A WEEK IN PHOTOS

A Week (Or 2) In The Dark

From Spiders To Starbucks — A Small Oasis

Photo: Penny Grubb

Early in the week, we stood with a group of strangers to look at this rainbow.

The group comprised customers and staff of a big DIY store and garden centre. Customers on their way in sprinted for cover, then turned to look. Customers on their way out (including us) were brought to a halt under the awning as the skies opened with the sort of deluge that would have soaked us in seconds. Shop staff left their posts to come to the door and marvel at the rainbow.

When the rain eased, we all went on our way. It was a memorable interlude in a chaotic week.

Going Dark

A large part of the week’s chaos, for me, came from losing my office to the decorators. A downside — other than the temporary loss of my desk and computer — was to see the recently redecorated bedroom sink back into chaos as the contents of my office were decanted into it.

My plans to invite a friend to stay have been put on hold. I can’t ask anyone to share a bed with the dismembered components of my desk.

Photo: Penny Grubb

This decorating adventure is an ongoing saga. It takes effort, but that’s because chaos is the natural order of things. It’s all down to entropy. Our world tends naturally towards disorder; chaos comes as a free add-on. Reversing the trend takes energy.

Spiders To Starbucks & Back Again

One morning this week, I found myself in the city with a couple of hours to spare. Like many cities, it is not short of places to go or things to do. However, the corner in which I found myself was an industrial area with many factories and small engineering outfits, but little else.

Photo: Penny Grubb

There was a nearby entertainment den called Spiders, but not only would Spiders be closed until late in the day, I would be ineligible to enter at the ripe old age of “over 25.” So I headed the other way to Starbucks and coffee.

The sky was undecided as to which route the weather would take, but I set off anyway. As the saying goes, I’m not made of sugar and I won’t dissolve.

Photos: Penny Grubb

The walk took about 40 minutes; much of it beside high walls and fences, some of which sprouted long bramble shoots, suggesting a good blackberry crop on the other side.

Photo: Penny Grubb

However, I wasn’t tempted to find a way in to explore. I passed several signs like this one:

Photo: Penny Grubb

Few of these places gave any clue as to what went on behind the fortress walls, including one of the busier-looking sites. However, this one had a far more welcoming sign. Attached to a high fence beside a large sliding gate, it read “Please drive through the gates”. I chickened out of recording it, as a group of unsmiling people in high-viz jackets milled about at the entrance, looking as though their job was to deal instant rebuttal to anyone who took the sign at face value.

The sign itself looked permanent, but presumably the gates were closed at night, thus making it an open invitation to ram-raiders. I longed to ask, but didn’t get the vibe that my questions would have been any more welcome than my presence would have been at Spiders. It must remain a mystery.

Away from industrial activity, I found some interesting corners …

Photo: Penny Grubb

… a few shortcuts where I could leave the traffic behind …

Photo: Penny Grubb

… and even some splashes of colour.

Photo: Penny Grubb

After a 40-minute stroll, a coffee was welcome, as was the peace of sitting in a quiet cafe watching the world go by until it was time to reverse the route and head back towards Spiders. It was one of a few oases in an otherwise chaotic week.

Because my office and its contents are in a heap in the spare room and not accessible for use, I have had only some old steam-driven tech to keep me online. Because of this, I have been unable to keep up with the latest articles as well as I like to. My list of recommendations this week contains some old favourites — it is none the worse for that. Each one is a good read.

The week in photos articles were started by Dennett in 2020. They provide fascinating insights into people’s lives. I recommend:

Dennett’s Kings of Sleep.

Susan Alison paints a foxy misty morning.

Anne Bonfert plays in the world’s biggest sandpit.

pockett dessert’s cherry tree grove.

Penny Frances in praise of lazy gardening.

Louise Peacock’s Shadow, the adoptee cat.

Barb Dalton’s collection of rose photographs.

Tanya’s intergenerational friendships.

Kim Zuch’s Summer adventure, hiking Half Dome.

B.R. Shenoy’s imaginative use of evil eye charms.

John O’Neill’s his watermelon sky.

Audriveesa with a hopeful pause.

Read more from Penny Grubb