Fashionistas

Gail and I went to a charity fashion show called Pins and Needles tonight at the Broadway Arts Centre. A group of people had got together to help raise money for a local homeless charity called Framework. I heard about it from a Nottingham based blog that I follow, together with further info on Facebook. I took quite a few photos, but disappointingly very few of them have come out successfully for one reason or another. This one is one of the more useable images of an outfit created by Boo Boo Kitty Couture, a Nottingham based designer who loves the vintage image. There was also some wonderful cupcakes on offer, which were delicious and too good to eat.

Stamp of Approval

Sarah Davenport's Shop of Originality is as the name suggests a shop which sells original pieces of art work from local artists. The shop has been open nearly a year now in the Flying Horse Walk, but is moving to the place down near the railway station where we held our Flickr exhibition last year. They often put on shows, music, book signings and fashion shows. Unfortunately always on a Saturday, so I miss them. I popped in the other day to say hello and have a look round, as Sarah has recently become a friend on Facebook. So I thought I would give her a bit of free publicity.

A Bird Named Harris

A real bird today, rather than a silver one that I talked about yesterday as part of the Headbanger Challenge. This is a Harris hawk and was on show at Tutbury Castle. I took some photos of when it was sitting on its perch, and being shown off to the public. But passing the same spot later, it was all alone and happily tucking into a chunk of meat. So I held my camera close to the ground and tried to get a close up action shot. Ideally I should have had my Panasonic G1 with me as it has a tilting screen, but I think this shot isn't too bad from my Nikon D90.

Space Race

I have chosen this week's Headbanger Challenge, and I have gone for 'Space Race'. I'm not sure why I thought of this, after all The UK isn't renowned for visiting the stars, unless you count producing satellites. The nearest that we have got to is with jet fighters; and one of the fastest and best is the English Electric Lightening. A fantastic aircraft designed in the 1950s, but looks so futuristic, with its silver body. And fast too, with speeds approaching mach 2 (1500 mph). They could climb to high altitudes, almost to the top of the sky. Pilots said it was like sitting in a rocket. My header photo is of a Lightening. Sadly a museum piece now at RAF Cosford in Shropshire. But it is the nearest that anyone will get to one now since they went out of service during the 1980s. My film show from YouTube this week is of a Lightening in action in South Africa, where you could fly in one if you had the money. Today's photo is also silver in colour. It is a knight's helmet from Tutbury Castle, but for those people with any imagination, it might look like a helmet, belonging to some brave space traveller like Dan Dare, or Buck Rogers. Please make time to see how the other gang members have interpreted my theme this week, links on their names above and enjoy the film. Alas no popcorn.

Tower Hamlet

Following on from yesterday's photo, I just had to climb the tower and see what the little town of Tutbury looked like from all the way up. There must have been 100 steps in a spiral to get to the top. There were spaces where you could stop to catch your breath, or let someone go past. The view when I reached the top was good, if somewhat breezy.

No Sand In This Castle

For a Bank Holiday treat, Gail and I went to Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire for the day. I got a special deal for some tickets on Groupon and it seemed too good an offer to miss. There isn't much left of the castle itself. But there are a couple of towers that you can go up, which if the weather was fine, you would see for miles. But today was cloudy and overcast, so didn't see a great deal of the surrounding counties.

The highlight of the day was a re-enactment group that dressed up as 17th century soldiers and highwaymen. The costumes were very colourful and brightened up for what was a very dull day. Took loads of pictures, so a few may pop up during the course of the week. I have meanwhile put several on Flickr. Link below.

This Never Happened On Trumpton

I'm sure you've all heard the old jokes about how many (add profession) does it take to change a (add description)? Well here's my version; how many firemen does it take to put out a wastebin fire? Well in this case, three. One to hold the hose, one to turn the water on, and another to make sure no one gets wet!

