Days we have held

And the sometimes-abandoned gods confuse

With immortal essences men's brief lives

- After Cumae, Geoffrey Hill

Days I have held,

days I have lost,

days that outgrow, like daughters,

my harbouring arms.

- Midsummer, Tobago, Derek Walcott

I know I'll never be able to be free
from these memories

- Only for a while, Toploader

Today, at 16.00 GMT it will be one year since my arrival in York, the end of a prolonged journey thoroughly chronicled in the very first blogpost on this site. I still remember my student days in York very fondly and likewise the many friends I acquired during my stay, friends whose company I miss, whom I'm looking forward to meet again when occasion arises, and whom I reunited with briefly in September to my great delight.

An evening not long ago I was listening to Toploader's Only for a while, a band and a song I became acquainted with fairly recently and which - as a consequence of my lately acquired knowledge - I listened to quite a bit at the time when I returned to York in September to visit my friends and former flatmates of Constantine House. It was late, I was drowsy but refused to sleep and as I listened to the song I browsed through some pictures from September and became overwhelmed by an intense nostalgia, longing for the time I spent in the company of good friends in York, reliving the days I have held that are now vanished and never will return. In an attempt to mitigate this melancholic yearning, and to commemorate my anniversary, I have decided to put up a couple of pictures from the days we held for a brief while in September, accompanied by a song that reminds me I will never be free of these memories, fortunately.

The selection below is an incomplete and superficial chronicle of my time at Constantine House and my purpose is to present an overview in tune with the melody and the evanescence of the House as I once knew it. In this array not all of my friends have been included and the reason for this is simply lack of material, partly owing to early departures and hectic days. This blogpost is for all of my friends from York, Constantines or not.

(...) in search of his own shire, unlatch a gate

that opens into Albion

- The Prodigal, Derek Walcott

Three pictures from St. Leonard's Hospital:

The backyard of Constantine House, complete with its own herb garden.

At the Lamb & Lion Inn

York Train Station

 Micklegate Bar

Micklegate

St. Martin cum Gregory, Micklegate

Archway leading to the Exhibition Square

Candles at York Minster

 (...) gonna be prancing
Around in the moonlight
With a cane and a top hat
- Quality Shoe, Mark Knopfler

 The Ouse

Stonegate

 St. William's College

Fossgate

New Year's Greetings for my friends from York