Ilkeston - Christmas Present
w/e 22 December 2024
All of this week's pictures were
taken with various cameras
The images for w/e 15 December
2024 were all under the heading "Christmas Past"
and these below from a week later are collectively called "Christmas
Present". That is really a misnomer as Christmas Day is
still a few days away and I suppose it would be better to call
them "Advent Present". But they were all taken in the
week leading up to Christmas so here goes ....
This shop could quite easily be called Christmas Present as it
is decorated to simulate a parcel tied up with a bow of red ribbon
although I doubt there will be many presents this big to opened
on Christmas morning.
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Traffic built towards the weekend and on Friday it was gridlock
on some roads but a day earlier the pedestrian area on Bath Street
was fairly quiet. The parking charges may have been a deterrent
- free parking was offered in surrounding towns all through
December - and the Christmas lights on a grey day did little
to brighten the scene.
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Many shops in the town had done their best to attract customers
and this charity shop had a life sized figure of a Nutcracker
Soldier front and centre of their display.
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The vendor of the Big Issue magazine had got into the spirit
of Christmas but the big issue is, will he be recovered and out
of his wheelchair in time to make all those deliveries on Christmas
Eve.
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Some residents in the town had added lights to their properties
but my perception is that there are not as many as usual and
people have tended to cut back due to the rising cost of energy.
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By the weekend there were still a large amount of holly wreathes
for sale at this flower shop and there were even more on a market
stall. Unless trade picks up pretty quickly it's likely there
will many left unsold before Christmas this year. It's not only
Christmas lights where people are cutting back.
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Despite it not appearing as busy as in previous years, there
was still a lot of hustle and bustle but it was possible to enjoy
a little peace and quite in St Mary's Church where a lovely flower
display stood above a reminder that some people may not be fortunate
enough to enjoy Christmas without the aid of the Food Banks.
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The church has also been decorated for Christmas and will host
the Town Christmas Carol Service on Christmas Eve with the Salvation
Army Band and Ilkeston Churches Together.
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Before the weekend though we enjoyed a lunch date with family
and anticipating turkey and all the trimmings the following week,
we opted to bring things back to normality and have a British
staple of a fish and chip dinner.
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So as Christmas 2024 approaches it's time
to wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope it's not as drunken
as this wind affected message outside a shop on Bath Street.
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