For those of you that don't know Trumpton was a children's puppet show from the 1960s and 70s. They had a fire station and in every episode they were called out to do something, but it was never to put out a fire. Besides Captain Flack the chief fire officer, there was Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb. Seven firemen to save cats from trees, rescue kites etc. Wouldn't happen today with all the cuts in public services.

Strange, But True

This morning, the shoppers in Beeston got to hear the last of the bands that have played in The Square during August. The final group to hit the beat were the Joe Strange Band. A three piece covers band that were actually very good and enjoyable for the audience. they played songs by Elvis, Van Morrison etc but refused to do any by Cliff Richard!

I have enjoyed this years series of concerts, and thanks should go to Broxtowe Borough Council for booking them. Lets hope they will organise something similar in 2012.

Smelly, But Funny

I won some theatre tickets the other day on Facebook to see the musical version of David Walliams' latest book Mr Stink. It's been on for the last couple of weeks at the Playhouse. Gail and I both enjoyed it, although it is squarely aimed at children. But we are both really only about 8 anyway!

The story revolves around this slightly lonely girl called Chloe who befriends a tramp and they get into adventures together including meeting the prime minister. The back story of how Mr Stink became a tramp is quite sad, but I won't divulge it here.

A couple of the cast members doubled up as different characters, notably Irvine Iqbal, who played at least four characters including Raj the newsagent. The songs were quite simple but catchy. Nothing too technical like Andrew Lloyd Webber's. But what made the show slightly unusual is that you are given a 'scratch n sniff' booklet, which reveal different odours at various times during the show.

It is on a big national tour, so it should be coming to a theatre somewhere in England very soon. It is worth seeing, but if you are a bit shy about going on your own, you may have to borrow a child from someone as cover.

Small Soldiers

Many people probably know Games Workshop; the maker and supplier of model figures that are used in tabletop war games, with Warhammer being the most well know. What people might not know is that their HQ and factory is based in Nottingham. I'm not into the games at all, but I was passing their shop on Friar Lane the other day and happened to look in the window. I saw these little highly coloured figures and thought they would make for a good blog photo. I've tried to get rid of the reflections in the glass as best I could to show of the detail of the painted figures, which may only be a couple of inches tall.

Going Underground

This week's Headbanger theme is 'landfill' and comes from the devious mind of iMac. It's been a theme that has taking some thinking about. Some workmen are presently filling in a hole where the nurses flats used to be, but it wouldn't make for a very exciting photo. I could have created something using some toys I have got, but in the end I went for what you can see above.

This cinema and several other buildings have been built on an old landfill site. I remember when I was a teenager driving past and seeing the seagulls circling overhead and pieces of thin plastic blowing in the wind while they were stuck to the barbed wire fence that surrounded the tip. Besides the cinema, there's a bowling alley, a Frankie and Benny's pizza restaurant and a nightclub.
If you look carefully, you can see small posts dotted about. These are vents to let the methane out, otherwise the whole site could blow up.

Todays photo is an update of one iMac put on his site a few days ago. I knew it had been painted over, so I had a stroll up Mansfield Road to see what had replaced it. Another giant piece of urban art. I wonder how long it takes to produces one of these things?

Don't forget to see what the other four members of the gang have come up with for the theme, and enjoy this week's musical offering.

Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me A Bow Wow!

Whilst listening to the band at the weekend, I took this shot of these two ladies who were doing likewise. Obviously dog lovers. I'm not sure if they were music lovers though, as they didn't stay very long and their expressions are not really ones of delight or pleasure.

The Whole World In His Hands

There's a small competition going on at the moment on the one of the Nottingham pages of Flickr. It is to find shots taken on Clumber Street and give some background to it, and if the picture has been manipulated at all. I've walked up and down the street a few times now, but without any real success. Until today, when I came across this strange character. I've no idea what they were promoting, but lots of people (especially children) were queuing up to have their photo taken with him.

Stripes

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this little boy who was enjoying listening to Salmagundi whilst running around in front of them. His parents were in the audience. He's looking very inquisitive standing next to an electrical or telecommunications box near the bandstand and completely unaware that I was taking his picture.

