Old Soldiers Never Die

Although I've had a bit of fun with the pictures that I took at the recent Veterans Weekend, there was a serious message to the show, about reminding visitors over the sacrifice people made in the areas of war in the past and that we shouldn't forget them. And so my final photo is of one of these old fighters proudly displaying his medals gained in some conflict in the past.

Musical Chairs

"The local brass band made a quick getaway, when they annoyingly found out that the conductor had won the National Lottery and was on the next plane to the Bahamas without even treating them to a bar of chocolate."

Go Girls!

"Although it looked good exercise and great fun, Edna decided not to join in with the local gymnastics team; as she hadn't shaved her armpits for 17 years."

The Balloon's Gone Up!

The Ministry of Defence today unveiled their latest design in the science of camouflage. A spokesperson commented that in today's colourful world of neon signs, techicolour posters and the like, the old style of green camouflage would make the soldier stick out like a sore thumb. He said "this new scheme of red, white and blue is excellent. Any soldier walking through a city centre that's under attack would be invisible to the enemy." "Look, it even works with small boys who are trying to bunk off from school."

Every Home Should Have One

What could be better than spending some time on a lovely sunny afternoon out walking with your pet dog? Well when it's a seven foot orange kangaroo!

He's obviously well trained, as his owner doesn't need to have him on a lead when walking among the crowds. And the nice man's treated him to a balloon to play with. I wonder if the kangaroo's pouch is big enough for the man to climb in? If so, then they can hop off home together.

The Plan Of Action

"Right then chaps, what's the best way of trapping these here boobies?. Carstairs, any solutions?"

"Well sir, we've tried almost everything so far without success.
We could try lemon cheesecake? It worked with my nephew. He only took a little bit and got a good clip round the ear from his dad. Should work well with a whole slice."

It's Snap Time

I spotted these two characters who were looking after some small steam engines eating their snap in the sun. Snap is a slang word for food, possibly of Yorkshire origin. I can imagine them being called Charlie and Arthur, and beside their love of steam, like nothing more than supping a few pints of real ale and talking about fly wheels and flanges.

Waiting For The Off

Wollaton Park at the weekend came alive with military vigour. Veterans Weekend is an annual event to commemorate those that fought for our freedom down the years. It was also to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Royal Air Force.
Amongst the exhibitors, were a group of people that were re-enacting what the American Army were like during world War 2 when they lived in the park. Here's a young soldier sitting and waiting for his next order.

Singing For His Supper

As Imac said on his site, Steve Carlisle from the Searchers came and entertained us at his birthday bash. Steve sang various songs from different eras, sometimes with his guitar. He was good and Imac had a bop to two and so did quite a number of his guests.

We Bloggers Three

Last night Gail & I had the great pleasure of meeting Imac & Zacscloset for the first time. Imac was celebrating his impending 60th birthday and we had received an invitation to go to his party, which was being held near Grantham. As Nottingham is only about 25 miles away, we went along & gave Zac a lift, as being a student, she had no transport.

We had a good time and it was nice to meet some fellow bloggers. Something that's largely impossible, due to us all living across the globe. I know Eric organises a meet up in Paris sometimes and Sally from Sydney recently visited Jilly from Monte Carlo, but on the whole our only contact is through the comments left on our sites.

Gail took this photo of us three snappers together. You'll all have to make the most of this picture as I detest having my photo taken and always prefer being behind the camera.

It's All Greek To Me

I like the character that's been painted on the window of this Greek restaurant in the Lace Market. Standing on the barrels while he is making some red wine.

I tried translating the text in the scroll using Babelfish, to no avail. Perhaps someone out in Bloggingland can tell us what it means.

Sywatch Thursday

The weather has been very changeable of late. Sometimes sun, sometimes cloud. Yesterday was very cloudy with strong winds. The sun kept popping it's head out. It didn't like what it saw, and so disappeared again.

Crane One's Neck

There is still a small population of cranes dotted around the city centre. They are helping to build apartments that on one wants, as there are too many already and offices that no one will be working in as companies are downsizing, due to the recession that is present the UK now.

If I was an artistic person, and one that liked to use imagery, I could say that the storm clouds brewing overhead are representative of the dark financial troubles that are hitting everyone's wallet.

Rock 'n' Beer

Many pubs these days seem to be running talent contests. Obviously the influence of the X Factor and such shows have now stretched to the local boozer.

I don't know how many people are able to sing like John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Janis Joplin. Or even be able to sing at all? Mind you, after about 8 pints, no one really notices or cares!

Feeding Time

Lunch time, and this zebra is just in the process of finishing off an ice cream. Nottingham has quite a number of indigenous animals. Squirrels, deer, pigeons etc. But this is the first time that I've captured a zebra on film. And one that is feeding too! And as we all know they are incredibly timid creatures, who use their camouflage to great effect. So I felt particularly pleased to find this one eating during the lunchtime rush.

The Prince's Balls Get Bigger Every Year

Here is Cinderella's coach that the photographer was waiting to snap. Not empty, but when it contained Brian Conley. He is the star of this years' panto at the Theatre Royal.

