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.

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.

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!

Mission Accomplished!

This time last year I made a New Year resolution to take and post at least one image to this Blog every day throughout 2010. Like all New Year resolutions I didn't expect it to last and pondered how long I would be able to keep it up. I have to admit that it's been quite a challenge and caused many an extra mile to be walked simply because I HAD to go out to get a photo. But now the year is at an end and I've made another resolution for 2011 - I'm not going to do it again! Today's photo was easy though as four "living" statues stood on Bath Street this morning. They remained motionless until someone dropped an offering into the bowls in front of them when they would bow or curtsey to acknowledge the donation. Well that's it for 2010 - I'll be back in 2011 but not every day. Happy New Year.

Mistletoe

Every day this year I have managed to take a photo that I have uploaded to this blog. During Advent I've been on the lookout for mistletoe to add to the series of images in December but it has proved extremely scarce this year. I did see some on Saturday and took a photo and the thought crossed my mind that I may have to cheat and upload a photo not actually taken on the day but fortunately there was a market today and the same stall was here again so I was able to get another photo:

It's a strange plant really being an evergreen semi-parasite and relying on the Mistle Thrush to sow its seed. The Druids believed it belonged to the sun god and their name for it meant "all healing" which was interpreted as bringing enemies together. In turn a kiss under the mistletoe became a kiss of peace. It is seldom used in church decorations but a Christian story relates that the mistletoe was once a tree from which the Cross on which Jesus was crucified was made. In shame it shrank and only continued to live as a parasite.

Crackers

When I made a resolution at the beginning of this year to take at least one photo every day and upload to a blog, I didn't know how long I would be able to keep it up. So far I've not yet missed a day but I have to admit that it has often been a challenge and at times a burden. Not wishing my life away but I'm looking forward to December 31st as I don't anticipate carrying it on every day for another year. I guess some people must have thought I was a little bit crackers anyway when I started which is a contrived way of leading into today's blog spot.

A gentleman by the name of Thomas Smith is credited with inventing the Christmas cracker after a visit to France in 1846 although it took a number of years to develop into the item we know today. initially it was simply a sweet wrapped in tissue paper twisted at each end but Thomas added a motto in the 1850s and the noise (or cracker) about 1860. Further modifications later meant small toys or games, paper hats and jokes were included and today crackers of all sizes, colours and prices are seen on shelves in supermarkets and other shops all around Christmas. No doubt people in the 1850s must have thought Thomas Smith was a little bit crackers too so I'm in good company although I don't think anything I do in my lifetime will have the same lasting effect as his humble invention.

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.

Unexpected Events

A number of unexpected events happened today including a flat battery in the car and an unplanned visit to the vets with Pom, one of our pet cats. An emergency call for help resulted in a trip to the garage for a new battery but meant that I eventually found myself in the middle of Ilkeston with my camera still in the immobilised car back at home. This wouldn't normally be a problem but, as it is half term at the local schools, a mobile climbing wall had been erected outside the Town Hall and it would have been a good subject for today's photo. I would have been inclined to take a photo of it as whenever it is erected, a notice is also displayed adjacent to it saying that anyone wishing to take video or still photos must register their details as part the the council's child protection policy. What they fail to realise though is that there is no law in this country that prevents anyone pursuing a hobby of photography when standing on the public highway and if they choose to erect their wall on the Market Place, then in my opinion it is fair game. By the time I was there for a second time suitably armed with camera, the rain had set in for the day and there was no sign of the wall.


So today's photo shows Pom shortly after returning home from the vets and although he wasn't keen on being photographed - he kept nuzzling the camera - I didn't even have to think about registering my details with anyone.