Musica Fantastica

There was music again in Beeston Square this morning. This week it was the turn of Salmagundi, a local seven piece band with global musical references. And very good they were too. They were a bit jazzy in some places, ska-ish in another. The ska tunes were fab. At one point I was expecting Suggs (the leader of Madness) to start singing!
There were loads of people in the audience today. The most I have seen so far this month. I think everyones feet were tapping throughout the concert. I know mine were. There were plenty of photo opportunities, as they were quite a physical band. This is Stella Patella in full flow. She plays a mean fiddle too, albeit a designer one.

Friday Fun

I had to wait in town tonight as Gail was picking me up from work. She was a bit later than expected, so I had some time to kill. Of course I had my camera in my hand. Today it was the baby Panasonic GF1. I took some shots of people walking by. But nothing exciting. It had been a bit of a cloudy afternoon, but strong beam of sunlight appeared through the clouds. So I took a shot into the sun. It looked OK on the screen, but I was somewhat disappointed with it when I had downloaded it to iPhoto. So I decided to mess around with it see if I could give it a bit more interest. So it now looks like some post nuclear city, or what could happen to the planet if the ozone layer completely disappeared.

Superboy

Whilst strolling around the Lace Market, I came across this poster, for what of a better word, of a boy dressed up as Superman. I don't know how long it has been there, or what it was supposed to look like before it was vandalised. Still it is something different to look at.

Red Letter Day

Sandy has suggested this week's Headbanger Challenge. She has gone for 'falling'. Another word that has so many meanings and connotations. People fall in love, leaves fall off trees, rain falls to the ground. Gravity. Isaac Newton and his apple. Presumably not the same one that William Tell shot with his arrow!
My header picture this week is of a parachutist, falling to the ground after jumping out of an aeroplane. More him than me. The only time I want to emerge from an aeroplane is when it's landed at some exotic airport.

Today's photo has a falling connection. What may you be asking is the connection between a Victorian pillar box and this week's theme? Well go on, ask! The answer is that when the Royal Mail first began, pillar boxes were painted green. Now you would think that the citizens of the 1850s would realise that they were there. But no they didn't, and so kept falling into them. So they were all changed to red, and have been ever since.

This one is right in the heart of Nottingham, and in another good location for taking photos. To the left is the old Shire Hall where they used to try people for crimes, before either executing them or shipping them off to Australia. It is now used as the Galleries of Justice museum. I've been in and it is quite an eerie place, especially down in the cells.

Don't forget to visit all the gang's pages to see how they have visualised the theme. And also enjoy this great song by a great artist.

Madam I'm Adam

I've been walking around the Lace Market recently looking for suitable locations for taking some more photos of Amy. The good thing about the Lace Market is that it's not changed that much since lace was actually made there. Which hasn't been for about 30 years now. One of the biggest and grandest is the Adams Building. Built in the mid 1800s, it is a Grade II listed and is presently used by New College Nottingham, and looks a perfect backdrop for a photoshoot.

Doggone!

Is there such a thing as magic, or is today's photo an optical illusion, as this poor dog seems to have lost his head and front paws?

Songbird

This is Jeanie Barton, she is a jazz singer and did an open air concert last night at a local park. A brass band also appeared and both bands wowed the audience with their music. It was a free concert provided by our local council and people bought their own seats, blankets and food. Gail sent me off to get some fish and chips during the intermission.
I knew Jeanie when she was a child, as her parents ran the local drama club in Beeston which I was involved in, some 20 years ago now. Jeanie certainly looks like her mother Barbara. Alas her father Elson died a few years ago, but I'm sure they are both really proud of their little girl.

Beating The Rhythm

The shoppers of Beeston Square danced to an African beat this morning when the Bana Congo group came to play. Although the music was good, I was a little disappointed, as the photo in the council leaflet showed a group of five musicians all wearing colourful outfits, so I was hoping for a good photo shoot. But alas only three turned up, and all wearing jeans and T-shirts. Disappointment aside, I think I managed to take a reasonable shot of the percussionist in action.

