Having only just got back I’ve gone away again. I’m currently at the top of the pennines on the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

It’s been raining a hell of a lot today! Fortunately there weren’t too many locks. The below picture is the famous - in canal circles - Bingley 5 rise, which is a rare 5-lock staircase. Staircases are usually used for very steep slopes in which each lock empties directly into the next. There appears to be a little obsession with staircases here, can’t quite explain it
I’m hoping to get a fair bit of studying done, can’t say how often I’ll update…

I’m back home now, came back late last night. I walked into Marylebone completely on spec and there on the board was a train to Birmingham. And within literally 45 seconds the platform was announced, so I didn’t even have trouble finding a seat.

This has been the worst week I’ve ever had. I’m not really coping, and am trying to fill up every spare moment. To this end I went into Solihull to buy Doom 3 earlier…only to find it’s not out until the 13th. I could probably have discovered this with a little research, but I swear I remember the first release announcement saying that the UK would get it on the 5th or 6th. Damn.

Just to say that I’m disabling comments for now as I can’t deal with the hundreds of blog spam emails coming through to my phone.

Floods? Bah. I don’t believe it. I haven’t seen any rain. Seriously. There was some drizzle yesterday but nothing since. It’s been scorching here, how can there be floods? I’m told it all actually happened in the 2hrs I was underground yesterday evening, but I think that’s a fib. All those pictures of submerged cars are fabrications, I tell you! What with this and one of the terrorist suspects being arrested a mile away from my current location, I’m beginning to think I’m a portent of doom.

Were I at home and able to think properly, I’d pay my respects to Cartier-Bresson, who died on Monday. He was one of the first photographers to take candid shots on the street, and his style has influenced generations. I learnt about him during my A-level, and remember thinking he was pretty cool. To be honest, I couldn’t have told you he wasn’t dead already, but given that he really is I’d recommend checking out a few of his images. Photo.net likely have a proper obituary by now. When you look at his photos remember that nobody had done anything like it before. I always thought that they showed people naturally, and - with the early ones particularly - unlike so many images and film of the time you can see that these are real people just like us, with the same hopes, fears and dreams. He always seemed to capture a mood extremely well, from what I remember. In possibly the worst tribute you’ll find, here’s a street shot of my own from this afternoon. Hopefully you can make out what’s going on.

I just saw a busker wearing a beret playing an accordion donating all money to Children In Need! How cool is that! Sure, he could have been lying, but if you can’t trust beret wearing accordion players who can you trust?! I gave him a whole 10% of our basic monetary unit.

My website hosting company had one of their servers die on them yesterday, and t’would seem it was, happily, my one. So my index file needs re-uploading, something nigh on impossible to do from here. Oh well, hopefully you’ve found this anyway. The last post was written in the park but has only just gone through, so isn’t as timely as it could have been. He didn’t get it
I had a hell of a time getting back to my uncle’s flat today. London’s transportation network died, pretty much just when I needed it. It should take 20mins, but instead took 3 and a half hours! It wasn’t just sitting around either, i’ll write a long and laborious post if I have time explaining how I got trapped by a river of people, then managed to take the world’s biggest trip back to where I started, then confused a perfectly nice man by being nuts. Still, it distracted me, which is what I’m here for.

This pigeon wants my hot dog. He knows it. I know it. He’s currently circling my tree. I don’t want the hot dog any more. Should I let him have it?

When you’re with a boyfriend / girlfriend let yourself think for a moment about how you’d feel if you lost them. Then think of the things about you you know they get annoyed by, or don’t like, or whatever, and fix them. Don’t ever take that person for granted. I took Kate for granted and by the time I realised my mistake it was too late. This is the worst I’ve ever felt, and if there was anything I could do to change things I would. I spent all my time wanting to be with her, but still managed to mess it up. I keep desperately hoping I’m going to wake up. What the hell do I do with memories too special to forget but too painful to remember?

I’m going stay with my uncle in London for a while - I don’t know when I’ll be back.