The 6 of 5 Go group 7

When walking into Centenary Square for the 9 o’clock meet-up I was surprised to see the area deserted. It was a minute before another person came into sight. 4 of the 5 Go were already at Starbucks where for some reason it was cash only.

Once we had set out, we took a closer look at the small fountains around the edge of the pool, crouching down to get a better perspective. A member of the Mirror Pool staff asked if we’d like to see the big fountain. Naturally, we said, “Yes, please,” and the water shot high into the air. It was an impressive sight, even obscuring the tower of City Hall.

The staff explained some recent changes to the fountain routines due to impending water shortages. Although the water comes from storage tanks, the pool is now filled less often to reduce evaporation, and the big fountain is used more sparingly to minimise water loss from wind drift. During gusty conditions, the spray can carry quite a distance.

We were supposed to be doing different things or doing things differently – so the photo of One City Park is of its window frames, but turned through 90 degrees so it looks a bit like steps. The little black thing to the top right is a CCTV camera.

This photo of one of the small fountains was taken with a slow shutter speed to blur the water. When looking through the viewfinder it can be difficult to know what else is going on, in this case what was going on was me getting my shoes and the bottom of my trousers wet.

The wall in Norfolk Gardens that backs onto the Interchange is mirrored and provides a distorted reflection of City Hall. And a distorted reflection of me.

The recently installed Tower of Now on Hall Ings hopes to capture Bradford’s multiculturalism and elements of beautiful architecture seen not just in the district, but across the world. Inspiration came in the form of City Hall’s windows and bell tower, the domes of iconic buildings like the Alhambra Theatre and Bradford Live, as well as details on Hindu temples, Chinese pagodas, mosques, and synagogues. (Extract TnA of 26 April) It is surprisingly detailed – see the photo in the Others section below.

In the Norfolk Gardens and along Hall Ings I took several photos of the flowers and put some of them together in one image along with one of the benches and a Bee Hotel. The larger photo of the Michaelmas Daisy was taken with a slow shutter speed while zooming. That’s me trying to be a creative member of the camera club. 🙂

At the back of the old TnA offices on Drake St the blue doors have not weathered in the same way so in the interests of doing things differently I have put photos of four of them together but rotated by 90 degrees. Hopefully it is then not obvious that they are doors so you might look at it with a bit more curiosity and interest.

The carvings are in the stonework of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce building, Devere House, on Vicar Lane. The longer carving is one near the windows and looks quite fresh. The other two are either side of the archway and have had their edges bashed by numerous bins and carts over many years.

The cycle lane on Hall Ings is edged with lots of small bike symbols. When I first noticed one it was upside down to me and I couldn’t work out what it was. Is it an advert for an optician? Is it a plug for a Pilates position? No, it’s a bike with no pedals. Later I saw other signs showing a bike, these had pedals, but the frame geometries were different and the front forks had different shapes. They all have crossbars and old-style cruiser handlebars and they all point to the left. I had assumed that designs for road signs would be under more control. A bit of research shows that samples provided by .gov.uk guidance are of the blue style, some pointing left and some pointing right.