April Showers

To many people "April Showers" is synonymous with the song published in 1921 and made famous by Al Jolson but there have been several films with the same title made at various times since then in 1923, 29, 48, 93 and 2009. Another film with a similar title "April's Shower" was made in 2006 but today I'm using it in relation to the weather.

The BBC Weather pages say that the phrase "has become synonymous with the weather during the month but it is some way off the truth". It was not far wide of the mark today and as today is the last of April, I won't be able to use it again as a title until next year!

And Not A Cherry Anywhere

 

More blossom today but I don't think any of these trees in the grounds of the old Cotmanhay Church will have any cherries on them. The church has long since been demolished due to subsidence but the headstones are still in situ and the site always looks a picture at this time of year firstly because of the daffodils (which are now dying off) and secondly because of this beautiful blossom.Who would have though on a cold and wet day in the autumn of 1967 when we were married here that the site would be transformed into how it looks today?

Oh Yes It Is

It doesn't take a great deal to confuse me but one thing that I often wonder about at this time of year is why most of the pink and white blossom that can be seen is called "Cherry Blossom" when very few of the trees actually produce cherries. I can however confirm that the fruits produced on this tree pictured below actually are cherries so this blossom can quite correctly be called that of the cherry variety.

Street Art

Several of the empty shops on Bath Street had their windows boarded up and were given a facelift by the addition of enlargements of old scenes of Ilkeston. It was not the most unexpected thing in this world when some of them became the target of vandals but now in the last day or two, the remaining old photos have been complemented by some colourful street art.

This picture above shows just two of the new additions alongside one of the original old scenes but all of them are labelled Class .... and one also has the initials K J S which leads me to suspect that they have been prepared by children from Kensington Junior School. I just hope that the vandals can keep their hands off or better still some business entrepreneur could open up the shops again and revitalise the lower end of Bath Street.

And There's More ....

Yes there's more. Flowers that is, including tulips, pansies and some others that I cannot put a name to but as can be seen in this photo of the traffic island at the southern end of Chalons Way the daffodils have all died back here. We do seem to be getting though a fair number of daisies pushing up through the grass and a host of golden .... dandelions!

Tulip Time

The daffodil season is coming to an end but tulips are now brightening up the formal flower displays in the town. Along with colourful pansies in the beds and tubs on the Market Place they really provide an attractive setting for St Mary's Church pictured here after this morning's service where two children were baptised.

A Foretaste

This can't be right. Temperatures in the sixties Fahrenheit (about 20C), people sitting in the sun on the Market Place outside the Town Hall drinking tea and the flags for St George's day still flying? And it's still only April! Last year we had an early good spell of weather - not this early though - and the forecasts of a barbecue summer were famously wrong so let's hope that this current good weather is only a foretaste of what is to come. I can put up with that.

St George's Day

Not so very long ago Ilkeston was at the forefront in the country of celebrations for St George's Day with parades and fun events that attracted visitors from all corners of the country. Then rules, regulations, restrictions and prohibitive costs all conspired to put a damper on things so today the celebrations have been somewhat muted in the town although they do seem to be picking up elsewhere.

For the most part Ilkeston's nod to the Patron Saint has been restricted to a few flags flying from public buildings and some decorated shop windows apart from the pubs that have turned the day into an excuse for a beer festival. Even those people that did take the trouble to dress for the occasion congregated at The Borough where St George left his trusty steed outside whilst quenching his thirst.

Missed It!

There's a miniature rhododendron bush in our garden and it is surrounded and protected by heathers and conifers. It only flowers for about three days if we are lucky and although I've been keeping an eye on it to catch it at its best, I've missed it. It's already started to turn and the flowers will soon be falling. Ah well I shall just have to wait for another year!

Sixteen Going On Seventeen

It doesn't matter how many times I visit Victoria Park, I can usually find a picture or two. Today I climbed the steps to the bandstand and saw that the council workers are still busy replanting the borders but this view through the structure put me in mind of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "The Sound Of Music" and in particular of the scene where Liesl and Rolf perform the song "Sixteen Going On Seventeen". Now if only I were that age again and know what I know now.

Special Offers

According to the advertising boards on Bath Street it seems that special offers are the order of the day. Half price jewellery at H. Samuel and half price chocolate at Thorntons plus special offers on photo prints at Manor Pharmacy are just a few of the current deals but I wonder if these advertising boards come at a discount too. They seem to be multiplying day by day.

I was going to say that an advertising board salesman seems to to a good job but on second thoughts, I guess the market has already been flooded so it's perhaps not such a good idea after all.

