Heart Of Glass

I wonder how long it to to stick all those little bits of glass on this figure of a woman?

She presently sits in the window of a hairdressers on Castle Boulevard.

I wonder how many extra customers she's helped the shop to get?

Nice Ice

Over the weekend I was nominated twice to do the now infamous Ice Bucket Challenge.

Being a believer of not wasting water, I had no wish to throw away a perfectly good bucket of H2O, so  I thought about how I could be involved, but by not getting wet.

I had seen some variations on the theme, but they all seem to involve wasting water in one way or another. So I went with this concept, of an ice bucket chilling a small bottle of water. Like it was like champagne,;which in some African countries it is.

I also wondered about which charity to give my donation to. After some consideration, I decided to go with the local animal rescue that I wrote about a few weeks ago, especially as they put out a message asking for some pouches of wet cat food.  They are only a little charity, so every penny counts. Unlike some of the more well known charities, that pay large salaries to the bosses and can afford TV ad campaigns.

So after work, I called in to one of our local supermarkets and bought some boxes of cat food, which I then took up to the rescue, so the dear little cats that are looking for a loving forever home will have a nice meal or two tomorrow.

Tiles

I took this colourful display of handmade glass coasters at the recent Sunday market which was held at the old Barton's garage.

There were certainly many varied designs on offer, but I resisted buying one. If I did, I would probably go for the heart one, being an old romantic.

Glass

Just a quick shot of a rather nice glass candleholder in our sunny garden.

Maybe I should take another one at night, with a candle burning brightly in the darkness.

Beer Drinkers United

A photo assignment this morning for my folk musician friend Dave Mitchell, who was playing at the Robin Hood Beer Festival at Nottingham Castle, and he wanted me to record the event for posterity.

Dave played for about an hour in the bandstand, while I took some photos of him in action. I was surprised to learn that the sound equipment was being controlled by the engineer on an iPad. No more knobs and dials to fiddle with, just a movement of ones finger on the screen.

Dave enjoyed his gig, but was clearly relieved when it was over, so he could enjoy one or two beers that were available at the festival, from the half pint glass that had been given to him.

I was also given a glass by one of the organisers, and so I decided to christen it by trying the re-introduced Shipstones ale, that has started to be brewed again after some twenty years. I wrote about it earlier this year. Here is the LINK to the story.

Here's a shot of the hand pumps that were dishing out the amber nectar. Although I must admit it wasn't as tasty as I had hoped it would be, and probably won't be buying it again, as I prefer more darker beers.

Who Popped Your Cork?

One of the artistic planters that are dotted around the city centre. Some are new designs, while others are from last year.

I think this one is new, and is quite artistic. Especially with the cork being popped.

It will be good to see what it looks like later in the year when all the flowers are out.

Down South, London Town

A special day today, as I and several of my friends set off for London in a coach to perform a edited version of the Raleigh play that we performed last summer.

The organisation that provided the funding for it, the Arts and Communities Research Council, wanted to know how their money was spent. So instead of Andy and Julian the writer and director explaining what they did, they decided to show them instead. As this was the better way of doing it.

We all had to meet at the Jubilee Campus by 7.30am, to catch the coach. Usually I am not even up at this time, so it was a real shock for me. It was light, so that was something. The journey down went OK, and we were in central London by 11am.

We performed at about 1pm, and the show was very well received. We then had to dismantle the set ready for the next group. It didn't take too long.  Julian then asked us all what we wanted to do before the drinks reception at six. Some of the ladies wanted to go shopping (surprise, surprise) while the others (me included) wanted to go to the British Museum.

I had never been before, so I was quite excited at seeing all the artefacts and the building itself, which has had a new glass roof installed. I had seen a few photos on Flickr, but of course, I wanted to take some myself.

As you can see it's quite something. The old library used to be separate from the museum, but with the roof and the creation of the Great Court, it has become a brilliant, light space, complete with the obligatory shop and cafe.

Talking of cafes, I couldn't resist taking a shot of this replica van that had been kitted out as a mobile coffee shop.

Day One

Well the first day in my new job passed fairly well. I cycled in with a slightly heavy heart, as I wasn't going to my old job and to see all my friends anymore.

The day didn't start that good either, as it had been snowing during the night, and it was very, very cold. It took me ages to get to town as the wind was blowing against me all the way. There were a couple of heavy blizzards during the morning, but it had melted by the time I took this photo of the place where I am now employed.

I have to look to the future now and my new life in a different job. I am hoping that it works out well for me and I have as just an enjoyable time as I had before.

