Gong Hey Fat Choy

 It's the Year of the Goat this year in the Chinese calendar and their New Year celebrations took place today in Beeston, on a smaller scale than usual due to the budget cuts in community events.

They of course had the dragon dance, some demonstrations of martial arts and how to write your name in Chinese. I didn't do this, as having a pretty long name, I would be there all afternoon!

I bumped into a couple of friends of mine, one being a filmmaker and puppeteer, who was putting on a show in about ten minutes time. I had not seen his show before, so I went off to find a seat. I was quite surprised that there were more adults wanting to see the show than children.

The story revolved around a girl, her father, a teacher and a yak. The Professor (my friend Melvyn) did all the voices and actions. Quite amusing to hear one sentence in a man's voice and then another in a woman's. The audience appeared to thoroughly enjoy it.

Peek-a-Boo

This morning Beeston celebrated the Chinese New Year, which this year's animal is the horse.

It is also the first time that it has been staged at Broadgate Park, as usually it takes place in the Square. But with the ongoing tram works, and now they have started updating the shopfronts there, it has become a bit of a no go zone for people.

It was nice that the sun decided to make a rare appearance too, as it has rained on an off all week. But it  was a bit breezy and cold.

There was the usual mixture of music and dancing. It does seem to be the same every year for some reason. So instead of showing you something similar to last February, here's a shot of a Asian baby all wrapped up against the cold.

Filling My Face

Kathy has dreamt up this week's Headbanger Challenge, and she's gone for everyone's favourite subject: food.

Now my first thought is to take a photo of some delicious food, and today's daily photo certainly shows that. But further details later. When thinking about food more deeply, the expression 'if music be the food of love, play on' sprang to mind. The famous quote from Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, said by Orsino to try and overcome his infatuation with Countess Olivia. More music, less love.

So my header photo shows Rob Nicholls from local band Blue Yonder, who we went to see at the Contemporary back in March. We hope to see them again next month, when they play at a local pub. There's nothing better than listening to some good music whilst sipping an ice cold beer. Especially on a hot day like today.

Don't forget to look at the rest of the headbanger's pages and enjoy this piece of suitable dining music.

Now as I mentioned earlier, I attended one of the many 'ladies lunches' that I go on at work. Well why not? This one was very special, as one of my ladies received an invitation to sample the wares at a new cafe/restaurant that is going to be opened very soon. Possibly tomorrow. She asked if she could bring any friends. Yes, said the manager, as it will help us to see what things are like, and how we can cope during the lunchtime rush.

So eight of us descended on this new eatery. I don't think they knew what had hit them! There was only a small menu choice, so we all decided to go for the vintage high tea. Out came bone china cups, real tea leaves in real teapots. The pour your own variety, rather than the usual teabag. I went for a green tea, which was very pleasant. I could have drunk a pint of the stuff, it was that good.

The waitresses then came out with several cake stands. Three tiers. Bottom tier had smoked salmon, egg and mayo and ham sandwich fingers on it. Middle tier had scones and pots of jam and double cream for that authentic Devonshire taste, and the top tier held some inviting sticky cakes.

I took quite a few photos, as it was wonderfully decorated. There were two big skylights in the ceiling that let the sunlight flood through. I also Facebooked and Tweeted with a photo about it, and moments later 1900 fellow Tweeters had the details in the palm of their hand, as it had been re tweeted by one of my contacts. The power of social media.

The meal was free, but in return we had to fill in a feedback form. Which we gladly did. I made a couple of comments, which I hope they find useful and put into practice, as it might make that customer experience even better.

China Girl

David Bowie's 1983 hit introduces this picture I took last week at the Chinese New Year entertainment in Beeston. I think she looks quite angelic with her sunshade and faraway smile.

The Chinese Way

The old Level 42 hit from the mid 1980's introduces Saturday's pictures. Yes, as a treat I am showing you two photos from the Chinese New Year celebrations, that took place in Beeston Square today. The displays attracted a lot of attention, made even better by a rare, warm and sunny day.