'Twas The Night Before Christmas

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Only one more sleep until the big guy comes and leaves a little something for all the good boys and girls. Yes, its Christmas Eve. All the rushing around, shopping, wrapping and decorating stop tonight, and its time to enjoy Christmas and all the things that it means to you.

As I'm working today, and then off to the pub for the obligatory Christmas Eve drink, I won't get around to you all to say happy Christmas. So I'll take this opportunity to wish and yours a very happy and peaceful Christmas, and I hope it is everything that you dreamed it would be. Merry Christmas everyone.

And here is the poem in full.

The Queens Trees

Continuing the Christmas theme (sorry, but it is everywhere!) here is The Queens hotel, all bedecked for the festive season.

Have a good weekend. Last one before the big day!

Let There Be Light

And what lights they are! Blimey, look at them. Talk about over the top. And I bet they are a bugger to keep clean, all that dusting! You won't be surprised to hear this isn't someones house but the display of chandeliers in one of the many antique shops in 'The Suffolks'. The area of town has lots of little shops, some arty, some stylish, some filled to the rafters with delightful gems - a bit like this one.

So, would you fancy a grand chandelier hanging in your house? Maybe you've got one. Are they a bugger to clean?

Light Fantastic

Well, not overly fantastic, but new and trendy for Cheltenham. These are the new lights in the ongoing renovation of the Regent Arcade (I told you I was obsessed!)

Hoarding Art

As I mentioned yesterday the hoardings surrounding the construction site that is Hotel Kandinsky have been brightened up with art. The paintings have been created by local school children and some, like this one, are really good. I like how they've been 'framed'.

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Shoeshine

Here is another installation from the windows of the Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, making up part of The Open West contemporary art competition. This piece is the creation of Henny Burnett and is entitled The Shoemaker's Shrine.

Burnett says "This installation is a response to Northamptonshire's shoe industry both past and present. The central piece consists of hanging cast latex shoes suspended in a cluster, each lit by its own pool of light. Entrapped within the translucent casts are various pressed flowers, field grasses and butterflies which make reference to the Victorian "secret Language of Flowers." A memorial to the shoe industry's Victorian heyday."

I liked this piece for its simplicity, though I'm sure it was far from simple to create.

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Merry Christmas

Well, it's finally here. Tomorrow is Christmas Day! Today I thought I'd share with you another photo of the Municipal Offices, all lit up for Christmas. I have bemoaned the lack of festive lights in Cheltenham this year but the Council building really does look lovely.

I'm taking a few days off from blogging (I think we all need a break!) but I'll be back next week. I'm working all day today, this evening I'm off to the pub for a festive tipple, and I may not get round to visiting you all, so I'll just take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very happy and peaceful Christmas. I hope it brings you everything you wished for. Enjoy.

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O Christmas Tree

You may remember I said about the lack of Christmas lights in Cheltenham, well the Council have at least got it right at the Municipal Offices. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it being the councillors work place! Anyway, it does look good. The Municipal Offices has had Christmas trees on its balcony at this time of year for as long as I can remember. It brings back childhood memories of going to see the lights being switched on and the times that we couldn't go my mum would take us in the car for a drive round town to see all the twinkling lights. What are your childhood Christmas memories?

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Twinkle Twinkle

Some of you may say that this photo is blurred, but I say its soft focus! Everything looks so bright, colourful and festive at the moment - shops, houses, windows, trees - its lovely. These are the lights in the Beechwood Arcade. Yes, I took the risk of being told off by that security guard again. Luckily he was nowhere to be seen. Probably stuffing his face with mince pies. Anyway, the photo looked clear on the camera screen but on the computer it was a different story. I still thought it was worth posting though.

Enjoy your weekend.

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All White

I had this photo all lined up for the other day and then Lynn at the other Cheltenham Daily Photo got there first! This is The White Company shop on the Prom a few nights ago. The store was closed, there was nobody working inside yet the place was all lit up like a big white (shop-like) Christmas tree! I can understand the need for a few lights being left on for security, but why the whole place a glow?! Anyway, as you can see, the place lives up to its name - all white.

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Changing View - December

Its the second of the month and its time for the fourth installment of my Changing View series. Today you get the excitement of two photos for the price of one! I was hoping to have a lovely night shot showing the Prom all lit up with Christmas lights, but the Council being the Council haven't bothered to get them all working. The end result is that a third of Cheltenham's Christmas lights aren't lit. Talk about getting into the festive spirit and encouraging shoppers to the town during these difficult times!

The second photo show the familiar scene yesterday afternoon. As you can see all of the leaves have fallen from the trees and winter has taken hold.