Anticipation

As it was warm and sunny this afternoon, I went out to the front garden and started to tidy it up and begin a job that I meaning to start for a while now.

At the moment, it has an open front, but I have been wanting to build a low wall, but have never motivated myself enough to start it. I have acquired what I think will be enough stone to do it with; I just needed that first push to get going. And so I guess the sunshine was the spurt I required.

So I got to work removing dead plants, pruning and clearing away the general rubbish that builds up in a garden. I then dug out a shallow trench, as I haven't worked out yet how I am going to put this wall together yet. But do know that I do need to give it a solid base of some kind.

I stayed out as long as possible before the light began to fade and it got quite chilly. I did manage to last till gone half six, which is good, as this means that the light nights are getting closer and closer. I think there's only another two weeks before the clocks go on, and we can all enjoy coming home in the light.

Feeling my back hurting a little bit from the exercise, I sat down, switched on the TV and found that an episode of Dad's Army was on. I had also treated myself to a real ale this morning, and so I decided to have it whilst watching one of my favourite comedy shows.

A Mirrored Life

This is the new E-on building that is now open and occupied after a lengthy build last year.

For those that don't know, E-on is one of the UK's main power supply companies, and I think that this is their main HQ for the region, where most of the admin goes on.

Strangely enough, last weekend, a friend of mine was cajoled by one of the building's security staff for taking photos of the building, and was told that he needed a permit form the company to be able to take pictures of it. My friend Pete told the 'jobsworth' that he was perfectly entitled to photograph the building, as he was on public land, i.e, the pavement.
Pete wrote a formal complaint to the company about his treatment, and has since received an apology.

Fortunately or unfortunately I was not approached whilst I was taking my photographs. Probably because they didn't notice me.

Sitting Pretty

Our two cats. Oscar on the inside and Smudge on the outside.

Alas, I can't take the credit for this photo, as it was taken by Gail. But she did use my OMD and my new Olympus 45mm, F1.8 lens.

This is the first time I have blogged this week, although I do intend on writing and publishing previous entries, so that I don't miss a day. The reason for missing dates; photography of course. Three big shoots and subsequent editing.

I have been burning the midnight oil these past couple of nights, sorting out some photos from Tuesday's shoot for a major fashion label, whose branch in Nottingham had a relaunch party. The photos, if the marketing team think they are good enough could be used for advertising and social media publicity.

Don't worry, Smudge might not be our cat, but we do feed him and make a fuss of him. I've named him Smudge, as he has a brown patch across his nose. He might not be as pretty as Oscar, but he is just as lovable.

Seven Years Bad Luck

A bit of art today for some quiet contemplation.

A supposedly broken mirror reflecting the roof of the gallery where it is on show. In this case Barton's in Chilwell.

I'm not sure what the significance of the feather is. It might not even be part of the image. but dropped by a visitor as a joke or to add to the piece.

Whatever the truth is, do study it and make your own mind up.

Look Where You're Going

Whilst waiting for the train at St Pancras Station to take be back home, I was admiring the fantastic architecture and two great sculptures that are there. The first is of the famous poet Sir John Betjeman. It's about life-size and shows him looking up into the sky.

So instead of showing you that view, I thought I would take a shot of what the statue is actually looking at, which in this case is the rather fabulous vaulted glass roof of the railway station.

If you want to know more about the former poet laureate, here's a LINK to a special website celebrating his life and work.

Today is meant to be the Headbanger Challenge, but being away, I've not had the opportunity of posting. So do come back tomorrow and see what I've come up with on Gail's theme of 'tattoo'.

Painting With Light

I created this piece of art during our visit to Bradford. It is made from a cut out shape of a bottle, with pieces of coloured plastic that I arranged in a collage, and is lit by a lightbox.

I think that it is only really meant for children to learn the idea of colour, light and shapes. But then I am really a big kid myself!

Shattered

I like the way this shop window has fractured, from one tiny point, and spread out into little shapes. Like ripples on a pond. Modern panes of glass are made so that they don't just shatter into tiny pieces on the ground. So they are a lot safer. Of course they are expensive, as this mobile phone shop will find out when they get the bill.

I'm Only Here For The Beer

Some of you may remember that slogan from the early 1970's, for a pint of Double Diamond. 30 years on and according to this empty beer glass, the slogan is Chill Out. I took this photo, because I liked the letters appearing in the glass's shadow and also the way that the froth had dried.

Classical Glass

Quite a number of my photos have featured the Council House with it's clock and dome. Today's picture shows what it looks like from the inside; well a glass dome anyway, as most of the building is off limits to the general public. The dome is near the front of the building and lets light onto a sweeping stone staircase.