Mayoral election result

Today was spent at Manchester Central (I still tend to call it GMex, its old name before it became the conference/exhibition centre it is today). All ten GM districts - Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan - had their teams there, counting the ballot papers to arrive at the result for Greater Manchester's first Mayoral election. 

If a candidate failed to get more than 50% of the vote, then the result would turn on second preference votes. But as it turned out Andy Burnham won for Labour with something of a landslide (65% of those who voted), so the declaration of the result was early at about 4pm.

 This election was out of kilter with the many results in other elections across the country, where the Conservatives have done well and Labour not so well.

The blip is part of the "main hall". Counting started at 12pm, so this is well before the process really started.

You can tell this was originally a victorian railway station (1880), it is a splendid venue. And from inside today there was a wonderful view of the Midland hotel, its terracotta facade sparkling in the sun against a blue sky. That is shown better in the extra. I have no idea how you can get an exposure which is right for inside , and right for outside, both at the same time. I guess a photographic lens cannot do what the human eye can do.

Now shattered - sleep calls.