The Unanswered Question

Spotted these two guys discussing religion. And how apt that they were standing next to a giant question mark.

Well does God, or any religious deity for that matter actually exist?

Some say yes, some say no.

Down In The Dustcart

Whilst people were enjoying the delights of Light Night, some people weren't having  such a nice time, like these bin men who were clearing away the rubbish from one of the fruit and veg stalls located in the city centre.

There are some lyrics I remember from the Dire Straits song 'Your Latest Trick', about dustbin lorries:

"And prehistoric garbage trucks, have the city to themselves"

Well this one certainly didn't, as there were loads of people milling about looking for the next illuminated show.

Full Of Christmas Cheer

I met up with some of the other writers that contribute to The Beestonian magazine that I am involved with.

We all got together at a local pub to celebrate Christmas and how successful the local, almost monthly magazine has become this year.

I usually get an article plus some photos in every month. The latest issue contains my report on the trip to Tuscany that we went on in October.

Whilst we were chatting and drinking, a load of people piled into the White Lion, all dressed up, some in fancy costumes, all with a Christmas theme.

There were a couple of guys dressed as turkeys, a Christmas cake, some Santa's, Joseph and the star of Bethlehem.

But I was drawn to this guy in his bespoke snowman suit. He looks a bit of a joker, with his toothy grin and Christmas stocking.

Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, See No Evil

Bit of street photography today and just look at these three old guys sitting outside Marks & Spencer's. I have no idea whether they are waiting for their wives who are out shopping, or just taking a breather. But I think it makes for a good scene.

Comedy Cooks

Despite these two looking a bit like Laurel and Hardy, they are in fact local well known award winning butcher Johnny Pusztai and celebrity chef and broadcaster Richard Fox.

They were in Beeston today giving cookery demonstrations as part of Beeston's first food and drink festival.  Sadly it was really a bit of a washout as it has been raining all day. It actually started last night, and hasn't stopped since.

This didn't' stop the two foodies putting on a good show. I learnt how to make fritter using carrot, onion, cumin, double cream, coriander and flower. It was easy to make and very tasty. I will have to have a go myself. I also got to taste some flatbread, and a bit of Tandoori chicken.

There were quite a number of food stalls between the Square and Broadgate Park, selling different foods like pies, organic vegetables and halloumi wraps. Sadly due to the weather some events had to be cancelled on Broadgate Park.

It's a shame that the weather has been so poor, as a lot of work goes into organising these things, and it seems a waste of time if no one goes to support it, let alone buys anything. Still Johnny said that he had an enjoyable time conversing with passers by with their cookery questions.

Where's George?

St George's Day and there was a big parade in the Old Market Square. As usual, the procession started at the Forest Recreation Ground and made it's way down to the city centre, led of course by St George and our very own Robin Hood.

I noticed that there seemed to be an awful lot of men in the parade, and while they were marching and singing, I thought I was at a football match.

It was lovely and warm today, and I think that everyone had a good time.

Guilty

Another day of random shooting. Nothing really interesting except this one.

The way the three guys faces work together to make the scene. And I bet you are all thinking the same thing. The guy in the middle has just dropped a very big fart and the guy on the right has smelt it, while the man passing by heard it.

Paddling Your Own Canoe

There's nothing quite like messing about on the river, well in this case a lake, on a sunny afternoon.

A Canada goose watches the action from the safety of the grassy bank as three friends are padding around the lake at Highfields.

Ping!

I was quite surprised to see a load of people playing table tennis near the Old Market Square at lunchtime.

Apparently Nottingham is one of about 16 cities across the country that are involved in the project called Ping,and organised by the English Table Tennis Association and money from the National Lottery.

Anyone of any ability can play for free, with bats and balls being provided.  Monday was the launch, and the activity goes on until the end of August.

New Year - New Friends

After watching the firework display at the castle, Gail and I had a wander down to the Old Market Square to see if there was anything going on.

The ice skating rink was still open, and a few people had decided to have a late night go. A stall that was selling mulled wine and beer was also open, and they seemed to be doing some good trade. Although obviously not as busy as the pubs and clubs, who were heaving with people.

There were quite a lot of people milling around. I caught these two guys swapping phone numbers on their mobiles. Maybe they had just met, or they were old friends that had just got back in touch since leaving college. However they met, It's good to know that they'll now be able to keep in touch during 2014.

Say Cheese

I bumped into a photography friend of mine in the Old Market Square the other day.  He was carrying his camera and I asked him what he was shooting.

Peter explained that he was resurrecting his 100 Strangers project, after resting it for a while, and has he had the day off, he had come down to the city centre to try and find some interesting characters to photograph.

Like this chap who was passing by with his wife and daughter. Clearly an ageing rocker. Actually Peter thought he might have been Alice Cooper, who was playing in town that night. But of course he wasn't. Still he made a good subject, as my photo shows.