Cold Beer

There's a sign outside The Observatory on the Lower Market Place proclaiming that the Beer Garden is open but only the hardy (or should that be foolhardy) would be taking advantage of the outdoor facility. After a lovely weekend where people were walking around town soaking up the sun, it was a temporary return to winter clothes and gloves today as they dodged the showers but could do little to avoid the cold wind.

If anyone did take the opportunity to sit outside, one thing they could be sure of would be a cold beer!

Counting The Calories

Well yesterday's gardening has certainly made its presence felt today - my back aches! But with all the additional exercise I realised I would be losing a few more calories so decided to replace some of them today with home made scones, home made apricot jam and a good dollop of clotted cream.

The recipe only made eight scones so we supplemented that with a Victoria sponge cake sandwiched together with blackcurrant jam and butter cream. Looks like there'll be more gardening on the cards then and I'll have to put up with the back ache!

In The Wide Blue Yonder

When the weather is fine, we often talk about clear blue skies and wall to wall sunshine and that would be an apt description for today. There was not a cloud in the sky and not even a vapour trail as much of the UK's air space was closed due to the volcanic ash drifting over from Iceland but it didn't stop this small plane from flying over Ilkeston this afternoon.

It (or maybe there was more than one) was flying back and forth all afternoon taking advantage of the open skies while we were in the garden giving the lawn its first mowing of the season. I'd put it off as long as possible but the recent fine weather meant the grass had put on a spurt and was in desperate need of a trim. Now I've done it once I suppose it will have to be a regular job until the autumn. And as the year progresses I guess there will be jets flying overhead in the wide blue yonder as well as the smaller planes. This ban at the moment though must be good for the environment and have cut down the carbon footprint quite a lot. If it continues we may have to start worrying about global cooling!

Birds Of A Feather

There seems to be a bit of a theme developing here concerning water fowl. Yesterday we saw ducks in the middle of town and today there were a number of different species as we walked along the canal on the edge of town.

We have a shed at the bottom of our garden; some people claim to have fairies but if your property backs onto the canal, well there's no knowing who or what's going to turn up.

Ey up mi duck! Arta lost?

Excuse me slipping into the local dialect but it was something of a surprise to see these two water birds waddling down the path between the town centre and 'Illy 'Oleys today. They did seem to be out of place but must have been attracted to the "pond" that has formed in a depression where water collects just off the path.

The term "Ey up mi duck" of course is a local greeting and term of endearment in this part of the country and was made famous by several books of the same title by Richard Scollins and John Titford. The term "duck" has its origins in the Saxon ‘ducas’ a term of respect similar to the Middle English "‘duc" or "‘duk" denoting a leader which also gave rise to "Duke". It is not unknown for people who are not from the area being offended by the term but perhaps if they knew of its origin, they would not be so sensitive.

Memorial Garden

Our daily walk today took us through the old section of St Mary's churchyard that is separated from the church by Chalons Way. When the new road was constructed special arrangements had to be made for the tombstones and remains of the bodies that lay under the route. There have not been any burials here for many a year and although it is still a peaceful location near the town centre, many of the headstones are the worse for wear, much of the area has become overgrown and it is often a litter trap. Footpaths cross the site and are well used but if any organisation ever has any money to spare, it could be landscaped and made into a fitting memorial garden for those that have gone before.

Victoria Park

Had a walk around Victoria Park this afternoon and after yesterday's encounter with the Council's Green Machine, we saw another group of Council employees replanting the flower beds and some natural green machines in the form of trees. There should be a really good flower display later in the year but the park doesn't look at all bad at the moment with some of the trees in blossom, some bursting into leaf and a lot of spring flowers blooming too. I'm sure this won't be our last photo from the park this year.

The Green Machine

The local council workers have got a new machine seen for the first time today on the Market Place and Bath Street. It was doing a good job too picking up the litter and hopefully it will be kept in good working order to keep the town centre cleaner.

It certainly beats the previous method which involved someone going round picking up individual pieces of litter with giant tweezers and depositing them in plastic bags. The machine has a registration plate which means it can go on the public roads too.This is one of the few occasions when I wasn't displeased about a vehicle in the pedestrian zone even if it was going the wrong way! When traffic IS allowed it should only travel up the hill as can be seen by the white arrow on the blue sign.

The Tower & Flowers

The title says it all today as we enjoyed another bright sunny spring day. St Mary's Church has often been photographed from the Market Place but it is not so usual to see a view like this from below the church wall on the Lower Market but it's one of the few places where both the flowers and the tower can be seen together..

