Cloak And Dagger

Today, a very special exhibition opens at Nottingham Castle. A number of costumes, props etc from the recent series of Robin Hood are going on display for a while. I will take a look this week & see if I can get some photos for the site. But for now, you'll have to make do with this giant advertising poster.

Hello, Good Evening And Welcome..

So said David Frost, at the start of most of his television programmes. I don't know what this reporter was going to say, as he was getting ready to rehearse his report about the monthly farmers' market in the Old Market Square. I don't know the name of the reporter and unfortunately I missed the BBC's East Midlands Today, so I may never know who he is.

Digging For Victory

There's quite a few building sites around the city centre at the moment, and here's a photo of the latest. It's on Castle Boulevard and is quite a large site. At this moment I have no idea of what will be erected. Maybe another hotel or office block, as it's a bit out of the way for shops. I will visit regularly to see what progress is being made. And for fans of heavy machinery, here's a view of a bulldozer getting down and dirty.

Preparing For Take Off

It's getting towards autumn and the mornings are a little colder now. These geese at Highfields are preparing themselves for the long flight south. I'm not sure what they are eating. I don't think it's grass. But I wouldn't have thought there's that many worms around. We should start to see the well known "V" shapes in the sky shortly, as they all fly to warmer climes.
I'd like to fly south for the winter too. Sydney would be my choice. And we could meet up with Sally and sip a glass of wine next to the harbour bridge.

Power To The People

As I was walking through the square yesterday, I saw a group of old people beginning a demonstration about the inequality of the council tax. This is a payment nearly everyone has to make to pay for council services. It is a bit of a flawed system, in that it's based on the size or banding of the home, rather than the value of it, or how much money people earn.
I decided to have a go at turning my photo into one that looks like it belongs in a newspaper.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

One of the country's building societies called Northern Rock is going through a bit of a sticky period at the moment. I won't bore you with all the details & they can be found on most news websites, but people who have savings with them are starting to panic. And as in my photo have been queuing up to withdraw all their money. When I took this shot, there must have been about 60 people waiting to go into the branch. Unfortunately due to the bus shelters being in the way, I can't show you the line in full.

Vapour Trails

We live only a few miles from the East Midlands Airport, so lots of planes fly over our house everyday, either going to, or returning from some sunny destination. As the planes are still flying high, they leave vapour trails in the sky.

The Big Cheese

As per the comment from yesterday, here are two photos of the Ratatouille roadshow that is taking place this weekend. I'm not entirely sure how it is promoting Disney's new cartoon film and the new Nissan Note car. Alas I'm not going into the city centre this weekend, so I won't know until Monday. But it has bought a splash of colour to the rather drab market square.

You're Nicked

I have a feeling that I'm slowly turning into Ham, as I am putting on another photo from London, rather than Nottingham. This was taken in Covent Garden. There were quite a number of buskers around, but my eye caught this one who was being chatted to by a policewoman. I don't know whether she knew him, but by the look on his face, I think perhaps he was being told off, as he seemed to be on the fiddle!

Guitar Heaven

For the last couple of days I've been in London on business and have not been able to blog. Hope you haven't missed me too much!
As I haven't got any new Nottingham photos at the moment, I'd thought I'd put on one I took down by the Thames, near HMS Belfast. I was walking around the area and I came across all these giant decorative guitars, that are going to be auctioned off for charity. There must have been over twenty or so. Some were very ornate, but I was quite taken with this one, which shows the history of the electric guitar.

A Bicycle Made For Two, Or Three

Here is a new sight in Nottingham, a rickshaw that is peddled. This is the first time that I've seen it and the cyclist, so he could only have just started. Nottingham's roads being what they are, he might be able to whisk you to your destination quicker than a taxi.

Faces From The Past

These two heads are over the entrances to St Mary's Church in the Lace Market. I don't know who they are of, although the man reminds me of William Shakespeare. I think they are more pleasing to look at than some gargoyles.

