Ten Years!

Well, ten years' worth of blips anyway. I started when I got back from Paris in May 2010 when I discovered I had signed up in December 2009 but never posted anything. That meant I could 'backblip' the fortnight in Paris as well as a few more pictures back to December. And to start with I was just blipping pictures I had already taken for some other reason, which meant I wasn't blipping every day. It wasn't until November 2010 that I decided to see if I could blip every day for a month. I haven't missed a day since and with a few extra backblips I was able to put up enough images so that there are exactly one hundred scattered over the first eleven months or so before the 'real' blipping starts. And blipdays move anyway as leap years, like this year, push the date back one day.
As I approached this blip anniversary I was wondering what to do to mark it. Should it be more numbers like 9 Years, 8 Years and 2 Years? Probably not numbers on the beach that seem more appropriate for the round number days that blip marks but aren't 'real' blipdays. And ten years seemed worthy of something a bit special rather than paying tribute to the ethos of blip with 'just another picture', even if it was one from a place I had never been or harking back to a series of blips I had taken that year. And no chance of marking it in print as I did after my first 365 blips. L suggested I do a self portrait - not entirely unknown on my journal  but something of a special event amidst all the pictures of other people, birds, sea, sky, street views and the rest. And then yesterday's football result helped me decide the theme for the picture. My 'English team' - Leeds United - have been out of the top division for sixteen years. They even spent a few seasons in the third tier (confusingly known as 'League 1' these days but still the Third Division to me). Since promotion to the Championship they have muddled along, occasionally looking like they might get promoted but falling away in the end. Last season, in the club's centenary, it looked like new manager Marcelo Bielsa was taking them back to the top league but a dramatic collapse in the last four league games, starting with losing at home from a winning position to a team down to ten players, meant they dropped into the play-offs. Again they lost from a winning position - seemingly comfortable after winning the away leg and scoring first in the home-leg they went from 2-0 on aggregate to 2-3, pulled it back to 3-3 but lost out 3-4. So, after winning narrowly on Thursday night against Barnsley meaning they still needed one point from the last two games, the first away against the team that beat them in that play-off last year, it was still too soon to celebrate. But last night one of the two other contenders for the two automatic promotion places, West Brom (dubious winners of a league match back in 1971 that cost Leeds the title but I'll leave that for now), lost to Huddersfield Town, my Mum's home town team. Which means that West Brom are five points behind but have only one game left. Brentford (Brentford, for goodness sake) could still overtake them, and Leeds, but as two teams go up, Leeds, and I, can celebrate! So I am posing in my replica Leeds top as worn in the 1972 FA Cup Final by the scorer of the winning goal - Allan 'Sniffer' Clarke. [In the time I took to write this, Brentford lost at Stoke so Leeds are confirmed as champions!]
My support of Leeds has always been a distant one, as I wrote about in my article in the football magazine Nutmeg (one of my highlights of the past year), and I have probably only seen them live no more than a dozen times. But supporting Leeds has been a part of me for more than fifty years. Different from supporting (Dundee) United but maybe just as significant in moulding my personality - all that childhood disappointment as the team lost out on trophies. Has it been easier with them languishing in the Championship? Football has changed these days and what chance does a new team on the block have of competing with the big money clubs. Probably not much but Leeds are a big club, from a one-team city, and if Leicester can win the league, why can't Leeds? I know, don't get carried away - staying in the top flight will be hard enough, as Norwich (my nephew's team) have found. It's a long time since Leeds were in the Premier League - back before I started blipping, while I still worked for the bank and we still lived in Hampton Place. A lot has changed in that time.
But what of the past year? A bit of a look back over twelve months of favourite blips, as seems to have become a bit of a habit.
Of course it has been a strange year - who would have imagined we'd be here now just six months ago, let along a year ago.
Back in July 2019 I was photographing football grounds for an exhibition - of which more shortly - and on the way took a classic Edinburgh view. In Portobello I blipped a new bit of street art. And on the last evening of the month one of several gig blips, featuring G and L aka Overton & McCann.
In August I visited Tannadice and East End Park to watch United. I photographed some Fringe theatre and met friends for lunch. Conferences were still a thing and L's other band - The Eclectics - played at a Music Festival. Portobello beach looked lovely, my football grounds exhibition went up, I photographed a returning MSP and the Big Beach Busk took over the Prom.
In September L celebrated her birthday a week late and the Art Walk got started when I photographed a lot of artists. L and I went away to celebrate our anniversary. I photographed the Climate Strike Demo and we went to Dundee and sat on my Mum's bench.
In October another photographer took my picture and I took hers. Old friends came round to play a boardgame and we went up to see my Dad on his birthday. A lot of my Monday blips discussed that evening's game of football.
In November I photographed a couple of political candidates for the upcoming election and worked for the RSCDS in Perth.We went away for a week for NaNoWriMo and I took an out of synch bird in Figgate Park. There was a more exciting visitor down at the beach.
In December I wondered how long an old friend will last, saw some interesting birds in the surf, photographed some theatre and a party There was an election and I met up with a friend who has become a blipper. I returned to an old theme, did my bit to help improve world sanitation, met a friend and climbed a hill.
January started with a regular tradition and then passed in a blur. Before we knew what the year had in store, G and L did a gig they hoped would be the first of many.
There was snow in February, which probably encouraged some exotic visitors, and I visited another friend in her new house. Before everything stopped I saw United again at Dunfermline.
At the start of March went to see Elvis and finished reading a book about football. By then, we were in lockdown and there were lots of blips from the flat.
Which continued in April, even if I did get out a bit. And then I started a collaboration with a wee pal, which went on for a while.
Into May, when he found some pals, and another Leeds reference, before a final group shot.
As Lockdown eased in June we met friends in the park, I joined a worldwide protest movement, got lucky with a bird picture and photographed another friend who has become a blipper.
In July there have been interesting visitors to the beach and a chance to photograph friends.
All in all, quite a year!
As always, thanks are due to the good folks at Blip Central who continue to run the site with the same great ethos of friendship and looking out for each other, more important than ever in these strange times. A number of people who I have introduced to blip continue to blip every day - one recently celebrated his third blipday - which feels good. And another blip-friend, who I met online here but have since met in person, and I are working together on a joint exhibition, linking photographers in the two places we call home - an exhibition born from blipfoto, if not necessarily on blipfoto. Finally thanks to everyone who looks at my blips, who comment, 'star' and 'heart' and for sharing their blips that give a window on the world that makes travel possible even when we cannot go there in person. Here's to the next ten years!