Countdown To Picture Of The Year - 2

Greens Windmill in Sneinton appeared on May 5th. I remember taking a few disappointing shots when it was overcast. But as I was leaving the park, the sun came out, so I returned and took some more. I like windmills and lighthouses, but as I live about 60 miles from the nearest coast, I'm unlikely to see one in the middle of the big city. Mind you, that could be said of windmills. But as you can see, Nottingham has one!

Countdown To Picture Of The Year - 3

For various reasons I tend not to take too many pictures of people in public. But I quite like the expression on this guy who's pretending to be one of Robin Hood's merry men, which first appeared on August 14th. He's looking a bit mean & moody, and somewhat like he's up to no good.

What do you think?

Countdown To Picture Of The Year - 4

After viewing the 300 odd photos I've published this year, I've managed to whittle it down to 4. Although there were many 'almost made its'. The selection has been difficult, as I've taken a wide range of subjects in a range of styles. Looking back at them, I've thought I could have taken this a bit better; or more closer, or waited for that illusive decisive moment. But like anything, practice makes perfect as they say. So I aim to take even better ones during 2008.

So my first photo appeared back on Jan 21. I quite enjoy taking reflective pictures and this one of a Victorian street lamp, I think is simple, but effective. To improve it, I should have removed the distracting leaves.

Gis a Job!

Now that Santa has done the rounds for another year, he is effectively out of work. So to make ends meet, he's got a job advertising a local tattoo parlour. I spotted him grabbing a quick jacket potato, before trudging the streets of the city once again.

Can Dogs Read?

The final photo from Switzerland is of this mosaic picture in the pavement. I spotted quite a few across Genevan streets. Not understanding French, I had no idea what it was saying. Typing it into a translation website, it seemed to say 'don't let your dog poo on the pavement'. Seems a much more effective message than the little signs on lampposts that we get here and which nobody takes any notice of. These pictures are quite decorative too.

He's Just A Poor Boy, From A Poor Family

This line from one of the most best loved songs probably gives it away of my featured rock star. It is of course Freddie Mercury, lead singer with legendary band Queen.

Queen first came to Montreux in 1978 to record their album 'Jazz'. Freddie fell in love with the area and bought a house there. It's also where he died in November 1991.

The statue of Freddie overlooks Lake Geneva and was made by Irena Sedlecka. It was unveiled in 1996 by close friends and family.

If you didn't know, the line is from Bohemian Rhapsody, and was the British Christmas number one single in 1975.

Keep on rockin Freddie, wherever you are.

By The White Of The Shiny Mountain

Another town that we visited was Montreux. Which is probably most famous as a subject for the Deep Purple song; "Smoke on the Water". Which tells the story of a hotel that caught fire, which they were going to do a concert in. It's also well known for it's annual jazz festival. Here are two views of the Montreux Palace Hotel, which looks a very nice, but very expensive place to stay.

There's Snow In Them There Hills

On Monday, we decided to go exploring by bus. One of the few cheap things in Geneva is public transport. In fact it appears to cost nothing to ride on a bus. We had some free passes from our hotel, but the locals just seemed to hop on and off without paying the driver. Vernier was one of the places we visited. It seemed a strange place, as it appeared to be a new community, built on a hill, but nothing there of interest. After taking some photos, we boarded the next bus and returned to Geneva.

Sign of the Times

Here's a typical Swiss road sign. A mixture of typefaces and style of signage. We passed through Lausanne when we spent the day in Montreux. Sunny pictures from this lakeside town to follow over the next few days.

Raising the Standard

Here's one of the many narrow & quaint streets in the old part of Geneva. There are some interesting examples of architecture and I would have liked to have spent longer investigating, but Gail was getting cold & her feet were aching, so we stopped off at a small cafe for a drink & a bite to eat.

Whizzed Over Land from Switzerland.

I'm back from my little jaunt with my darling Gail to Switzerland. I was a bit disheartened to find that the weather was just the same in Geneva as we had left it in England; cold, windy & dull. Never mind, we had a great time & of course I took lots of photos. Some of which I'll be showing you over the next few days. This will give me time to get some new pictures from Nottingham.

