Dreaming

We've not been as badly affected as other parts of the country but today has been a day of snow showers some of them quite heavy. Tomorrow is the first day in December and the cold weather is expected to last for at least another two weeks but it's probably still too early to be dreaming of a white Christmas. Shops have geared up with many windows decorated in a festive manner and if you look closely at this snowy image you'll be able to make out a Christmas cake in the window. Hardly surprising really as the shop on Nottingham Road specialises in fancy cakes for all occasions all through the year.

Christmas Cards

What started in the 1840s and was initially unsuccessful as they were too expensive has now turned into a major multi-million pound industry. I could do with an idea like that myself!

It was not until 1870 that cards really became popular when the Royal Mail introduced a cheap rate for delivery. Even that has changed though as it sometimes costs more to send a card than it costs to purchase one these days but it is still an effective way to keep friendships alive all over the world.

Firsts

We received our first Christmas card today and as this is Advent Sunday it was also the day that the first candle on the Advent Wreath in St Mary's Church was lit during this morning's service. After the service we enjoyed lunch together with most of the congregation at an Advent Lunch in the Cantelupe Centre. Christmas starts here!

Advent of course is a time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Jesus and each candle in the Advent Wreath has a different symbolism. The first candle is the Candle of Hope to celebrate the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Severe

A severe weather warning was issued for the East Midlands and we did get some overnight snow but so far here in Ilkeston, we don't appear to have fared too badly although there could be more on the way. These youngsters however were taking advantage of what had fallen so far.

With last year's harsh winter, an average summer and an early start to the cold weather this November, I don't believe the news report yesterday that said this year has been the warmest on record since I don't know when!

Final Preparations

The Market Place was taken over today by fairground rides and other stalls as final preparations were made for tonight's switching on event.

The signs eventually appeared on the Town Hall and Santa appeared to every child's delight as the lights finally lit up the town. People again turned out in their thousands as the build up to Christmas Day began in earnest.

Just In Time

Work was going on around the town centre today as the cherry picker manoeuvred its way around the market traders making final additions to the decorations and testing the Christmas lights. But later this afternoon there was still work to be done erecting signs to the Town Hall frontage so it looks as though the work will be completed just in time for tomorrow's official switch on.

Two Themes

The themes of the last two days came together today when I was in the right spot at the right time to see a Royal Mail van parked on the Lower Market place as the driver made his deliveries whilst in the distance a cherry-picker was outside the Town Hall presumably to facilitate the addition of decorations there.

Royal Mail

They were adding greenery to the fence around the Christmas tree on the Market Place today but I thought I'd give them a break and took a photo of another symbol of a workforce that will also be expecting a build up to the workload in the next month. This is the logo of the Royal Mail as it appears on the side of one of their vans.

The Build Up Continues

A tree has appeared today on the Market Place as the build up to Christmas and the switching on ceremony of the lights this coming Friday continues. There's still nothing on the Town Hall yet and I haven't noticed any of those tiny lights in the trees around St Mary's so I'll be keeping a close watch this week to monitor progress.

The Eyes Have It

One of the problems experienced by most photographers when using flash is where the person's eyes reflect the light and cause "red eye". Well it appears that this is not a problem with the eyes of a dog although the same effect could be responsible for "green eye" instead. Several attempts to get Jewl to sit and pose were unsuccessful as she was so excited and bouncy but eventually I did manage this shot.

Rats

There's a saying that you're never more than (insert number) feet from a rat but I'm beginning to think that you're closer to one on the car park between Nottingham Road and Stanton Road than anywhere else in Ilkeston. About lunchtime today I spotted what looked like a young rat there and only a few weeks ago there was one much larger on the footpath as we approached. And that wasn't the first I'd seen there. We've even reported them to the council but it seems as though there's a colony taken up residence in the undergrowth around the car park and they refuse to be evicted. It's hardly surprising though when irresponsible people drop half finished cartons of take-away food in the car park. I tried to take a photo of the one I saw today but once the rat saw me, it scurried off from its half eaten Saturday lunch into the cover of the surrounding vegetation so this blurred image is the best I could get.

