St Andrews Street, Norwich

A few photos from St Andrews Street in Norwich.

Never noticed the face on this building before.

The end of this red phone box, and a lovely reflection of St Andrews Hall

Merry Christmas from Anglia Square

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from Anglia Square!

I spent an hour or so here the other day. It's a bustling and busy place - a real hive of activity - but has become increasingly worn and weathered. There is talk of redevelopment again, and hopefully some good plans will come forward as so much of it outside the main square is empty now. Despite all of the shortcomings, most people from Norwich do have a little soft spot for this place and the many people frequenting it. There is a huge amount of street art around the back, but I didn't venture that far this time. Here are some of the things that caught my eye on my short trip around this iconic place.

1. The lights were a dim twinkle here. Good effort elsewhere in the square though!

2. Planet of the Vapes. I see what they did here.

3. I really loved the line up of shopping trolleys here. Polka dot is in this year.

4. The stairwells are something else. I've never seen and smelt so much piss. 

5. Upstairs in the car park where there is no parking. There are some interesting views of the city through the frame of the exit ramp. To the right of where I was standing is the Hollywood Cinema with the great mural of Alan Partridge by Gnasher.

6. On the way in to Anglia Square is a lovely record shop, one of a couple along Magdalen Street. I will always love a good record shop.

Mr Turner

You may remember my blog in June this year about Turner's Shoes, the rather worn looking shop on the junction of Esdelle Street and Edward Street in Norwich. Following my blog, a lot of people told me stories about Mr Turner and the shop, which by all accounts has a lot of happy customers.

Yesterday I passed by and found the lights were on and somebody was home! I got to meet Mr Turner himself. I thanked him for giving me some photographic inspiration and I told him how much I'd found out about his shop from the people of Norwich. His hand has healed well from his June surgery and he is very much back in business. He said he is busier than ever and doesn't seem to have any plans to retire just yet. We shook hands, wished each other a Happy Christmas and said our goodbyes. I was so happy to follow up the story behind my last photos here... What a lovely, welcoming chap.

A retro exploration of Norfolk

I'm not ashamed to admit it, I'm a little bit of a camera geek. So in my gear bag is normally one of THE best cameras ever made, the point and shoot Olympus Trip 35 as championed by David Bailey. It's a little camera and is a brilliant and fun to use. I have two of these little gems, and normally keep one loaded with colour film and the other with black and white. It has a fixed focus lens, so it means to focus you move either closer or further away from your subject matter.

My Olympus Trip 35 has accompanied me on many trips around Norwich and Norfolk. Here are a few of my favourites, with a lovely retro effect that only comes with using out of date film.

Enjoy!

Fishermen's Rest, Winterton on Sea

Mid Norfolk Railway, East Dereham

East Somerton church

Maltings, East Dereham

Potter Heigham

Huts, Winterton on Sea

Cromer beach

Cromer

Pill Box, Happisburgh beach

Church Rooms, Swaffham

The Guildhall, Norwich

Anglia Square, Norwich

41 All Saints Green

At 41 All Saints Green, Norwich, stands a grand grade II listed, late 18th Century Merchant's House. Three storeys tall, it is actually the little side building that caught my attention. With blue doors, and looking very weathered of late, it is strikingly different to nearby neighbour John Lewis,. It has also clearly taken a beating at some time, with substantial brick repairs evident. The yoga room behind is now closed, and taking a look at Norwich City Council's website, planning permission has been granted to convert the building into 2 commercial units and 7 residential dwellings.

Interested to find out more of the history of this place.

 

Turner's Shoes

On the junction of Esdelle Street and Edward Street in Norwich is a curious little place, Turner's Shoes. I've driven past it for years, but never actually stopped to look a little closer until yesterday. I was always under the impression that it was a shop that had been closed for years, with the teetering boxes of shoes in the window never seeming to move, and the main display never changing. The blue paint is faded and flaking off the shop front, in some places covered over by a scrawled graffiti tag.

