Stop & See

It was over the Christmas period in 2000 that the "Ilkeston Flyer" ran up and down Bath Street and although it proved very popular helping shoppers up and down the hill, it hasn't been seen since and you don't have to visit an optician to confirm that. There are still several Stop signs at various points on Bath Street including this one right outside an optician's shop if you still don't believe me. As we will soon be reaching the tenth anniversary of the road train's temporary visit and in view of the government's policy just announced to remove surplus and confusing signs there is perhaps no better place to start than here .... or can we still expects it's return in December? Probably not.

Tradition

August Bank Holiday Monday afternoon. The Erewash Museum. Ilkeston Brass. It's become a tradition. Need one say more? 

Not An Emergency This Time

Yes it's an emergency vehicle but on this occasion there was no emergency.

The fire engine was on Gallows Inn Playing Fields today and when I passed there were children crawling all over it. It was there taking part in the Waterside Festival which also featured the Owl Experience (link), a dog show, cheerleading, quad bikes, a fun fair, and lots of other attractions for all the family on this Sunday of the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Another Emergency

I read today about a car that had crashed into a telegraph pole on Wharncliffe Road last Wednesday and following on from yesterday's accident on Stanton Road I spotted two more emergency vehicles outside the Co-Op today. It may be a Bank Holiday weekend for many people but we should all be grateful for the dedication and experience of the emergency services who are on hand 24/7 everyday of the year.

Trouble For Someone

It's often said that a day can make all the difference and after yesterday's rain, today much much better but for some people it was most definitely not a good day. Walking home with the family this lunchtime after a visit to the museum, we heard an almighty bang as we crossed Regent Street. At the opposite end we could see a silver car at an angle so we rushed up the street to see if we could be of assistance. When we reached the top we found another vehicle underneath but others who had rushed to help had found the driver of that black car was not seriously injured and the two occupants of the other one, although trapped, had also said they were OK. The emergency services arrived within minutes so as we could do no more to help we left the scene. Later we found that both the driver and the passenger in the silver car had been taken to hospital - not a good start to the Bank Holiday weekend.

Green Tomatoes

Just over three years ago I was immobilised with an ankle injury and spent a lot of time in the garden soaking up the fine weather. Photographic opportunities were limited but I did take a number of shots of the flowers, plants and vegetables including some of the ripening tomatoes in the greenhouse. If I had damaged my ankle this year the weather would have prevented me from sitting in the garden. today has been a particularly grey day with a cold wind and plenty of rain. The tomatoes in the greenhouse will need a lot more sunshine if they are going to ripen at all methinks. Global warming? No way!

GOM Syndrome

The grumpy old man syndrome hit again today and with some justification. I just don't understand how the smokers who sit on the seats on the Market Place think it is OK to drop their nub ends on the floor when the is a litter bin just a few steps away. In fact around the fountain there are at least four bins but the area is covered with their discarded ciggies. I wonder if they realise that if they are caught dropping their litter, they are liable to a £30 fixed penalty!

Mobile Information

Just when I thought this "information" trend had reached a natural conclusion, a green MacMillan bus took up a position outside the Town Hall in the Market Place and offered a whole load of information about cancer.

Although the information boards seen so far are permanent or semi-permanent  fixtures the information provided here is most definitely of a mobile nature and will soon move on to some other location but the work carried out by the dedicated MacMillan nurses is priceless.
Link

Information Overload

We're just about out of information boards although I dare say I could find more if I put my mind to it but this corner of the Market Place is  case of information overload.

 

If the taxi parking restriction signs (which more often than not appear to be ignored), a signpost pointing such places as the museum and the cinema, various traffic signs, a vandalised "Designated Area" sign plus a temporary board pointing to the Sewing Centre were not enough, there's also all the poters in the windows of the Co-Op. If that's not information overload, I don't know what is!

Changing Information

It's back to the church wall today for another information board but this is different to the others photographed recently as the information here changes regularly whereas the data on the other boards is of a fixed nature.

Currently this one in the shadow of St Mary's is showing details of coming events at the Erewash Museum plus a sign saying the cigarette butts are litter too. It's a pity little notice appears to be taken of this sign by the smokers in the town centre.

