The Second Decade
w/e 05 January 2020
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
As we continue our review of the first twenty years
of this century, we take a look here with this selection of images
from the years 2010 to 2019.
It was soon after our Paignton holidays in the middle of the
first decade that I became aware of the annual Autumn Footprints
Walking Festival and towards the latter part of the decade I
started taking part in the guided walks in Erewash and Amber
Valley during a couple of weeks each September. This has become
a regular and much looked forward to addition to the annual calendar
and in essence has proved a good substitute to the annual holiday.
I could have chosen from literally hundreds of photos to illustrate
the Festival which includes both urban and rural walks but this
one from 2010 gets to the heart of the event - tramping across
fields full of livestock in the Derbyshire countryside with a
group of like minded appreciative people.
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We did a fair amount of walking too in 2011 and much of that
was through the streets of Derby as I photographed old buildings
to illustrate a Heritage Trail in the city. This one was on Wardwick
as we approached the Museum and Art Gallery.
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2012 contained all the usual annual events, Fairs, Carnivals,
Well Dressings and more but in addition there was the Queen's
Diamond Jubilee celebrations and of course the London 2012 Olympics.
In July of that year we had a day in Matlock to join the crowds
to welcome the Olympic Torch as it passed through on its way
around the country. It was difficult to get a good shot due to
the number of people also striving to get close but it can be
seen here being carried by the lady in front of the yellow car.
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The crowds also turned out in force in Ilkeston a year later
to enjoy the Carnival. The event has had a chequered time during
the decade with several of the events (including 2012) having
to be cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions and concerns
about the state of the ground on the Recreation Ground. The 2013
Carnival however was not one of those occasions and the route
of the street parade was lined with people many of whom followed
the vehicles to the Rec.
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It would be remiss of me to look back over twenty years without
at least one mention of the Council's Green Space Team who work
tirelessly to keep the parks and open areas across the Borough
looking good for the benefit of everyone. Who can forget the
Union Flag inspired design of the flower beds on the large roundabout
at the end of Chalons Way in 2012 which was repeated in the long
hot summer of 2018. But in other years too like 2014 above, colourful
flower beds have done much to earn Gold and Silver Awards in
the annual East Midlands In Bloom competition as well as Green
Flag accreditation for local parks and nature reserves.
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I started this review of the first twenty years of this century
with a picture of Ilkeston's Annual Charter Fair taken from the
top of the tower of St Mary's Church but that's not the only
time I have climbed the steps for photos and I have been up several
times since. In 2006 I took photos of the surrounding countryside
and ten years later viewed the Remembrance Day service in the
Market Place from there whilst this view above was taken in 2015
during the Classic Car event that has become popular attraction
in recent years.
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In 2016 all the usual events were planned throughout the year
although wet weather again caused the cancellation of some in
the summer. The Party in the Park however to celebrate the Queen's
90th birthday went ahead even though there was a threat of rain.
The local churches as part of the celebration each had a gazebo
in Victoria Park and took a decade as a theme to illustrate a
period from the Queen's life span. As part of the St Mary's display
yours truly made an appearance in a selection of photos from
the 1970s when dressed in red, white and blue celebrating the
Queen's Silver Jubilee at a street party in 1977.
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Many places have featured often on this site during the last
twenty years and one of them is Shipley Country Park. One year
I actually made a point of visiting the park every month to record
the change in the seasons but it looks good at any time. That
is particularly true during the autumn when the leaves are changing
colour as illustrated here with a photo from 2017 on the approach
road to the park by Mapperley Reservoir.
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The second decade of the twenty first century has been one of
austerity and national and political bitterness between rival
points of view and that's putting it mildly. It's also been a
decade marking the anniversaries of significant dates in the
two World Wars. Throughout the decade we have seen the centenary
of major battles and other events in the 1914-1918 war and also
seen the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World
War. Whatever their circumstances and whatever their differences
the people of Ilkeston will always come together to honour those
who served the country in conflicts and the Market Place was
packed in November 2018 - as it is every year - to do just that.
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Which brings us to the last year of the decade. Once faced with
the threat of closure, the Erewash Museum goes from strength
to strength and has been awarded the accolade of Derbyshire Museum
of the Year on more than one occasion, a title it still currently
holds. Helping to maintain this position are the number and variety
of events the Museum organises and hosts throughout the year.
Regular events on the calendar are Motorbike Days, Brass Band
Concerts in the gardens, Swing Back to the Forties and Victorian,
Fairground, Christmas events among many others. A new venture
in 2019 which is sure to return was the Steampunk Extravaganza
a fun day of music, mayhem and madness and fantastic costumes.
I would be right at home with that red, white and blue attire
of the 1970s - but don't think it would fit me anymore! Target
for the next decade? Lose a bit of weight! Which probably means
more walking and as it's now January, Wollaton Park is beckoning
again.
Click here for "The
First Decade"
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