LeftLion Magazine - July 2021 - Issue 137

#137 July 2021

Credits

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King of the Castl-Al Cruella Dev-Al alan.gilby@leftlion.co.uk

Ashley Carter Editor ashley.carter@leftlion.co.uk

Natalie Owen Designer natalie.owen@leftlion.co.uk

Adam Pickering Marketing and Partnerships Manager adam.pickering@leftlion.co.uk

Tom Errington Web Developer tom.errington@leftlion.co.uk

George White Editorial Assistant george.white@leftlion.co.uk

Curtis Powell Creative Digital Assistant curtis.powell@leftlion.co.uk

Hamza Hussain Web Developer hamza.hussain@leftlion.co.uk

Rebecca Buck Stage Co-Editor rebecca.buck@leftlion.co.uk

Jamie Morris Screen Co-Editor jamie.morris@leftlion.co.uk

Jared Wilson Editor-in-Chief jared.wilson@leftlion.co.uk

Anna Murphy Fashion Editor anna.murphy@leftlion.co.uk

Dom Henry Stage Co-Editor dom.henry@leftlion.co.uk

Tom Quigley Photography Co-Editor tom.quigley@leftlion.co.uk

Fabrice Gagos Photography Co-Editor fabrice.gagos@leftlion.co.uk

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Laura-Jade Vaughan Art Co-Editor laura-jade.vaughan@leftlion.co.uk

Cover Raphael Achache Sub-Editor Lauren Carter-Cooke Writers Hollie Anderson Pete Gray Thomas Griffiths Serena Haththotuwa Gareth Morgan Sam Nahirny Kelly Palfrey Georgianna Scurfield Bob Smith Alex Stubbs Oliver Wakefield Photographers Alice Ashley Rich Bell Stuart Bramford Jonny Davies Lewis Edmunds

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Rachel Willcocks Art Co-Editor rachel.willcocks@leftlion.co.uk

Phil Formby Tom Haslam Tom Hetherington Asa Hudson Nigel King Michael Krawec Gemma Prentice Diana Schmies Georgianna Scurfield Neil Tolliday Tracey Whitefoot Illustrators Chloe Henson Smugcomputer Illustration Pete Gray Kasia Kozakiewicz Leosaysays Sophie Peach Kate Sharp Shane Connery Volk Carmel Ward

Featured Contributor Pete Gray Pete moved to Nottinghamshire in 2014, as a Product Designer, before realising that his heart had always been in illustration and he began honing his skills for visual storytelling. He has developed his illustrative voice around full time jobs in design, artwork and print, which served him well, but are now moving over as he officially takes the plunge and pursues illustration full time as Big Appetite Illustration.

Pete first contributed to LeftLion last month after a personal project, giving new and humorous contexts to Overheard in Notts quotes, caught our attention. When he isn’t drawing, Pete is probably out on his bike or with friends.

You can find this month's Overheard in Notts illustration on page 7 and in bi-monthly issues thereafter.

Editorial Illustrations Emily Catherine

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@leftlion

@leftlionmagazine

Contents 15

17

Manning the Fort

We talk to Nottingham Castle Trust CEO Sara Blair-Manning about the Castle’s £30 million redevelopment

24

Once Upon a Time in Hollyhood

As Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves celebrates its thirtieth birthday, we chat to some of the cast and crew that helped get it made

Rebel City

Nottingham Castle Trust’s Gareth Morgan explores two stories of rebellion from the colourful history of the Castle

13

A Robin Hood in Notts

35

23

We Need To Talk About Kevin

36

26

Nine at the Museum

39

Comic Zans

31

Make the Moat of It

50

Something to Write Holmes About

33

Castle Rocks

52

One man had a dream to move to Nottingham and become the city’s Robin Hood. Lucky for us, that dream came true Our Editor Ashley Carter tried his best to get an interview with Kevin Costner for this issue. It did not go to plan.

The Castle let us have a rummage around their refurbished museum, and we picked out nine of the artifacts that caught our eye We take a sneaky peak at all of the shiny new features you can check out at the recently reopened Nottingham Castle

With all this talk of what’s inside the castle, our friends at the British Geological Society clue us up about what’s underneath it…

Editorial

Robin All Over the World

The legend of Robin Hood has inspired countless bandits, renegades and freedom fighters around the world...

The Hood, The Bad and the Ugly

From Crowe and Costner to Fairbanks and Flynn, Thomas Griffiths explores the history of Nottingham’s favourite outlaw on film George White talks to David Hazan, creator of Nottingham, a new graphic novel that turns the Robin Hood story on its head BBC legend and voice of Radio Nottingham John Holmes discusses the process behind writing his autobiography

Out of Time

The story of Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe, two fourteenth century knights many think were a same-sex couple

When I was a kid, I got taken to Nottingham Castle. There’s a picture of me looking very fetching in a jaunty cap and denim dungaree shorts sat by Robin Hood, aged around two. It’s one of those things you do if you grow up in the city, especially if your dad works for the council and repeatedly takes you for things like the Robin Hood Pageant.