You can see the poster for it in the background & you can read all about it via the weblink. And as for my title, I think it is about the funnest line in any panto.

Guess Whose Snapped The Snapper?

Me!

Walking past the Theatre Royal the other day, I noticed that a van from Central News had set been set up. Of course I had to take a look. I would be letting you down if I didn't. I found that the theatre were publicising this years' pantomime.

Today's photo is of the press photographer from the Evening Post, who had been taking some shots for the newspaper. Come back tomorrow & I'll show you what he was taking photos of.

Halt, Who Goes There?

As Gail & I were driving into work yesterday, we saw a number of police motorcyclists driving on the opposite road in the wrong direction. What puzzled us was that no traffic was on it, where usually it's packed with vehicles. We wondered whether there'd been an accident, as the queue on our side had come to a halt. Suddenly a police car appeared followed by a prison van & another police car. We realised then that a high profile court case had started. So at lunch I took a stroll down to the court to see if anything was happening. All was quiet except for about 7 armed police patrolling around the court building. I wanted to take some pictures, but didn't want to get threatened or arrested. So I popped up to the car park opposite and clicked away unnoticed.

That's The Way To Do It

This Punch & Judy show was keeping the children happy whilst their dad's were looking at the vehicles on show. I've never been into Punch & Judy shows or clowns as a child, but they still seem to be as popular as ever, even in today's "i-" dominated world.

Goldplated Love Machine

I have no idea as to what the make of this car is, as the owner has removed all traces of the brand. A lot of money has clearly been spent on making the car look hot. I bet after every drive, the engine is given a good clean and polish.

Mirror Mirror On The Car

Hummer's are big petrol gobbling vehicles that you sometimes see on the roads. Instead of taking a photo of the whole vehicle. Which incidentally I think is very ugly, I homed in on the radiator grill and got a good reflection of some of the other cars on show in the polished chrome.

Bus Stop

Barton's were a local family bus company that had been around for almost 100 years. They merged with Trent buses a few years ago. You could go almost anywhere in the country on a Barton's bus. I couldn't, as they always made me ill; even on short trips. I don't know if it was the smell of the bus, or the red seats, but going on one could guarantee me needing to get off, or reaching for a bag.

Hold Tight Please

Following on from yesterday's post & Imac's photo, Nottingham also seems to have an old fashioned bus, although I have never seen it on the roads yet. This is a shame, as I'm sure it would do well with the tourists & locals. I also think they need to put some old advertising on the front, to make it look more authentic.

On The Buses

Some unwanted former London buses have started finding themselves being driven around the streets of Nottingham as a tourist attraction. A company called Bellamy's have started running a service from the city centre to Arnold; a town to the north of the city. The company were promoting the service at the show last week, which comes complete with a conductor.

Driving Back In Time

There's over a hundred years difference between the Range Rover from yesterday & this Humber Olympia Tandem Forecar today. Or is it a shopping basket on wheels? It was probably one of the oldest, and indeed oddest vehicles on display there.

Stretching A Point

I think we're all quite familiar with seeing stretch limos on the road these days. Where they are used for hen nights, stag do's or just for people to show off in. I went to a classic car show on Sunday at Wollaton Park and besides the old vehicles, were some new models; including this stretch Range Rover.

4 x 4's have been nicknamed 'Chelsea Tractors' as people drive around London in them, although they should only really be used in the countryside. I can't imagine this being driven around the fields of Yorkshire though.

Mobile Communications

With a bump we landed & when we had all scrambled out of the basket, most people like these two, switched on their mobiles & rang their loved ones. Since my loved one was with me, I kept taking pictures instead.

This is the last photo of the series. I do hope you've enjoyed it and perhaps have been inspired to take a balloon ride of your own. It would be interesting to see what your home town looks like from the air.

Going Down

The flight's over and our pilot was busy looking for somewhere suitable to land. He said that if we landed in a field and the farmer got upset, he could be charmed by a bottle of whiskey. We did land in a field that belonged to this run down house called Annesley Hall. There was nothing growing in it only grass & nettles, but the owner wasn't too pleased to see us. Hopping mad I think was the phrase used.

Incidentally, Annesley Hall is one of the most haunted houses in England. If you look it up on Google, you'll read about all sorts of ghosts wandering around the place.

Walk On Water

Here's an interesting layout of walkways across this lake. Or is it a series of lakes connected by walkways? Whatever it is, it looks a nice spot to sit and relax & perhaps do some fishing if it's allowed.

Water Magic

This is Papplewick Pumping Station, and it holds very dear memories for me, as it's where I asked Gail to be my wife. You might think a water pumping station isn't a particularly romantic setting, but as it's now a restaurant, it is. It was nearly 3 years ago now. We were both at a summer ball & I thought I'd pop the question after the food, but before the dancing. Work had hired a DJ, and so I was going to get him to make an announcement, so I propose in front of everyone. Unfortunately things didn't go according to plan, as Gail had a really bad coughing fit, bought on perhaps by something she ate. I asked her anyway, and she of course said yes in between gasps of air and sips of water.