Fallen Angel

This angel in a local cemetery looks very sad. Possibly from the poor weather today, or from the acid rain that is slowly eating away at her once snowy white face. I'm always surprised at the workmanship that goes into carving gravestones From the simple named headstone, to the very ornate statues and obelisks.

HDR Hoorar

I had a day off work today, but busy at home with some DIY tasks I've been putting off. So I haven't got anything new to put on & things have been a bit slow in Nottingham recently. So here's another attempt at a HDR photograph. The original appeared last week, so you should be able to whizz back fairly quickly to compare.

Travelling Tuesday

Whilst looking through the city daily photo thumbnails, I was drawn to a picture from Minneapolis. Clicking on, I found out that it was taken in Paris, rather than the States, and it is part of a brand new theme day, called Travel Tuesday.

So here's my contribution; Dubai. Thought I'd show somewhere exotic for a first effort, even though those that follow my blog closely will know that I sometimes slip a photo in from the UAE, when there's nothing worth showing from Nottingham.

One Final Turn

The wheel in the square has fallen silent. It is being taken down this week, for the journey to another town, to entice locals and visitors to take a spin for £5 and see the area from the sky.
No doubt it will be back next year. Not as the Nottingham Eye though, as the owners are not allowed to call it that anymore.

Having Something To Fall Back On

I know times are hard for everyone these days, but I didn't think it applied to Hollywood actresses.
I was therefore surprised to see Tom Cruises' wife branching out into real estate. I doubt she has the time to look round the houses up for sale, but it would certainly make the property more sellable.

A Stone Unturned.

You may remember the photo of the Hemlock Stone from a couple of weeks back. Well here's my HDR version. It's my first ever attempt at an HDR photo. I downloaded some free trial software. If you want to have a go yourselves, the website address is on the bottom of the photo.

I don't think it looks too bad for a debut try, although there is probably a bit too much noise on it for my liking. Things hopefully can only improve.

Pink, Yellow And Green

Spring is definitely here in Nottingham. It's been sunny all week, which is a miracle in itself. I bet there's scenes like this all over the country now. Mine was taken in the castle grounds.

George, But No Dragon

Today England celebrated it's patron saint, George. Unfortunately it wasn't a public holiday, so everyone had to turn in for work. This may explain why we never go mad for out saint, like say the Irish or Scottish do with theirs.

But things are improving slowly. Here's one who's stopped off for a drop of the golden liquid before slaying any dragons and helping damsel's in distress.

Erik The Viking

Here's a sight you don't see everyday. A man dressed as part Viking, part knight. He had been seen earlier by a friend on a motorbike. But amazingly he's also quite happy to walk down the street in broad daylight. I assume that he is part of some comedy show playing somewhere in town. Either that or he's a big fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

Quick, We Don't Want To Miss It

Two friends catching a train to where? The seaside, to dip their toes in the briny and smell the ozone. The country, for peace and quiet and fresh air. Or to a big city, to catch up with an old friend. Wherever they are going, I hope they have a good time and their train isn't delayed.

Castle In The Air

To me and many others Wollaton Hall looks more like a castle than the actual castle does.
The hall sometimes runs trips around parts of it that aren't usually open to the public. Anyway I took this shot late this afternoon from our local cemetery. A place that I had not been before.

Has Spring Finally Sprung?

It was lovely and sunny for once today, just a shame I had to spend most of it indoors. Drama rehearsal. Anyway when I returned home, I suggested to Gail that we went for a walk in the sunshine. We went past the local golf course & I took a few photos of the trees in blossom. I quite like this one, with the different greens and shadows.

The Devil Sings Long And Loud

For a treat, I took Gail to the theatre last night to see the musical version of The Witches of Eastwick. It stars Marti Pellow, the former singer of Wet Wet Wet. Oh and how the ladies in the audience screamed when he first appeared on stage.

I hadn't seen the film before, so I didn't know what to expect. On the whole I quite enjoyed it, but maybe not as much as Blood Brothers. The acting, dancing and singing were very good, although I didn't think there were any really memorable songs like say Cats or Evita have. Every so often my interest awoke when some scantily clad female came on. The "devil dancers" were something else!

Photography was of course banned, but I took a shot when the actors gave their curtain calls. It's not the best photo I could have taken, but at least I hope you can tell it's Marti Pellow.

The Smell Of The Greasepaint And Big Boots

I don't know about you, but I think there is something quite sinister about clowns. I know they are meant to be funny, with their red nose, big boots and custard pie routines. But to me they aren't to be trusted. Hidden behind all that make-up and bright clothes beats a heart of pure evil. There are quite a few stories of clowns that were bad, The Joker from Batman & Stephen King's It spring to mind. The fear is called coulrophobia and people of all ages seem to suffer with it.

This one is called Pogo, and was entertaining the kids in the market square today, which for them means the end of the holidays & back to school on Monday.

Pigtails And Sunglasses

A very dull and rainy day today, so no suitable photos taken. So here's one I took earlier. Three days actually. What a difference a day makes, as the song goes, as it was quite sunny and warm at the beginning of the week.

