Nicks` Cabinet of Curios

Heanor, home of the Gingerbread Duck,  is a small town in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, pretty much on the South Derbys/North Notts border.   Built in 1876, the Town Hall was during the early part of the twentieth century a cinema called Buxton`s Picture Palace. Bromley House. This former bank has been converted into flats and is owned by a charity called Aspire.  The date plaque at the top is dated 1895 with the lettering NJSB, which stood for Nottingham Joint Stock Bank. There are other interesting buildings in the area, but given my limited expertise with a camera, I`ve not been able to achieve a decent picture of them !  I`ll try again another time.  There is a local history group, Heanor and District Local History Society, and a Facebook page, Heanor Bygones. 

Situated at the junction of Cheapside and St Werburgh`s Churchyard (near Derby Museum and Art Gallery), this is one of Derby`s best-known ghost signs and a personal favourite of mine.  It would be interesting to know if any pictures survive showing T Gorman`s business as it was, or indeed that of previous proprietor R Howitt. 

Joan Kahn (ed) - Some Things Fierce and Fatal - Bodley Head Short stories by C S Forester, Edward H Smith, Ray Bradbury, H G Wells and others. This is the first collection compiled by Joan Kahn that I`ve read, and was part of a series ; Some Things Dark and Dangerous, Some Things Strange and Sinister etc. There are 14 stories by 14 writers. Three of the tales included are said by the editor to be factual, though my feeling is that one of these, A Tale of Terror by Paul Louis Courier, is really a short story, though it is presented as a reminiscence.  There is only one that I personally would not have included, which is David Hogan`s The Leaping Trout. It is clear to me that he can write, and tell a story in a way that holds your attention, but in this case his writing is mannered and at times pretentious ("the new moon rose above Mullaghcleevaun mountain like the diadem of a fairy queen walking upon its summit")  and in the end the story goes nowhere. Th...

This ghost sign appears on the side of a private house on the road between Langley Mill and Eastwood (North Nottinghamshire).  It`s size and position means it is very apparent to motorist driving along that road, but sadly it`s not so easy to get a decent picture of it. As you might be able to tell, it advertises a business called Nevilles` Garage, which it describes as being, IIRC, a mile further along the road.  I`ve only come across one other photo of it, which was posted on Flickr by someone called Claire, who had the good sense to take her shot from the other side of the road at a time when there was little traffic about.  It is captioned `Neville`s Garage, Eastwood` . It would be interesting to know whether the eponymous Neville lived there at some point and saw a chance to plug his business, or whether he perhaps paid someone to have his sign on the outside of their home.  If anyone knows, get in touch. 

I`m having a look through some old pictures to see if there any others might like to see.  This is a scout hut near Hyson Green, Nottingham, just by the Goose Fair site. I took this just because I liked the art work with no particular thought of sharing it with anyone else.  Next time I`m in the area I`ll try to find time to get some more pics as there is artwork all round it. Should you be interested, I gather the hut is called Trafalgar Lodge as the scout group in question were originally based at Trafalgar Street, Radford, Nottm  .