Constantine the Great

This iconic looking statue sits near the entrance to the Minster. It is of the Roman emperor Constantine. Constantine was the son of the Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus, by St. Helen, supposedly his British mistress. Constantius stayed in York for long periods in the early 4th century. He died in the city in AD 306 and the people of York were the first to hear his son declared Emperor by his loyal troops immediately afterward. Hence, the statue. A marble head of Constantine has also been found on Stonegate.

Sorry for my recent absence from posting. Life, well, it took over rather heavily, with a family bereavement during my final exams. As such, here is a posting schedule for the next couple of weeks, as you will be getting *fun bonus photos* from other places!

Until the 14th, posting will be as normal (hurrah for York!)

14th - Kemble, Wiltshire

15th - Birmingham/Reading

16th - Welwyn, Hertfordshire

17th - London

18th - London

And then back to normal posting from York! 

It creeps up on you, round every corner.

This is a view down Petergate, the Minster ever present, ever looming. This is one of my favourite scenes in York, I could photograph it again and again!

Station calling

York Station is so photogenic! I love the curving arch of the celing in this photo, the train to Hull mirroring the curve ever so slightly. 

The little details

I love that almost every archway in the station here at York has this detail, showing some heraldic shields and the White Rose of Yorkshire. I've also just noticed you can see the half moon in this photo, despite the fact that it was about 5:30pm when I took it!

I have an open exam for the next three days. I will try my best to post, but it depends how horrific this gets. Once it's done though, my BA is done with!

Minerva

I wonder how many people notice this Minerva that sits above my workplace? There is a hardly readable inscription underneath the statue which reads: ""The figure above is that of Minerva, Goddess of wisdom and of drama. John Wolstenholme 1801"." When I am in less of a hurry I will get a better shot of her, as she is a beautiful piece.

If you look closely you can see a band around her wrist. A friend of mine, who graduated a few years ago, tells me that his group of friends somehow climbed up there and placed a Make Poverty History wristband around her wrist, and it is still there to this day. I am not sure how much I believe him.

Sorry for the lack of photos - it's been a hectic couple of days. I'm off to Leeds today to see Star Trek with a friend - I have never been to Leeds! I am excited.

Campus Wednesday

This is Heslington Hall, the University's administrative centre. It's a lot nicer than the concrete buildings that make up the rest of campus! When my mum was a student here, you could book a room in Heslington Hall to have a party in, but common students don't often go in there very much anymore!

The campus will (pending a 2:1 in my BA) be my home for the next academic year - I got an offer for my MA course. I will be showing you York from a Student Perspective for some time yet!

New Life

The geese moved away as I tried to get a decent photo of this new family group - and believe me, you don't want to hassle the geese on campus - around this time of year they can get a little...agressive. Still, it's nice to see goslings and duckings around campus and York. (I signed a contract on my house for next academic year, so no matter what happens with my MA, I'll be here, taking a Daily Photo of York for your viewing pleasure.)

Watching the Performance

Crowds in Kings Square watching a street performer - today the escape artist was there. He's very entertaining, and can hold and draw a crowd. I was on my lunch break, so didn't stop for long, but it's lovely that on a (mostly) gorgeous Bank Holiday Monday people can come to York and enjoy all sorts of street theatre. I love all the street performers here in York. Soon, I will publish a photo of Purple Bike Man. Oh, he's great!

Peek-a-boo

The view of the Minster as you look down the small street where I work - Minster Gate.  Today, as I stood outside work briefly I heard a tourist get their first glimpse of the Minster: "It's bloody huge." I wonder what else they expected...Minster Gate has some nice little shops, I hope to show you a glimpse of them soon.

Parliament Street

A short, quick post today. The same light from the photo of the church tower even made the high street stores in Parliament Street look pretty. The fountain in the foreground is the most common spot for meeting friends in town. I always choose to meet people at the fountain. People have been known, on occasion to put bubble bath in the fountain, causing it to foam all over the place. It's quite amusing, but I'm sure it's annoying to clean up!

El Piano

Sorry for the late post - I've been out for a friends birthday. We were in the Moroccan Room in El Piano, a local vegan/gluten free tapas style restaurant. My friend is not vegan, but is a vegetarian. I love El Piano food - it's all so yummy, and you wouldn't realise it is mostly vegan! The chocolate cake was delicious - yummier than many non-vegan ones I have tried! This is one of the light installations in the Moroccan Room - it gave a lovely atmosphere. El Piano is based in York, but also have a take-out option in Granada, Spain. You can find out more here. 

Campus Wednesday (Thursday!)

