You might agree with the old adage that, all roads lead to Rome, until you visit Nottingham. Its city centre is impossible to miss, with nearly a dozen arteries feeding it from every direction. It seems every direction I take brings me back to the Old Market Square, home to the grandiose city council building and a newly renovated open space where I have spent many afternoons reading the Notts Evening Post under the unlikely British Sun.Somehow this picture reveals an especially gloomy day. It looks almost the grey of winter, naked trees and all. But it really has been quite mild. Pleasant. Can't complain. And the forecast promises another week's supply of Vitamin D.
On those days when the sun is glaring, the market square is rammed with dropped shoppers, procrastinating students and business people breaking for lunch on the pavement. The atmosphere is great and has succeeded in providing a gathering place for locals. Here we can be social without even socializing; we can watch people people-watching; we can escape the shadows of tall buildings to hide under a cloudy sky. It is a gathering place because it is empty space. That's the irony. But it works.
