Happy New Year

    As we come to the end of another year we also reach the end of our Heritage Walk around Derby. We have been visiting the city on a regular basis since January 2010 to take photos for the Latest Images page at Ilkeston Cam where a new part to the series was added on the last weekend of each month. This week sees the 36th and final part of the walk but now we will have to think of somewhere else to go before the end of January. In the meantime we wish you all the best for 2013 and hope it brings all you wish for.

Merry Christmas

   This week's Latest Images at Ilkeston Cam (www.ilkcam.com) all come from the Tree Festival held in St Mary's Church and another image from there is the basis of this greeting. One of the trees in the Festival was topped by a simple message and with the addition of a couple of photos and a bit of clipart, it enables us to say "Merry Christmas" to all the visitors to Ilkeston Cam.

Life Goes On

   Sometimes when I come to write this spot, I have the words all figured out and search through my archive of images to find one to illustrate it. At other times I look for a recent image and write the words to go with it. A third option is to be motivated by something heard on the news during the week and then take a new image to go along with my thoughts. 

   Then there is this week and the tragic loss of life in the American shooting where so many children lost their lives. Any words at all are so inadequate and no photo taken by me would be fitting but in Ilkeston on Saturday, life went on as normal with shoppers in the town centre looking for Christmas bargains on the Market Place although thoughts of those tragic events across the Atlantic were never very far from anyone's mind.

Christmas Lights

   And so it begins not that it hasn't been around for several weeks, nay months! As we enter December the first Sunday marks the start of Advent and with Ilkeston's Christmas lights being switched on last Friday evening, the build up to Christmas is well and truly under way.

   On Friday we were treated to a visit by not one but two Santas. Whilst one appeared on the Town Hall balcony and then came down to distribute sweets to the children, another similar figure clad in red and white sat in a Grotto (left) to greet another queue of juveniles. I suppose with the additional work at this time of year the real Santa has to spread the load and it no doubt reduces the jobless total. I wonder if he can claim all the additional suits as a business expense and just where does he pay his taxes? He'll have the Chancellor after him soon.

   You know sometimes I write a load of rubbish here - will have to give it some serious thought come the New Year. Suggestions?

Blink & You'll Miss It

I was bemoaning the fact that Christmas arrives far too early in the year these days with cards on sale in August and shops decorated by October. Now in mid November although some of the trees are still hanging onto their autumn colours, others have already drifted into their winter appearance and two weeks from now we will be in Advent, the Christian period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Festive lights are being switched on up and down the country - Derby's ceremony took place on Saturday and those in Ilkeston are due to be lit on November 30th. In another six weeks, Christmas will have passed and we'll be on the verge of 2013. Hard to believe I know but that's the truth of it.

Remembrance Day

Ilkeston's Remembrance Day service is usually held at 3:00pm with a similar service at 11:00am being held in Long Eaton. In recent years there have been several calls for the Council to hold Ilkeston's service in the morning too but until this year the call has been resisted as the Mayor can only be in one of the towns at the designated time. This year however, the Mayor's Chaplain is also the Vicar of St Mary's in Ilkeston and the annual service of Remembrance was switched to the eleven o'clock slot with Long Eaton's service at the same time being attended by the Deputy Mayor.

I have attended many of the afternoon services in Ilkeston and there has always been a good turnout but Sunday's was exceptional with twice as many (and perhaps even more than that) standing in silence to honour all those who have paid the ultimate price in two World Wars and many other conflicts. I felt honoured to be among them and if the Council needs any more encouragement to make the Ilkeston service on Remembrance Day at 11:00am a permanent arrangement, they only have to look at the evidence of this year.

   So it's been a big day in Nottingham this weekend with the Robin Hood half marathon and the local football derby between Forest and Derby. As an ex-referee myself I feel officials are put under extreme pressure in local derby games and on balance in today's match the referee made some really good decisions but equally just as many bad ones. In the end probably the only really good attacking move resulted in the bragging rights remaining with the visitors although who knows what the result would have been with a different official.

   That's just conjecture but there can be no doubt about the next big thing in Nottingham and that will be the annual Goose Fair which runs from the 3rd to the 7th October. Personally I'll wait another couple of weeks for the more intimate and atmospheric street fair of the older Charter Fair in Ilkeston which marks its 760th anniversary in 2012.

Zig-Zag

   So another week passes by, another wet Bank Holiday Monday due, another government fiasco regarding GCSE results - did they or didn't they influence the Examining Boards? Another Royal embarrassment by all accounts but I'm still puzzled by what the BBC described as a "naked photo". What on earth is a "naked" photo? I presume it is something different to a photo of a naked person - or am I just being my usual pedantic self?