Stairway To Heaven

Across the UK this weekend, various buildings are being opened to the public, that are usually closed, except to certain individuals. This has happened for a few years now. This morning I went to the roof of my local church and took various shots of Beeston from a bird's point of view. I also took a couple of snaps of the very narrow spiral staircase that took you to the top of the bell tower. It reminded me of the sort you usually find in castles.

Robin Hood

Gail and I went to an out of town retail park the other day. It is about 15 miles from the city centre. They have a food court that looks a bit like the inside of a castle, and who better to be there than Robin Hood. I think this statue looks a bit more dramatic that the one near the castle, so of course I had to take a picture.

Tanks For The Memory

I was somewhat surprised to see this armoured personnel carrier in the Market Square yesterday. I know it was there to promote joining the British Army, but was surprised that it was allowed on the recently repaved surface, as there would be the possibility of it cracking the new granite slabs. I didn't notice any, and it was thoughtful of the lads to put down an oil drip tray.

Heavy Metal

I mentioned a few days ago about the number of empty apartments there are in the city centre at the moment, and they keep creating more. Well this is a sign for an apartment block that has been converted from an old lace factory, in the Lace Market. I was taken by the design of the sign and the strange candlestick shape in the middle.

A Strange Combination

Seems a bit strange calling your courier company Pedal Express, when it uses vans (albeit electric ones) to deliver parcels, rather than bicycles. Maybe they mean the A,B,C pedals in the car? Still at least being electric, its nearly as environmentally friendly as a bike.

Sign Of The Times - Theme Day

My theme day photo is a little different, in that it is a sign of a building, rather than say a street, or place. I chose this one, as it both shows the name of my city and also I like the reflection of the trees and the buildings.

There are a number of bloggers participating in the theme. Links below:
Seattle (WA), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - Boston (MA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Mainz, Germany - Evry, France - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Nottingham, UK - Toulouse, France - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Manila, Philippines - Mumbai, India - Montpellier, France - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Moscow, Russia - Paris, France - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Austin (TX), USA - Lyon, France - Stockholm, Sweden - Hyde, UK - Hong Kong, China - Joplin (MO), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Chandler (AZ), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Arlington (VA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Villigen, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - San Diego (CA), USA - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Nelson, New Zealand - Quincy (MA), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Bend (OR), USA - Wellington, New Zealand - New Orleans (LA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Detroit (MI), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Selma (AL), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Arradon, France - Sheki, Azerbaijan - New York City (NY), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Tenerife, Spain - Auckland, New Zealand - Forks (WA), USA - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Chateaubriant, France - Madison (WI), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Ajaccio, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Budapest, Hungary - Lyon, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Le Guilvinec, France - River Falls (WI), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Naples (FL), USA - London, UK - La Antigua, Guatemala - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Trujillo, Peru - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Oslo, Norway - Grenoble, France - Shanghai, China - Toronto (ON), Canada - Durban, South Africa - Zurich, Switzerland - Cape Town, South Africa - Singapore, Singapore

A Little Red, White And Blue

This classic American car was one of many that Gail and I saw at a local show on Bank Holiday Monday. It was a good sunny day & we had a picnic and talked about what car we'd have if we had some spare change. I love the shiny blue paintwork and the reflection of the flag.

It's A Curly Wurly World

Whilst walking around the Lace Market area of the city, I was enticed by this sign for a nightclub called Faces. Looking at it for a minute or so, I was then intrigued by the warped reflections of the Victorian buildings in it. So obviously a good subject for the blog. I was actually surprised by the amount of former lace factories that have been turned into clubs, and how quiet the area is now compared to when I started working there in 1979.

Lights, Camera, Action

I was passing through the Square at lunchtime today when I came across this VW camper van promoting Myspace films. There was a lot of people queuing up to have a go, mostly under 25. I didn't hang around waiting for my turn, as I'm not very photogenic, and probably look even worse on a computer screen. So I took some photos and went on my way to find some more pictures for tomorrows entry.
The Volkswagen camper reminds me of a line in the Men at Work song from the 1980's called 'Down Under'. Remember it? "Traveling in a fried out combi".

