A Happy New Year

Yesterday at the Grosvenor Hotel someone was celebrating their marriage - what a great ending to one year and a beginning to the next, and no-one will ever forget that anniversary. The vintage Rolls Royce caused quite a stir in Foregate St.

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Silk Purse?

Today I walked past a city centre multi-storey car park - a deeply unlovable piece of architecture - and saw to my surprise that someone had put up tinsel and Christmas decorations. The words 'silk purse' and 'sows ear' spring to mind, but I suppose you can't blame them for trying.

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Winter

The trees have now lost all their leaves, and the remnants of times past caught in their branches are now revealing themselves. I suspect that the bunting below was left behind after the Royal Wedding street party.

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Tudor Card Shop

Originally most Tudor buildings would have been finished in brown and white, rather than the black and white seen everywhere today. The Tudor Card Shop (currently empty) on Foregate St is one of the few places retaining its' original appearance.

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Edwardian Bathroom

The Grosvenor Museum, on Grosvenor St (where else?) has a period house attached to the back of it, where each room is furnished in a style from a different period. The bathroom in the photo shows a very early shower, and typical 'arsenic green' wallpaper, from which some people became very ill, and occasionally actually died from. You can read more about it here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1245809/Found-wallpapers-dresses-libido-pills-Arsenic-Victorian-Viagra-poisoned-Britain.html

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January Sales

Even thought it's still December the January sales are on in full force. I caught this pigeon in the Rows watching the humans down in the street.

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Round The Walls on Boxing Day

Traditionally Boxing Day in England is the day for sporting activities, and Chester has its' Round The Walls Race. The last few years it has been too icy and slippery, and the race has not gone round the city walls, but thanks to the unseasonally warm weather this year the runners were able to go round the Walls. Many ran in fancy dress, including Santa Claus himself, who has taken part every year that I have been watching. This year was the 40th, and someone running today had taken part in 34 of those races.

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Unseasonal Weather

Yesterday it was bright, sunny, and too warm to wear a coat outside - definitely not right for December. In contrast, today it is cold and raining.

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The Odeon

The late lamented Odeon, on the corner of Northgate St and Hunter St, has been bought by Cheshire West and Chester Council, so that it can be turned into a theatre/arts centre. However, they really need to get a move on and DO something with it.

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Christmas Fair

St Michael's Rectory in Bridge St has been hosting a Christmas Fair every Sunday for the last few weeks. An excellent idea, and a shame I didn't get to hear about it a little earlier...

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Another Door In The Rows

Once you start looking, you keep seeing doors where you had never noticed them before. This one is in Bridge St Row. Why did it need to be reinforced with all those studs?

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Lowes

Lowes the jewellers is in Bridge St Row, and specialises in silver, both new and used. They even sell items with a Chester hallmark (of which more later), if you are looking for something really special.

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Go to www.foy.co.uk for RICS HomeBuyers software

Two Hours To London

Not obviously 'around Chester' photos, but a reminder that London is now only two hours on the train, that tickets start from as low as £15, and that a day trip is perfectly possible. We went down for a visit to the da Vinci and Grayson Perry exhibitions.

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Floorscaping

A while ago someone at the then City Council invented what I think might have been a new word - floorscaping. This was whilst they were busy ripping up existing tarmac and replacing it with setts (note: not cobbles, they are defined as round stones too large to hold in your mouth). Setts are generally rectangular and have a flat upper surface.

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St Peters Clock

The clock on St Peters by the Cross has now been restored and will hopefully start telling the correct time. The project was partially funded by a members grant from local councillor Samantha Dixon. Members grants are allocated to each councillor at the beginning of each financial year, and any community group, organisation, or individual within a ward can apply to their local councillor for aid with funding for a project.

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Bishops High School Art

Different secondary schools in Chester have different strengths and weaknesses, and Bishops High School is definitely very strong in their art department. GCSE students textile work is currently hanging in the Wesleyan Methodist Hall, and is amazingly good for 15-16 year old students. Difficult to get across just how good it is in photos - you should go along and take a look for yourselves.

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Chester Shop

In Rufus Court there is the recently-opened Chester Shop, showcasing local talent. Steve Howe, who runs it, also does guided tours - either standard or tailor-made, and sells his beautiful photographic prints of Chester. The photos below were done by him, needless to say.

Amongst his other projects, he is also the author of various websites including:
http://www.thechestershop.com/
http://bwpics.co.uk/
http://www.goodhiding.co.uk
http://www.chestertourist.com/
A multi-talented man, obviously.

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Big Wheel

This years big wheel is now up, on the piece of land between Northgate St and St Martin's Way. Not as impressive as last year, nor as weatherproof, I am not really sure that I want to go on it.

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Kiwis

There was me, bemoaning the fact that the last of the fresh fruit from our garden was over for the year when it dawned on me that it wasn't - there were still kiwis hanging on the vine outside. I don't know what went right this year but we appear to have a bumper crop.

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Willow May

On Northgate St there is a cookshop called Willow May, who do a nice line in cookware. I am especially impressed with their spice grinders - I had been looking for something like them for ages - which work very well. You can find out more about them here: http://www.willowmay.co.uk/

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Greyhounds

Yesterday there were greyhounds begging on the streets, honest! Well, actually they were trying to raise money for their charity, which you can find out more about here: http://www.homeagreyhound.co.uk/
Very lovable and well-behaved they were too, especially whilst raiding my bag of dog treats.

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Fenn Wright Manson

Fenn Wright Manson have a shop in Watergate St, which is worth a look to see the architectural features, including the pillars that support the undercroft.

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Bread

Ever fancied baking your own bread? There is a bread-making session at 10am every Wednesday morning at the Wesleyan Methodist in St John St, where you can make and bake up to 3lbs of bread for a nominal charge to cover the cost of the flour. Well worth going along.

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Pop-Up Shop

Chester has its' first pop-up shop. Strictly until January, and based in what was the butchers on Bridge St, it sells Vintage Clothing.

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St Peters Churchyard

In the city centre, but well tucked away, and where most people don't notice it, is St Peter's Churchyard. Home to the Commercial Hotel (of which more later), the City Club, and the rear entrance of the Victoria pub, it is totally surrounded by high buildings, so that when the wind blows it is a small haven of calm.

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The Dark Row

There is a section of the north side of Eastgate Row that is known as 'the Dark Row', because, though it is a Row, and you can walk along it, parts of it are enclosed to the outside world. Back in about 1989 the council re-developed this area and generally spruced it up, so it is now better-lit and altogether less intimidating. The line on the ground outside the Boot Inn is where the new section of Row joins the old.

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Christmas Post

Chester is the sorting office for itself and all of North Wales, and an awful lot of mail passes through Chester. They are ramping up delivery and taking on staff daily for the Christmas rush.

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Late Night Shopping

Late night shopping has begun in earnest, and every Thursday the council are putting different events to attract shoppers. This week there were choirs, a hippopotamus, and a man playing a piano that cycled sideways up Eastgate St.

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The Door In Watergate St

There is a door in Watergate St, near Beresford Adams at The Cross, which must lead somewhere. And what is the small grille to the left hand side for? I keep imagining someone trapped down there, peering out...

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Dressed Up For Christmas

For the past week or so Chester has slowly been getting dressed up for Christmas.Shop windows are decorated, a Christmas Market (not a very good one, it has to be said) has appeared in the Town Hall Square, and a large tree at the Cross.

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