   To top it all, yet more idiot drivers throughout the week parking on zig-zag lines and one in particular causing mayhem on Saturday. Some things change for the better, some things for the worse - some things never change at all but when an accident happens and someone gets seriously injured or even killed on the pedestrian crossing on South Street, don't say you weren't warned. See The Highway Code Rule 191.

Regeneration. Are You Serious?

There was dancing in the streets last Saturday as music sounded out across the Market Place. It was the music of my youth with some good old rock'n'roll tunes well-known by anyone of my age. Dancers in fifties dress showed how to jive and a large American car with a picture on the dashboard of Elvis was parked nearby. What was it all in aid of? Well nobody, not even the market traders, seemed to know but the general consensus was that it was an attraction to bring custom into the town.

   There were large gaps in the market with several regular traders missing. They could have been on holiday or taken heed of the mistaken weather forecast that predicted heavy rain and thunderstorms, none of which occurred or they may even have taken their wares elsewhere. But it becomes more and more obvious as time goes by that something drastic needs to be done to regenerate the town centre. The proposal to move students into the town centre and build a supermarket on the existing college site defies belief in its logic and common sense. Another supermarket on the edge of the town centre will drive another nail into the coffin of existing small businesses.

    Here's an idea. Car parking charges in Ilkeston deter many people and lead to illegal parking on double yellow lines and pedestrian crossings. In neighbouring Broxtowe, the first 30 minutes on council car parks is free, thus encouraging shoppers. In Long Eaton, Erewash's other big town, there are free car parks at Asda, Tesco and Aldi all in the town centre. In Ilkeston the free supermarket car parks are away from the town centre with those in the middle of town being fee paying.

   If the council is serious about regeneration, then the time is right to review their charging policy. Invest by sacrificing some parking revenue, even if it is only on market days but don't kill town centre trade altogether by being blind to the effect of planning decisions. Those who take the decisions should learn from the success of Team GB in the Olympics. Investment in the right place is what is needed - it will provide its own rewards. Austerity has not worked, is not working and will not work.

The Sounds of Summer

   The clickety-click in the still air of a distant train speeding along the tracks; children laughing whilst at play in a neighbour's garden; the drone of a lawn mower cutting the grass; the buzzing of insects pollinating the flowers; the thud of willow on leather at a cricket match; the crash of thunder as the rain teems down; the bells in the church tower calling people to worship on an otherwise quiet sunny Sunday morning, a Brass Band playing in the park - these are the sounds of summer.

Radioactive

   There was an entirely different atmosphere this Sunday afternoon though as The Carnaby Rocks, Radioactive (pictured) and the Midnight Pumpkin Trucks entertained in an event called "Summer Sounds"from the bandstand in Victoria Park. I suppose one of the sounds I missed in those listed above was the noise of a rock festival but at least we didn't get the squelch of the mud so frequently associated with the likes of Glastonbury!

Reds & Rams

    As the build up to the Olympics continues, sports bulletins on radio and television locally have focussed on Nottingham Forest and the appointment of a new manager. Meanwhile Derby County have stayed mainly under the radar and gone about their business quietly. With Ilkeston lying midway between Nottingham and Derby and the grounds being only fifteen miles apart, it is only too apparent that the town will have supporters of both teams.

   Since being a young teenager in 1959 when my Uncle took me to several league games during the season when Forest won the FA Cup, I have always followed their fortunes and if I had to nail my colours to the mast then they would be red and white. That is not to say however that I wish any ill on Derby. Nothing could be further from the truth as I want them to be successful as well. In fact I want all the local teams to be successful, as to have them compete against each other only adds to the interest.

   It is right to enjoy the rivalry, partake of the witty banter and brag about your team's achievements but when a player is transferred from one team to another, to be openly hostile to him and his new team is totally wrong. How can someone idolised when playing for one team suddenly do nothing right when playing for another. It's the same person with the same skills which should be admired wherever they ply their trade. I've often seen references in the internet forums where members say they "hate" another team and that is something I cannot subscribe to. Yes I follow Forest but equally want Derby to succeed. I often listen to the radio broadcasts on Forest games but what I cannot abide is when the commentator expresses delight if Derby are on the wrong end of a score line in another match being played at the same time. Wouldn't it be great next season to see them both vying for promotion at the top of the league? I think so.

Not Guilty

So the legal ruling then is that John Terry is not guilty of uttering racist words. It seems the only word in his utterances that gave rise to his appearance in court was the only one that was remotely true and that related to colour. Any other result in his trial would probably mean that the large carving of the Ilson "Giant" in Ilkeston's Stanton Road Cemetery where the Friends on the Cemetery held an event this weekend would in future have to be referred to as the Ilson "Big Man" so as not to cause offence to similarly large human beings.