A Grey Day

I went through a walk through the town centre this morning but there was not much to see - mainly due to the fog! The forecast said there would be some bright intervals but the fog could linger in some places and Ilkeston turned out to be one of those places. By 4 o'clock when the Friday afternoon rush was in full swing, it was already dropping dark and the fog was getting thicker. My mother-in-law used to call days like this one of those dark dismal days before Christmas and she wasn't wrong; it's been a really grey day from morning till night.

They're On!

For the last couple of days I've been wondering about the Christmas lights in Ilkeston which are due to be switched on a week tomorrow but this morning we were in Derby for our regular monthly trip to the Farmers' Market out side the Guildhall. And there the trees were already twinkling with tiny white lights. Although they are difficult to see in this photo I can assure you that they were on and added a real festive feel to the market.

No Time At All

Well yesterday I was wondering whether the Christmas lights would be added to the front of the Town Hall this year as the façade was still covered by scaffolding but in no time at all it looks as though my question has been answered. The lights aren't up yet but the scaffold has already been removed and there's still more than a week to go before the switching on ceremony.

Foggy Lights

The fog this morning took its time to clear but it didn't stop workmen returning to the town centre to continue to erect the Christmas lights. Work was taking place adding lights to the trees around St Mary's Church and another display was being strung across Wharncliffe Road but front of the Town Hall is still scaffold covered so whether the usual decorations get added before the switch on ceremony later this month only time will tell.

Frosty Mornings

An overnight frost and a misty morning was the prelude to a fresh bright autumn day that is so much more preferable to those dark dank dismal days that are also a feature of November. The fallen leaves on the lawn might prove to be an interesting picture but they also highlight the length of the grass and tell me that I perhaps should have given the grass one more mowing before putting the mower away for the year. It's too late to worry about it now though!

Remembrance Day

Services were held throughout the country this morning with two minutes silence at 11 o'clock. In Ilkeston however the Remembrance Day Service took place in St Mary's at 3pm followed by a parade to the Cenotaph where the the act of remembrance was completed and poppy wreathes were laid.

Forgotten Fruit

An unexpected turn of events meant that today didn't quite turn out as planned and I hadn't taken a picture for the blog so I took a walk down the garden not really expecting a decent photo as it is looking a little drab at the moment. All the summer flowers have disappeared and the predominant colour is green except for the fallen leaves that constantly litter the lawn but I spied a glimpse of red right at the bottom of the garden. I was surprised to see that even this late in the year, there was still some fruit on the raspberry canes worth picking and equally worth photographing. Hardly enough for a serving but plenty for a taste - don't think there'll be another one this year!

Suck & Blow

Anyone walking through the Market Place this afternoon may have thought that the overnight gales had blown away all the leaves that had settled in and around St Mary's churchyard but I know different. Earlier this morning two council workmen were hard at work. One of them had a machine strapped to his back and was blowing the fallen leaves into piles whilst the other one was operating a super vacuum cleaner to suck them into a vehicle to be transported away.

Armistice Day

All over the country today people stopped and stood in silence for two minutes at eleven o'clock to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day. Lost in their own thoughts and prayers as a mark of respect for those who gave their lives for our country, many places came to a standstill. Pictures on the TV news programmes have shown scenes from up and down the land and here is another one which differs slightly from those seen on the box. In Ilkeston it rained - in fact it absolutely chucked it down at 11 o'clock hence the spots on the camera lens despite my best efforts to keep it clear. Ten miutes later the sun was shining from a clearing sky!

Long Shadows

A much better day today and the wind has dropped temporarily but it is still cold. On what is expected to be the best day of the week a low sun in a cloudless sky produced some long shadows and this was early in the afternoon. Many of the trees are now leafless and although they are still lying on the ground, there's a distinct winter feeling all around. Strange to think that a fortnight ago we were still on British Summer Time while in just six weeks from now we'll have passed the shortest day.

