Life Is Full Of Ups And Downs

Here's a shot of the helter skelter that is part of the Winter Wonderland in the Old Market Square.

The interesting thing is that it appeared in the summer too, when it was part of the Rivera and beach event, and situated more or less in the same place.

In fact I think most of the stalls and rides are making another appearance. It's amazing what a few different coloured lights and some fake snow can do to change their appearance.

Supermoon

There has been a lot of publicity recently about the moon being the closest to the Earth for a long time.  In fact the next time won't be for another sixty years or so.

It's been nicknamed the 'Supermoon'.

Due to the skies being cloudy over the weekend, I didn't get the opportunity of getting a night time shot, but the moon was still visible early this morning, so I thought I would take a daytime one instead. Especially as the sun was out and it was a clear blue sky.

All You Need Is Love

Our new lights for the garden.

I had to wait until it became dark so I could switch them on.

Love under the stars.

Night Light

The lights of the Lakeside Arts Centre reflected in the lake at Highfields.

Castle Colours

Although I never made it to the castle to see the lights there, I took this photo from the top of the multi-storey car park, which isn't too far from the castle grounds.

The coloured lights on the trees look quite effective, while the castle is just bathed in light from the inside, which was open, so you could look round and see the new exhibition that's on at the moment.

And with that final shot, I jumped into my car and drove home to some fish & chips and review what I had just taken.

Every Castle Needs A Cat

Thursday was my last night in Cardiff, and despite the rain, I went for a last look around the city centre.

I hadn't realised that Cardiff Castle was within walking distance of the hotel that I was staying in. So that was my first port of call.

Of course it was closed by the time I got there, so I walked some length of the wall facing the main road.

I was quite surprised to see this giant cat trying to escape from the grounds. Fortunately it was a stone one and wouldn't get very far. Especially with the busy road opposite.

Colours Of The Night

For a couple of years or so, Gail and I have been friends with a Welsh photographer called Robert.

Just on Facebook. We've never met or even spoken on the phone. We just comment on each others photos.

I sent Robert a message to say that I was coming to Cardiff, and wondered if he'd like to meet up sometime during the week. So this evening he popped into my hotel to say hello. We had a good chat about photography over dinner.

I said that I was planning to see the bay area of the city and to visit the Doctor Who exhibition that was situated there. Robert suggested he could take me tonight.

So after a short drive, we were down by the waterside. Boy was it cold.

Robert gave me a quick guided tour of the area. The various buildings and statues that are on offer in-between a short walk.

My Station In Life

This week I'm on a training course in the Welsh capital, Cardiff.

I don't know how much free time I'll have for photography, but most of it will probably be night shots, as obviously I'll be training all day.

It is over a three hour journey by train, and although I arrived at lunchtime, I didn't get the opportunity of getting my camera out, as I had to get straight to the office.

After I had unpacked and had dinner in the hotel, I went for a nighttime stroll. I thought that I would start with the railway station itself, which was built in the 1930s, replacing the original Victorian one.

The pride of place goes of course to the 'Great Western Railway', or "God's Wonderful Railway", as trainspotters call it. Sadly the lines themselves are not as wonderful. I think they desperately need replacing, as whenever a train goes by the lines emit this deafening high pitched squeal. Apparently it's one of the busiest stations in the UK. So an upgrade can't come soon enough.

Stripes

The new look entrance to the Victoria Centre. Nottingham's largest shopping centre.

The centre opened in the early 1970s on the site of a lovely old railway station that was shamefully pulled down. All that remains is the clock tower.

The 'Vicci centre' has recently gone through a large refit and revamp, but has controversially moved the iconic Emmet Clock to another part of the building. A quiet bit, where not many people see it.

A Dusting Of The White Stuff

The weather people have been informing us for a couple of weeks now that snow was on its way. But none had appeared. Possibly because it has been too warm, despite that it is supposed to be January.

But tonight it has finally happened. Only a slight dusting at the moment, but who knows what it is going to be like by the morning. Snowman building perhaps?