It's Still Rock n Roll To Me

Today I came across a new busker. One I'd not seen before. He was actually rather good & wouldn't surprise me if he was semi pro. He played a number of rock classics with a blues edge, like "I Shot The Sheriff". You can see that he's getting into the groove, and really feeling that music man!

Afternoon in the Sun

This is Highfields park. I have shown some parts of the park before, but this is of one end of the lake. It is a large lake and this is the quiet end. The weather this weekend has been good, which is unusual for a bank holiday, as we are nearly always guaranteed to have rain, or at best no sunshine. Gail & I went to a classic car show today, which was fun. I hope you had an enjoyable weekend too.

The Mane Attraction

A few weeks ago, I took a photo of a lion that was made out of grass. Well he's back, this king of the urban jungle. This photo shows how much the grass has grown, and how much the passers by are enjoying touching him. The flower in his ear is a nice touch, but it would be good if they managed to find him some eyes, so he could see where he is going.

A Question of Life?

This is a new living sculpture that has appeared on the streets of Nottingham. It is located on Canning Circus, which has recently gone through a bit of a facelift, with some new paving and road layout. I'm not sure what the artist is trying to tell us, and I wouldn't like to be the person who has to trim the topiary, as there is always the danger of cutting too much off and ruining the message.

Mine's a Pint

This pub, the Nags Head is on Mansfield Road, and is a typical example of a city centre pub. It's quite old (110 years) but has been slightly updated. The roof is clearly new. Country pubs differ, as they usually have exposed roof beams, horse brasses and similar things that go with rural living, but urban hostelries seem to lack a bit of character with the decor.

Art For Art's Sake

Here's an interesting piece of urban art. The shop that the wall is part of, sells turntables, amps and other DJing stuff. I'm not sure whether the painting has been done in honour of the shop, or the shop owner's done it himself as some free advertising.

Howzat!

That is what this floral display and sculpture is called. Obviously as it takes a cricketing theme. The design was originally on display at a Royal Horticultural Society flower show, where it won an award. It has been transplanted to the grounds of Nottingham Castle, so everyone can see it.

Exit, Stage Right

You can tell by the wear and tear on the metal, that this turnstile at the Castle has been in use for some years. I have no idea how long, but would guess at least 50, maybe more. Hundreds of people pass through the gate everyday, after they have been to look round the castle and its grounds.

Red Alert

I'm back after my trip down south, and as promised, here's a photo of a 1950's fire engine. Nothing like the sophisticated machines that we see on the streets these days. This one doesn't even appear to carry a ladder! It served the Retford area of Nottinghamshire, which is a small town to the north of the city.

Emergency

This week in the Old Market Square, various emergency services have been publicising what they do. To compliment this, they have been displaying some of their vehicles from yesteryear. Here are two ambulances from the 1950's and 60's. Both have been used in television programmes down the years.

Gail and I are off on a small roadtrip for a few days. I will be back with a photo of an old fire engine. So don't forget to look in again soon.

Stand Up And Be Counted

There has been a recent publicity drive by the council, reminding people that they should register, so they can vote in both future local and national elections. Not that many people do. In most elections, only around a third to a half of the population put their X in the box. It may have something to do with the lack of choice, or people have realised that politicians don't keep their promises once elected. Personally I think everyone should be made to vote & there should be a box on the voting form which says something like 'I don't like any of the candidates'.

A Merry Man?

Robin Hood's band of outlaws were collectively known as Merry Men. This actor posing as one at Nottingham Castle doesn't look too merry or happy. Maybe he's a bit fed up with all the visitors to the castle, asking him to pose for photos.

You Can Have Any Colour...

...as long as it's black. So goes the famous quote from Henry Ford about his Model T. It might be red now, judging from this photo taken from Nottingham Castle.
Do you drive a red coloured car?

