The Italian Job

A great little Italian cafe called L'Oliva, opened in Beeston around a year ago. It has gone fro strength to strength, as owner Marco (left) has been given his licence to sell alcohol by the local council.

So to publicise this, he had a wine and beer tasting evening. Italian of course.

There were around six beers on off and were very nice too. Italy isn't really renowned for beer, so it was a surprise to find some on offer that I actually liked.

The evening turned out to be very popular with locals, and there were a few people there that I knew.

Purrfect

You may remember a few days ago I told you about a new cafe that had opened in the city centre that special attraction was in having a number of cats freely wandering around to entertain the customers.

Well I paid a visit today with some friends that I used to work with. It was quite busy, with plenty of people coming and going. At the entrance there is a sort of "air lock", so any of the cats can't escape into the busy city centre. The kitties seem quite happy wandering around and playing on the various items that were lying around. There is also a bridge that winds its way around the cafe that the cats can use to move around without being disturbed by any customers.

Besides paying for any drinks etc, the cafe charge a fee which goes towards food and vets fees for the cats, which is fair, considering there are about a dozen furbies, and they all need looking after. The cats are available for adoption, should you take a liking to any of them.

Cat Food

A new cafe has just opened in town that is a bit unusual. Yes it serves food and drink just like any other  cafe, but its USP, or unique selling point, is that there a number of cats and kittens running free inside the building, that customers can stroke or play with whilst they are having their tea and cake.

I'm planning to go and see it sometime soon with some friends, so I'll be able to tell you what's it like.

i-phone photography

Besides taking photos almost everyday with my wonderful Olympus OMD, I take photos with my mobile phone, especially if I am wanting to put something on Twitter.

Here's a small selection of some of my pictures, after I downloaded them from my phone and into Lightroom. By the way the effects are on my phone and not part of Lightroom.

The top picture is of The Castle pub and Fothergills restaurant, that are situated opposite the castle.

I came across this bottle of sauce at a local restaurant called Las Iguanas. I went there the other day for a goodbye lunch for a couple of people that were leaving the place that I used to work at.

I took this photo for a 'where is it' quiz on Twitter. Most people thought it was near the canal. But it is in fact close to the Broad Marsh shopping centre.

And finally here's a shot of the path that runs down the side of St Mary's Church in the Lace Market. I've tried to give the photo a vintage look, as the area is full of Victorian buildings.

Why, Why, Why Delilah?

Some of you may have heard of Scott Kelby. He is an American photographer and author of many books about photography and Photoshop. He also devised the photowalk five years ago. This is where a number of photographers get together and stroll around taking pictures.

Gail & I did exactly that late yesterday afternoon in Nottingham city centre. Ours was one of many groups across the world doing the same. I think there was around 28 on ours. Some faces I knew well and some were new to me. So it was good to meet some more local camera buffs.

We caught up with the group near the Playhouse, then ambled our way down to the Old Market Square. We then went to the Lace Market area, then down by the canal and ending up at the 'Trip' for a beverage.

Gail, myself and a friend called Lamar had somehow broken off from the main group. Although I think many went off in little groups, as they had spotted something. We stopped outside the well known  delicatessen's called delilah on Middle Pavement and took a few photos of the window displays etc. One of the assistants asked if we were from the press, as she explained that as they were an award winning deli, they often got media types popping in for a shot or two. She also said that this was their last day in that location, as they were moving to bigger premises around the corner.

We explained who were were and she said that she would find out whether it would be OK for us to shoot inside. She came back and said that the manager had said yes. So we trooped in and started taking some shots. Just then another guy, presumably the owner said that we were making his (few) customers uncomfortable and asked us to leave.

I only managed to take two shots inside; with this one being the better of the pair. Gail said that she didn't manage any, and I'm not sure if Lamar took any as he likes to take his time in lining up a shot.

Having Your Cake And Eating It

A new cake shop called Patisserie Valerie has just opened in the city centre. It's got an art neoveau look to it as the firm has been around since 1926.

It's not one that I've heard of before, but their cakes look delicious, if somewhat expensive.

According to their website, the company actually started in London, not say in Paris from the logo and style of the shop. I didn't pop in, just looked through the window. Maybe I'll go in and treat myself and Gail to one of their luscious cakes, and it will give me a chance to snap a couple of pictures.

I was going to use this photo for Wednesday's Headbanger Challenge, but have now found something better. So go on, imagine how tasty one of those cakes is going to be.