Tag Archives: car park

Another Twenty Minutes in the Car Park

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I returned to a familiar car park today. It wasn’t planned but I had time to kill. I see from a quick glance at the post that I haven’t really duplicated any shots, apart from one of the gym car park. so there won’t be a lot to compare. I’ve even looked through the old shots and can’t match anything else up.

Gym car park in lockdown
Gym Car Park today

 

As you can see, there are more people there, and more leaves on the trees. There has been an outbreak of community gardening in the areas of bare soil around the trees lining the boundary of the car park, complete with solar lights and some arty details in the corners.

Community Gardening – Sherwood – Nottingham
Community Gardening – Sherwood – Nottingham
Community Gardening – Sherwood – Nottingham
Community Gardening – Sherwood – Nottingham
Community Gardening – Sherwood – Nottingham

It could do with a bit of maintenance, and I’m not sure the Christmas tree is a great idea, but apart from that it’s good to see. If I was having a go at a community space I’m pretty sure I would find it difficult to keep it maintained, so all credit to them for having a go. I’ve been saying for years that I was going to sow some seed bombs but I’ve never got round to it. I actually reviewed a book on Guerrilla Gardening years ago, but I’ve never done any and I can’t find the link.

Rubbish in the Car Park
Rubbish in the Car Park
Rubbish in the Car Park

There’s a smattering of rubbish in the car park, though not so much as when they still had the recycling bins in the corner. However, one man’s rubbish is another man’s haiku prompt…

If you see me writing about lost luggage and broken coffee cups you will know where I got the idea from. Discarded Guinness cans, however, might be a step too far. Most things, I take in my stride, but I really would like to know how the coffee cup ended up broken by the kerbside.

The sign, even with its disapproving eye, does not seem to be working.

Rubbish in the Car Park

Rubbish Sign in the Car Park

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A frilly poppy

For details of my Sunday morning, please see here.

Last Minute Post

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I seem to have passed the blood test, as there was no panicky phone call this afternoon.

It was a troublesome visit for a number of reasons. I had trouble getting into the car park, for one thing. The man who got to the machine before me decided to reverse out. This took several minutes and nearly cause two accidents. I wasn’t sure why he did this, but he then drove in through the exit (which had a broken barrier), so I presume he was inconveniencing us to save a couple of pounds.

The main testing room was closed today. I suspect it’s part of the long running problem with water leaks. As a result the queue was longer than usual. I didn’t help matters as I’d forgotten my appointment card, which slowed things down.

They got the vein first time, which was good.

The barrier was still broken when I left, which was also good. I love free parking.

There was more to my day, including nine parcels and a Teddy Tail badge, but that’s a story for another day. It’s just that if I mention it I can use the photo. This gives me an excuse to use the Rupert badge too.  I may as well chuck in the Cococubs badge too.

Cococubs badge

Cococubs badge

Rupert the Bear

Rupert the Bear

 

Day Off

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Well, this is vexing. I wrote this post and pressed the buttons and sat back as it loaded. I had added (Part 1) to the title, but when I switched on to write Part 2 I tried to link it to Part 1 and found it wasn’t there. This means that, for the first time in 72 days I have failed to post.

I am not happy. Ah well…

It was a day off today, and instead of making me drive to a distant tourist spot Julia allowed me to relax with a short trip to the Mencap garden.

We managed to fit in a Harvester Unlimited Breakfast on the way – so it wasn’t an entirely bad start.

At the garden, instead of making me walk round and look at things, and probably enjoy myself, she allowed me to do a number of jobs including refilling bug boxes (using hollow stems from the scabious we’d cut back a couple of months ago) and putting some bird boxes together.

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I fear I may have seemed a little ungrateful for the opportunity to spend our day off working for an organisation that won’t allow me to volunteer officially. (For those of you new to the story I’m not allowed to volunteer to work with my wife, as I’ve been doing for the last five years, because of “conflict of interests”.)

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We had a fig each after that, and I took some photos of the vine leaves.

It wasn’t one of my better days, though building nest boxes is always a good thing to do. So is eating fresh figs.

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After that, we returned home for a cup of tea. I downloaded photos and, whilst snoozing happily in my chair, dreamed of Derbyshire.