Messing About On The River

What better than chugging along on the canal at no more than about 3mph? The owners of these 3 narrowboats have stopped off for a drink before carrying on to their next port of call.
A very relaxing way to spend the day.

Summer's Here At Last

Spotted this girl queuing up to buy an ice cream. I never saw her face, but I was taken by her outfit and punky style. She reminds me of one of the Bratz dolls, that are so popular these days.

Riders on the Storm

After leaving the railway station on Monday, I walked to where I was going to meet Gail for dinner. As I was walking along the canal, I looked up into the sky and saw the storm clouds gathering. I wondered if I would get wet before I got to the restaurant. I had to stop and take some photos. The rain didn't arrive until I had reached Pizza Hut, but then it came & was a heavy downpour for a short while, then the sun came out again.

Cartoon Time

Besides the funfair rides at the Riverside Festival, there were a number of stalls and workshops. Gail & I sat in on a cartoonist called Andy Gilbert, who was teaching people how to draw funny characters. We arrived just as he was drawing this cat. When he'd done, he asked if anyone wanted the drawing. I was quick to say yes. And so it's mine. Gail and I attempted to draw a horse, a bear and a whistling man. I've never been much of an artist, but they looked reasonable, as his instructions were easy to follow.

400

Today marks my 400th blog entry and this photo shows some of the visitors that came to the Riverside Festival on Sunday. They have decided to take a rest and watch life on the river go by. It also shows Trent Bridge in the distance.

I wonder if there are 400 people in this photo?

All The Fun Of The Fair

Yesterday I went to the Riverside Festival, that takes place every year at the side of the River Trent. I put a few photos of this event on the site last year, and so this year will be no different. Today's shot is of a fairground ride. I'm not sure if I'd like to be whizzed around in a circle, whilst just being strapped into a little chair.

Beware!

I saw this raised ramp to a private car park, and instantly thought of a wasp or bee. The same black and yellow that's shouting at you; WATCH OUT, it's dangerous. Just like you wouldn't want to be stung by one of those insects, you wouldn't want to damage your car trying to drive in.

Blues in the Sun

This guy is often busking in the city centre. He is actually very good and has a voice similar to say Muddy Waters. His guitar playing is good too and doesn't use any backing tracks like some do. A shame a record producer doesn't walk past & sign him up.

Shopper's Paradise

A new shopping centre is being constructed on Mansfield Road, on the site of a multi storey car park & old office block. This giant banner proudly proclaims that TK Maxx will be opening a new store there in September. They will then probably close the present one in the Broad Marsh Centre, as that is due to be rebuilt sometime in the near future.

Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?

What might you be asking is the link between Oliver Twist and today's theme day of breakfast? Well the answer is Kellogg's Crunchy Nut cereal. I love them so much, that I had to eat them before I took the photo. So alas all I can show is an empty bowl!

A number of other sites are participating in this series, but I was too late in getting the code, so please use one of the other sites.

In a Country Churchyard

This photo might look like it was taken in a country church, but actually in Beeston Parish Church. Location of yesterday's wedding. The names on the graves are of no significance, I just took it because I like the way the ivy is growing round the stones and the light dancing around the edges.

Get Me To The Church On Time

Whilst passing Beeston Parish Church, I heard the peal of wedding bells. So I decided to take a look and saw all these guests waiting outside for the bride & groom to appear. So I took a snap, as it's always interesting to see what people do whilst they are hanging around. There's various little scenes going on in the sunshine.
Yes it has been sunny all weekend!

Music in the Sunshine

Something unusual happened yesterday; the sun came out nearly all day & it didn't rain. This group of musicians in Beeston Square were obviously relieved, as they could play to an audience, rather than empty chairs. Their outfits also matched the sunny day.

Open for Business

Yesterday L'Occitane, the French cosmetics company opened their new store on Bridalsmithgate. I was surprised it had opened so quickly, as I had passed there the day before & the builders were still working on the inside. I was also a little disappointed that I had missed the grand opening by just a few minutes. No one famous cut the ribbon, just a guy whom I took to be a one of the big bosses.