The Castle’s in our DNA in Notts – us cheeserioting, musheh pea-munching, lace weaving bunch. As Nottingham as Forest, the Xylophone Man and Gooseh every October. It’s so exciting to be part of the team reopening it and sharing this with locals, staycationers and international visitors alike.

The Castle has its detractors who love to heckle from afar (where’s the real castle? etc) but should someone from outside have a go, we’re all “did you know that King Richard the Lionheart besieged it in 1194?” – proud of our city to a fault. Us having the Ducal Mansion which, let’s face it, looks like it’s made out of Duplo is such peak Nottingham and our contrary nature – a castle that hides some of its best features in the caves below ground

(including our new digital Robin Hood Gallery) – plus, it’s loads better than anything Derby and Leicester have got!

The Castle is such a great palimpsest and throughout its many guises the spirit of Nottingham, Robin Hood and Rebellion has shone through. The new Don’t Blame the Blacks temporary exhibition, expertly curated by Panya Banjoko with Josh Osoro Pickering, is exactly one of these reinventions and sharing work and stories, like Jamaican Raleigh worker George Powe’s story in changing racist employment practices in the city.

For me, I’m also super excited that we’re open for schools to join us before the holidays for the trips they might have missed. We’re proud to be able to welcome families at weekends and when they’re off over August. It’s also a real thrill to guest edit this month’s LeftLion with Ash and the team – and we can’t wait to share the Castle’s stories and secrets in these hallowed pages.

Gareth Morgan, Guest Editor Nottingham Castle Trust

LeftLion Magazine is fully recyclable and home-compostable.

We print on paper that is recycled or made using FSC certified sources, on a renewably powered print press. leftlion.co.uk/issue137 5

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“I h ad o c h e c k u n e of t h e m w year ag p at the doct ell-man all r igh o. He says, ‘Yoor’s ten maratht, you could r u're at t ack on’. Had a ble un a later. Gon the toilet addy hear t oes to s m how, do onth esn't it? ”

“She’s bulk-buying Father’s Day cards.

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day rly on T ues “I got up ea d popped half a an mor ning could tidy up before R it alin so I g lady came.” the cleanin

Nottingham Castle Judging from what we’ve seen as passers-by it looks like they’ve done a really good job. It was a nice castle before and it’s very well positioned on top of the hill. It’s amazing that you can see for so many miles from it. Do you remember Nottingham fortnight? It was the last week of July and the first week of August. They used to do all these shows and open up the caves in Nottingham. We remember going inside Mortimer’s Hole at the Castle during one of those.

Old Money One of the last times we visited the Castle they had a market there, selling various goods. We saw that they had all this old money in frames and we thought it was marvellous. So we bought quite a few of them as presents for our sisters – we thought it would remind them of old times when we were young. We showed them to one sister and she said, “God, I hope you haven’t bought one for me, they’re horrible.” We didn’t give them out in the end. Still got them all at home.

Favourite On-Screen Robin Hood It's got to be Erroll Flynn. He was the first one for us - a great Hollywood actor, and we like the fact it didn’t take itself too seriously. Our sister was a big fan of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (particularly Alan Rickman), but that film was too modern and Costner’s Robin Hood far too American for us.

Great soundtrack song by Brian Adams, though. Although still not a patch on Engelbert Humperdinck.

To celebrate all of the weird and wonderful things you lot come out with, artist Pete Gray took it upon himself to turn some of the best-ever Overheard in Notts quotes into illustrations. This month, he took on a quote that, for us, ranks right up there with “I think, therefore I am” and “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” That’s right, it’s: “What’s that Dracula’s first name?”

leftlion.co.uk/issue137 7

‘

words and photo: Georgianna Scurfield

Marty My name is Marty and I’m on my stag do. I don’t really know what I’m dressed as. I think it’s that Bruno, because my mates say I look like Borat. I’m getting married on 14 July, but it’s been cancelled and rearranged four times because of COVID. Thankfully this is my only stag do though.

My plan for this evening is to head to the rooftop bar at the Cornerhouse for a few hours, then we’ve got a bar or a club or something booked later. I don’t really know to be honest.

I’m not from Nottingham, but I’m here for the night from Cambridgeshire. I have no idea why they chose Nottingham for my stag do. We were going to go abroad, and they didn’t tell me anything. But then I got off the train and found out I was in Nottingham. So yeah.

What can I tell you about the woman I’m marrying? Erm. Her name is Sarah. We’ve been together for… seven years I think?

Somewhere around that. I’d rather not tell you how I proposed.

I’ve been sick a lot today. We played mini golf. I heard the dinosaurs talking, and I was sick on the fake foliage.

Pick Six

This month, we’ve tasked Bob White, Chairman and Co-Founder of the World Wide Robin Hood Society (the Sherwood-based internet organisation that globally promotes Nottingham’s legendary outlaw hero), to pick a few of his favourite things…

Book Moby Dick by Herman Melville. When I first read this seafaring classic in my teens, I realised that it is much more than just a nautical tale about a quest for revenge on a white whale. Within its pages you recognise characters, emotions, and experiences that reflect life in general.