Missing You Already

Believe it or not, it hasn't rained yet in Beeston today. In fact it has been quite a sunny day, albeit a cold one.  You could be mistaken in thinking it was say October, rather than January.

Managed to do a couple of jobs in the garden. Still a little wet to do any digging or jobs like that.  The weather people have forecast snow to arrive in the next day or so. In one way I look forward to this, for photographic reasons, but then I can't stand it, as it makes travelling difficult.  We will just have to see.

Night Light

Low Pavement at night and a mixture of restaurants, shops and offices.

I used the diorama art filter on my EM-1 to give the photo the toy town look.

Lighting The Way

Christmas Eve, and all the food should have been bought, presents wrapped and carrots left out for Rudolph.

Wondering what to put on today, I thought I would bokehrise, if there is such a word some of the lights that we have hung up around the front of the house.

Hope Santa drops off plenty of pressies for you all, and have a great night.

Shopaholics

The present buying people have been busy tonight, as it's the last Wednesday for late night shopping in Nottingham.

I decided to go for a wander with my camera after work, to see if I could find anything of interest to take a photo of, as there are usually events happening to entice the shoppers in.

The Victoria Centre has recently undergone a multi million pound makeover, so I wandered over to see what it looked like in the dark and whether there would be many decorations lit up round it.

They've done a good job on the entrance area. Very bright now after the dull concrete of the original. The area was heaving with people, all vying for those last minute gifts.

Empty

Beeston High Road is usually bustling with shoppers, but after about 4pm things tend to die down a little, especially after the 5.30 rush to get home.

I took this at around 6.30, and as you can see the street is empty. Not even any traffic driving past.

Moonlit Manor

There was a special late night opening of Wollaton Hall tonight, It was Christmas themed, and there was the opportunity of visiting the Tudor kitchen, something that only happens on special occasions.

Some of the rooms had been done up with various Christmas decorations, but not as many as I would have expected. Santa was there of course, with his elves.

During our tour, we stopped off for a cup of tea. A blend that was called Christmas Cheer. A blend of black tea and spices. It certainly warmed me up before we went back outside and took some photos of the hall that had been lit up for the occasion.

Art In The Dark

Here's another shot of the Lakeside Arts Centre at night.

The cutout shapes are of Peter Pan, as there's a show about him that being staged at the moment. It's not a pantomime as such, and it's aimed squarely at youngsters.

Sweet Dreams

It's been a fairly horrible damp day, made worse by several showers this afternoon.

So sadly this had an effect on the audience that attended the switching on of the Christmas lights in Beeston.

I popped down earlier, as there was a couple of bands on, including the dynamic duo of Emma Bladon-Jones and Christine Palethope appearing as Paper Doves.

The lights themselves were the same as last year, so I was looking for something new to shoot. Whilst walking around Broadgate Park after the lights had been switched on, I noticed that the stall that was selling sweets had some packets hanging like decorations, and behind are some of the bokehed lights on the Christmas tree.

Night Vision

Gail and I visited the cinema last night to see Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. The story followed his life from the early 80s up to the launch of the first iMac in 1998.

It was quite an interesting film, seeing what Jobs was supposed to be really like; egocentric, rude and never admitting he was wrong.

Michael Fassbender played the part well. Kate Winslet was completely unrecognisable as his PA Joanna. Complete with East European accent.

It was the first time we had been to the Showcase since it's had a refit. Now everyone has their own individual leather recliner, rather than the old group seating, which had been around since the cinema opened during the 1980s. They've also added the words "de Lux" to their name.

When we came out, I danced driving down the road to the Nissan garage. Not to look at getting a new car, but to see their showroom. As you can see from my photo, they have a four storey building and I've wanted to see it since it was built.

I'm not sure how they get the cars up there; whether they use a lift or ramps. Although there doesn't seem to be enough room to have ramps, like you have in a multi storey car park. Maybe one day I'll take a look inside.

Name In Lights

The Lakeside Arts Theatre in Highfields has a new logo on it's building. Up to now it has just been a blank roof, which can look like an upturned boat at some angles.

The logo only appeared a day or so ago, so I thought I would take a photo of it on my way home, with the arts centre lit up in the darkness.