To see how the scene has changed click on 'changing view' in the labels below.
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A Pizza Church

Last night Phoebe and I went to one of our favourite restaurants for something to eat, to celebrate the start of our week off of work (Yay!) This is Zizzi's, an Italian restaurant now taking up residence in a former church, which the new owners restored the interior of, keeping nearly all of the original features of this fantastic Gothic Revival style building. The top photo shows the open kitchen, with pizza oven, in the area that was once the altar. As you can see, the place is beautifully lit at night which enhances all of the stone work. The photo below shows the balcony, which is where you'll find the bar. Last night there was someone playing the piano, you can see the lid of the grand piano in the bottom of the photo. Hopefully you'll be able to make out the wooden ceiling with its carved features. If you want to see the outside of the building then check out a previous post here.

Both of these photos were taken with my camera phone, hence the quality.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yellow Leaves

I just realised (thanks to D.C) that I hadn't posted any autumn leaves yet. Time is flying by, soon the leaves will all be on the ground and the opportunity will be lost for another year. To rectify that I share with you some yellow beech leaves! The sun was shining brightly, highlighting the golden shades. Perfect.

Something special is happening here tomorrow so be sure to drop by.

Theme Day - Lines & 300th

Here we are, another month over and a new one just beginning, and its Theme Day. This months theme is lines and I must admit I wasn't feeling very inspired by this one. I had a photo of some electricity cables lined up (no pun intended!) but after a look through the archives I decided on these lines of light, created by traffic on the motorway. I know I posted something similar a while back but I like them! Today also marks my 300th post. I can't believe I've been doing this blog for nearly a year, time flies when you're having fun!

There are 163 other CDPB's taking part in this Theme Day, click here to view thumbnails for all of the other participants.

Come back tomorrow for Changing View.

Sky Watch Friday

Its that time of the week again - time to look skywards. At last the grey clouds here have been breaking to allow the sun to light up the evening sky. I love the colours in this photo. I think it almost looks like a painting.


To join in with Sky Watch Friday, and to check out the other sky watchers offerings, head over to the Sky Watch Friday Blog.

Hit The Road

And that's just what I did. Well...actually...I stood on a bridge over the M5 motorway, but you get the idea! I thought I'd try out my new tripod, and I'm really pleased with the results. I know its not a perfect photo, it would be better with more car lights, but it's not bad for a first attempt. Some of you may remember my photo of the Town Hall, when I had to rest my camera on a skip, well this is much more civilised!

Who feels like making their voice heard? Remember my incident with a security guard in a shopping centre? Head over to South Shields DP to show Curly some support. Things are getting out of hand!

Art Deco Daffodil

Today's photo is by a guest photographer - Phoebe's Mum P. This is the interior of The Daffodil restaurant. AJC and DJ Groin Strain were down from Manchester for the weekend and the four of us were very kindly treated to lunch at the posh restaurant by P & B (Phoebe and AJC's Mum and Dad.)

The restaurant used to be one of Cheltenham's six cinemas and The Daffodil Cinema opened on 5th October 1922. The cinema remained open until 1963 when it closed its doors for the last time. The art deco building was left to crumble until 1977 when it was converted into a bingo hall and then into an antiques emporium. In 1997 the building was lovingly restored to its art deco glory by new owner Mark Stephens, who opened his restaurant The Daffodil. More recently the buildings interior was redesigned by TV interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Although the design is relatively modern it still has a 1920's feel, with grand sweeping staircases, dramatic lighting and original features. The kitchen is open to the restaurant and sits in the place once occupied by the cinema screen. And, most importantly, the food and service are fantastic.

Thanks again P & B for lunch and the photo! It was good to see AJC and DJ Groin Strain too!

And finally - its my birthday today. Happy Birthday me!

The Lights Are On...

This is the last photo from my night shoot around Cheltenham. It shows the Municipal Offices all lit up (I posted the building 'by day' last Friday). Unfortunately the main entrance and its columns were not bathed in light so don't show up so well, but you can still see the architectural highlights. Its an impressive building.

Come back tomorrow for some facts to celebrate St George's Day!

The Colour Of Money

No, this isn't two different branches of the Alliance & Leicester building society, its the same one. The coloured lights change every few minutes! Yes, it's a bank! They don't just change at night, it happens all day long too. And its not just the outdoor lights, its the lights inside as well! I go into this branch now and again and it makes my eyes hurt. The staff must have a permanent headache!

Bright Lights

I've had my new camera since Christmas and I just realised I hadn't tried out the 'night' mode yet. So last night I headed into town and got snapping, and this is the result. This is the Town Hall which it sits on Cheltenham's One-way system. There wasn't that much traffic but I still managed to get an interesting shot. The colours in the original photo were a bit flat so I've played around with the contrast to enhance them. I think it looks ok. Watch out for more after dark photos soon!