At that point Julia demonstrated the depths of depravity to which a wife can stoop, waking me up to remind me I’d said I’d give her a lift to Wilkos to buy paint for nest boxes. Obviously I’d meant I’d give her a lift if I wasn’t asleep and it wasn’t too close to Pointless. I don’t ask much from life and a snooze and a TV quiz seem quite modest requirements. So does freedom from being woken up to go shopping.

We went to Arnold, and I took some photos from the rooftop car parks at Wilkos and ASDA (who are currently renovating their car park). They aren’t great photos, but they didn’t offer much in the way of scenery. The main theme is Rain, with a secondary motif of More Rain.

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The Secret Garden

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There are a number of green areas in the middle of Nottingham (I know this, because I’ve just been Googling them) but probably the most surprising is the green area around the North Zone of the Victoria Centre Car Park. Sorry about the formal tone but there is no street access and if you use the wrong car park all you will see is concret.

The Victoria Centre is built on the site of the Nottingham Victoria Railway station, which was demolished in 1967. The original clock tower is incorporated in the modern building and the railway hptel is still in use. It was built in a deep cutting, as you will see when you descend to the lower levels of the car park.

Victoria Car Park, Nottingham
Old and new
Buddleia on the old arches

There were a few birds around I saw two wrens and two female blackbirds, whilst several pigeons flew over and a crow dropped by. The plants are mainly buddleia with some ferns, ivy and brambles. There are some maples in the bottom on one side and some birches growing near the top, where two traffic cones also find a home.

The inderside of the bus station
Wall of the cutting – Nottingham Victoria Station
Trees and Ferns

Someone seems to have dosed a lot of the brambles with heavy duty weedkiller, which isn’t going to help the birds when winter comes. It’s a balancing act, I suppose, and there will be limits on cost so if you want to keep it looking like a lawn rather than a bomb site chemical shortcuts will be involved.

In the picture just above this is a view of concrete pillars supporting the bus station. When you know that you start to wonder who thought of the design, and whether they were sober at the time.

Ideally I’d like to see the space full of birds, butterflies, children and people drinking tea (there are no Costas in my daydreams). It would be nice to see fruit and vegerables there too, but seventy years of railway working may well have polluted the soil beyond economic recovery.

Tunnel entrance Victoria Centre
Tunnel entrance, Nottingham Victoria

The tunnel entrance is to the Mansfield Road tunnel, a 1,189 yard long tunnel that used to run between Carrington Station, sited in what was, at the time, a prosperous suburb. It closed in 1928 due to competition from the trams, though the line itself did not completely close until 1968. If you want a look inside the tunnel, try this site.

Having parked there many times I have been guilty of taking it for granted over the years. It’s an interesting facet of blogging that I’m now looking at things from a fresh viewpoint. Even if that viewpoint is desperation for new material.

A Quiet Lunch

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I aimed for a relaxing day today as part of my long term strategy of being nice and relaxed when I pass through the doors of the Urology Centre tomorrow morning.

With this in mind I first went to pick up my prescription from the surgery, then went to the pharmacy (popped into the jeweller whilst waiting), got a phone call to collect Julia and then went to lunch.

It should have been easy, but as usual the day was full of irritation. First, I had a note from the doctor telling me I couldn’t have two sets of pills as records showed I had plenty of them. That was irritating because I had not ordered those pills. You really have to ask about their computerised system…

If I die unexpectedly check my prescriptions!

Parking the car, I found that to get my two hours of free parking I had to walk the length of the car park to get collect the ticket and then walk the length of the car park to put the ticket in the car. Then… well you get the picture. It was a lot of walking with a sore ankle.

Would it be difficult to put the machine in the middle of the car park?

There were several irritating customers in the pharmacy, including one who took advantage of my slow progress to overtake me and then launch into a complicated question. I’m actually immune to this sort of thing now, having experienced it so often, so no problem there.

Lunch was Harvester again, because it was the weather for salad and if I’m to eat salad  it might as well be free of charge. Salad is going to be in short supply over the next two days.

If it seems like we’re spending recklessly on meals out, we probably are, but fun is going to be in short supply over the next few days, so why not?

The only problem was one of the other diners. As he walked past with his family (we were overtaken again!) he plunged his hand down the front of his tracksuit trousers and had a good scratch. I’m not a great one for etiquette but working on the basis of a time and a place for everything, that was neither the time nor the place.

As I said to Julia: “Let’s make sure we get to the salad bar before that bloke.”

Well, you wouldn’t want to handle the serving spoons after he’d been touching them would you?