Study

One Street: Market Square, Shipley #25

The sun was shining low in the sky as I cycled in this morning and there was an incredibly hard frost on the ground (the canal froze overnight), but I committed the cardinal sin of leaving the memory card in the laptop so no landscapes to post sadly. By the time I came to cycle home the light was going and it was clouding over. So, we blip again from Market Square but with no apologies. I had two shots I really liked. The other is New Parents.

I want to make the point that I'm not trying to pass any judgement, nor poke fun, with any of these street shots. I'm simply trying to record moments or vignettes of life around this little square in northern England. It's a real hodgepodge of different people, young and old, born and bred Yorkshire folk and immigrants, some doing well for themselves, others undoubtedly right on the breadline. I'm fascinated by the mix. I'm wondering if it functions as a little microcosm of the whole country.

A very difficult and stressful day at the office. Working with large public organisations is not easy. I was Skyping with my brother in the States last night and he reminded me of the Peter Principle, which basically says that "Employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence." In an organisation where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, that organisation's members will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. I've never been more clearly made aware of how true that is than this last few days. To think that this probably holds valid throughout the entire world is more than a little worrying.

So much time soaked up today with politics and then a cock-up of our own that I've got an evening of work ahead of me. I've never been in a position to be promoted but I'm kind of hoping that this principle doesn't now apply to me!