Two Zeds on a post...

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.  (Woo Hoo, I've done all 26!)

Look for the letter, to see where I am.

A brace of Zeds in Derby!

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This rather tatty looking building was, until the beginning of 2010, the Zanzibar nightclub in Derby. Located on London Road, which runs alongside the Westfield Centre, heading straight for the middle of town, you would think it would be perfectly positioned to attract loads of trade, but it would seem not! In fairness, most of the other clubs are on the further edge of town and that seems to be where the night time scene is, but surely a building of this size and distinctiveness could fulfil some useful purpose in our city!

Instead, it sits here slowly going more and more derelict...

paint peeling, algae growing...

once exotic palm trees looking decidedly forlorn...

..and a straggly bunch of weeds threatening to grow right up the turbaned mascot's nose...

See?

But this place was not always a Night Club.

The building first opened as a cinema, the Gaumont Palace, on 17th September 1934. Fronted by a flight of white steps, it boasted a marble and walnut lobby which gave way to a grand auditorium with seating for over 1,000. The art deco ceiling housed over 500 light bulbs and there was a ten rank Compton organ which filled the room with a huge sound.

Even now, the shape of the building and some of the exterior decoration give an impression of how it must once have been.

Gradually, cinema attendances dwindled. I distinctly remember my Mum telling me that television had taken the place of the big screen and that the age of the cinema was passing. Forty-five years later, the fortune of the 'pictures' has turned around completely, but in the mid 60s, its days seemed numbered.

The Gaumont changed it's name twice, first becoming the Derby Odeon (in 1965) and later the Trocadero (Troc) at which time it was split to house both a cinema and a bingo hall. These are the reincarnations which I remember. I know that I went to the Odeon Saturday morning Kid's Club on at least a couple of occasions, but only remember the Troc from the outside!

I would be thrilled to walk along here one day and see scaffolding. This building is worthy of restoration!

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A fifteen minute walk across town brings us to another 'zed' which is enjoying rather better fortunes.

This is Zizzis, a busy restaurant in the Frairgate area of Derby centre. It's a while since I've eaten here, but the food was great and the waiter memorised our order (in spite of there being about 7 of us).

Across the front of the building is this quote from Sir Henry Royce of Rolls Royce fame:

Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it.

Did I mention that the food is Italian?  For a peep at the menu, click here.

Zizzis completes this round of Alphabe-Thursday very nicely. I've enjoyed posting all about my county and I've discovered places and information which were totally new to me. It's been good to take you for the ride but, next time around, I think I shall choose a slightly less work-intensive theme :)

Normanton

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.


Look for the letter, to see where I am.

N is for Normanton Road.

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Normanton is an area of Derby, to the south of the city centre. The modern community grew out of an ancient village once known as Normanton-by-Derby and Normanton is thought to have been one of the original sites of Viking settlement;  Normanestune (Norseman's Settlement).

The main thoroughfare linking Normanton with the city centre is Normanton Road, but I think you would be hard pushed to find many Norsemen settled here today. You would, however find plenty of other nationalities because Normanton is the heart of Derby's ethnic community.

The main demographic of the ethnic community is Asian and the shops around here reflect that.

...catering for body and mind.

This is just one of four fashion/fabric shops.

Pak Foods is one of two major grocers and is always full of people. On the day I visited, the Derbyshire Constabulary were out on the streets conducting a Policing Matters consultation exercise; gathering local opinion on the way policing is conducted, finding out what people know about the Safer Neighbourhood team and gauging how people feel about different crimes as a problem in their locality.

This Asian solicitor deals with another aspect of the law; giving aid and advice on matters ranging from immigration to personal injury to taxi licensing (a lot of Derby's taxis are driven by people from ethnic minorities!).

Normanton Road also has a couple of training centres; this one specifically for Asian women.

Although the main concentration of Asians here come from India and Pakistan, there are also those from the other parts of Asia, including Turks,

nations which have re-emerged from the Soviet Union,

and a small representation of those who originate from South East Asia.

The Asian population encompasses people from three major faith groups; Islam, Hindu and Sikh. All three have places of worship close to Normanton Road.

The closest is the Derby Mosque, which is set back from the road behind only one other building.

Ironically, the building behind which the Derby Mosque was built is this one; the New Life Christian Centre, a vibrant multi-ethnic Christian church which includes many members from an Afro-Caribbean background.

Slightly higher up the road is this place of worship...

Although this area is predominantly Asian, the expansion of the European Union has seen the borders of the UK opening up to a new group of people; Eastern Europeans. Since the second world war, Derby has had a thriving Polish Community, but that has mushroomed and spread in recent years, as is reflected here.

I hope that those who read my Littleover post, 2 weeks ago, have enjoyed seeing the contrast between two parts of my city; which is relatively small in comparison to some of the biggies in the UK. (In the 2001 census, Derby was ranked just 18th in the country.)

Meanwhile, I will leave you with the smiling face of a lovely lady who stopped for a chat outside the Mosque.

