want to share with someone 😞 Can anyone point me in the right direction?

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On my way to Durham this morning for a wander inspired by this derivé walk

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My Neighbor Totoro, 1988 - ★★★★

Almost ashamed to say this is the first time I’ve watched this. I was tired and feeling a bit sorry for myself and some time with Totoro et al was exactly what I needed.

I’m kind of amazed that a film almost as old as me could feel so timeless, but I guess that’s the magic of Miyazaki.

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YouTube have unintentionally made the best user experience ever. Loving the calm of this, long may it last

Screenshot of YouTube app with a completely white screen. An alert box reads “Your watch history is off. You can change your setting at any time to get the latest videos tailored to you.” The call to action is a button to update settings.