Kirkgate Market – Steel City Snapper photography

A selection of shots taken inside Leeds Kirkgate Market.

These are from the same roll of Kodak Elite Chrome 200 that I will be writing an “Expiriment” post about soon (honest!).

Kirkgate Market is the largest covered market in Europe with over 800 stalls. The ornate hall at the front of the market (where these pictures were taken) is particularly nice.

Something good that happened today…

Last year I visited the doctor because I’d noticed a mark on my arm that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t causing me any discomfort, but it was new, and as such I thought I’d best get it checked out. This led to a couple of referrals to a clinic where the lesion was photographed and the pictures sent away to be checked. The outcome from the second of these referrals was a letter informing me to make an appointment with my GP for treatment. No mention of what the issue might be was included in the letter, so I had some concern that it may be some type of skin cancer or something.

I visited the GP today and was told that they believe the mark to be an actinic (or “solar”) keratosis – effectively damage to the skin caused by exposure to the sun over time. While I’m not one for sunbathing (I actively avoid it!) my arms are often uncovered when the weather is warm and, as such, probably get more sunshine than any other part of my body, so this diagnosis is perhaps not a surprise.

Solar keratoses are non-malignant and do no real harm, although there is some chance that they can develop into skin cancer over time (though, thankfully, a less serious and treatable form). I now have to pick up some ointment from the chemist tomorrow and apply that for the next three months before returning to the doctor’s later in the year to check it is still ok.

So, while I’d rather the keratosis not be there, the knowledge of what it is and that it’s probably not something to worry about, is today’s good news.