Modernist Delights

Single glazing in Stowmarket, 2024

A street scene features a three-story corner building with brown brick and white panels. Shops include Handy Hardware and Argos. People walk by on a wet, cloudy day. Festive tree lights hang from lamp posts, and nearby stores are visible on either side.

Decaying office building in Halifax, 2024

A three-story building with worn, peeling paint on the upper facade, large rectangular windows, and orange mosaic panels. One window is open, and the entrance has a black canopy reading TIMEFORM. The door is boarded up with plywood; some shrubs are in front.

Timeform House, a decaying office building in Halifax. All yours to lease for £3,333pcm. I’d happily have that shelving unit in my own house – picture courtesy of Rightmove.

A spacious, modern office with long desks lined with computers, chairs, and office supplies. Wooden cabinets and shelves cover one wall. The room is brightly lit by fluorescent ceiling lights and large windows. The office appears empty of people.

On chasing villains

If your film doesn’t have a scene where the protagonists are chased by the villains across a brightly lit bridge set against an otherwise dark background, Scooby-Doo style, what are you even doing?

Silhouettes of two people run along an elevated walkway inside a building with bright yellow lighting. The scene is viewed from outside at night, with a large brick wall and blue-lit window contrasting the yellow interior.

A person in uniform runs across an outdoor walkway, backlit by a yellow wall. The scene is framed by a dark building with brick texture and a window glowing with blue light on the right, contrasting with the warm yellow on the left.

Sign at Manchester Oxford Road station, 2024

This sign at Manchester Oxford Road is a high-vis and screwdriver jobbie for sure.

A yellow-lit sign reading OXFORD ROAD is mounted on a plain grey wall. Metal pipes run vertically and horizontally next to the sign. Modern office buildings with glass and brick facades are visible in the background.

Fencing on Dallas Road, Lancaster, 2024

A small, ivy-covered building with a corrugated metal roof sits in front of larger stone houses. The green gate to the right is weathered, and four black-yellow bollards line the pavement. Bushes and scaffolding are visible behind the building under a cloudy sky.

This was a high risk mission because a few weeks ago I fell on my arse on this slippery tree-lined road with such a thud a couple a street away turned back to check on me, but the barbed fencing on the right made me stop urgently and take a picture.

Staircase in Stourbridge, 2024

A concrete staircase with metal railings is attached to the side of a brick building. The staircase leads to the upper floor. A metal fence with pointed tops is in the foreground. The sky is clear and blue with a few clouds. Cars are parked to the left.

A tasty staircase beside the telephone exchange in Stourbridge, which we were cruelly stopped from enjoying fully by BT’s big sharp metal fence 😔

Wetherspoon’s, Oswestry, 2024

A three-story, grey modernist building with large windows houses “The Wilfred Owen,” a Wetherspoon Free House pub. Flower baskets hang by the entrance, bikes are parked outside, and stairs lead to glass doors. The sky is overcast.

There’s something very funny about Wetherspoons having an article on their website about the pub and Oswestry at large, in quite a lot of detail, full of photographs of photos seemingly taken at what must be the local museum? Sure, why not! It also includes a picture of this pub which manages to make it look even more bleak, against all odds.

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