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.

The Burning Sky

Here's a Triptych of shots that I took of the amazing sky the other day., as I cycled through Highfields.

My EM-1 has the ability to create triptyches in camera and without any messing about. It's just a case of pointing and shooting, an the camera does the rest. The only thing that you can't change is the white border.

The Big Sky

Another fantastic sunset tonight, so of course I just had to take a photo.

I posed low to get this shot, just to try something different. The clock tower of the Trent Building pointing to the heavens.

Orange Is The New Black

Sorry, but here's another sunset of Highfields and the university. This one is from Wednesday.

I don't think there will be too many more before the clocks go back at the end of the month and it will dark when I travel back home. I must admit I'm dreading it. I do every year. The five months that it lasts is such a long stretch. I really think it is time for a rethink over this clock changing rigmarole.

Shining

A shot of Highfields basking in the spring sunshine.

So, Tell Us About Yourself

I read a Tweet earlier today about a fashion show that was taking place at the Lakeside Arts Centre.

So I popped along, to see what it was about, as obviously it could be a possible photo opportunity.

The show was organised by the university and was aimed at students that will be graduating this year. It was designed to show them what sort of clothes to wear both at interview and in the office, once they had landed a job.

There was also a section where they staged three mock interviews. Someone who did averagely, someone who did brilliantly and as my photo shows, someone who didn't do very well because they didn't show any enthusiasm, weren't dressed properly and was a bit rude.

Illumination

Some late sunshine reflected off the university's Trent Building, which is also reflected in the lake in Highfields.

A Touch Of Pink

I know these plants are weeds, but I like the delicate pink colour of the flowers. I saw them as I was cycling through Highfields, and so thought I would stop to take some shots.

The building you can see at the back is part of the university. I tried to take a photo with the clock tower in the distance, but just couldn't get the right angle, unless I were to lay on my belly, and take it from the ground up. But as I was wearing some good trousers, it was out of the question.

Like A Circle Within A Spiral

I had to pop down to the Jubilee Campus of the university tonight, as we had a drama rehearsal.

You may remember last summer I was involved in a community play about Raleigh bikes, well we have been invited to London to do it in front of some people that were involved in providing the money so it could go on.

So we all have a trip to London next Tuesday for the day. It will be a long day, as it's a 3 hour journey to central London, as we will be based very close to the British Museum. And as a treat, Julian our director, says that we can have a look round after the performance. This will be good, as I have never been. A real photographic outing.

Anyway, after the rehearsal, I had a wander round the campus with my camera and fisheye lens, looking for some scenes to snap. I thought that one of the spiral staircases might make a suitable subject. It was difficult to get the camera in the best position, and to be honest, I'm not sure whether I've succeeded here or not. But it does show you the sort of photo that the 7.5mm lens can take.

The Twin Towers

Now I know that Nottingham University is a very popular educational institute and that it is oversubscribed for places each year, but I don't think that even the university itself has the money to build an extra tower onto the Trent Building.

No, it's just me and my OMD mucking around with the double exposure button!

Misty Moments

Well it's taken me ten minutes to upload this picture of the university lake, as my iMac is still poorly. Apple are meant to be ringing me tomorrow night, so hopefully they will be able to sort things out and I'll be up and running again.

I am finding using the small laptop hard work at times & it's a little slow. I've hardly been on Facebook, as it's a bit tricky to use. Sorry friends, I'm not ignoring you on purpose.

I'm going to try and upload my header picture. So that should be fun!

It's quite hard work using my little Netbook

Per Aspera Ad Astra

Edward Joseph Lowe was a Victorian botanist, astronomer and founder member of the Royal Metorological Society.

The eminent scientist was born in Nottingham and had this house called Broadgate House built in the 1850s in Beeston. He also used it as an observatory.

The house presently belongs to the University of Nottingham. It's just a shame that they have let such an important local building going into such a bad state of repair. Now that there is a blue plaque mounted on the wall highlighting the site, perhaps some funding will be found to get it back into it's former glory.

The latin inscription: through hardship to the stars.

Post Modernism

The university's Jubilee Campus was built on the land where Raleigh once stood. It was a massive site, covering acres and acres.

I didn't see the empty land when they had cleared away the buildings, but I could tell how big it was by what has been taken up by the university so far. Some 65 acres.

Here's some of the buildings that have replaced the factories. I think I may have shown these separately in the past, but not altogether. I took the shot on Saturday, whilst making the most of the break between the two performances.

The building that looks like a slab of red cheese is called the International building, while the tall structure in the middle is called Aspire and finally the other building is simply called the UNIP (University of Nottingham Innovation Park) Reception.

Study By Night

Here's a photo of the Portland Building of Nottingham University. Not one of my best, due to a bit of camera shake. I had left my trusty Gorillapod at home. But it still gives a good impression of what the building is like in the darkness.

Man of Stature

This bust is of Lord Trent, who is usually known of Jesse Boot, the founder of Boots the Chemist; a leading drugs company & retailer. The statue is situated at the main entrance to Highfields park, with the university's Portland Building in the background. As a philanthropist, Jesse bought the land for the park to be created in the 1920's.