Nottingham - Christmas In The City Centre
w/e 29 November 2009
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

We went into Nottingham by public transport and instead of going right into the city centre, we alighted from the bus at Canning Circus. The idea was to capture an image of the futuristic Christmas tree but although the strands of tiny blue lights that form the conical shape of the tree were lit, they didn't show up too well in the daylight. It did give us the opportunity though to get a closer look at Canning Terrace that was designed by architect S. Sutton Rawlinson. The terrace dates from 1837 and the central arch leads to Nottingham's General Cemetery. A one-way system operates from Canning Circus but the inward route down Wollaton Street is not the most attractive approach into the centre so we walked down Derby Road (left) to reach the Old Market Square passing the cluster of four bronze figures on Chapel Bar (right).

The Old Market Square overlooked by the impressive Council House fronted by a large Christmas tree is home to a number of events and attractions during the Christmas season including a German Market.

The market is housed in a number of temporary wooden cabins where a huge variety of unusual and attractive gifts are available for purchase. This is just one of them but others were selling confectionery, gingerbread, smoked sausages and mulled wine.

The centrepiece of the square is a temporary outdoor ice rink which will remain here until early January.

Behind the Council House and attached to it is Exchange Arcade where the decorations, although similar each year, are always worth a look.

On leaving Exchange Arcade more attractive decorations that include large parcels hanging down from the street lights, feature in High Street.

We returned to the front of the Council House via Smithy Row (left) where more wooden cabins were occupied by not only traders in the German Market but also a number of vendors in a Craft Market (right). We continued up Queen Street which is on the left in the view above. The road on the right is King Street and at the junction the bronze statue of Brian Clough with arms held aloft is visible.

Both Queen Street and King Street lead on to Parliament Street near the Royal Centre complex. Another seasonal favourite, the pantomime is being advertised with large displays both on the front of the Theatre Royal and also near the entrance to the Royal Concert Hall (left). This year the production which begins in early December is of "Jack and the Beanstalk" and stars well-known actor Nigel Havers. Already in production at the nearby Nottingham Playhouse is another pantomime "Beauty and the Beast" and this one is the 26th written and produced by Kenneth Alan Taylor, a name synonymous with pantomimes in Nottingham.

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