Campus has a random Buddha! It's the strangest thing, I often wonder why it is there. It is apparently donated by someone, according to the plaque, but it doesn't say why they donated a statue of Buddha. Buddha is currently surrounded by the building work on HERC, I think this is disturbing his meditation, and will be glad when the building work around him is gone!

Not Campus Wednesday

There was going to be a campus post today, but what I just dealt with has completely knocked me for six (my ex is...difficult. I haven't seen him for 2 months and I knew he was around this week. With the way he left and everything, I need some closure. So I had to see him. And he hid from me. Then, when we did talk, and it got too much for him, he literally ran away from me) so have this nice picture of a clock in the city centre, next to the cinema instead.

Ray of Light

I was walking home from the cinema in town (after seeing Star Trek, to which my main response is :D:D:D:D:D) and the way the light hit the church here really impressed me. I could do with a ray of light of my own right now. I have had the most horrific week mentally wise, which combined with having to try and revise for an exam almost caused me to shutdown completely. So, apologies again for my absence. I hope this picture makes some amends :)

Banky banky bank

You often seem to find that old bank buildings have been converted into new and ever varied uses, and banks hardly ever seem to be in the lovely old buildings they once occupied. Which was why I was delighted to discover that this Lloyds TSB in York still occupies an original bank building, declaring "Savings Bank" on the facade for all to see. I wonder hpw many other buildings in York still serve their original purpose?

Campus Wednesday

A small overview of campus taken from outside the university library. I'm looking out over Vanbrugh college (that's the first squat concrete building you can see) which is part of the original 1960s campus. Beyond that you can see the wood and glass rounded building, which is currently being completed. That is HERC - Humanities and Education Research Centre. I may even have reason to go in there next year, which would be nice. I like HERC, it's a lovely design. The triangular spikes protruding from the top of HERC are the top of Central Hall - the building which features in my banner art, and where I shall graduate in 2 months time. That's also an original part of campus. The glass building beyond all of that is the so called "Exhibition Centre" if you're talking to conference guests, or physics and electronics if you're normal. It houses the biggest lecture theatre on campus (still not huge) and will be where I get photos and champagne and stuff at graduation.

I like this photo, and most of campus, because of the mix of styles and the fact that you can see the evolution of the university from beginning to present. The uni and campus may not be perfect, but it's still pretty impressive.

Now I'm going to nurse my bruises from falling down the stairs earlier. OW.

Yesterday...

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday - my internet refused to cooperate last night. So you get this photo this morning, and the normal Campus Wednesday post later today. Lucky lucky. This is my local parade of shops - it's really handy. We've got a bakers, a pharmacy (which is currently being refurb-ed into a Boots branded one), an Indian takeaway, 2 chinese takeaways, fish and chips, pizza takeaway and the Co-op mini supermarket, which is actually really good for a little supermarket. Pity about the huge skip obscuring everything though!

Waiting for the bus

For the last couple of days, I've had to get the bus into work. Normally I cycle in, which takes around 20 minutes, but I have a puncture on my front wheel, which I fixed, reattached, and which promptly punctured again. So I had to buy a new inner tube (and brakes while I was about it...) and I haven't got round to fixing them yet. I really should - it takes me so much longer to get places - I have to leave around 30minutes earlier than I would if I was taking my bike. It's also costing me a fortune! 3 pounds for a return trip - stupidly expensive. I suppose I am lucky in that the Number 6 is a very regular and reliable bus.

So, my last trip on the bus for a while will be tomorrow, as I plan on fixing my bike when I get in tomorrow!

A winter sunrise

A winter sunrise over my back garden. I'm moving in July, and I am going to miss this house very much, despite some of the bad memories that I have in it. I don't really want to move, but I have to. Anyway, this is a typical suburban scene in York. 

Ruins in the Museum Gardens

These are some of the ruins in the Museum Gardens. I never really knew what these ruins were until making this post *bad history student* but they are the ruins of the medieval abbey of St.  Mary. I love medieval ruins especially old abbeys and churches, although I am always a bit sad that their full splendor is gone forever. Medieval history is not so fun to study - it's all a bit speculative for my liking (she says, going to revise for her exam on popular heresy in the early middle ages...)

