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Remains of the Townhouse (later the Cock in Treacle - yes, really.)

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A bit of impromptu urban exploration today; these pictures are from November last year, when I was on my way to an appointment, had a few minutes going spare and decided to explore this disused pub with which I have a bit of personal history. In the early 2010s, when it was still called the Townhouse, my first job after college was here. Not working in the pub itself but doing some community project effort which we ran out of the function room, and did questionnaires with the general public (or, y'know, mocked up a load of answers and dossed about 'round town with my mates, as you do.) It's been empty for a fair few years, and suffice to say it's fallen into disrepair during that time; it's a shame because it was a nice place when it was actively in use. These steps are where we used to head in; I have distinct memories of them being a fucker to walk up on a wet day.  This door was torn off in a storm, which enabled me to go in and have a nosey... Stopping to admire...
'Ave a gander 'ere

Return to Ducky Darkness (not an existential novella about Stoke-on-Trent... unless you want it to be.)

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Coming back for another dip into Pools today, with some shots from Chapter 0. Where chapter 6 lost me a bit with its sudden shift to a more chaotic atmosphere, this epilogue/prologue/is there a word for something that feels like it serves both purposes at once? really delivered the goods with building upon the particular atmosphere of the earlier parts of the game - it's eerie, beautiful, tense, unmooring, melancholy, and there are ducks. The ducks are essential. The environment design in this maze is superb and there were a few more moments that reminded me a bit of Silent Hill 4; particularly the opening in the train station, the illogical exterior of the block of flats and the spinning contraption, which looks a bit like the big metal effort in the pool of blood at the end. Ah, memories... (I mean SH4 has a lot to offer, and I will readily go to bat for it, but the final boss fight technically puts you under a time constraint and anyone who knows me can attest just how much I fu...
'Ave a gander 'ere

small cute machines!

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    vroom! Continuing my swan dive back into video games after not bothering with anything for a few months, I've been looking for driving efforts to go at but being out of the loop for ages, it's hard to know what to look for. Also good luck if you're looking for something on the Steam Deck; there's a lot of stuff that's basically one step above shovelware on there, and if you're looking for something more meaty, then compatibility issues rear their ugly heads, or you'll have to deal with the minefield of DRM and those sods that require signing up to online services - ugh . Also, much as I love it, there's only so much time one person can spend on Sega Rally Championship 1995, with the dodgy Chris Cornell soundalike serenading us with the immortal " Game over, yeeeaaaah!!! " (in the right company, that still gets a laugh), so after a fair bit of rummaging, I found greatness, with the cuddly and adorable art of rally. It's different from wh...
'Ave a gander 'ere