Anyway here's a lassie that was enjoying the pleasant weather. I don't know whether she would pass as one of Jilly's Monte Carlo ladies. What do you think eh Jilly?

Do Not Adjust Your Set

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these two ladies. I could slightly understand one person wanting to wear this horrible looking coat, but two, and at the same time! There must have been a sale somewhere where they were selling them off very cheaply. And no, I don't think a tatty scarf improves the look at all, do you?

No Place Like Dome

Here's a different view of the Council House's dome, which I showed you a reflection of yesterday.

The building at the side with the smaller dome, was Boots' first proper chemists shop. I have shown it you before, with it's art nouveau windows and detail. It's now used as a branch of Zara.

Clockwatching

This photo shows the clocktower of the Council House reflected in an upstairs window of the Bell Inn. I was quite surprised to see the composition considering the location of the council building to the pub. I only spotted it really as I was standing and watching the world go by whilst talking to Gail on my mobile.

Shadow Boxing

Even though it's the Easter holiday we haven't really been out anywhere, mainly because the weather has been quite dull. Typical of most English bank holidays throughout the year. You can almost put money on it. So here's an unpublished photo from the archive. I've increased the contrast to make the shadows of the girls more pronounced. Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon.

Yellow Flowers In The Ring

Here's a montage of the new flower beds at the castle. They are of the castle itself, Green's Windmill and Wollaton Hall. Due to the limitations of Blogger, you'll have to click on the photo, to see it in all its glory.

I like gardening, but I've never tried to make a display like this, even on a very small scale. I do have a garden, but it's a bit of a mess at the moment. If there's anyone fancy a bit of weeding, then you'd be most welcome to help.

Me And My Dog

According to Babel Fish, the name of this shop translates into "the dog and me". It seems a strange name for a giftshop, but certainly one you'd remember. It hasn't been open long, so that's why I've not posted it before.

From the window display, the owner certainly sells some unusual, but decorative items. I think the shop has an old fashioned look to it, hence my decision to 'age' it.
Hope you like it.

Welly Pots

There was a promotion of gardening, allotments and growing flowers in the square today. Whilst I could have shown you the stalls and plants on offer, I thought you might be amused by this ingenious use of an old worn out pair of wellington boots.

I wonder if the strawberries will taste like rubber or sweat when they grow?

Walking The Dog

Couldn't resist taking this photo of a greyhound walking past his very own pub. Alas as I don't live in Durham and not near any cattle, I have no chance of capturing a similar scene for the pub next door!

Rock And Roll

This large lump of sandstone is called the Hemlock Stone and is situated in a park at Bramcote. There are quite a few myths of how it arrived there, the best being that it was thrown by a giant from Ireland. Another suggests that it was used by druids. Today it is often used to let off fireworks from and every year locals gather in the park opposite to produce the 'Hemlock Happening'.

James And His Amazing Technicolour Redcoat

Today marks the day when in 1812 British soldiers, including many from Nottingham captured the Spanish city of Badajoz. As no one had a suitable flag to hand, Lt James MacPherson ran his jacket up the flagpole instead. This deed is celebrated every year by the British army, even in Afghanistan.
I took this in the grounds of the castle. If it was a bit windier, I might have been able to take a better photo of it.

The Moon's A Balloon - Colourised

When I put this photo on for last week's Skywatch, I got a suggestion for it to be seen in colour. Now as I'm not one for refusing any requests from my adoring fans, here it is!

E.S.P Or Enthusiastic Staring People

As Nottingham has two universities, there are a lot of students here from all over the world. I take it that these two sitting in the square in the sunshine are. I have no idea why they both have this very intense gaze on their faces. Inscrutable I think they call it. Maybe they are both worried about their essay's that should have been handed in by now.

I See No Ships Either

It was a fab day today. The sun was out for a change, and so the market square was quite busy with shoppers and tourists. Quite a few people were queuing up to see what the city looked like from up high. I've just bought an adapter for my camera FZ18) so I can add filters etc. The only thing is that you have to zoom a bit, otherwise you get this interesting effect, like you were looking through a telescope.

The Moon's A Balloon

I'm starting Skywatch Friday early with this shot of a balloon going past the Nottingham Wheel.

Further photos of skies from around the world can be accessed here.

Saint Or Sinner

Nottingham has it's very own graffiti artist like London's Banksy. He or she is called Questionmarc and produces some outrageous, but amusing 'works of art' every so often. Some annoy the local council, which isn't a bad thing. The last being when signs appeared across the city saying that you could wee here when the pubs close. People do anyway, but was funny to have 'permission'.

Questionmarc's latest stunt has been to put up posters near churches comparing Jane Goody with Mother Teresa. For those who don't know, Jane Goody was a contestant on TV's Big Brother, who somehow became a celebrity, but didn't actually have a talent. She has been constantly in the spotlight recently as she has been dying from cancer. Sad as it may be, I do think she had been getting a bit too much media attention. Which I think was also the point of the posters.