Photos

Signs of the Times


Apart from the obvious sign – the advertisement for a hair product, the picture has another revealing sign, that of economic decline and excess commercial property capacity. But this does not tell the full story of Nottingham which is enjoying a resurgence of confidence and growth as the new regional capital for the East Midlands.

In the background the tall spire of the church promotes an image of spiritual continuity from earlier times but in reality it signals the continuity of the popularity of spirits…..and beer! This church is now a large inner city pub – quite an amazing conversion – depending on your point of view! Nottingham has an unenviable reputation for excess and drunken city centre violence.

The last sign of the times is the darkening sky – what you won’t know of is of the body of policemen to my left armed with sub-machine guns. Nottingham is gaining a reputation as the gun crime capital of England. They are guarding the court at the trial of a group of young men accused of shooting dead the wife of a local jeweller. It is not usual to see such sights in Britain’s provincial cities. Darkening skies indeed!