She told me that walking round Normanton felt like walking in India or Pakistan, so I asked her where she came from (expecting Pakistan to be the probable answer).

She replied...

"I'm from Holland. I'm Dutch."!!

LOL - Got me fooled then!

HRH Queen Victoria

A few weeks back, when I posted about the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, Pondside asked if I had a photo of the statue of Queen Victoria. I didn't, but now I have - sort of.

The DRI is being redeveloped and the section where Queen Victoria stands is all fenced off. I had to try from the street; over a high wall/hedge; with trees which have been allowed to overgrow during the redeveloping.

Almost...

With a bit of timing, waiting for the breeze to blow in the right direction to move the leaves just a fraction, this was the best I could manage.

Michael reckons the Bonnie Prince resembles Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Victoria is a different matter entirely!

Watering holes along the gate of iron

Irongate seems to have more than its fair share of pubs. This one was once a Nat West bank. I remember coming in here in the early days of having a bank account.

Now, it is a pub with a very appropriate name.

Right next door, is another pub; the Thomas Leaper. This pub stands on the site of Iron Gate House; the Leaper family home, which was built around 1740. In its time, it has also been a bank and then in 1880, Brigden's the tailors moved in. They remained in this building until 1997 but now have their premises a little further down the 'gate.

Across the road from these two is The Slug and Lettuce, one of a chain of pubs...

...while, just down the road is Jorrocks; a very thin building which looks as though it has been squeezed in between the Music Centre and (I think - if memory serves me right) yet another bank.

This pub is a grade 2 listed building which was once a coaching inn and dates back to before 1648, which is when it is first mentioned in a deed document.

This pub though, I find rather creepy as there are ongoing records of seances being held on the property. Not something I want to mess with thank you, so I think I'll leave it there.

The Old Silk Mill and the old Silk Mill

In 2009, the Old Silk Mill pub on Full Street (near the cathedral) re-opened after a year of closure. When it did, it searched out a specialist niche in the market to make the business viable. That niche was real ale and this year, they have been awarded the Derby CAMRA award of the year 2011. (CAMRA being the CAMpaign for Real Ale).

Another unusual feature of this pub is that, although they do not serve food, they are happy for you to bring in your own and will provide the crockery and cutlery you need to eat it. That's a bit of a turnaround from the non-licensed restaurant allowing customers to bring their own alcohol!

 

Although it is called The Old Silk Mill it is relatively modern, having been built in 1928. The reference is actually to the Silk Mill itself, just down the road. The mural on the side of the pub illustrates the famous 1833 Silk Trades Lock Out, a conflict that lasted for around eight months and originated in the desire of the mill owners to prevent workers from joining the new trade unions. In total 1800 workers were locked out of factories along the waterways of Derby. The outcome of the dispute was, at best, a draw as both sides lost out quite considerably.

The Silk Mill (to which I have referred often; follow the label at the bottom of the post) is the beginning of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, some more of which I photographed last week.

These days, the Silk Mill houses the Derby Industrial Museum, which has just been mothballed for two years in an attempt by the City Council to save some money. I did hear rumours that parts of it may be being re-opened by a benefactor, but I cannot confirm this at the moment. I need to investigate further.

 

The Bonnie Prince

Diversion over. Back to 'proper' posting :)

Behind Derby Cathedral, in the grassed open area on Full Street, stands a statue to mark the significance of the Jacobean, Bonnie Prince Charlie, who marched through Derby on his way to challenge for the English throne. Unfortunately for him, his campaign was never to meet with success and stopped short at Swarkestone Bridge, just a few miles south of here.

He does look very dashing, doesn't he!

I believe there is some significance to the horse having one hoof raised (apart from the fact that it looks more aesthetically pleasing). I think that one raised hoof is meant to indicate that the soldier was wounded in battle, but survived; two means that he died in battle and all four hooves on the ground signify that he survived all battles and died peacefully. Does anyone know whether this is truth of myth please? I know that the Bonnie Prince didn't die in battle. He died in Rome on 31st Jan 1788. I've searched a while, but I can find no reference to him being wounded in any of his campaigns.

 

Turning away from the Bonnie Prince, there is an alley which runs alongside the cathedral, between Full Street and Irongate. It is not especially appealing of itself, but it does give good views of the Cathedral and it goes by the amusing name of Amen Alley. The only reason I can find being given for the name is the proximity of the alley to the cathedral.

A wander around Derby Cathedral

While I was in the Cathedral Quarter, I took a stroll all round the outside of the cathedral to capture its different faces.

From Irongate...

From the open ground on Full Street..

...and from Amen Alley.

Here, you can see the peregrine falcon nesting platform which was installed five years ago. Each spring, a pair of peregrines has raised chicks here. Although the peregrines weren't obliging me with a photo call, they are there again and on Monday, about 7 hours before these photos were taken, the eggs began to hatch! By the tenth, three chick births were confirmed. The Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project blog follows their progress.

If you want to see how they are getting on, the webcam is here.