Leaving In Style

There was a big funeral in town today, that took place at St Peter's Church.

The weather wasn't very nice, but the two horses that were pulling the hearse didn't seem to mind. Fortunately the driver had his heavy clock and top hat to keep him dry.

While I was passing, a lot of people emerged into the street from the church. So whoever it was must have had a lot of friends and a lot of money, as hiring one of those hearses can't be cheap. In fact I've only ever seen them in movies; especially those featuring East End gangsters.

Whilst I had a quick look on Twitter this afternoon, I came across a post from someone who had also taken a photo of the hearse, who also works for BBC Radio Nottingham. But what was interesting, was the message that came with it. They had been to the funeral and had said whose it was. A former local ballet teacher called Nora Morrison.

Doing a quick search on Google, revealed that she was 98 and had taught ballet since the 1930s, and was still teaching up to her death. She received an MBE in 2010. Apparently she was very well known in Nottingham, but unfortunately not to me.

Yellow Dancers

A lovely sunny day today, with blue skies. I captured these daffodils that are growing in a box at St Peter's Church.

Although there was a touch of ice this morning, Spring is definitely here.

Religious Views

This is the view of St Peter's Church taken from Houndsgate; a rather narrow road which leads to Maid Marian Way.

The church is over 700 years old, and is situated right in the heart of the city centre. In fact there's a big Marks & Spencer's next door.  There used to be some stairs that you could use as a sort of short cut to the top of St Peter's Gate, but the church did a deal several years ago with M&S, and so now they are part of the store. In fact I think they are used as the employees' entrance.

Lighting Up The Night

Gail and I had been invited to a belated birthday party in town, so while I was walking from work to meet her, I saw all these paper lanterns tied to the railings of St Peter's Church.

I also bumped into a photographer friend of ours called Tracey Whitefoot, who was photographing them as well. Tracey explained that they would each contain tea lights, which would be lit when it got dark.

Apparently there would be 100 of these lateens, that had been made out of different coloured paper; possibly wallpaper. Some had little comments on them. I found one of them quite funny - "A well balanced diet is having a cake in each hand"!

Sadly I couldn't wait for the candles to be lit, as I had to go and meet Gail before enjoying the birthday party at a local restaurant.

Where Eagles Dare

St Peter's Church had an open day today as part of the country's heritage weekend. This is where people can visit buildings that aren't usually open to the public, or have thrown their doors open wider than normally.

I have been in before, a few years ago, and then I only had my little Canon point & shoot. This time I had my Nikon, and so had a good look round for something that caught my eye.

This lectern was an obvious choice. The golden eagle is a work of art and is probably very heavy.

I took a fair few photos of different things, including carvings and stained glass windows. Some of which may appear on here sooner or later.