The Last Drag

I realised today how lucky I was to get out for a run yesterday afternoon and actually see a bit of sunlight. It was about the only daylight hour in the last two days when that was possible. It's rained all day today, not that heavy but somewhere between drizzly and steady. I think we need more words to describe rain.

I've also realised that I'm beginning to quite relish the challenges such days present in terms of blipping. I popped into Shipley this afternoon, the rain just a bit more than drizzle, with not a lot of hope of finding anything interesting to photograph. I still feel very self-conscious with my camera on the street, even with just my little pocket compact, but I'm growing bolder and enjoying it too. This subject was too good to miss.

Perhaps it's because I've never smoked that I find the habit so fascinating. The guy here was catching a bus which had just drawn up to the stop. He was extracting every last molecule of nicotine from his fag before discarding it and getting on board. This was indeed the very last drag. I wonder how long it had to last him. I suspect not very long at all. Relatively new blippers might not have come across Up In Smoke, a journal which is no longer active but since the photographs are timeless I can still thoroughly recommend a visit. Give yourself plenty of time. His work is amazing.

Following yesterday's cricket story I have to report that none of us actually got up to watch the coup de grace this morning. Roam came up to tell me that we picked up the last three Indian wickets quite cheaply so I decided that the English boys probably didn't need our support to help them knock off the 60 runs required. All the important cricket was played out yesterday. The series is now poised quite perfectly. We can't wait for the next instalment.

Flying out to the Netherlands tomorrow with still a load of stuff to do. Might be just as well I was able to sleep in this morning. It could be a late night.