Slab Square 27/11/13

I took these photographs in Nottingham City centre last night.

Just to think, we had a beach on the slab square a month ago, and now we have an ice-rink?

The once grand Nottingham Odeon Cinema

Can't see any for sale/rent signs on this one?

A few for sale/rent signs on this one?

More for sale/rent signs on this one?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - Nottingham Visit

NOTTINGHAM is preparing to give the Royal Family a warm welcome when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the city with the Queen.

Residents have spoken of their joy and surprise after Buckingham Palace announced Prince William and Princess Catherine will join the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their trip to the city on June 13.

The Royals will greet crowds in the Old Market Square, before making an appearance on the balcony of the Council House.

They will then travel to Vernon Park, in Old Basford.

Iris Busley, 65, of Skylark Drive, Basford, was delighted at the news of the Royals' trip to the area.

She said: "I'm really gobsmacked. We've never had anything like this in Basford before.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime occasion."

Susan Davis, 59, of Corncrake Avenue, called for everyone in Basford to turn out for the occasion.

She said: "I just think it's incredible. It's just wonderful."

Buckingham Palace announced the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will arrive by train at Nottingham Station, where they will be met by the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge.

The royal party will then be taken by car to the Old Market Square to greet the public, before going into the Council House to meet the Lord Lieutenants of Notts and Derbyshire and invited guests.

They are one of 16 couples in Notts given the honour in recognition of celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this year. Mr Starbuck, of Clarewood Grove, Clifton, said: "It's all come as a bit of a shock. We're thrilled they are all coming to Nottingham.

"We will be more than pleased to meet them and welcome them to the city."

A spokeswoman for Sir Andrew Buchanan, Lord-Lieutenant for Notts, said: "We are thrilled with the visit. It's unlikely a visit of this magnitude will happen again.

"It's a one-off, and we are all very excited about it."

The trip to Vernon Park will see the guests of honour treated to sporting and musical performances by children from schools and groups from Notts and Derbyshire.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will leave after this, but the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will remain at the park to watch more activities.

Nottingham City Council leader, Councillor Jon Collins, said: "As the capital of the East Midlands, it's great Nottingham's playing host to this royal visit.

My response is:

I'm so glad for them both.

It will be a reet-treat for them!

Being a long time resident of Nottingham, being made redundant three times, living for a month on a pension that's less than they pay for a bottle of champagne, recovering from heart surgery, suffering with arthritis, impetigo, and angina, and knowing where to find the cheapest short date foods to buy, will no doubt fascinate them.

I've offered to show then around the places they would not usually visit without their nine full time protection officers and a helicopter hovering above.

Well, you've got to try and help the poor little mites, bless them!

* I can show them the fourteen police station torched in the Summer riots - or rather the six that are still operating anyway.

* The burn marks on the Canning Circus station grab bars still visible as you climb the steps to go into it still bring back memories.

* I could show them the scenes where a party-goer was shot in the head with an air rifle, that's only a few hundred yards to the south of my house.

* Then the pub where a youth was shot and killed, that's just a few hundred yards north of my house.

* The spot where a man sat in a car was shot at by members of one of the  many drug gangs, that's about half a mile from my abode, and on my weekly 90 minute walking route to the hospital for my INR Warfarin level blood tests.

* Take them on my 40 minute walk to town down Mansfield Road, and point out the variety of closed down retail businesses (46), where the 84 year old lady was mugged and hospitalised last June, while at the bus stop by two illegal immigrants one Sunday morning,  the now closed down shop where a lady of 67 years of age was gunned down in a raid and no one has ever been caught for it.

* Let them see the colourful Big Issue sellers as they sometimes get off their mobile phones to actually sell an issue.

* The newly opened outlets in the city centre - the Charity shops, the Bookmakers, the Coffee shops and the 'We buy your gold' retailers.

* The constant traffic jams in the city, where they could increase their word knowledge I'm sure!

* Take them to the Arboretum, where sometimes you can find enough grass to sit on without having to move the used condoms, beer cans (empty), pop and water bottles (empty), half eaten take away foods, fag packets, phlegm, and sick, while they can listen to three or four other peoples music at the same time!

I haven't had a reply to my offer yet!

I recall when I was in E19 Men's surgical at the QMC a few years ago now, and Prince Charles was in a ward to himself above us, with two nurses and a sister in attendance full time - having his 'tennis elbow fixed'!

