Brassed Off

Well it's only a week before the festive season, and I am completely lacking in Christmas spirit this year for some reason. So much so, that looking in a diary, I didn't even realise that we will be getting the 27th off as a bank holiday.

I've been on a Christmas lunch with my colleagues at work, which despite being very tasty, didn't help me look forward to late December.

Being the last Saturday before the 'big day' Beeston was heaving with shoppers and present hunters. The monthly 'farmer's market's being held in the Square. I bought some brownies from the Beeston based Brownie Company and some vegetarian pies from another local company, that I'll cook for tomorrow's dinner.

Along the High Road I heard the sound of a brass band, which kept being drowned out by the sound emitting from a small fair that was close by. I think they must have been music students from the university, doing a bit of busking and getting people into the mood for Christmas. Sadly it didn't work on me.

Gangster Times

Here's another tabletop figurine that I came across yesterday whilst out shopping.

A strange hybrid of a labrador's head on a man's body. It's entitled 'Gangster'. Maybe the sculptor has seen too many science fiction or horror movies.

Not something that I'd like on display in our home. I don't think it would look any better if it was of a man's head on a dog's body either.

And yes, I have used the price tag to hide his modesty. If you were wondering about the cost. It's £59.

Jimmy T

Beeston was certainly buzzing today with people, no doubt helped by the very fine and sunny weather.

There was also an event in the Square which was a mix of shopping, an auction and some music, which got people out and about.

Amongst the unusual and handmade items on sale, was this Jimmy Hendrix Tshirt. It certainly is very colourful and shows off his legendary left handed guitar style.

The stall had other colourful clothing on offer, but this certainly caught my eye.

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.

Pretty In Pink

In the run up to Christmas, lots of companies are doing all sorts of promotions to encourage customers to buy their products for presents.

A cosmetics company called Soap and Glory were in the Viccy Centre showing off their make up to the passing shoppers.

What attracted me to the stand was this pink painted Vespa. I expect any Mods seeing this will be horrified, as its one of the icons of their movement. They usually have loads of mirrors on them and sometimes a RAF roundel stuck somewhere.  Have a look at the film Quadrophenia to see how the Italian scooter should look.

Tea Time Treat

You may have recently seen the tv ad for Warburton's giant crumpets which stars the Muppets.Which incidentally is a mini masterpiece, straight down to the adapted Muppet Show song.

I was food shopping yesterday morning in Beeston and came across them in one store that I visited.

As I enjoy eating crumpets anyway, especially with lots of butter in them, so I just had to buy a packet or two.

And yes, they are giant, although as you can see in my photo, they are not as thick as the regular sized ones, but still just as tasty. And so of course I popped two in the toaster, and spread lots of butter on whilst they were piping hot.

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.

A Comical Day

My Saturday morning is usually spent in Beeston shopping and having a look around the many charity shops that my town now has. A new one only opened this week. So that makes nine in total to look round and see what goodies I can find.

Besides the many other shops there is one that sells comic books, models and role playing games. It is called Chimera and I think that I have only been inside once before, and that was to see a friend of mine called Tim, who loves playing role playing games. I just happen to walk past and see a poster in the window advertising free comics, as it is apparently Free Comic Book Day, which is news to me, as I didn't such a thing existed.

So I popped inside to see what it was all about. The owner told me that once a year companies that print comic books give copies away to promote their work, and this has been an annual event for some years now. He showed me to a couple of tables that had piles of comics on them. He said have a look and just take any that you fancy, read and enjoy them.

So I picked up some and had a browse. Some didn't really appeal to me, but being a Doctor Who fan, I had to have that one and I was intrigued by the Steampunk version of Goldilocks and the modern take of Alice in Wonderland.

I will give these comics a go, but I can't see them becoming part of my life, as that is shared with photography.

Let Me Eat Cake

I went food shopping tonight, as I usually do after work, as I am not one of these people that do a big weekly shop on a Friday night or Saturday morning, filling a trolley and queuing up for twenty minutes to pay.

Besides, doing a little bit every night, I enjoying seeing what I can find in the markdown aisles. Take tonight for example, I picked up this Avengers cake for the knockdown price of £2; originally it was on sale for £9. It's a big one too, so will last a few days.

It can be a real adventure, seeing what's on offer in the chiller, vegetables and bakery departments. It can also help me decide what we are going to have for dinner, as sometimes I am stuck for an idea. Tonight though we ordered pizza from Papa Johns.

The Beginning Of The End

More destruction in Beeston. This time they are rebuilding some of the small shopping centre in the centre of the town.

Some of the smaller shops have been demolished to make way for some bigger ones, which is going to include a new gym.

I don't know how long this work is going to take, but it has added to the misery of the tram works that are taking place at the same time.

There doesn't appear to be any end to the chaos that is affecting the town, with roads still closed, shops struggling, as customers stay away and just about everyone is fed up with the place looking like some war zone.

Tempest Fugit

Well the Emitt clock has completely disappeared and is now on it's way to Birmingham, and the seating area around it is also vanishing; brick by brick.

After I put up the previous photo of the clock sans faces, a friend of mine put a photo of the area on Facebook (thanks Jane), so I popped over at lunchtime to see what the area is like now.

It's quite sad to see, as it's been there for 40 years. Thousands of people have met under it's gaze, listened to the music and tossed money into the pool, whilst wishing for something nice.

I read somewhere that all the coins have amounted to over £250,000, and the money has gone to charity for some good work with dogs for the blind.

So where will the shoppers, friends and family all meet up with each other now? By the orange fencing, doesn't really have the same feeling to it as under the water clock.

Thank Heavens For Little Girls

There were some mad antics in Beeston this morning, as two 'French waiters' were running amuck with the shoppers, handing out chocolates and I Love Beeston bags whilst having some banter with them.

