35mm · Film photography · Photography

Two views of the River Aire (and losing people online)

Both of the images in today’s post were taken from the David Oluwale Bridge in the centre of Leeds. The first looks eastwards and downstream, the second westwards with Bridgewater Place dominating the skyline (I wrote more about that here).

Today was my last day of work before Christmas, and I now have a week-and-a-half of (I hope) leisure time, which is nice. I just need to put work stuff out of my mind – there’s a lot of stuff waiting my attention in the New Year – but I can hopefully manage to do that just fine.

Despite my breaking up for Christmas today, the morning started off with some sad news when I discovered that one of the people on an online forum I frequent has passed away. He died a couple of weeks ago, but the folks on the forum have only just found out. I met him in person earlier this year when we had a big forum get-together and he was a nice guy, outgoing and fun, so while I didn’t really know him well, or even share a lot of comments on the forum, it’s a bit of a shock to think of him being gone.

It made me wonder about how many people will just disappear from their online lives without notice when they die. Online connections are not always replicated offline and so there’s probably not a route to communicate someone’s passing to all the places they might frequent. Maybe we should think, before it’s too late, about leaving word for our loved ones to inform our digital connections when we depart this mortal coil.

Yellow boat on the Aire
The River Aire and Bridgewater Place

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 14 October 2023.

2 thoughts on “Two views of the River Aire (and losing people online)

  1. I have arranged it so that if I pass away unexpectedly, my wife can log into my blog and say so.

    This year a frequent commenter on my blog passed away. It was indeed a shock, and his absence is still felt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think that’s a good idea. It’s very easy for most of us, of a certain age and level of health, to assume that we still have decades ahead of us (and hopefully we do!), but few of us know when our time is up. Having someone to pass on the news when we do eventually die to those who don’t reside in our circles of family, friends, and other loved ones is a good thing to have in place.

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