Ilkeston - Christmas Is Coming
w/e 18 December 2011
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
Christmas is coming and Saturday 17th December was
expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year but in Ilkeston,
there didn't seem to be many more shoppers about than a normal
Saturday morning.

Many shop windows were full of seasonal goods and in a newsagent's
on Bath Street a collection of books and annuals were prominently
displayed. When I was a boy, Christmas wasn't Christmas without
a selection of annuals as presents with "Rupert" being
top of the list. Along with the "Beano" and "The
Broons" they are obviously still produced but I can't imagine
they are as popular today as they were back in the 1950s!
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There may not have been many more pedestrians about than usual
but this image hides the truth about the traffic. Free parking
over the Christmas period had enticed many more vehicles into
the town centre and this picture of the Musical Organ playing
on the Health Centre car park in South Street was snapped between
passing cars. The building on the right in the background is
the former Baptist Chapel that dates from 1784 and is one of
the oldest buildings still standing in the town and currently
trading as "The Hop" public house.
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The organ was one of the attractions of the Christmas Festival
and on the third and final Saturday of the event, another group
of musicians, these from the South East Derbyshire Music Society,
were playing Christmas carols on the Market Place.
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The Market Hunt was still taking place this week but the marquee
and Craft Fair that stood outside the library last Saturday had
been replaced with a Helter Skelter. On production of a receipt
from local traders, free rides were on offer.
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Although I didn't actually come down the slide, it was too good
an opportunity to miss so I climbed the steps for the unique
view of the market stalls.
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From the top of the Helter Skelter it was also possible to look
down on the town's Christmas tree which is standing next to the
Cenotaph part of which is visible on the left.
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The same vantage point gave a good view beyond the Christmas
tree and the market stalls to St Mary's Church where another
festival is currently taking place.
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The church is decorated throughout with many trees that have
been provided by local groups, organisations and businesses as
part of St Mary's inaugural Tree Festival.
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From the entrance door right up to the altar (above) and in St
Peter's Chapel from where this picture was captured there are
trees of all shapes and sizes.
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And in a corner of the church is a crib showing the nativity
scene but anywhere in the church provides a quiet place to reflect
and escape the hustle and bustle of the shopping frenzy in the
final week before Christmas.
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