Not Long Now

Another shot of Amy, this time waiting outside the Victoria Hotel.
But what for, a man, a taxi, the bar to open?
Is she running away from something or someone?

I've played about a bit with the photo in Picnik to give it a bit of individuality and drama to the scene.

Is It Here Yet?

A friend of mine called Amy recently asked me to take some photos of her. She enjoys dressing up in 1940s and 50s clothing and she wanted some shots in places that didn't look too modern. I said that I knew a few places in Beeston that had not been updated too much and have kept their character. So Tuesday evening she came over and I took her and Gail on a small tour of Beeston. This is one of the places where we stopped; the railway station, built in Victorian times and still virtually looks the same. It has recently been repainted, but still retains that LMS look. Photo tweaked in Picnik to give it an aged look too.

Riotous Assembly

It's Headbanger Wednesday again, and Dave has chosen this week's theme of "literature". I have lots of favourite books, such as War of the Worlds, Thunder and Lightnings and Kes. But coming from Nottingham, there can only be one legendary figure of literature that everyone knows, and that's Robin Hood. Whether he really existed or not is another matter, but the legend has gone on for hundreds of years. My header photo comes from Sunday's Pagan Pride and is of Robin Hood himself telling tales to a enchanted audience. What is especially good, is that the guy who is being Robin, was once employed by the city council as Robin Hood and he used to walk around the castle and city centre and attend events dressed in Lincoln Green with bow and arrow in hand. We now have a new Robin who has long blonde hair, and whose real name is Tim.

Today's photo is not as it seems. As probably everybody now knows, for some reason England has suddenly become a place of riots. London, Manchester, Birmingham have all seen violence, looting, arson and just plain moronic behaviour by what appears to be teenagers and people in their early 20s. Nottingham too has experienced some minor disturbances over the last couple of days; cars smashed, vandalism and some arson directed at police stations. So my photo of a boarded up Debenhams is a precaution that the shop has done, just in case it goes on for some time. Other shops have done the same, or closed earlier. If you're wondering, the title of today's blog comes from a Tom Sharpe novel.

To see how the other team members have interpreted the theme, just click on their names above, and enjoy this number one song from Bryan Adams.

A Witches Promise

I noticed this puppet of a witch on one of the stalls at the Pagan Pride fair and couldn't resist taking a photo of it. Usually witches are portrayed as hags or crones, but she looks ok with her blue eyes and purple hat. I wonder what Gerry Anderson would have done with her?

It's usually traditional for me to add some music that ties in with the week's Headbanger Challenge. But I couldn't resist adding a version of the Jethro Tull song by All About Eve, a short lived, but fine 80's band.

Herne The Hunter

How many people do you know that have horns growing out of their head? Not that many methinks. So I was surprised to see this fellow sporting a small pair yesterday at the Pagan Pride festival. I guess they would look bigger if he got a haircut. But then I don't suppose you would want to draw too much attention to yourself, whilst walking through the city centre. His two lady friends, don't seem to mind. You may need to enlarge the photo to see them in their full glory.

Pagan Rites

An unusual event took place today in Nottingham. Hundreds of Pagans descended on the city for a march and festival celebrating their religion. They were certainly very colourful, but very peaceful as they walked through the city centre to the Arboretum, where the festival was being held. There were a number of stalls there, plenty of music, vegetarian food and story telling. I bought a mousemat with a fairy on it as a present for Gail, as she said that she needed a new one. I met up with a few of my Flickr friends and we listened to a couple of the bands; 3 Eyed Fox, a folk pop band and Cryptic Age, a goth prog rock group fronted by a very vivacious singer and keyboard player called Jenny Green. I took loads of photos, many of which will be appearing on my Flickr site. I can't resist showing you this photo of this lady with her pet dragon. He didn't say a lot, and must have given up smoking, as he never once breathed any fire!

