Christmas 2025

 More friends from the Bath Uni 40-year Reunion:

International Man of Mystery there in the background
Nikon N80 on full-auto metering with flash.  HP5+ on Foma paper.

It's been a tough Christmas here in The Liberties.  Great to have Missy home for a few weeks but hard in other ways, notably with my mum who finally accepted that she might be better off in residential care than trying to cope in her own home.  It's a decision I wish had been taken a couple of years ago, since it's been a slow but steady decline in her mobility over that time.  And that has meant a lot more on my plate, particularly this last 12 months.  My photography has taken a back seat, as you can probably tell from the sporadic posting of anything new or interesting on this place.  Anyway, two days before Christmas we took a phone call to say a bed had become available in what is probably the best care home in the area.  What a stroke of good timing.  A couple of days after Christmas and the move was done and I'm glad to say she is (so far) settling in OK.  Part of her thinks (hopes?) that the move might be temporary and that she will be able to return home at some point in the future, but I really can't see that happening.  From what I learn from the staff in the facility that is not uncommon aspiration from residents when they first enter the facility.  I think in time, though, my mum will come to realise that she is in the best place - somewhere warm and safe, and where there are people to chat to as well as make her endless cups of tea and food more or less on demand.  Everything she didn't have in her own home, in other words.

Friends, all shook up

I missed this frame the first time I looked at the negatives from my Uni reunion but in the darkroom last Sunday it caught my eye.  Unintentional Camera Movement (not to be confused with ICM)...perhaps it was late in the evening (ahem!) or maybe someone nudged my elbow.  Either way  - I like it!

Somewhere in Bath, a couple of months ago. 
I like the ghost figure between my friend and his wife, supping her drink.

Mick

 One of my old Uni mates at our 40 year reunion a few weeks ago:

Mick, via Nikon N80, HP5+ on Foma 313 paper
Snapped in the beer garden of the Crystal Palace public house - a stone's throw from Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths.

I took the Nikon N80 with me this time, set to auto-everything as I wanted to enjoy the time with my friends as much as possible and not be worrying about exposure settings (or focus).  It worked well, I have to admit.  The built-in flash was a great help in the low light of pubs and restaurants that we found ourselves in. 

Winter

I always think of winter being December-January-February.  These are usually the coldest months for us here in Northern Ireland and this last couple of weeks we've seen some icy conditions, with snow on the hills in the distance.  We can't complain, as this autumn has been particularly dry and mild.  Not that I've been out and about much - or at all, to be honest.  My mother has been going through a tough time recently and that has meant a lot of demands on my time.  Finally, though, she has agreed to get some professional help with her personal care, and although that hasn't kicked in yet the wheels are in motion.  She's done well to stay in her own home for as long as she has, and she's still determined that's where she wants to be.  She'll be 93 later this month and unfortunately she is not longer very mobile at all.  Still sharp mentally, mind you. 

So it's a blast from the past for you today - a pinhole shot of our local Arts Centre, Flowerfield, just down the road in Portstewart.

Fomapan 200, rated at 50; Printed on MGV paper a while ago.