The John Terry case however does raise another issue. When I was a local football referee directives were often issued by the Derbyshire Football Association urging officials to apply the Laws of the Game and dismiss players from the field of play for using foul and abusive language. Whatever the outcome of the John Terry case, it must be admitted the he and probably many more players on the pitch that day were guilty of using such language. Going back to my refereeing days it was common knowledge back then that the higher up the football ladder you rose as an official, the less likely you were to be promoted even higher if you sent players off for bad language as many games would have to be abandoned due to there being insufficient players left to finish the game.

It seems then that the problem that eventually led to the legal case is of the Football Association's own making by not insisting the Laws were applied at the highest level of the game. They have done a lot of work to remove racism from football so maybe the time is now right for them to turn their attention to the Laws of the Game and remove the bad language too.

Cancelled Again

Ilkeston's Carnival was cancelled a few weeks ago due to the bad weather in what became the wettest June since records began. Early last week news filtered through that the proposed Steam Rally at Elvaston scheduled for this weekend also became a victim of the weather as did Awsworth's "Party on the Rec." On Friday a torrential downpour when it was forecast that a month's rainfall would drop on the East Midlands in one day caused Derbyshire's evening T20 cricket match against local rivals Nottinghamshire to be called off before lunch. Add to that Ilkeston FC's pre-season friendly at home to Skegness together with their Family Fun Day plus the Ashfield Festival in Nottinghamshire.

I'm expecting a government announcement any time now that summer is cancelled for 2012. We can only hope it improves by the start of the Olympics otherwise the only events possible will be water sports - at all the venues!

Choices

As I have written before, some weeks it's a problem finding somewhere different to go for the Latest Images page at Ilkeston Cam and other weeks are just the opposite with a multitude of events from which to choose. This last week fell into the latter category. I could have gone to Nottingham on Thursday for the Olympic Torch Relay or Derby on Friday for the next stage in the relay. Both those events would have meant an early morning or late evening outing so we opted for a daytime trip to see the torch in Matlock instead.

At any other time I would probably have chosen the "Swing Back to the Forties" event at the Erewash Museum again for the latest images which was advertised as part of the ongoing Ilkeston Festival. The Forties event coincided with Armed Forces Day which has also been observed in Wollaton Park over the weekend. At a push I might have featured some scenes from the horrendous weather and storms that swept across the East Midlands during the week. So I really was spoilt for choice - but next week, now that's a different story but I'm sure something will turn up.

Picture of the Week

I made the news this week - or rather one of my photos did. The image of the flower beds on the island at the southern end of Chalons Way was chosen as Ilkeston Advertiser's Picture of the Week. It also goes to show what good taste the visitors to Ilkeston Cam must have as over 90% of those who voted on the Latest Images page also chose the photo as their favourite. I still don't think of myself as a photographer but merely as a taker of snapshots who occasionally gets a good picture.

There was also a surprise in the same newspaper for an old black and white photo submitted by a reader for the Memory Lane spot showed a party of Charnos factory workers and their families on the platform of Trowell Station. The party was on its way to the Festival of Britain in 1951 and there in the middle of the photo is a man wearing a trilby hat with a little boy standing in front of him. That man was my Dad and the little boy, yours truly. My Mum who worked at Charnos must have been there too but I can't actually see her on the photo. It's somehow appropriate on this weekend when Fathers' Day is celebrated that the old picture is featured this week. It's also quite spooky - two photos with a personal link!

Jubilee

Prince Charles was on TV the other night in a documentary for the Diamond Jubilee. In it he claimed to have a vivid memory of his mother wearing the heavy crown whilst practising for the Coronation. That may well be so but personally I find it difficult to remember anything at all from when I was just four years old. One thing that does stick with me from infants school was when someone had a birthday. Friends were chosen to stand in front of the whole school holding candles aloft whilst "Happy Birthday" was sung. I dreaded being chosen as I hated the hot candle fat running down my fingers. Another early recollection from my childhood was as a six year old but even then I only have vague memories of a visit to the Festival of Britain in 1951.

I suppose if your mother is the Queen then perhaps it is possible that you will remember grand occasions from when you were a young child. Having said that for many years, I had a vivid picture in my mind's eye of a fire in a row of garages off South Street in Ilkeston and my uncle and my dad pushing cars out of the flames. As far as I can ascertain, if such a fire did occur, it was about a year before I was born and there's no-one left in my family to ask anymore. One suggestion that has been made is that I overheard a conversation whilst at an early age and this has been transformed into a memory. Maybe the same happened to Prince Charles but maybe he does in fact remember. Who am I to say?

