Papering Over The Cracks

A day off work today, as a photographer I know called Theresa was flying over for the day from Dublin to visit Beeston for the first time and a see a friend called Marysia that we both know.

We all met up at L'Oliva's cafe on the High Road, and had a good chat over a drink and some food. A little later we went for a walk down at the marina in the afternoon sunshine. Chatting and taking photos. Marysia had her dog Tag with her, who is a bit of a star on LinkedIn.

At the side of the lock keeper's cottage, there is an old building that has been derelict for a number of years now, but recently some funding has been received so it can be renovated and eventually will be turned into a educational centre, with a cafe and allotment.

Marysia is involved in the project and so she started taking to one of the men that was working on the site. He asked us if we wanted to have a look around, and as it is usually off limits to the general public, we all of course said yes.

And so we spent some time walking around the grounds and taking photos. We also went inside the building, which was a in varying states of rebuild. Upstairs were the bedrooms. One was obviously for a child, as the walls were still covered in Care Bears wallpaper. So obviously it hadn't been touched since the 1980s. Another room had had a lot of wallpaper removed. But a couple of walls still had paper on them. Some stripping had taken place to reveal this Chinese or Japanese design from I would say the 1950s.

Chop Suey

Well it's gone. The Pagoda is no more.

Above is the scene on Wednesday, below, how it is today. Now just a pile of bricks and rubble.

I shall continue to watch what is happening to the site and to try and find out what is going to be built in its place.

Rest U Rant

Not being at work for the last week, I didn't get to visit the city centre at all, so I was wondering what state the old Pagoda Chinese restaurant would be in, now I know that it is being demolished.

So at lunchtime I went to have a look and see if much work had taken place during my time away. Well, as you can see they have certainly raised the roof. Well knocked it down actually!

It's interesting to see that they used the first floor as the kitchen, and I think there are a couple of dumb waiters there, so it saves walking up and down stairs.

I bet it will be fully demolished by the end of the week. Then it will be interesting to see what they build in its place. Be really funny if it is going to be another Chinese restaurant!

Chop Suey

This old Chinese restaurant has been empty for years. I've eaten there once. Christmas 2002 I think it was, with the team I used to worked with. Afterwards we went bowling, which I found a bit boring and never seemed to end.

The food at the Pagoda wasn't bad as I remember. We went for the buffet selection and it was all served on a Lazy Susan, which had been placed in the middle of our table. So round and round Susan went, as we kept picking things from the dishes. I don't think we got that much prawn toast. And I love prawn toast.

Then one day it closed. A few years ago now. Big plans drawn up by Westfield's, the owners of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, to extend it to where the Pagoda and some other buildings stand. But then the recession set in and the plans were put on hold and everything went quiet. Lots of shops in the Broadmarsh are boarded up now and others empty. There isn't that much on offer for shoppers at the moment.

Then last year Westfield's quickly announced that they had sold the Broadmarsh to another company called Intu.  and a couple of weeks ago it was announced that the redevelopment was back on, but not to the huge scale that it once thought.

The scaffolding began to go up around the Pagoda a couple of days ago. So as I pass there every lunchtime on my way to the shops and the Old Market Square, I'll be able to keep a watch what happens to it and what sort of business it turns into.

Dragon Dance

I know that I said that I wouldn't be putting any Chinese New Year photos on, but I couldn't resist showing you this one.

As you can see it is of some dragon dancers making their way to Broadgate Park along the High Road in Beeston. The dancers belong to the university's Chinese students & scholars group, and they were on their way to entertain the crowd.

When I took this photo, they were waiting for the traffic lights to change, and by a happy accident, they were standing outside the Dancing Dragon Chinese Restaurant!

Blast From The Past

For those of you who are of a certain age, or have a passing interest in modern antiques, will recognise the style of painting of the girl, as most homes in the UK had a variation of it during the late 60s and early 70s.

"The Green Lady" was sold as cheap art from many high street stores like Boots, and featured an non smiling Asian girl who had a slightly greenish tinge to her skin for some reason. If I remember rightly, she wasn't even particularly pretty either.

This blown up version features as part of a window display in a large furniture store on Castle Boulevard.

Geisha Look

Another shot from the Chinese New Year celebrations in Beeston Square.

The giant Geisha was walking around and waving at people. The person on the stilts must have had a very good sense of balance, as they didn't wobble once.

The Year Of The Snake

The local Chinese community got together today to celebrate their new year. This time it is the snake's turn.

According to the Chinese, the snake is meant to represent steady progress and attention to detail. Which I think everyone needs at the moment with the economy being in such a poor state that it is.

There was quite a bit on offer, including the classic dragon dance, a martial arts demonstration, some music and some dancing from this young lady, who twirled around with her long sleeves flapping in the air.

The weather wasn't very good, but still the large audience enjoyed it and enthusiastically clapped at the end of each performance.

There is some more celebrations tomorrow over at Highfields, including some dragon boat racing. So I think Gail and I will be popping over to see what else is on offer there.

Mine of Information

The windows of a local Chinese supermarket are absolutely crammed with posters for cheap international phonecalls, flights and services that might be of interest to Nottingham's Chinese community and student population.

Happy New Year

The year of the pig in the Chinese calendar begins today. Beeston has developed quite a large Chinese community now with many attending the nearby university. There were celebrations in the Square today, with various demonstrations of dancing and singing, followed by the obligatory firework display. I caught these young girls doing a sort of fan dance. They added a much needed splash of colour to a rather grey day.