White van man becomes a photographer for the day

view from a transit van, rainy day, Manchester © caroline fraser

 I have been a little lapse in my posts; I can only blame the following............

1. a holiday
2. the washing
3. the dog
4. work
5. Manchester

Anything else would be untruthful. Manchester being the most interesting from the list, if only because I drove a transit van all the way there and back, without a radio.......... for the love of my youngest who is now ensconced in a city that is desperately trying to promote itself from every window, high rise block and restaurant. 

With a van full of old stuff unsuitable for a trendy new flat, but free and therefore desirable, my other half and I drove van, delivered furniture, had lunch with youngest and then explored the city that was waiting for us.

I had my camera;  felt obliged to take photos; it was raining hard; so I was a little limited in my options. 

I saw

•  the street through the van window in the rain; see above

• the view from my hotel window; something rather surreal and impersonal about this

view from a hotel window © caroline fraser 

• a voodoo doll in the "penny falls" at the Odeon cinema - had to do something while my other half queued 20 mins for tickets, and I have fond memories of the "penny falls" in amusement arcades on childhood days out in Bognor, in the days when you actually won something.

Voodoo doll © caroline fraser

I cannot comment on the attraction of a voodoo doll as a prize; clearly I am not the intended audience for this game.

• fire extinguishers in my hotel; as you can see all the photos taken indoors due to problems with the climate "Up-North"

fire extinguishers © caroline fraser

It fascinates me that I sometimes feel compelled to take a picture, even if I have to risk looking completely mad; luckily no-one caught me .............

We eventually made it to the Manchester Art Gallery, where I was excited to find that Grayson Perry had a small exhibition. Having never seen his works, I dragged other half up the steps and into the gallery............ but they were closing in 5 mins and were very politely sent on our way. My opportunity to add a little culture to a very uncultured day was lost.

White van man x2 went to the cinema instead.