Seaside Special

The Nottingham beach has returned to the Old Market Square for the summer, and today was the opening ceremony.

I was quite fortunate to be around to see it, as I had been busy at work, and wasn't sure at what time I would get my lunch break, let alone at what time it was the opening was to take place. A good case of Serendipity.

My main aim today was to test out a vintage Pentacom 30mm f3.5 lens that I'd bought yesterday from a charity shop for a few pounds, so was looking for somewhere to try it out.  And what better than Nottingham's own seaside.

Here's the sheriff and lord mayor of Nottingham posing for a photo that will be appearing in tomorrow's Post newspaper.

It's All Rideable

The first day of the month and so it's Theme Day in the world of City Daily Photos.

Since the theme of "bicycles" was announced, I have been looking to see if I could find an old fashioned, classic bike, after all Nottingham is the home of Raleigh Bicycles.

Sorry to say that I haven't, so I went for a rummage in my archive and came across this scene from a blue plaque unveiling in memory of a local cycling legend called Sid Standard.

Sid owned a cycle shop in Beeston and was also a member of the local cycling club.  He sadly died 12 years ago, on a cycling trip in Derbyshire. So to honour his memory, a blue plaque has been put up on the side of his shop, which is still a cycle shop in September last year.

For the classic bike spotter, you can see a Raleigh Chopper in the left hand window, next to the former mayor of Broxtowe Stan Heptinstall.

Nottingham's Day

Something quite special happened in Nottingham today. A first for the city, but should hopefully become an annual event. What am I on about?

'Nottingham Day'.

Nottingham Day has been created to promote local businesses, and of course the city itself. The first one was held at the Albert Hall.

I went along as unofficial photographer, as I have been following developments on Twitter, and it was quite an exciting morning.

The show was introduced by Adam Corbally, who was one of the finalists of this years Apprentice series. Alas, he didn't win, but came very close. He is now a motivational speaker, entrepreneur and is still involved in the family's greengrocery business.

Another guest speaker was Afran Razak; who is the owner of one Nottingham's best curry restaurants: The Curry Lounge. 'Raz', is no stranger to being on television himself, as he and his restaurant came under fire from Gordon Ramsey a few years ago and he has also been a Secret Millionaire, where he helped various worthy causes in his home town of Oxford.

There were also a number of trade stalls there from such organisations as Nottingham Forest Football Club; Nottingham Racecourse; Kanoo Travel and the Victoria Centre.

I also met for a Tweet-up this evening at a local bar. It was nice to meet some new people and have the opportunity of promoting my blog and my love of photography.

My photo shows (from left) Raz, Adam, the Lord Mayor's escort and the Lord Mayor, Leon Unczur.

Reach For The Cars

These two Bentley's are used by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham to transport him and his guests around the city. It's actually quite unusual to see both cars outside the Council House at the same time. There was an idea a few years ago of selling off the number plates, to raise some money. But as you can see, it hasn't happened yet.

My Royal Appointment

Yesterday saw the official opening of the new Old Market Square. Princess Anne came to cut the ribbon. But alas she did this while I was still working in the office. But I caught her leaving the Council House and being escorted to her car by the Lord Mayor.