Autumn Colours

The Arboretum, close to the city centre is a large Grade II listed park which up until now have never visited. So yesterday, despite the very changable weather decided to take a stroll and see what was on offer. The park is in the part of town that is predominately for student housing. I took a few photos and here is one of the lake and fountain. Everything is still green, despite the change of season.

Follow the White Path

Leading on from yesterday's photo of the Old Market Square, this one is of Long Row, and gives you some idea of what the finished area will look like with the granite paving slabs which appear to be in short supply at the moment.

Bombsite City

This gigantic building site is the Old Market Square and will one day be finished. It is supposed to be completed in November, but apparently the construction company are having problems finding enough paving material, so they have put the finish date back until February. It has been like this for almost a year now. Many people, myself included think there was nothing wrong with the one we had before & the council have wiped out 80 years of history.

Life in the Slow Lane

Here's a shot of Upper Parliament Street, with the entrance to Victoria Centre on the right. The road has been going through some changes recently, as the council is trying to keep out cars from the centre by altering the road layout. That's one reason why there are 4 buses in the photo.

Pumping Blues

This neglected, but unusual Victorian building is actually a pumping station that collected water directly from boreholes in the ground. It ceased operations in 1880, and is presently in a poor state of repair. It is Grade 2 listed, so it has architectural importance. Hopefully it will be repaired and renovated soon, and brought back to life.

Autum Colours

It's been a while since I looked in the window of John Lewis, in the Victoria Centre. Their latest display is of the new clothing styles and colours for autumn. But what caught my eye was the fact that all the mannequins have got long white hair. Is this going to be a forthcoming fashion trend too?

Pint of Tea

Here's something different. A pub displaying a collection of teapots, and what's more they are all white.
Cheers!

Night Fever

Night clubs are given all sorts of strange names, but how many are named after a man's name & musical instrument? In this case it's Robert Moog, who invented the synthesiser in the early 1960's. I enjoy music by such names as Tangerine Dream, Vangelis & Jean Michel Jarre; who all use Moogs in their creations.

Mobile Canvas

Pleased to see the different styles of art this printing company has as their logo. A dash of surrealism, a dot of cubism makes for an interesting mix.

American Graffiti

Spoted this 'artwork' whilst on my travels. Besides the usual nametags, what caught my eye was the VW camper and the girls' heads. These look more like stencils than the creation of a spraycan.

Banner Headline

There's nothing like self-publicity, and it's just the same for a business. Here Trent University are publicising their School of Art and Design. I will take a look inside when their next exhibition starts at the end of the month.

Light and Dark

Here's one of those shots that people try and take of a nightscene, either at the wrong setting or without a tripod and they always end up blurred and shakey. I thought I would try and do something with this one in Picasa. Not tried Photoshop yet. I don't think it looks too bad as an abstract. The location is down by the Ice Arena.

Happy Birthday

Today in 1782, Nottingham's General Hospital opened. It unfortuately closed several years ago and most of the buildings have disappeared, although a few remain & have either been turned into offices or as with the photo from April 11, a restaurant.

Postbox Blues

Here is quite a rare sight these days; a pillarbox that dates back to Queen Victoria. Nearly all collection boxes these days say 'E-R' on them, although if you are lucky, you can find one made in the time of King George. I just wonder if there are any letters stuck inside that date back 100 years?

The House That Hine Built

This decorative relief is on a house in the Park that T.C Hine built. You can tell because the design also includes his initials at the bottom, where the date is. Hine was an architect that also was responsible for designing the Council House which was built in the 1920's.

View From the Top

This is the dome of the Council House which houses a clock. London has Big Ben, Nottingham has Little John. The sound of the clock when it strikes is quite loud, and can be heard all over the city centre.

Underneath the Arches

Here's quite a nice example of a Victorian archway. It's from the Park area, which contains lots of interesting architectural features, some of which have appeared here & no doubt will continue in the future.

Who's the Boss?

Here's another example of a former bank with a new lease of life. Instead of becoming a trendy wine bar, this one in the city centre has become a trendy clothes shop. I've not been inside, so I don't know what it looks like. But I hope they have retained as many original features as possible. I love the lion & unicorn carving. A great shame the new owners couldn't have created a better sign over the doorway.

Fingers to the Sky (2)

Here's a photo that show's the steeple of the Pitcher & Piano winebar & the clock tower of St Mary's church, both of which are in the Lace Market. I took the picture from the castle, which is a great vantage point for aerial views of the city.

Knock, Knock, Who's There ?

Today is doorway day in the blog community, and here's my contribution. This doorway is at Nottingham Castle. It's not part of the castle itself, but as you can see, it's strangely built along a wall which leads to the castle entrance. I have no information about what's behind the door, or where it leads to.