The first shot is of the old town next to the lake, with mist and snow covered mountains watching over things.

Hello Switzerland

Hi folks, Gail & I are in Geneva at the moment for a few days. Naturally I am taking lots of photos, alas the weather isn't very good, overcast & cold. The hotel where we are staying has Internet access, unfortunately I have no way of uploading any of my pictures. So you'll all just have to wait until Thursday!

Turkey Shoot

I know I promised no more Christmas pictures, but I had to show you this window scene, which can be filed under comedy.

It reminds me of the old films from the 1920's & 30's where someone who is being chased would put a shade on their head and pretend to be a lamp.

Study By Night

Here's a photo of the Portland Building of Nottingham University. Not one of my best, due to a bit of camera shake. I had left my trusty Gorillapod at home. But it still gives a good impression of what the building is like in the darkness.

Ooops!

Somehow, this Belicia Beacon at a zebra crossing on Queen Street has been pushed over. I have no idea if it was through poor driving or drunken antics. These three workmen look a bit puzzled too.

Here Comes The Sun

Although people are busy now writing cards & wrapping presents, their minds are also on holidays. The new brochures should be hitting the travel agents' shelves very shortly. Gail & I have already booked our first one. We're off to Dubai again at the end of January for two weeks.

So to remind everyone across the world that doesn't get sunny days anymore, here's a photo of a Dubaian hotel being kissed by the warm sunlight. And if you want to see more photos of Dubai I have my Dubai photo blog. There was also Bluey's fantastic Dubai Daily Photo page, which unfortunately ceased a few months ago.

Pull The Udder One!

It always pays to carry a camera, as I took this last night, quite by chance. Why this bar on St James' Street had a life sized model of a cow on show I have no idea. It wasn't even called The Cow.

Anyway it reminds me of an old and rather corny joke about a horse going into a pub and asking for a pint of beer. The barman pulls the beer and says to the horse, that'll be £3.50 please. While the horse is counting out some coins, the barman says that they don't serve that many horses. The horse looks the barman straight in the eye and says, "I'm not surprised at three fifty a pint"!

Our Robin

Here's a picture of Robin Hood and his merry men, which is on the inside of the Council House dome. There are all sorts of stories about whether he was a real character or not, and in fact whether he came from Yorkshire, rather than from Nottingham at all.

Sherwood Forest does exist and is now bidding for £50 million of lottery money to be spent on a new visitors centre (a weird design) and lots of new trees. Other bids include the Eden project in Cornwall and a national plan to improve the countries' cycle tracks.

Governing By Night

Hi everyone I'm back from my jaunt down south.

I have been to Luton for a couple of days for work. Naturally I took my camera and snapped away in my spare time. Although it's supposed to be Nottingham Daily Photo, I have to show you Luton's town hall at night. It's a typical Victorian building with high ceilings and marble floors. The clock works and 'dongs' every 15 minutes. I have to go back next week & will ask if I can go up the tower.

Moonlight Shadow

Mike Oldfield's hit song from 1983, gave me inspiration for this shot. The moon casting its glow onto a passing cloud.

I won't be around for a couple of days, as I'm away down south on business. Please don't forget me, and pop back on Thursday.

The Bridge To Nowhere

It's the First of the month and it's theme day, the topic being bridges.

This photo shows all that is left of the viaduct that carried trains along the London, Midland, Scottish line. which closed during the Beeching cuts of the 1960's. The rest has been knocked down over years, as new structures appear across the city. This is likely to be demolished in the next year or so. I have also shown you other parts of this area, which is known as Narrow Marsh a few weeks ago.

