TO the people enjoying a lunchtime meander around Hockley yesterday, Nottingham did not have the look of a place that lacks disposable income.
Down the street in Old Market Square, people enjoyed the spring day with sandwiches and drinks bought from nearby cafés and coffeeshops. Banners hanging from the Council House advertised The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse's latest offer for those looking to dispose of some income on culture. Across the Trent, Notts played Durham in a county cricket match at a ground where people have been known to spend quite a bit of the old disposable income.
If you want to find people spending money on the things they enjoy, you can find them in Nottingham.
But a different story of Nottingham can also be found. It's a decidedly less upbeat tale – one where there's little money for food and toiletries, never mind theatre or cricket.
It's a story told in newly-released numbers from the Office for National Statistics, which has named Nottingham poorest in Britain for gross disposable household income (GDHI).
GDHI is the amount of money individual householders have left for everyday spending or saving once the impact of the taxes they pay and the benefits they may receive are taken into account. It does not take into account property costs, or cash needed for energy bills or other essentials.
The statistics, which are from 2011, show Nottingham has an average GDHI of £10,834, followed by Hull at £11,287 and Blackburn with Darwen at £11,722. Across the East Midlands the average GHDHI is £14,561, while the UK average as a whole is £16,034.
The five areas with the highest GDHI are all in London and the south-east, with West London's £32,823 topping the table.
Nottingham's numbers are real for people such as Lesley Reid. The 48-year-old lives in St Ann's and works part-time as a cleaner.
Changes mean her Housing Benefit has been slashed from £37.62 per week to £18.33. (She lives alone in the same three-bedroom home where she raised her three now-grown children).
She makes £560 per month and said her rent recently jumped to £353 from £263. Her council tax bill is about £80 per month, and she has other old debts she pays toward but struggles to shift completely.
She's stuck between out-of-work benefits and tax credits that kick in at 30 hours per week of work.
"It's very stressful," she said. "It's like a vicious circle."
Ms Reid would love to work more and has had jobs through agencies, but has struggled to find anything permanent.
So she tries to live as frugally as possible.
"I try to spend about £50 (on food) to last the month," she said.
Basic clothes and toiletries are a struggle. Spending on anything that could be classed as leisure is a non-starter.
"I've been trying to go to the gym for three months but I can't afford the payment," she said. "That's out the window.
"I can't even pay my council tax. Every month it's the same old same old."
"Sometimes I wish I'd just let them take me to court. It's a horrible thing when you're at home, you can't keep warm and you've got bailiffs at the door. It's very hard out here."
Ms Reid is one of many Nottingham people who has sought help from advice agencies consortium Advice Nottingham. The group's workers have been on the front line of a problem that has been changing and growing.
"We're in a unique position because we do get to speak to a lot of people who are in different parts of the city and are affected by the changes," said Haleema Wahid, policy and campaigns officer for the group, which is hosting an event on Old Market Square on May 17.
They have organised drop-in advice sessions across the city, and a consistent narrative has emerged among those seeking help.
In particular, they find that one national issue is hitting hard in Nottingham.
"Bedroom tax is the most punitive tax," Ms Wahid said, adding that people are less concerned about council tax. "That's probably the one that's hitting people the most."
Like many other areas, Nottingham has set up an emergency hardship scheme. But it doesn't cover everybody – and fears are greatest for people such as Ms Reid.
"If they're in work and they're only receiving a limited number of benefits, they're not going to be entitled to the emergency hardship scheme," Ms Wahid said.
But they will still find themselves struggling to stretch their money across a vast gulf of basic living expenses.
It's a story that gets repeated again and again in advice sessions.
"People are saying 'that's how much I've got to pay out and this is how much I've got,'" Ms Wahid said.
And for many in Nottingham today, it's just not balancing out.