Unfortunately, I cannot update the previous post with the video I put up on YouTube. The video is a montage of the photos I took and the audio I recorded in Manchester on the day of the game. In addition to sharing it with you, may I also take to a bit of boasting and say that it is currently in the top 100 videos watched tpoday in the Guru category (see the image). Not something I've hit before...
Read the previous about the Manchester game.
Wednesday was my mother's birthday, and it was a rather pleasant coincidence that Zenith, a Russian football team from St Petersburg, should be playing in the UEFA Cup Final on the day. In the morning I left home earlier than usual with the intent to visit a certain shop. I ended up walking the streets and taking photographs of the city getting ready for the descent of football bans, nearly forgetting about the shop (I did visit it eventually).
I know that the general feel was that of surprise and intimidation, and I must admit, having received more compliments in one day than in all 4.5 years in Britain, I felt that I should stay at home. But I did get to spend about 15 minutes in the human traffic jam in Piccadilly Gardens, to talk to a street vendor of Glasgow Rangers' flags, to take several pictures of the rather keen fans in Deansgate Locks and elsewhere around Manchester. I realise that they may not have been aware that I would put their photos up on the Internet, but by experience I am sure they would not mind anyway.
I did not witness the ransacks in the city, I got home by 7 pm, and never showed my nose back into the street till the morning. I heard the fans strolling the streets, the police sirens, and my network connection died at certain times, so I could not even make a phone call. And I know that I would be a winner either way, as these days I belong to both countries. But neither is my mother or many of my dear friends in Russia. So, it was just really pleasant to find out that Zenith has won. Congratulations to you, guys!!
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
PS - As I was walking home yesterday evening, I asked a street cleaner since when he was collecting the garbage and how many bin bags he made. His answers were, respectively, "since 11 o'clock" and "lost count". Today, on my way to work, I saw a banner over one of Manchester's bars, reminding about the Manchester United vs Chelsea Champions League final in Moscow. Two football matches in the space of a week... I'm looking forward to hear the figures of the material and financial losses to the city. In the meantime, may I indicate that I'll be wearing red on May 21st.
I'm terrible as far as image browsing is concerned. There are many images that I like, and I save them. By default, they are saved to my desktop - as is anything else that I save or download. The desktop on my computer is a rather unhealthy pool of different files (mainly images), in which I'm almost afraid of diving, even for the purpose of cleaning it and giving it some kind of order.
Recently I changed the desktop image on my PC at work. Now I realised there was something about the change. Yet again I started the year vowing to travel (as you know, I already spent the New Year in North Wales and went to Leeds on the spur of the moment). As a part of one work project, I had to research into all things Spanish. The magic happened: I thought that Paris - the destination I have long "lusted" after - could wait, and that I'd like to go to Barcelona first, to see Gaudi's architectural masterpieces. It was still March, then April showers came in, and all the time I had this bright picture of one of Gaudi's buildings on my desktop (left).
Yesterday I thought I'd want another picture. The weather in Manchester is amazingly sunny and hot, but the desktop suddenly began to look too sizzling. I needed a change. Something non-urban, not-hot, not-red, but calming and breezy. Sometime before I researched into all things Belgian, and I eventually chose the picture on the right.
On my laptop's desktop I used to have one of custom images of some sort of cave. This was changed last week to a picture of a Roman amphitheatre in Algeria (below, left). And at my previous work I used to have the famous scene from The Seventh Seal on my desktop (below, right).
One thing I have never had on my desktop are pictures of either dressed or (half) naked celebrities. This is not to say I have never looked at or saved such pictures to my hard drive. But no, I don't have my favourite actor/actress/singer' face staring at me every time I go to desktop. I also have never had any mantra messages, poems, aphorisms or phrases displayed or running in all directions across my desktop. And I definitely don't (and won't) have hearts, angels with arrows, tears, and other "romantic" imagery in front of my eyes. I will go, though, for flowers, dogs, Venetian masks, famous paintings or photographs, film scenes, nature and landscapes.
I am thinking if our desktops tell anything about us? I may not be the best study case for this, as I have realised that my desktop is an illustration to my creative, artistic, but also nomadic, side. At the same time, it seems to reflect the change in weather or environment. Last year when I lived in a Mancunian suburb and worked in Warrington, I had a photo of Hong Kong on my desktop - as an epitome of super-mobile, super-trendy place where I wished I could be. When it was a cold and rainy spring this year, I looked at the multicolour Gaudi's edifice in Barcelona. And now when I live and work in Manchester city centre, and the weather is bright and warm, I suddenly want to wander off to the Belgian meadows.
I leave you to reflect on your desktops, and I look forward to hearing about your findings, if you make any.
Also at Globe of Blogs and SaysWho?