Here are the links to the other sites that are participating:
Boston (MA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Inverness (IL), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Stockholm, Sweden - Setúbal, Portugal - Brussels, Belgium - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Hyde, UK - Manila, Philippines - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - London, England - Austin (TX), USA - Toulouse, France - Weston (FL), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Selma (AL), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - North Bay (ON), Canada - Arradon, France - Paderborn, Germany - Durban, South Africa - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Portland (OR), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Wichita (Ks), USA - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Grenoble, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Arlington (VA), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Cheltenham, UK - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Saratoga Spgs. (NY), USA - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Nashville (TN), USA - Toruń, Poland - New Orleans (LA), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Melbourne, Australia - Moscow, Russia - Trujillo, Peru - Château-Gontier, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Joplin (MO), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Baziège, France - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Detroit (MI), USA - Riga, Latvia - Nelson, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Cape Town, South Africa - Sydney, Australia - Dunedin (FL), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Radonvilliers, France - Turin, Italy - Montpellier, France - Kansas City (MO), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Wailea (HI), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Terrell (TX), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Budapest, Hungary - Montréal (QC), Canada - Sharon (CT), USA - Le Guilvinec, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - London, UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Orlando (FL), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Paris, France - Mainz, Germany - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Darmstadt, Germany - Naples (FL), USA - Torino, Italy - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - The Hague, Netherlands - Minneapolis (MN), USA

Eyes To The Light

I promise that this will be the last Christmas lights photo for a while & hopefully the final Christmas orientated picture this year, as I'm sure everyone is getting a bit bored now with festive views.

Anyway, this is the front of the Council House that overlooks the Old Market Square. I'm quite certain that these are the same lights that they put up last year.

Skating In The Square

As I mentioned yesterday, a large ice rink has been set up in the Old Market Square. It will be there until the middle of January and costs £7.00 for 45 minutes.

Here's a shot of some skaters giving it a go. This loving couple look devoted to each other as he holds his girlfriends' hand as he leads her round the link. Either that, or he's stopping her from falling over!

We Skate The Light Fantastic

'C' is in full swing in the city now. A giant ice rink has been set up in the Market Square, and of course the German Market. So there's plenty of light and activity going on. I've tried to capture the dark & quiet of one end of the square, with the light and bustle of the other.

One Man And His Paper

The German market has returned to Nottingham for a few weeks. I of course had a wander around looking for that exciting shot. Unfortunately I didn't see anything worth taking of the stalls themselves, but I spotted this stallholder, who was more interested in reading his paper, than trying to sell anything.

A Proper Watering Hole

When people say they are going to the 'hole in the wall', they usually mean they are off to get some money from the ATM. But in this case it's the name of a city centre pub, on North Sherwood Street.

I've no idea why the pub is called what it is, as it's nowhere near any holes!

Today marks my 500th entry, so I'm inviting everyone in the blogging community over for a virtual drink on me.

Ello, Ello, Ello, What's Going On Here Then?

Like many other towns & cities across the country, Beeston switched on it's Christmas lights. No one famous did the honours. Only our mayor pushed the button.

To be different, I decided I wouldn't try snapping the decorations, instead I'd find something interesting at the accompanying small fun fair. Looking around, I spotted this policeman directing the traffic on top of the merry go round.

Night & Day On The Tiles

Following on from yesterday's post of the old newspaper office. Inside the entrance are a number of ornately designed tiles, with four of them having faces on. I have no idea who they are & it doesn't say anywhere. I can only assume that they are of the original publishers of the newspaper.

News For The Day

This ornate entrance to offices on Parliament Street used to belong to an old Nottingham newspaper called I think, the Nottingham Express & Journal. A tabloid that was absorbed into the Nottingham Evening Post during the 1950's.

Sub of the Day - 7

Last, but by no means least is this branch, which is just off the Old Market Square. It's the one that I use the most. Especially when I get a booklet of money off coupons. There are always long queues at this outlet around lunchtime.

I hope you have enjoyed this mini series, and might have given you the idea for one of your own.

Sub of the Day - 6

Houndsgate today, and one of Subway's more smaller branches in the city. it is also one that is a bit out of the way & faces a fair bit of competition. Not just from the cafe next door, but from other food outlets close by.

Sub of the Day - 5

One for the shoppers today. Parliament Street, just up from the Victoria Centre. Also popular with shop workers and people waiting for their bus, as with this couple, who are checking the time of the next bus.

Sub of the Day - 4

Lower Parliament Street this time, and right down the bottom towards the ice rink. Another student hangout and the closest one to the Lace Market.

