Photos and occasional pomes

Haiku Blog – Pictures and Words

  • Gift

    Bridge across the Trent.
    A thoughtful gift from Michael.
    Hard to gift-wrap though.

    A pedestrian bridge across the river Trent at Burton, a centre of beer brewing in the Est Midlands of England. A little flamboyant but it has stood the test of time.

  • Castle?

    Strong against the storm,
    Home for the high and mighty.
    But peasants can look.

    Is it a castle? Well, no it isn’t. Although it was originally built as a castle after the Norman conquest, it is now a faux-castle stately home located in the Vale of Belvoir, belonging to the Duke of Rutland.
    I find it odd that Nottingham Castle very definitely looks like a manor house or stely home, and yet a stately home just a few miles down the road looks distinctly like a castle. But at least we peasants are allowed in the grounds to have a look round.

  • Autumn

    Russet leaves abound,
    The autumn air cold and crisp.
    Time to walk the dog.

    Apparently this year is going to be good for colour, so hopefully I will get the chance to get out and capture some of it. This image is from the circular walk around the lake at Wollaton Park in Nottingham. And no, I don’t have a dog.

  • Lights

    Not just for Christmas,
    Joy is to share all year round.
    Spread thick like butter

    Apologies to anyone dairy intolerant, and also to those who are tutting, and moaning about celebrating too early. Well not really, it is what it is. The light display is at Wollaton Hall (also known as Wayne Manor), and is due to be repeated this year in December.

  • Sentinel

    Cold and so alone.
    A sentinel in the mist
    Waiting for the sun    .

    Less is more, more or less. A misty frosty morning in the park.

  • Trent Bridge

    Grey skies threaten rain.
    Take shelter beneath the bridge
    ‘Til the storm has passed.

    Trent Bridge straddles the River Trent (strangely), linking the City of Nottingham to West Bridgford. In the image you can see the floodlights for the cricket ground on the right, and to the left the Brian Clough stand of the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest FC. Both are on the south side of the river. On the north side is the home of Notts County FC, separated from the City Ground by only 250 metres, making them the closest grounds to each other in the UK. Unfortunately for County fans, not quite so close in terms of league position.

  • Robin

    Robin takes his aim,
    Stealing riches for the poor.
    Sheriff not impressed.

    Nottingham is synonymous with the lads in Lincoln green, led by Robin Hood. His statue, along with a tableau of associated characters, shelters beneath the walls of Nottingham Castle. During the Great Pandemic of 2020, the council commissioned a series of painted Wise Owls, each decorated by a different artist and with a Nottingham theme. Appropriately it is the Sheriff that was sent to keep an eye on these scallywags.

  • I Will

    At the Flying Horse
    I said do you think you would.
    And you said I will.

    The Flying Horse in Nottingham is just a shopping alley/arcade now, but there used to be a pub of the same name on the site. It was there, on one of my early visits to the city in the 70’s, that I asked my girlfriend to marry me. She said yes, and they pulled the pub down. Make of that what you will.
    And yes, 49 years later that girlfriend is still my wife.

  • Hand Fed

    Light as a feather,
    Eyes twinkling, red breast puffed proud.
    Grateful for the seeds.

    I know I have previously posted about the robins at Attenborough Nature Reserve, but they really are very tame. When there is the chance of free food, they overcome any fear, and will happily feed until either startled, or when they have had enough,

  • Bats

    Coming out to play
    As the mist lies in the gorge.
    Bats possess the night.

    A foggy evening on a path that cuts a gorge through the sandstone near home. The cutting was originally made to enable coal to be transported to/from the canal.
    I posted this image on Instagram once, and was informed by one critic that the bats didn’t look real, they must have been photoshopped. I thought that was fairly obvious, but hey, it adds atmosphere.