Hung At The Gallows

I've been writing about and photographing information boards at various locations in the town this week and there's another hung on the side wall of the Gallows Inn on Nottingham Road. This one though is more about the Erewash Canal than the town itself but is very informative under five headings which are General, Natural History, Local Heritage, Gallows Inn and Leisure and Recreation.
 

A Different Kind

There's an information board on the wall outside St Mary's Church on the Market Place that shows information of a different kind to the other boards I've photographed this week.

This one shows the town's history from millennium to millennium and includes a time line showing significant dates.

In For A Penny

There's a well known phrase that states "In for a penny, in for a pound" so as I've already photographed three information boards this week, I might as well add a fourth. This one is at the "Bottom of Town" and acts as a reminder to what this end of Bath Street and the surrounding area was like prior to the demolition of many buildings and the construction of Chalons Way.

 

The board like those seen previously includes a schematic of the old tram routes and shows the depot on Park Road, a terminus on Station Road and another at Cotmanhay as well as indicating stops at Gallows Inn and the Market Place. Whilst there are information boards at some of these locations I don't think they are in the same style as the four already seen which use the same colours and fonts as the trams of yesteryear.

Sandwiched

There's another of those information boards sandwiched between an old style telephone kiosk (much nicer than the new sort don't you think?) and a pub sign in front of the Poplar Inn on Lower Bath Street.

Don't take any notice though of the Live Music, Traditional Ales or Hot and Cold Food - the Poplar has closed and the pub is boarded up so if you want any food it will have to be from a nearby chip shop although the one directly opposite is also closed or like the information board - a sandwich!

Hallam Fields

There's another of those information boards I photographed yesterday at Hallam Fields and more at other parts of the town.

Unlike the one on Stanton Road that refers to a Square that no longer exists, this one unsurprisingly is titled "Hallam Fields" but both of them include a schematic map showing the route of the old tram system from one end of the town to the other. At Hallam Fields the board is attached to the front wall of The Stute which is another example of a name that has survived the passage of time being derived from the Stanton Working Men's Institute. Despite the demise of the Stanton works, The Stute is still well used and is the home of The Elks Rugby and Cricket Clubs.

The Name Lives On

I have often made comment about the council renaming playing fields but the local populace still refer to them by the names that have stood the test of ages. For example Chaucer Old Park is 'Illy 'Oleys, Wash Meadow is Johnny's, Gordon Street Playing Fields are still the Ashes and more recently who ever refers to The Rec as Rutland Sports Park? Another area of the town that most people still know by its old name is White Lion Square and an information board at the top of Stanton Road bears that title. The Square though has long gone and has disappeared under the roundabout at the southern end of Chalons Way. Yes White Lion Square has gone but the name lives on.

Green or Blue

Hardly set foot out of the house today and when I did it was only to take a walk in the garden for a photo for the blog in the late afternoon sunshine. I took one of the agapanthus that is now flowering but then I noticed an adjacent yellow plant that was covered by green bodied flies commonly known as bluebottles. Green? Blue? Either way they're not very pleasant creatures in my book so a quick click of the camera shutter and I was back indoors!

Half The Story

I know it's the holiday season and a number of traders were away but the market today was full of wide open spaces and several empty stalls but one had a banner saying "Trade here for £22 per day". Is that the whole story though?

There's probably the cost of purchasing a cover for the top of the stall to add on and is the cost of erecting the stall included? Then there's public liability insurance to consider and maybe even more hidden extras. Perhaps if those in authority had been more proactive previously there would not be the need to advertise like this.

Black Friday

Friday the 13th was certainly unlucky for someone today as can be seen by the parking ticket on this illegally parked car.

It was quite a surprise to see this as there is hardly a day goes by that you don't see a traffic violation of some sort in the town but only very rarely do you see the law being enforced. We'll probably have to wait now for another Black Friday before we see it again.

Wrong!

OK I was wrong, I admit it. There weren't any cones on Chalons Way today. The weather put a damper on things though and a thunderstorm can't have been good news for the market traders. There was hardly any of them left by half past three.