Sub of the Day - 3

The other end of the city centre today. Derby Road. I remember when this outlet opened last year. They were doing this buy one get one free offer. And no, I only ordered a 6" and not a 12", as I think eating 2, one foot long subs would be a bit too much!

By the look of the to let sign, I don't think it is going to stay open for much longer.

Sub of the Day - 2

If you walk past yesterday's Subway for about 10 minutes up North Sherwood Street, you come across this outlet, which I think is about the newest in the city centre. It's also probably one that is frequented the most by students who are studying at the nearby Trent University, as they tend to live in the area.

Sub of the Day - 1

Many people (like Ham) have run a series of photos over time under the same theme. But I don't think anyone has done it on a daily basis before. So for the next few days, I'm going to show you all the Subway sandwich bars in the city centre. There are actually 7.
So in no particular order, here is the first one; Forman Street. It doesn't look too busy considering it's lunch time. But then there's plenty of choice along there.

Going Mobile

New mobile phone shops appear to be opening almost every day. It seems amazing to me that there is any need, as the market place is swamped already. Today's photo illustrates what I mean; 4 shops almost next door to each other. Their names can almost make up a sentence: The Carphone Warehouse free phones for you oh!

Feeling Tyred?

I couldn't resist taking this cute little Michelin Man relaxing on a lovely black leather sofa. He seems to be very comfortable sitting there and watching the world go by. I can't remember the name of the shop, but they sell all sorts of things to make your home more individual and unique.

Sparks

This electrical business is on Canal Street, and is next to the building site which I showed a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if it is going to be knocked down as well. This would be a shame, as it's quite a well used business by both tradespeople & members of the public, and its a good example of Victorian architecture with lots of character.

Farmyard Frolics

Another market stall. This one is selling models of sheep, pigs and ducks. As you can see they were commanding a fair bit of interest from the shoppers. I wonder how many found new homes. A bit different garden feature don't you think?

Least We Forget

In honour of Remembrance Sunday, I give you these trees, with their sunlit autumnal shades. I know the normal flower is the poppy, but I thought that trees would be a more lasting reminder for those that were lost during the world's battles.

End Of The Line

Here's another of the buildings that is facing the demolition gang. I have no idea what was used for, but it is clearly sometime since it was put to any use. By the state of the brickwork, it looks like it might fall down under its own volition.

Locked Out

This old factory is empty and disused. Someone's put this big metal plate across the doors to stop people breaking in. The whole area is a bit run down and plans are afoot to do something with the land. But for now, here's a reminder of a company that doesn't exist anymore.

Think Pink!

A new designer dress shop has recently opened on King Street. They've gone for a very simple name of Pink, even though looking through the window, they don't appear to be selling any pink outfits. Never mind, I guess Barbie will have to shop elsewhere.

TV Or Not TV

There are 5 main television channels in the UK, as well as numerous satellite & cable stations, but only 2 produce local news; BBC Midlands, whose studios I've shown before & ITV for the Midlands. Central Television, as it used to be known, had quite a big studio complex on Lenton Lane & produced a number of well known programmes, like Woof!, Bullseye & Celebrity Squares. But ITV closed it down a couple of years ago & so the news team moved to a small studio in Toton. But now that's threatened with closure, so some of the journalists were promoting their cause yesterday in the Old Market Square.

The Night Closes In

Last night it became very foggy for a while. I don't know if it was due to the weather or down to the many fireworks parties that had taken place in my neighbourhood. I tried taking some photos from my front garden, but they didn't come out very well. So messing about in Picasa, I created this nighttime scene.

Eat, Drink & Be Merry

Bistro Live describes itself as a live entertainment restaurant. It's where offices parties & hen nights go for their do's. What interested me is the location. They are situated in the basement of the building where I first started my working life, back in the late 1970's. The building belonged to a lace company & they used to store all the raw materials in the basement. When it was needed, they used to bring it up, send it to be dyed & then it was put onto cards or bobbins ready to be sewn onto clothes etc.

Under One Sky

The Old Market Square yesterday hosted an Afro Caribbean market. There were various stalls selling food, clothing and gifts that represented the black community. There was also this dance troupe that were doing some routines, to prove that they do more than the things that are reported in newspapers.