Wild Thing

This is Trog, who was in Beeston this morning entertaining me and the shoppers with his excellent renditions of well known songs, together with one or two of his own compositions.
Trog is not his real name, that's David Thornton. Trog was a nickname from his schooldays. I'm not sure if it was a kind name or not, as the only Trog I have heard of is the horror film of the early 70's about this caveman that was captured by scientists! There is a musical connection of course in the form of the Troggs; hence my title.
David's performance is one of four in the Square that takes place every Saturday morning through August. Next week another band will take to the stage with their own brand of music.

Burning Bright

A group of us from work got together this evening for a bit of a party at a local hostelry. The main event was the decree absolute coming through for one the gang, while another had found a new job and finally it was someone's 40th Birthday. Three reasons to celebrate in one. Gail came too, as she knows a number of them through working with them previously, or through other meals that she's been on with me.
We ate inside before sitting outside with our beers. I have changed cameras today, as usually I have my Nikon D90 with me; but today I thought I would take my Panasonic GF1 for an outing. Not that it helped me find anymore subjects, so I took this candle that was on our table.

Greening The Land

Today we have had some rain for the first time in ages. Fortunately it had stopped by the time I was ready to cycle home. As the sun had come out I took another ride through Highfields. I wasn't expecting to find anything new to photograph, so instead tried to see if I could improve on a previous scene that I had captured. Not sure if this is any better than one that I had taken before, as I would have liked to have had a bit more sun shining through the leaves, but I like the reflection though.

Greetings

Today's Headbanger Challenge has been set by Lanny and she has gone for 'greetings'. Now this is another theme which is up for interpretation in quite a number of ways, which I am sure you'll see if you care to pay a visit to the group's pages. Entry by simply clicking on their name above.

My photo shows a number of characters all saying hello, and welcome to the blog in their own particular way. Which is really what I wanted to convey. This idea that everyone should be made welcome by everyone else, no matter who, or what they are, or where they have come from. Alas in this uneven, unequal world, that doesn't always happen. So make sure that you say hello to at least one person tomorrow, and see if we can all make a difference.

Today's photo is a greeting of a different kind. A complete opposite of what I have said previously. This is a poster for the latest exhibition at the Contemporary. A series of art works by Jean Genet about the infamous political group from the 1970s. It's a gigantic poster, that I stumbled across today, whilst looking for inspiration for my lead photo. Hope you like the music. One of my most favourite artists ever.

Watering Point

These makeshift watering cans are to be found at a churchyard in Greasley. People use them to water the flowers that they bring to put on their loved ones' grave. Both my parents were cremated, so I do not have a grave to visit, but their love and my love for them still lives in my heart.

The Cries Of A Not So Silent Hen

All the chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys were left to roam the farmyard yesterday, which added to the atmosphere of a working farm tendered by monks. This rooster was quite noisy in the afternoon. I thought he looked very colourful with his plumage, and so I wanted to take a photo or two. Luckily I snapped him whilst he was in full flow with his latest 'cock-a-doodle-do'!

The Scribe

This is Andy Barrett, the man responsible for writing the plays that I perform in now and again. As I have been mentioning recently, today we were all up at Beauvale Priory giving guided tours and describing what life was like there as a monk around 500 years ago. We had quite a lot of visitors throughout the day, and Geoff and I did three tours altogether. I think that everyone enjoyed themselves and learnt a bit of history in the process.

Andy is dressed the way he is because he had to stand in for one of the actors who couldn't take part in the end. Andy is playing Dr London, an Oxford doctor who was given the task of closing the priory by Henry the Eighth.

It makes me wonder if we would still have the monasteries around today and that our religious history would be different if the king was not such a bloodthirsty tyrant and had happily settled down with his first wife; Catherine of Aragon.