Bet the cones are back next week though!

Closed

The balloon laden children of yesterday were nowhere to be seen this afternoon as the shops closed their doors for half-day closing. In fact there were not a lot of people about at all and the roads were also clear of traffic.

Tomorrow if everything is true to form the cones will be out on Chalons Way and vehicles will be nose to tail all the way along whilst shoppers will fill the town centre as it is a market day. Why the planners can't use a bit of common sense and send the litter pickers and grass cutters to do their work on Chalons Way on a Wednesday when it would not cause major disruption instead of a Thursday is beyond me. Maybe that's to easy for them or they just want to inconvenience as many people as they can! Is it any wonder I'm a G.O.M!

Was It Magic?

There were a lot of children walking through the town this afternoon with their parents and carrying all manner of "sculptures" made with sausage shaped balloons. I don't know where they had been unless it was to do with the Magic Week at the Museum or maybe they had been to a party somewhere with a children's entertainer but they all seemed very proud of their balloon creations.

Blast From The Past

Red double decker buses were once commonplace around Ilkeston but over the years have disappeared from our streets. It was something of a surprise therefore to spot this one today but it made me realise that as with many things, changes take place in our lives and we never really notice until something crops up to remind us. The sight of this was a real blast from the past.

Here We Go

Here we go, here we go, here we go! The football season has started but it was still a surprise to see these teams lining up on a local playing field this afternoon. It could have been a friendly but I didn't think they would be playing yet until much nearer September when amateur leagues usually kick off. Obviously England's disastrous showing in the World Cup has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of these football fans.

You Know You're Old When ....

You know you're old when the vehicle model you learnt to drive in is now a Classic Car.

The new football season kicked off today but it was back about the time that England won the World Cup in 1966 that I was learning to drive and my lessons were supplemented by driving around the District in a company car. That car was a black Austin A40 and the same model was on display this afternoon at Ilkeston Hospital's Annual Garden Party with many other Classic Cars. It certainly makes you feel your age!

If Only ....

Can't help thinking it would have been better if a policeman or a traffic warden rather than the community warden had stopped this vehicle that had gone through a No Entry sign to a pedestrian zone. When traffic is allowed it is one way in the opposite direction as can be seen by the white arrow on the blue circle. The hope is he'll learn from his mistake and won't do it again ... but I doubt it! After all, traffic laws don't seem to apply in Ilkeston.

Bottleneck

Derby's new bus station has been open for some months now (I think it was March) but the work outside the entrance is still ongoing in addition to adjacent roadworks and it looks as though it will be a few more months yet before either are anywhere near completion. The passageway created at the bus station entrance is a real bottleneck for pedestrians and earlier before I took this shot, a street cleaning machine was adding to the problem by blocking half the walkway. You would have thought that the Project Manager could have done a better job in the planning phase so that the pedestrian access was completed before the road works started but that's common sense talking again!

 

Rain Stopped Play

The play area at the local nursery has recently been updated with lots of new equipment for the children but the weather with frequent heavy showers today was not conducive to playing outdoors. The new play area looks superb and almost makes you wish you were a child again as there was nothing like this in the post war years. The question is though "Are we any the worse for it?" I think not.

Christmas Is Coming - Simples!

Three days into August, a week into the school holidays and our thoughts are already being pointed in the direction of Christmas in at least one shop window with an invitation to join a Toy Club and save a little each week. Simples! There'll be Easter eggs in the shops next but if you want a dustpan, you'll have to wait - I'm told they're seasonal and wont be on sale until winter!

Gardening Tips

1 - Take one three tier half-barrel display unit.

2 - Half fill bottom section with compost.

3 - Place one feline Pom on compost.

4 - Feed and water at regular intervals.

5 - Place bird table near by.

6 - Harvest when fully grown.

We have cats growing at the bottom of our garden!

Bookends

I thought it was a little early for the Canada Geese to be roosting for the night so perhaps they were just enjoying a late afternoon nap and dreaming of running in a three-legged race. Looks as though they'd need another one to do that though.