I was having a hernia repair done, when they found I'd got cancer of the bladder, so attended to that for me.. bless them.
When Princess Diana arrived on a visit, with her armed protection officers, they were admitted through a fire door to avoid the awaiting press - someone shouted out in great admiration - "Oh... it's Lady Di, and all the staff ran to the window to take look down at her... unfortunately for me, the auxiliary nurse  was taking out my drainage tube from my penis at the time, and as she shot off to get a view of the royalty, she caught and dragged the tube with her foot, and I was covered in blood and in great pain!


I bet nothing like that would happen to Charlie!


Angry? Me?


Well?.... 

St Peter's Gate Nottingham - signs of the times!

A 2011 photograph taken from the side of the Big Issue Sellers outside the  M&S Store, (where one can buy a small loaf of bread for only £1.99) from the bottom the St Peters Gate, the usual signs of Nottingham being present:
The chap having his free drink from the church
The proliferation of For Sale to Let signs on the retail and office properties.
No signs of any Police Officers or CPOs.




A 2012 photograph taken from the side of the Big Issue Sellers on Bridlesmith Gate at the top of St Peters Gate, just up from the charity shop and the famous shoe shop where ladies can buy fashion shoes from only £99.99.


The increase in for sale, lease, & rent signs if notable. The old Virgin, then HMV abandoned store on Wheeler Gate (just out of view at the bottom) is still on offer for rent at only £322,344.00 a year, oddly enough no takers have been found.

A Few more Old Nottingham Transport Vehicles - 2

Photographs of Nottingham - Old & New

An Old advert for Home Ales

Long gone now of course, along with manners, many shops, & honest politicians! 

30th September 2011

Grantham Canal - West Bridgford

I was feeding the ducks!

Nottingham Council House 2012

Tram stop and wires in view

Nottingham Council House 1926
The Open Market, the original trams, ans hundreds of people!

The Meadows - Wilford Grove

As was!

Dr Cooper's surgery on the corner of Wilford Crescent East.

The library just out of view on the right.

I was abiding at 49 Wilford Grove at the time of this photo being taken, from just outside the landlady Mary Gavin, and husband Jack's front door on the left out of view.

In those days I had hair, honour, and hope!

The Meadows - Corner of Kirkwright and Derwent Street

The Cricketers Rest pub on the right, corner of Derwent Street, the railway bridge that carried the trains into Arkwright Street Station, that was positioned on the viaduct above my house.
Many a time, as I played in the back-yard near the toilet and coal houses, my hair was caught fire by the burning embers from those trains, I never knew if I'd done wrong or my hair was alight until the neighbour would stop belting me around the head!
Memories invoked with this photo: Duncan's grocers, Fry's Chip Shop, The Grove Cinema (just before the bridge on the left), Maureen Attaway (an early love), the greengrocers, and when the Billy Smart elephant escaped from the stables, causing havoc and mayhem!


Early postcard of Theatre Royal
With on the right at the back: The Empire Theatre of variety.
Watmoughs Sweet shop of the corner!

The ABC Cinema - Long Row
Once named the Carlton, I think it had another name too, but cannot recall it.
Can anyone help me with this please comment if you can, thanks.
I went to see Carry On Constable when it was on there... oh I'm getting old!

Theatre Square 1962
Can you remember the underground toilets in the middle of Upper Parliament Street? Between Queen and King Street, opposite what was the Royal Mail garage.
with Always an attendant there, polishing, cleaning, checking on the stalls, issuing and collecting the towels, soap, shampoo, proper shaving cream and razors, always for hire for 2d a go!

Advice from the Lovely Margaret

The Red Ant is one of the commonest and there are eight species of them here in the UK.

Their sting is the piercing type and can be painful.

Colonies of 100 to 300 can be found under stones and paving or sometimes rotting tree trunks, in most gardens, which is where Margaret was, doing some weeding by hand, when she uncovered a nest of red ants, and dropped the weed, and retired from the area - too late though. As you can see by the picture above, of the bite she received, the incision and poison still in her leg, after about 6 weeks of her being bitten!

“I felt nothing at the time, but later when I went to work, it felt hot, and I noticed a small swelling, that grew in severity of pain as time went by, and I began to feel bilious and unwell.

When I got home, I had stomach pains and was sick.

The swelling got bigger and more painful, and the poison spread widely, eventually I went to the medical centre, and discovered it was due to a Red Ant bite!

Failed Retail Outlets on Mansfield Road

On my 40 minute walk into the centre of Nottingham, along Mansfield Road, I noticed the ever increasing number of failing business's. (as in so many other areas of Nottingham too)
So I took along my camera the next time, and took these sad photo's.