We went for a walk to Nottingham Highfields today. Highfields is a park set in the grounds of Nottingham University. Parking was a bit of an issue as the small car park was full, so we street parked in Beeston and walked into the University park from Beeston town centre.
It was a nice spring afternoon, warm in the sun, but rather cool in the shade. I asked my wife did she bring any treats to eat. She told me “No, but we could have an ice cream, pointing to the “Mr. Whipp” van located near the cafe.
So I ordered two 99’s (in a tub). For none UK readers, 99’s are Ice Cream with a flake in them. What’s a Flake? Flake is a British brand of chocolate bar currently manufactured by British chocolate company Cadbury consisting of thinly folded milk chocolate. The bar has a unique crumbly texture and is often pushed into an Ice Cream cornet / tub to create a 99 !
I was served by a friendly Ice Cream lady. The 99’s were £2-50 each and I paid by contactless card ! How times change, Ice Cream Vans accepting card payments ! Oh and £2-50 for a 99 is a good price.
As we sat on the steps eating our ice cream (and sharing some Ice cream with Ruby our whippet) I told my wife, I thought the lady Ice Cream Vendor would make a great stranger. So on my way to the rubbish bin, I made a detour back to the Ice Cream Van and waited for the queue to disperse.
“Excuse me, I’m an amateur photographer, is it OK to take your picture”
“Of the Van?”
“Well of you actually”
“I’m not very good a photos”
“You will be OK, it will be a nice photo”
The Vendor struck a pose at the back of the van.
“Can you move forward and stick your head out of the window?”
The lady stuck her head out of the window
“Brilliant, you look great”
“Have you done yet?” (there was a queue forming behind me)
“Nearly, just a couple more”
I was shooting with a manual focus lens, a modern lens, not a vintage lens, but I had to take my time focussing.
“That’s it thank you so much, what’s your name”
“Kim”
“Thank you Kim, have a lovely afternoon, take care”
That was it, not too much of a back story as it was a 6 shot photoshoot and I couldn’t really engage in much chat as Kim had a steady flow of customers. It was a bright sunny day and Kim’s van was in direct sunlight, facing the sun. I think the photo has turned out rather well, given the challenging conditions.
A good photo of Kim, well done. Funny but we had our first ice-cream of the year on Sunday also from a van. Ours was also £2.50, for the smallest size!