Yesterday there was a hand written note on the door and a neighbour confirmed that Turner's Shoes is still operating, and has in fact just been closed for the last couple of weeks due to illness. Situated a stones throw from Anglia Square, I'm not sure how it has survived in this location for so long? Maybe there are people more curious than me who instead of driving by, took a good look long ago?

 

 

 

Pottering

A couple of weeks ago I headed out to the heart of the Norfolk Broads to visit Wayside Pottery - a great little place of artistic wonder established by Clare Goodman. Clare relocated to Norfolk to pursue a more relaxed and creative lifestyle, and certainly seems to have found a perfect spot to make the dream of her very own artist studio very much a reality.

Clare designs and creates rather unique and original pottery animals, and I really like them. Fired using different techniques, each piece is truly one of a kind, with it's own personality.

Having never photographed pottery, it was a really interesting experience. Capturing the detail and colours of each work was a challenge, and also quite nerve wracking - delicate items always slightly scare me. The day was completed by the real life Basil the dog joining in and bringing his toys to the photo shoot.

Foxes

Crow

Chameleons

Chameleon detail

Hares

Fishies!

Super cute polar bears

I love their faces!

Clare is currently exhibiting with the Happy Potters at The Forum, Norwich, as part of the Open Studio Taster 2016. Clare and fellow artists Gwyn Durrand-Grace and Jenna Pritchard will be part of Open Studios from 28th May until the 10th June 2016.

I'll be heading back to Wayside Pottery when the new kiln is in place to spend a bit more time documenting how these curious creatures come to life, and I might even take a photo of Basil the dog for you too...

Olives Supper Club - reprise

Good Friday turned out to be a very good Friday, with a return to Olives Supper Club, this time as a diner again.

Yes, I was the annoying one taking photos of each course (we've all done it and don't try and tell me otherwise) but with food that looks and tastes this good, it would have been rude not to share it with you.

The menu was a Spring Has Sprung Easter themed treat. As usual my Supper Club buddy Katy and I chose to get one of each choice from the menu and share. This way we got to taste both the meaty and vegetarian dishes.

We had a trio of yummy dips (carrot and caraway, beetroot and walnut and pea and mint), potted rabbit, bread and salad for starter. This was followed by Lamb Kleftiko and Torta pasqualina, served with sauteed potatoes and a green salad, and finally hot cross bread and butter pudding with a most delightful proper custard.

It tasted totally as good as it looks, and a very nice evening was had by all.

If you haven't been yet, do go along to Olives Supper Club, a great dining experience not to be missed.

 

 

 

Iain and Freya

At the start of the year I launched a competition to win a free portrait session. Iain was the lucky winner. He chose a photo shoot for his beautiful daughter Freya, so, on 19th March I ventured out with Iain and Freya for a photo session in Eaton Park in Norwich.

I love Eaton Park as it is such a large and varied place. There is plenty of green space, gardens with a water fountain, a boating lake, miniature railway, bowling green, crazy golf, pitch and putt, a playground, football facilities AND a skate park - as well as a beautiful bandstand in the middle. We are so lucky to have such spaces in our fine city.

The session started with meeting our star of the day, Freya, and getting to know her a little. As it turned out, she was a very natural model and needed little direction from me on the day. A total delight to work with, and so enthusiastic and photogenic. I am one lucky photographer!

As we sat by the bandstand we noted all the works going on to the cafe, which is due to open under the management of the folk behind The Bicycle Shop. This will be a wonderful addition to the park, and I'm sure the new owners will act as a draw in themselves.

I've included some of the photos below. It was a total pleasure spending time with Iain and Freya, and proving to Iain that he is photogenic! If you would like any photos of your nearest and dearest, then please don't hesitate to contact me.

Also check out the Friends of Eaton Park, who help to keep the park the lovely place it is.