Campus Wednesday...on Friday

A silhouetted sun over the University lake. The lake is manmade, and was built along with the university in the 1960s. Heslington East is getting a new lake. It's lovely having a lake, even if it is really, really dirty. They can't turn the fountains on any more because the lake water is full of disease...The ducks and geese (which means ducklings and goslings are around right now), and the HUGE fish don't seem to mind though. The one of the best bits about campus is the ducks. The geese and swans are a bit evil...We used to have a Golden Duck, called Trevor (he was actually a Ruddy Shelduck.) Unfortunately he died a year or so ago, but the Students Union was mandated to buy two new Ruddy Shelducks to replace him. They have yet to buy new Trevors, which is very disappointing. I will try and post a picture of some cute ducklings soon.

It's good to be back :D

Return: Tomorrow

Wonderful news!

My dissertation and essay are done and handed in! Now I only have two exams to worry about, but I'm better with exams...

That said, York Daily Photo will be returning to your screens tomorrow (Friday) and every day from then.

Promise.

Short Hiatus

Apologies for the lack of photo today, and yesterday. I meant to take photos yesterday, but my camera died on me, and as I am currently in a week where I have 2 huge assessed essay deadlines (3000 words tomorrow and 10000 on Thursday) normal service will be disrupted. In future I will schedule posts, but I don't have enough decent images of York yet, for some odd reason.

Normal service will hopefully resume on Monday or Tuesday. Thank you.

Heslington

This is Main Street, Heslington, the small village that sits next to the University. Soon, it will be surrounded by the university, as the new campus, Heslington East, is being built on the other side of the village. There is quite a lot of tension among the local residents about this, and the new problems increased student numbers might bring. There is more information about Hes East here. 

Heslington is a lovely village though - there are two decent pubs, the Charles and the Deramore (both of which my mum used to visit back in her days as an undergrad at York), lots of banks and a wonderful sandwich shop/village store called Browns. They used to have an annual fireworks display for bonfire night on the Heslington Church Green, but no longer, due to Health and Safety. I got to see it in my first year though :)

York's Most Famous Street

Welcome to the Shambles, what I suspect is York's most photographed street. Towards the end of the day, the Shambles empties of tourists and I begin to enjoy the quaint narrow passage ways, or snickleways, that come off the street,  and the way the buildings lean in towards each other, almost touching at the top. 

The Shambles was once called "The Great Flesh Shambles" and was full of butchers shops. Now, the butchers shops are gone, replaced with jewelery shops, fudge and chocolate shops and tourist traps. Butchers in York are a dying breed. Scotts of York, a wonderful city centre butcher recently closed after 130 years in business. It's a sad thing when wonderful, local historical shops come to the end of their lives

Campus Wednesday

Understandably, a lot of my time (although much less since I moved into private rented accommodation) is spent on the University campus. Most of it is a series of fairly grey (although architecturally interesting) concrete buildings. In the right light, and from the right angles, these make lovely photos; my banner, for example, is Central Hall, and I do have a strange fondness for the odd angles. 

The photo above is the Quiet Place. It's one of the older buildings on campus, near to Heslington Hall, the original home of the University, and now it's administrative centre. You can access the Quiet Place by asking the Derwent porters for the key and spend a quiet afternoon there, in peace.

Train station by night

Before my ex got me into cycling (which is one thing I am grateful for, except when I have to cycle home in the rain, like last night) I never really noticed the huge number of cycle racks at York Station. I didn't even know where they were. When I got on the train yesterday morning almost every single one of these racks had 2 bikes attached. There are more extending behind me. A sea of bicycles. When I got back into York at 23:20, this was what was left. Much easier to find your bike again under these circumstances! 

Have a sneaky couple of pictures from London as apology for not posting yesterday!

London King's Cross station - fresh off my train.

My destination for the day - Senate House Library to use their Latin American Section

See you later!

Spin round and round

I took a photo of the Minster today, on my phone, but for some reason it refuses to upload it to my computer properly. Ah well. Instead, have this photo I took a while ago of another of York's iconic landmarks - Clifford's Tower. I've never been in the tower (I'd have to pay!) but I will do one day, just to see what it's all about. I love the carousel in this photo - I want to go on one again. I never get why anyone would choose to go on anything but the horses that go up and down; where's the fun in sitting in a carriage?

Tomorrow I'm off on a quick dash to London as a last minute research for my dissertation, so expect a photo of the station, and a late post!

Welcome to York

Hello! My name is Jackie, I'm 22 and a final year undergraduate at the University of York. I'm plannin on doing an MA and staying in York for the next year, maybe moving back in the future, who knows? All I know is that I love all aspects of York - campus, city centre, suburbs and surroundings. 

This is one of my favourite images of York - the Minster against a perfectly blue sky. It can't be beaten. The level of workmanship and time involved in this building astounds me every time I pass it and I can't help but stare up at the spires.

Welcome to York!