Dancing Leaves

Well it dried for for a while after yesterday's downpour but the cold wind was still with us this morning and caused the leaves on the Market Place (and elsewhere) to swirl around eddying back and forth. It's obviously very difficult to catch the movement in a still image but I think this shot gives some impression of how they were dancing around.

What a Filthy Day!

Today was one of those days when you didn't go out unless you had to - and we had to! We had appointments this afternoon for flu jabs and we had intended to catch the bus part way and walk the rest to the surgery. The best laid plans and all that went by the wayside and we went in the car but while we were out we also took our son's dog for a walk. It was cold, wet and windy. By that I mean the weather not the dog. When we took her home she was cold and wet too, I'm not sure about the windy!

Out Of Place

Ornamental kale and cabbage plants are grown to add some colour to winter beds when little else is in flower. The tubs on the Market Place have recently been planted as we have already seen with winter pansies but this is one of two planters that contain members of the brassica family outside St Mary's Church. Call me old fashioned and although they make an interesting arrangement, but I still think they belong in the vegetable patch rather than the flower beds.

Doing Their Bit

It's been rather a grey week with lots of overcast skies but this morning saw a return of the sun and it must have been a help to not only the market traders but also to the Air Cadets that swamped the town centre doing their bit by selling poppies in this year's effort raising funds for the armed forces. Next weekend the Army Cadets will take their place in the Annual Poppy Day appeal organised by the Royal British Legion.

Bonfire Night

Queues formed this afternoon at a local supermarket to buy fireworks for tonight's Bonfire Night celebrations that will no doubt continue over the weekend. The wet weather that will put a damper on proceedings seemed to be being ignored. The counter selling the fireworks can be seen in the centre of this image but more noticeable are the signs already wishing customers a Merry Christmas. The cynical side of me expects Easter Eggs to be on sale next week!

Joined Up Thinking

The council provides households with free black bins for rubbish and brown bins for garden waste. They also supply green bags for recycling materials free of charge and will replace any that are lost or no longer usable again free of charge. Blue bins are also available for recycling material but these have to be purchased from the council at a cost of some £25 or £26 each. The council are also targeted with achieving a set amount of recycling so I believe that if they want us to recycle they should provide the means for us to do so and not charge us for the privilege. Look at it this way - the council has to keep paying for replacement green bags, they also have to pay for street cleaners. On windy days like today the green bags blow all over the place and deposit litter and rubbish like these plastic bottles seen today which increases the workload of the street cleaners. If all households were given a free blue bin, it would save the cost of replacement green bags, reduce the amount of street cleaning, make it easier for the refuse collectors thus making them more efficient and allow more time to devote to other areas of the Pride In Erewash initiative. All it needs is a little joined up thinking - it's not difficult and in the current economic climate, you know it makes sense!.

Pride In Erewash

The council campaign to instil a little "Pride In Erewash" seems to be falling on deaf ears and my prophecy of yesterday came true all too quickly. As I suspected the tubs in the Market Place were replanted yesterday afternoon and it didn't take long for the vandals to make their presence felt - this soft drinks can I am certain was not placed there by the council workmen. There are plenty of litter bins in the town centre so there is really no need at all for cans to be deposited here.

Winter Planting

The workmen erecting the Christmas lights have been missing for a day or two although there is still more to be done on the Market Place. Work on the Town Hall balcony could be one reason why the lights cannot be put there yet but council workers were back on the scene today digging in the flower beds around the Cenotaph and restocking them with winter plants. I believe later they moved on to the tubs and started planting those up as well. I'll check tomorrow and try and get a picture before they get vandalised which is quite often the norm!

This Makes A Change

We've grown accustomed in Ilkeston to seeing shops on Bath Street close and businesses move out of town but there's one that has opened recently. It makes a change but it won't be there for long though as it is only a temporary outlet for fireworks. I just hope there aren't too many let off before or after Bonfire night - one of our cats is terrified by all the squealing and banging.