Speculate to Accumulate

It was Motorcycle Day at the Erewash Museum on Saturday, one of several free events that are being held throughout the year. We've already had the Rock & Roll Birthday Party in April and Circus Week and Swing Back To The Forties are two more events lined up for June.

And yet it was only in 2004 that there were fears the museum was about to be closed as the council looked to balance the books (Newspaper report). Fortunately local pressure and the work of the Friends of Erewash Museum meant that the threat of closure was removed and last year it won the coveted Derbyshire Museum of the Year award. Last week we were celebrating the Green Flag award in Victoria Park where another investment has reaped its just reward. Perhaps there's a lesson there for our government in Westminster - instead of cut, cut cut, a policy of investment is needed to revive our economy. As someone else once put it, you have to speculate to accumulate. Investment in our country and our people will bring its own rewards.

Spooky

Do you believe in coincidences? Well how spooky is this? As we were walking home from church this morning a car pulled up at the top of Market Street and the occupants were looking at the Cenotaph. The weather was atrocious with the rain teeming down and it really was not a day for sightseeing at all but the couple were in the area for a wedding celebration and having come all the way from Cheshire, were taking the opportunity to investigate some family history.
 

It transpired that the lady was the sister of the late character actor Derek Nimmo (1930-1999) and also related to Harry Tatham-Sudbury, the architect of many iconic buildings in Ilkeston, the Cenotaph being one of them. We were able to give directions to other places in the town that they wanted to see that Harry had designed and answer some of their questions. The lady was armed with a folder full of genealogical information and a number of sheets showing photographs that she had downloaded from the internet, photographs very familiar to myself as they came from the Town Walk on this site. Now what are the chances of that? Of all the people in Ilkeston, on a Sunday morning in the pouring rain, two people from Cheshire bumping into someone who had actually taken the photos of the places they were looking for. Now that's spooky!

A Station For Ilkeston

There was a final push in the town centre on Saturday to gather signatures for a petition calling for a return of a railway station to the town. Now whilst I think this is a good idea, I cannot wholeheartedly support the campaign as logic and common sense tells me the preferred location is in the wrong place. Ilkeston Junction is served by one half-hourly bus service and access to a station there will only increase traffic along Station Road when the stated objective is to reduce it there. The narrow railway bridge over the line, is rusting away and is desperately in need of repair Four councils, Erewash, Broxtowe, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire would all be involved in the planning process at this location.

   My (and probably many other people's too) preferred location would be on the old Trowell Station site. This involves only two of the councils, is served by two bus routes, the Two every 12 minutes and the 15 every 20 and the bridge over the line was replaced about eight years ago. Access is much easier for the majority of the town's population and would not exacerbate the Station Road situation.

   Talking to our MP on Saturday who is pressing for the new station, I was informed that it is hoped to introduce a shuttle bus service from the new station to the town centre to bring students in to the relocated Derby College. The problem there is the plan intended to regenerate the town centre is to build a supermarket on the existing college site thus having the opposite effect by drawing people away from the town centre. All parties involved should get their act together as at the moment there is a distinct lack of joined up thinking.
 

   I don't write these things purely and simply because I've reached the "grumpy old man" stage of life although that may have a bearing on the tone. Being born and bred here and having lived in the town all my life, I care for the place. I wouldn't have being doing my bit to try and promote it for the last ten years with the Ilkeston Cam website if I didn't. But seeing the detrimental effect Ilkeston has suffered with previous well-intentioned decisions, it's vital we get this one right and logically the best place for a station is the former Trowell Station site.

Calling All Ex-Pats

It's been a while since I heard from Jim Garner, an ex-pat who now lives in Canada but who has previously sent a number of photos for some of the guest pages (link) on the site. Jim emailed me this week with an interesting suggestion.


The Christmas season is now over and it was brought home to me on Friday when I spotted workmen staring to remove the lights from the Town Hall. I often say the the lights don't come down until Easter so it did come as a bit of a surprise. Jim's idea though is about next Christmas and this is what he wrote: "The thought has occurred to me that next year we ex-pats could maybe contribute an 'Ilkeston Christmas around the world' photo feature." So I'm calling on all ex-pats whether they live abroad or still reside in this country but have moved away from Ilkeston to make Jim's idea a reality. If you'd like to register an interest in such a project and would like to email me, I'll make a note and send you a reminder sometime in November.

No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want. - Ken Rockwell - (Your Camera Does Not Matter, 2005)