Pulchra Vallis

Today, I and a few others have been up at Beauvale Priory, doing last minute rehearsals for tomorrow's open day, which is part of the Eastwood Arts Festival. It was lovely and sunny, and I felt quite hot in my monks robes, even though I was only wearing T shirt and shorts underneath. The rehearsals didn't go too badly, although I think the swig of beer that Geoff and I had at lunch didn't help. The half of Blue Monkey Evolution beer I drank was very tasty and went well with my egg and cress sandwiches!

I took this shot from the narrow lane that runs by the side of the farm. Ideally, I would have liked to have shot it with a longer lens, but It does show the location of the ruins in relation to being almost surrounded by trees, which perhaps 500 years ago it was.

Flying The Flag

This is Andy, whom I wake up with every morning when I have to get up for work. Don't worry, Gail's not left me. Andy is actually a radio presenter on BBC Radio Nottingham and does the weekday breakfast show. He, and many other presenters were broadcasting live from the Old Market Square, which has now been taken over by the beach. I chatted to him for a short while, as he is a Facebook buddy and asked him if he follows my blog. He says he does sometimes. You need to do it everyday Andy!

The flags that Andy are holding have been specially designed for Nottingham. There was a competition some time ago for local people to come up with an idea that represents the region's personality. One is presently flying about the castle, and another sometimes over the Council House.

Flying Ambulance

I've seen helicopters take off an land quite a few times as I've cycled along University Boulevard, but this is the first time that I have managed to capture one stationary. They use a sports field as a sort of heliport, which is good for this air ambulance, as the Queen's Medical Centre is only a short drive away, so the patient could be getting the care they need in only a few minutes. I'm not entirely sure why this particular helicopter belonging to Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland is there, as Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire have their own. But maybe they share the same ground.

Black And White

'Black and white' is this weeks headbanger theme, and comes from the the fishing guy himself; Tom. Personally I like to see photos in monochrome, as colour sometimes distracts from what the photographer is showing you. Colour obviously has its place. Fashion for one thing. How many ladies want to see a greyish dress in the pages of a magazine? They want to see the hue of the material, the trim and how it fits in with accessories. Unless it's Chanel of course, as their clothes are always black and white. But the great photographers always shot in black and white, and usually with a Leica. I always shoot in colour, alas not with a Leica and then convert the picture in iPhoto. That way you can see if it will work in monochrome, and have still have a colour version too.

My contribution this week is a close-up of the flying chairs ride, that I showed you yesterday. I think it works very well as a silhouette, as the colour version doesn't. Todays blog picture is part of the bar area of the Malt Cross where Gail and I had a very tasty meal last night. Another shot that looks good in black and white.

Please remember to go and have a look at the rest of the team member's contributions, and enjoy this little musical interlude which features some very good black and white photography.

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

The 'Nottingham Riviera' has returned to the Old Market Square for the summer. This is the third year that it has made an appearance. Today was the first time that I got to see it, as I had to go to Manchester yesterday. There are a lot of the same things like the tons of sand, the rides and the cafe. The Titanic bouncy slide is new. I met Gail tonight after work, and after a pub meal, we had a look around and took some pictures.

A Walk Will Do You Good

There is nothing like a stroll in the country. A tramp through farmers fields, over stiles and along wooded paths. Blue skies, green trees and yellow fields are all you need for a great photograph. And to help you with your adventure, a series of metal guides, showing you the right way to go.

Knowing Your Wheat From Your Chaff

Another rehearsal today at Beauvale Priory. And for once the weather didn't let us down. It was wonderfully sunny. The rehearsal didn't go too badly, although my poor braincell (I have only the one) hasn't managed to remember all the words yet. I have 6 days left before the event takes place, so hopefully I will be able to memorise a few more by then.
As usual I had my camera with me, and took some more photos of the fields, trees etc. Here's some ears of wheat ripening in the warm sunshine.