It was all part of a business promotion to support the shopkeepers and traders whilst the ongoing tram works drag on.

I just happened to be in the right place at the right time again, as I bumped into a friend of mine called Kaylee and her dad, who were out looking for a new mobile phone. It was great to see Kaylee up and about again, as he has been rather poorly recently.

Chop Suey

This old Chinese restaurant has been empty for years. I've eaten there once. Christmas 2002 I think it was, with the team I used to worked with. Afterwards we went bowling, which I found a bit boring and never seemed to end.

The food at the Pagoda wasn't bad as I remember. We went for the buffet selection and it was all served on a Lazy Susan, which had been placed in the middle of our table. So round and round Susan went, as we kept picking things from the dishes. I don't think we got that much prawn toast. And I love prawn toast.

Then one day it closed. A few years ago now. Big plans drawn up by Westfield's, the owners of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, to extend it to where the Pagoda and some other buildings stand. But then the recession set in and the plans were put on hold and everything went quiet. Lots of shops in the Broadmarsh are boarded up now and others empty. There isn't that much on offer for shoppers at the moment.

Then last year Westfield's quickly announced that they had sold the Broadmarsh to another company called Intu.  and a couple of weeks ago it was announced that the redevelopment was back on, but not to the huge scale that it once thought.

The scaffolding began to go up around the Pagoda a couple of days ago. So as I pass there every lunchtime on my way to the shops and the Old Market Square, I'll be able to keep a watch what happens to it and what sort of business it turns into.

So That's What They Call A Jumbo Jet

I went on a safari today, hunting for elephants, armed of course with my trusty OMD.

I came across this one in the Victoria Centre, trying to disguise himself as an RAF plane. Somehow painting yourself a bright red didn't work. Maybe he should have used the more traditional camouflage colours.

The Wonder Of Christmas

To boost trade for the shopkeepers and to remind people that the shops on Chilwell High Road still exist, the Beeston BID team put on a promotional evening tonight to attract people to the area.

Due to the ongoing tramworks, which has seen the road practically cut off from the rest of Beeston, the shops seem to have been neglected, and although the owners have received some compensation for loss of trade, it doesn't seem to have helped much.

I popped along to show some support and of course take some photos for the Beeston Bid team. There was some music in the shape of the ever ear pleasing Emma Bladen-Jones, a young blues singer and guitarist Joe Barber and another local musician called Jeanie Barton, who is a jazz singer. I knew her when she was a child, as I used to belong to the drama group that her parents ran.

There was also a hot chestnut seller and a hola hoop dancer who used hoops that lit up. They had also attached a snow machine to the stage which attracted these two boys to play with it. Oh I bet they wish it was real!

No Snow Man

Well the countdown to Christmas appears to have stated, with the festive adverts now on TV. John Lewis' Bear and the Hare cartoon is charming and worth a look. Sure it must be available on YouTube for my non UK visitors.

Anyway last week the Broad Marsh shopping centre put up its tree and animated snowmen in a very colourful display.

I've noticed quite a few people stop and take some photos on their mobile phones. So today I thought I would have a go. With my OMD of course and 45mm portrait lens.

Tunnel Of Doom

The other day I recognised a photo on Facebook of the tunnel in the Broad Marsh shopping centre that leads to the bus station.

It was in black and white and so made the area look even more gloomy and uninviting, than it already is. Even though it is one of the main thoroughfares to the bus station. There were a couple of kiosks along there, but they closed down years ago. In fact the whole shopping centre has been earmarked for redevelopment. But it is an awful long time coming. A change of owner hasn't really helped, as they seem more interested in extending the Victoria Centre, which they already own. So the Broad Marsh limps on, even though half the shops are empty.

So back to my photo. Taking some inspiration from Crash Taylor's photo, I decided to shoot the tunnel from the other end. A shade more light, as the entrance faces the street, but just as uninviting don't you think?

Here's Looking At You Kid

A trip to IKEA at Kimberley today to look at some new furniture for the house.

During the long walk around the massive store, past bedrooms, living and kitchens, we ended up in lighting.

Now I was beginning to get a bit distracted, as I don't like shopping at the best of times, but to spend a couple of hours in a hot, windowless building was beginning to annoy me.

For some reason, someone had picked up this soft fabric doll from somewhere and plonked it down randomly on a shelf. So of course I had to take a photo!

Trial And Error

I recently ordered a new lens for my OMD, and it came yesterday. It's a fixed f8, 15mm. Very small. In fact it looks like a lens cap. So I popped it on this morning and took it to Beeston with me for a trial run.

Although it was very warm still, the sun had disappeared, and was cloudy.  Not ideal f8 conditions. So I cranked the ISO up a little bit to compensate.

Unfortunately there wasn't any events on today, so I just went for a stroll up and down the High Road, randomly shooting from the hip, just to see what sort of photos would turn up.

Most of them were rubbish, but I quite like this one. Fairly sharp, and at a jaunty angle. Just a shame that the lad in the middle is obscured by the tree. But it all adds to the fun of not looking through the viewfinder. I also like the gaze of the guy who was reading a travel brochure. He just seemed to look up as I was walking by. But I don't think he had suspected that I had taken his photo. Such is the beauty of the little lens.

Bringing Home The Bacon

Do you like cooking?  I do, and Gail thinks that I'm reasonable at it. No Gordon Ramsey, but ~I've never given her food poisoning yet!

My cookbook might be a bit thin, but I always try to do the best I can, with what I know how to make.

I wonder if this shopper has got their ingredients ready to for the evenings' meal? I wonder what they have in the bag. Some fish perhaps, with a small bag of new potatoes, beans, fresh sprig of parsley and a Key lime pie for pudding.

Whatever it is, I hope they cooked it well and everyone enjoyed it.