Futuristic venue for a coffee in Nottingham

Any moment now I am expecting to see a flying car or Superman zip past on a super hero errand. I am sitting in a branch of Starbucks on the Nottingham University Jubilee campus. There are a few customers but it is out of season for the student population at the moment so things are delightfully quiet. The buildings and urban spaces remind me a little of the re-vamped former industrial landscape on the right bank of the river Garonne in Bordeaux. All is very modern with clean walking areas, a series of fountains that lead to a small lake, home to various wild fowl.

Outside the coffee shop itself the sun is shining, the sky is a 'just before lunchtime' blue with two vapour trails behind the impressive spiralling form of the Aspire installation. The odd bird goes past but no Superman as yet.

The shadows and furniture are inspiring me to take photos in between drinking my medium cappuccino in a cosy mug and I would be happy to sit here awhile but I need to get to Beeston to buy some Schwarzwaldrauch Black Forest Smoked Ham from Lidl. As Bernard, an amusing German friend of mine recently said "Every Lidl Helps."

As I am walking back through the Jubilee campus to Derby Road these buildings and another adjoining café space attract my attention and once again I feel that I am in another part of the world.

The trip to Lidl was pretty uneventful and I made my way back home on the two buses I need to reach my village. On my way to the bus station I did spy these two guys outside a café on the Beeston High Street playing an intense game of chess. I quite like Beeston - there is an interesting mix in the local population mainly due, I think, to the close proximity of the main Nottingham University site.