And So It's Goodnight From Me

Please be seated, as this is my final post from Nottingham Daily Photo.

After nearly 11 years and over 3500 entries, I have decided to stop posting. It has been a tough decision; being part of my life for so long, but there doesn't seem to be as much interest in photoblogs these days, and I have seen a visible drop in visitors and comments over the last year or so I know that isn't the main reason for doing a blog, but it is good to get feedback and to know what you're doing is worthwhile, rather than something to do to pass the time.

But I've not really been getting that recently, and my enthusiasm for posting everyday has wained too. I could take a sabbatical from it like I have done before. But I don't think the situation would improve after the break. So I have made the decision of not doing it anymore.

I will of course still be taking photos every day, as photography is my passion. And so will probably just post daily on Facebook and Twitter, as I get more interaction there. I may even give Instagram a go.

Also the Blogger platform has changed over time, and I don't find it as easy to use anymore, as they keep tweaking with it, and it seems to take ages for it to perform tasks. It might be down to having so many photos on here now.

So my final photo from Nottingham shows the Pitcher and Piano bar, a converted church in the Lace Market. I was there to take some photos and videos of my friends band The Disco Prophets, who performed there and saw in 2017 with some great covers of disco classics.

Finally I would like to thank all the visitors down the years. All 545,000 of them, and especially those that have left comments. William Kendall and Stefan Jansson who are regular visitors and to my long suffering wife Gail. The ultimate photography widow.

So it just leaves me to wish you all a great 2017. Which after 2016, should be an improvement.

Wishful Thinking

Gail and I went on a bit of a ten day road trip around Devon and Cornwall a few weeks ago, but I haven't got around to editing many of my photos yet, due to other commitments. So I have two weeks missing from the blog. But hope to start filling in the missing days from tomorrow.

So I thought I would make a bit of a start tonight, with a street scene from St Ives in Cornwall. With it's quaint little streets, and of course the harbour and beaches, meant that I took an awful lot of photos. Gail did too.

One of the highlights was to see our dear friends Stewart & Julie renew their wedding vows after ten years of marriage. Stewart is a photographer and blogger like me, while Julie's main passion is textiles.

A few months we received our invitation to join them in St Ives for their celebration, and as both gail and I have never visited the west country, we jumped at the chance.
It was a lovely sunny day, and everything seemed to go perfectly, right down to the pub meal afterwards.

Wish we were back there, as it's a fabulous place.

Night Life

The Pitcher & Piano in the Lace Market is a fab bar, set in an old converted church, complete with stained glass windows.

It has been open a while now and is very popular with young and old alike. So when they recently announced that they were building a new outside area bar, I was quite excited.

I follow P&P on Twitter, and they ran a competition the other day to win tickets to their special opening night party. I entered, and fortunately I won. Gail was busy doing something, so couldn't make it.

So after work I popped along to see what was going on. I met up with a few of my Twitter pals, who I didn't know were going to be there. There were waitresses walking around with plates of free nibbles, which were very tasty, especially the stylish fish fingers.

As you can see the building is very modern with a good stocked bar. Obviously not as well stocked as the one in the main building, as that's huge, and situated in the middle of the ground floor. There is a garden too, complete with a flower covered piano.

I should think the new endeavour will do well, as it's like being outside, but inside. I wonder how it will look when it's decorated with Christmas decorations.

Maria

Besides having some gargoyles, Beeston Parish Church also has quite a few very old gravestones, like this one from 1877.

Doing a quick Google search on her name, I found out that she was born in 1799 and died on the 2nd August 1877. She was originally from Dublin and employed as a lady's maid. She lived on Dovecote Lane in Beeston.

Face In The Crowd

This rather worn out face has seen a lot since he was attached to Beeston's parish church all those years ago.

I wonder how many weddings, funerals, garden parties and Remembrance Sundays he's seen over time?

I also wonder how he lost his nose. Age, an accident, or maybe sadly vandalism.

He's getting a good head of green hair. A Victorian punk perhaps.

Marriage Lines

It's a bank holiday for us in the UK today, and of course it has rained all day, which is about normal for us. It's the last one too until Christmas, which is a sad and scary thought.

So I have been stuck in all day, pottering around and playing about on the Internet. Not taken any photos either. So here's one that I took on Saturday in Beeston.

A 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, dressed as a wedding car for a celebration that was going on at the church nearby. I didn't wait around to see the bride and groom, as I was more interested in the car and I was on my way to see someone.

Quiet Contemplation

A simple shot of Beeston church with a small burst of spring daffodils.

Ran Out Of Steam

Went to check on the Victorian railway arches that are sadly being knocked down after standing there for all these years.

It's been said that they have to come down as the area is being developed. Personally, if I was the architect, I would incorporate them into the new building as a feature, as I hate to see old buildings knocked down, as they have much more character then modern soulless buildings.

There's a prime example In my photo here, the green and gold building on the left is the Contemporary art gallery, which you must admit looks awful and stands out like a sore thumb, compared to the former church, now the Pitcher & Piano bar, and the other old buildings that make up part of the Lace Market.