Medieval Games

It's been Medieval Week at the Erewash Museum and this afternoon, youngsters were able to let off steam with mock sword fights.

I suppose in the medieval age, youngsters of a similar age would entertain themselves like this - there were no X boxes and Nintendos in those days!

Blossoming

I mentioned yesterday that daffodils were blooming and trees were blossoming. I added a picture a little while ago of some early mini-daffs but haven't shown any of the blossom yet so to put matters right here's one from today.

This is actually on a neighbour's apricot tree and providing there are no late frosts it's likely the harvest will be as good as last year which was exceptional.

Peacock

I suppose subconsciously we've been looking for signs of spring for a number of weeks but now the daffodils are flowering, blossom is forming on the trees and the sight of a peacock butterfly basking in the warm sunshine today is proof positive of the season.

The name for this species of butterfly, owes its origin to bird of the same name and is because of the similarity between the eye patterns on the wings and those on the tail feathers of the bird.

Woolworths

It's days like this when the rain is coming down that we bemoan the demise of Woolworths. Previously with ten minutes to kill before the bus arrived you could wander around the aisles in the store and peruse their wares even if you were not tempted to buy but since its closure the shop has stood empty and so it was straight down to the bus shelter.

It doesn't seem that long ago the the town had not only Woolworths but also Marks & Spencer and British Home Stores within yards of each other on Bath Street. Now it's mainly estate agents, banks, mobile phone and charity shops - a sad legacy of the yuppie culture of the eighties.

Young Men & Blackbirds

It was Alfred, Lord Tennyson that wrote of a young man's fancy lightly turning to thoughts of love in the spring in his poem titled "Locksley Hall" but it's not only the young men as it's also the time when the birds build their nests ready for their new brood. I saw this blackbird today as it foraged at the side of a path presumably looking for nest building material.

Now I know that male blackbirds are in fact black while females are coloured brown but this particular bird was mainly black but had a brown tinge on its wings. Further investigation on the RSPB site (link)suggests that it is not as clear cut as I first thought so I'll leave you to make your mind up.

Just Another Bank Holiday

It was just another Bank Holiday but what is it that certain motorists don't understand about "Pedestrian Zone" and no parking at any time?

For those pedestrians that do stick by the rules, it is a case of risking life and limb as once the parked vehicles on Bath Street do move, then speed seems no object. One of these Bank Holidays someone is going to get seriously injured or even killed.

 

The drivers are obviously chancing their arm hoping the law enforcers are taking a holiday too  but one of these days they will come unstuck. And not before time too!

Easter Day

St Mary's Church was beautifully decorated this morning for Easter Day. As well as pedestal displays of flowers each pillar had a cross with a lily attached to it. The flowers are symbols of purity, virtue innocence and hope and show that Jesus is no longer on the cross. Jesus Christ is risen today - Alleluia!

Easter Saturday

It's probably a sad reflection on society today that Easter is now just as commercialised as Christmas. Obviously Easter Eggs are the main attraction for many but today for example there has been an Easter Chick Hunt and an Easter Egg Hunt in the town. No doubt too there will be an Easter Bonnet competition somewhere and as well as the numerous places selling Easter Eggs, at least one (see picture) was selling Easter Bunny Poo thankfully made from chocolate. I'm not against any of these but unfortunately the real message of Easter along with that of Christmas is being submerged for many in these distractions.

God Is Love

The Ilkeston Area Churches Together banner proclaimed "God Is Love" as the annual procession of Christian witness made its way through the streets of the town this morning despite the cold, the wind and the rain.

The event this year took the form of a silent procession with frequent stops for hymn singing and drama presentations that told the story of Jesus' last hours and attracted hundreds of followers. I felt sorry for the man portraying Jesus who, clad in little more than a loin cloth, stood in the inclement weather. God is love and he played his part for his love of God.

The Queen In Derby

April Fool's Day but this is not a joke - The Queen WAS in Derby today!

I've never regarded myself as an avid Royalist but when it was announced that the Queen was to distribute Maundy money in Derby, I decided I would make the trip and take a few photos. So along with many other well wishers, photographers both amateur and professional, TV crews, members of the general public of all ages from babes in arms and schoolchildren to pensioners, I jostled for position outside Derby Cathedral and was rewarded with several good shots of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Despite having to stand a couple of hours when nothing much happened, the mood of the crowd was relaxed and stranger talked to stranger. It was worth the wait to be able to see and enjoy the whole experience complete with its pageantry and as it is a one off occasion that is unlikely to be repeated in my lifetime, I'm glad I was there.