Advent #365photos2022
Then and Now Take Two – Cabot Circus Christmas Changes
This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. The first of the posts in this series was of a council building in Manchester. I always thought I should give then and now photographs a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart. Now this has come to my attention I have started to intentionally take photographs of the same place.
This photograph was taken on the 26th November 2022.
I remembered I had taken a photograph in the same location, back on December 8th 2019. I was on my way to do a pick up from the Vue Cinema, so I took a photograph of the festive Cabot Circus.
I also wrote about it back then as well and in that post I used an image I found searching Flickr from December 2012. It would seem I am not alone in taking photographs from that vantage point outside House of Fraser.
Back then I wrote about the changes between the two images.
Its interesting to see the differences. Cafe Rouge has gone and has been replaced by Five Guys. I noticed recently that Giraffe had closed and the unit was now a Slim Chickens. On the ground floor was was SoHo (which has moved around the corner) is now a Tortilla and a Typo. In 2012 Patisserie Valerie was still open, today it’s closed and boarded up.
Since 2019, Krispy Kreme have taken over the Patisserie Valerie location.
Santa #365photos2022
A Festive Gromit
On a recent trip to the Mall at Cribbs Causeway I found a festive Gromit in the Gromit shop.
I have a fair few Gromit pictures on the blog.
A (Lego) Christmas Carol #365photos2022
Putting things away #365photos2022
M&S think it’s Christmas
So there I was at one of those “unexpected items in the bagging area” machines at M&S and next to it was the plastic bags.
These were Christmas bags….
It’s March! Oh you can’t get those shortbread tins either now…
Actually part of me thinks this is quite a good thing, means we were using less plastic bags when they thought we would use more, so had overstocked.
My top ten tweets of 2020
Last year I posted my top ten tweets for 2019 and I did the same in 2018, 2017 and 2016 which was interesting to see which tweets of mine were popular.
So the most popular tweet of 2019 was this one about keeping the old Twitter.
…and we're back!
So you want to go back to old Twitter?
Click More
Click Settings and Privacy
Click About Twitter
Click Directory
Click Home pic.twitter.com/PGMF4WeTFB
— James Clay (@jamesclay) July 25, 2019
Alas the hack didn’t last too long so we have to use the new Twitter.
So in 2020, my tenth most popular tweet was this one, a response to one about signage in the libraries.
Don't know, not sure about signs not working.
We put this sign up in the library and we never had a problem with swimming in the library. pic.twitter.com/sIco12N3VT
— James Clay (@jamesclay) August 11, 2020
The photo was from an April Fool we did at the library in Gloucestershire College. What was interesting was that it didn’t work, no one noticed the new signs or paid them any attention,.
Though it should be said we never had a problem with swimming in the library again.
The ninth most popular tweet of mine was from an event I attended in February on trans national education and I posted a sketchnote.
My sketch note from this mornings talk. #tne2020 pic.twitter.com/fFynQSxbI3
— James Clay (@jamesclay) February 27, 2020
The tweet at number eight was about the lack of a door in Matt Hancock’s home office.
Since Matt Hancock was interviewed from his office, this has been bugging me. What I can never understand about his cupboard/office, where is the door? Does he climb into the office? A trapdoor underneath his chair? If the door is in front of him does he climb over his desk? How? pic.twitter.com/i7lZXgYdPE
— James Clay (@jamesclay) April 16, 2020
The seventh most popular tweet was a picture of Buckingham Palace!
Buckingham Palace looking good in the winter sun. pic.twitter.com/4rlzBvcBOY
— James Clay (@jamesclay) November 27, 2020
It was a response to an original New York Post tweet that has now been deleted. It talked about the UK Christmas covid-19 planning with a picture of Paris.
Number six, was a link to a story about how students realised they could game an assessment as it was been graded by an AI and not a person.
These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat – The Verge https://t.co/caeLgVPQK0
— James Clay (@jamesclay) September 3, 2020
Wasn’t cheating, it was just doing what was required to get top marks.
Fifth most popular tweet was about shopping centre clocks.
This is the clock in Lion Yard in Cambridge…. Who knows what the time is, look at the size of that bug! pic.twitter.com/QDHQ6B6gNH
— James Clay (@jamesclay) June 22, 2020
Fourth most popular tweet was another tweet in response to that original New York Post tweet that has now been deleted. It talked about the UK Christmas covid-19 planning with a picture of Paris.
Nelson's Column and Marble Arch looking very festive. https://t.co/IbQBJZD68a
— James Clay (@jamesclay) November 27, 2020
Luckily someone managed to get a screengrab.
The third most popular tweet was about The Sovereign Centre shopping centre, which appears to be chasing the title of the UK’s Worst Shopping Centre…
Not sure if it is the worst…. it is bad! The Sovereign Centre in Weston-super-Mare. It has a food court with NO food outlets to buy food from! Loads of empty shops and plans to turn it into a health centre. pic.twitter.com/us5RAJwCIS
— James Clay (@jamesclay) June 15, 2020
Back in January I misread a tweet from Stephen Fry and that was the most popular tweet at number two.
I need to get my eyes tested, I read that as cat’s milk…
— James Clay (@jamesclay) January 28, 2020
So my top tweet of 2020 was me reminiscing when WHSmith in Bristol went all Dexter.
Remembering that time when WHSmith in the centre of Bristol went all Dexter… @WHS_Carpet pic.twitter.com/V1haxBhJVW
— James Clay (@jamesclay) August 27, 2020