Pick Up Truck

Oh dear, one unlucky motorist is going to be in for an expensive shock when they come back and see that their car has disappeared, as they will have to pay a release fee of £105, plus any penalty charges incurred.

Quite a few people had stopped to watch the event, and a small group of youths were sharing a joke between themselves; probable at the misfortune of the driver.

The car had been removed from the disabled parking bay, but I couldn't see if there was a Blue Badge on the dashboard. If there was, then I think it was a bit mean of the traffic wardens, but if there wasn't, then it's a fair cop, as non disabled drivers shouldn't park in such places.

Serenity

Here's a shot from Bingham's churchyard.  Whenever I go to a  different place, I always like to have a look around their graveyard.

It's not morbid curiosity, but am interested in looking at gravestones; to see the names of the departed, when they died and to look for unusual designs and statues.

Being a former village, Bingham's churchyard is quite small, but there are lots of trees and greenery in it. And as yesterday was really sunny, there's plenty of dappled light coming through.

Beeston Castle

Well, the weather certainly has been a bit topsy-turvy today. This morning it was coldish, wet and generally a bit miserable.

There were reports of possible hailstones and even tornadoes, but thankfully all we got was rain. But by three o'clock it had stopped and the sun came out and warmed & dried everything.

Walking along the High Road, I noticed how lovely the clouds looked. Mainly wispy, and certainly a lot different from the ones earlier. Or should that be one, as the whole sky was a solid grey colour.

So here's a shot of the tower from Beeston's main church, as sadly Beeston doesn't have a castle. But if it did, I'd like it to look a bit like this.

A Nice Day For A White Wedding

There was a wedding yesterday at Beeston's main church.

Due to the never-ending tramworks, the wedding convoy had to use the side entrance and walk all the way round to the front of the church.

The bride & bridesmaids arrived in some super old Rolls Royces. Phantom IIIs from the 1930s.

It was lovely and sunny for them. I just hope the noise of the workmen wasn't too distracting for when they said "I do".

Lincoln Green

Just got back from a two day conference at a residential college just outside Lincoln.

Sadly no time for any photography, so as they used to say on Blue Peter, "here's one I made earlier". Well took earlier, July 2011 to be exact. Just spent a bit of time tweaking it in Lightroom.

Lincoln Cathedral and taken on my old and long gone Nikon D90, before I became a convert to the Olympus OMD.

Riders On The Storm

The weather forecasters have warned that a massive storm is going to hit the UK over the weekend.  80 mile an hour winds and 2 inches of rain have been predicted over the next couple of days.

Apparently its heading this way from the States. Now America have given us some great things down the years; Apple computers, Marilyn Monroe and Disney films. Of course some not so good things. But sending us hurricane like weather isn't very friendly. So much for hands across the ocean!

Beeston Church at lunchtime today is looking threatened by the storm clouds gathering in the sky.

Cold As The Grave

No more snow today, but the snow from yesterday still remains. So as usual, I went into Beeston to do some food shopping and to have a look around. I also went on the hunt for some snowy pics.

And what better than Beeston's parish church. I often have a wander there when there is a wedding going on. Remember the buses from last year?

So here are a couple of shots; one of the church itself, and one of some of the old gravestones that date from the 1800s.

Sunny Skyline

Well surprise, surprise, we had some sun today. It was colder than yesterday, but a lot brighter.

As there didn't seem to be anything happening in the city centre, I decided to go to the top of one of the many multi-storey car parks to see what the city's skyline looked like on this bright winter's day.

I chose the one near the castle, as it is the one closest to where I work.

I went in the lift, to the top floor. It was empty except for one van that had a fair few bird poos on it.

The shot above shows towards the east of the city and out into the farmland around Ruddington. While below is the castle and grounds. Half in sun, half in shadow.

Au Réservoir

On the way back from Rockingham Castle, we stopped off a Rutland Water, which is near Oakham in Leicestershire.

Rutland Water is a reservoir that supplies water for the region. It also doubles up as a nature reserve and water sports centre. Fishing and picnics also take place.

We had not been before, so it was a pleasant to have a walk around and take a stroll to the waters edge. There were loads of people there; mainly families having a bit of quality time together.

I took some photos of the birds flying around, which I thought about using for my Headbanger photo.

The village of Normanton was lost when the lake was constructed. The building you can see is St Matthew's Church and is all that remains. Sometimes though when the water is low, you can see the submerged buildings; lost in time.

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.

Stairway To Heaven

Across the UK this weekend, various buildings are being opened to the public, that are usually closed, except to certain individuals. This has happened for a few years now. This morning I went to the roof of my local church and took various shots of Beeston from a bird's point of view. I also took a couple of snaps of the very narrow spiral staircase that took you to the top of the bell tower. It reminded me of the sort you usually find in castles.

Stairway to Heaven

Not quite, but this photo shows what the inside of a newly constructed building looks like. This building is part of the Trinity Square shopping development, close to the Victoria Centre. The area has gone through several changes down the years. Before these buildings arrived, it was a multi-storey car park, and before that, the Holy Trinity church stood there, which had the tallest steeple in the city.