Snowbow

Now that summer has arrived, a lot of narrowboats have started appearing on the canal. Some I have seen before, as I can remember their names, but some like Snowbow here are new. I'm always curious to know how the owners decided on the particular name that they have given their craft. If I owned one, I think I would call it Dreamchaser, while Gail might go for something with 'angel' in the title. What would you call yours?

Ceiling Art

Believe it or not this painting is on the ceiling of a pub. I noticed it the other day when I went out for lunch with a co-worker from the office. The Roundhouse, as the name implies is a round tower. It used to belong to the old General Hospital, which was knocked down many years ago. But some bits of it still remain. The Roundhouse being one of them. It serves excellent and very tasty food and has a few real ales on tap, which is always the mark of a good pub.

Cow And Gate

A few months ago I showed you a photo of a model sheep tied outside a furniture shop in Hockley. Well walking past it today, I saw that he had been replaced by this cow. Yours for £300. Which is I think more than you would have to pay for a real one. I'm not sure how suitable a cow would be as a pet, but at least it would make a good lawnmower, and you would always have fresh milk on tap. Or should that be teat?

A Little Romance

It's my turn this week to provide the Headbanger Challenge. After some thought, I've gone for that wonderful subject of romance. I think just about everybody likes a bit of love in their life, no matter what their age. For a touch of romance last year, I took Gail away to London for Valentine's weekend. We went up in the London Eye, a walk along the Thames and a trip to the theatre to see Dreamboats and Petticoats, a love story set in the 1950s.
My photo shows a couple who are in love and are not afraid to show it in public. It reminds me of the famous photo by Robert Doisneau. Only mine wasn't posed!

Love was in the air on Monday, as the Council House was being used as wedding venue. Alas I missed them coming out of the council building by mere minutes. But I did manage to capture the white Rolls Royce wedding car, as the happy couple were being driven off to their reception.

Don't forget to pop over and see how the gang have interpreted my theme, and enjoy this musical interlude.

The Chef's Special

Earlier this evening I went along to my local Waterstones bookshop, as well known TV chef Rick Stein was signing copies of his new book about Spanish cooking, which accompanies his new series on BBC2. When I got there, there was loads of people waiting to have their books autographed. The queue had stretched around the corner of the building. I hoped that I would bump into my friend Phil, who I know is a devotee of the culinary master. But I had missed him. You can read about Phil's experience on his foodie blog
Due to Rick's popularity, one of the store assistants that was organising things, said that just had a couple of minutes to take my photo. So I quickly rattled a few shots off. How I wish that I had a 'press card'.

I Talk To The Trees

When I had finished up at the farm, I took the long winding country lane back to the main road. There are walls and hedges on both sides of the lane, but every so often there is a gap, due to there being a gate into the fields. Also the lane is quite high up, so you get a good view of the vista below. Here's the classic tree in a cornfield shot, which I am sure that practically every photographer has taken at one time or another.

My Little Red Rooster

Beauvale Priory is situated in the middle of a working farm. So there are a number of turkeys, ducks, chickens and a peacock roaming around freely. Which is good to see and how farm animals should be treated, rather than cooped up in sheds, which is completely unnatural. To me factory farming is disgusting and should be outlawed immediately.
While Geoff and I were there, the turkeys started following us around, as they were looking for some scraps of food. They stated pecking at Geoff's script and took a keen interest in my camera bag, as I had knelt down to take some pictures of the wildlife. Alas neither were very tasty, so they all went looking elsewhere. Here's a close up of Rooster Cogburn on the hunt for food.

Back To The Past

I was up at Beauvale Priory again today, as I am reprising my role of Thomas Leyghton, one of the Carthusian monks that lived there 500 years ago for the third time. It is not a play this time, but I, and another 'monk' will be escorting visitors around the priory and telling them what life was like for these silent order of monks. I met Geoff, who is playing Prior Woodcock, and we went through the script a few times, just to see what it is going to be like and the route that we will be going. Several other people will be giving tours too, playing different characters of course. It is all part of the Eastwood Festival and will be happening for one day only on July 31.