Meal I can still taste those early morning breakfasts of freshly caught mackerel on a Cornish beachside camping holiday from my teens. In later years, it was the succulent, fresh fish at Trenchers harbour restaurant at Whitby Bay.

Film Watch the 1967 Oscar winning In the Heat of the Night and you’ll see how Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger brilliantly play out the racial tensions and prejudices that, sadly, are still around today. Riveting stuff and definitely my favourite movie.

Holiday Destination Taking in the fresh air and natural wonders of Canada’s breath-taking, panoramic landscapes, combined with its culture, contemporary cities and friendly people, all added up to a memorable 25th Wedding Anniversary trip.

Song Having had a lifelong interest in music, there are countless songs that could qualify.

However, I put Marc Cohn’s Walking in Memphis in my top spot, because the lyrics and sincerity of this vocal/piano rendition captures the heart and soul of what rhythm and blues is all about.

Notts Spot With all my Robin Hood interests and connections, I would have to recommend any secluded spot among the dappled leaves of Sherwood Forest and let your imagination re-create the times and tales of the world’s favourite outlaw. robinhood.info leftlion.co.uk/issue137 9

Notts Shots

Getting stacked Stuart Bramford - @shutter_stu

A two horse race Gemma Prentice - @gemmas_gallery Beard and wonderful Rich Bell - @richerich

Light at the end of the tunnel Tom Hetherington - @shotbytomh

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leftlion.co.uk/issue137

He does my head in Lewis Edmunds - @lewisedmunds

Stuck in the middle Jonny Davies - @rylandsproject

Want to have your work featured? Send your high-res photos from around the city, including your full name and best web link, to photography@leftlion.co.uk

Spread your wings Tom Quigley - tomquigley.co.uk

Five oak’lock shadow Alice Ashley - aliceashley.co.uk

Take the weather with you Tom Haslam - @thomas_haslam_ leftlion.co.uk/issue137 11

k 2 A2 Robin2 Hood2 in2 Notts2 I It was because of Robin Hood that I came to Nottingham in the early nineties. I had long hair, a degree in History and could fight with a broadsword, so I was looking for work on the medieval scene. But when I got here, I found that scene was like a panto, and I was determined to become Robin Hood to see what I could do with the character. I spent ten years hosting banquets at the Tales of Robin Hood, then started doing deeper research of Robin Hood, and discovering more about the city. And in 1997, Ezekial Bone was born to tell the other stories of Nottingham where Robin was not appropriate, like at the Theatre Royal and in the Lace Market.

A typical day consists of working in some way to pursue or build the dream. If there are no gigs then it is either practical nuts and bolts type work at the home office or more creative stuff, like crafting ideas and scripts or looking for future opportunities. Day-dreaming is when a lot of ideas crystalise and previously unnoticed connections become apparent, so I’m always scribbling notes in pubs and coffee shops, which then get processed into my laptop as raw material.

My Robin Hood provides a great service to the city by making people understand it. If they understand it they appreciate it more. To be able to facilitate the public's enjoyment of Nottingham is important work.

It is quite a pioneering game I am playing, as no other town or city has a historical or folklore figure who is flying the flag of their place in the way Robin Hood has been utilised in Nottingham.

In my work, there is the skeleton of historical fact, which I then flesh out with my words and performance to bring history to life.

The nature of this ‘flesh’ depends on the differing requirements of different groups.

So, no two tours are the same. All are open to interactions from the public, which help create and shape the experience.

As well as being the face of Robin Hood in the city I am involved in environmental and heritage regeneration projects in Sherwood Forest. After banquets I was the Heritage Ranger for the Sherwood Forest Trust and Sherwood is very close to my heart. As Robin Hood I have a duty to try and use my position to help heal the land. A new project - Sherwood People’s Forest - is rallying folks to plant a spiral of native greenery

illustration: Kasia Kozakiewicz

from Nottingham Castle to the Major Oak. Nottingham Castle has already sponsored eighty oak saplings in city schools and there are many partners getting involved so it is gaining momentum.

As a kid I vowed one day I would be Robin Hood and he is the reason I came to Nottingham. Now, I am Robin Hood and am an Ambassador for the City and Sherwood Forest. The dream has come true Robin Hood appeals to everyone, so I come across folks of all ages from all over the world. I have been to trade shows in England, Germany and France flying the flag for Nottingham. I host primary school kids, education groups, stag and hen parties, big businesses and everything else in between.

Everyone comes with a good attitude wanting to know more about Robin Hood and Nottingham. Occasional idiots make themselves known and try to hassle the group, but they are dealt with quickly and end up making fools of themselves in front of the audience (which in itself becomes another bit of the entertainment). And short thrift is always given to naysayers.

The strangest thing that ever happened at work was an incident with a bloke who had mental health issues. I was with a large group of French kids in St. Mary’s Churchyard, when I noticed their eyes wander from me to someone standing behind me. I turned and saw this very tall, skeletal guy in tatty, long, black coat and long black hair flapping in the wind. In that instant it seemed dark storm clouds gathered and this guy pointed a long bony finger at them and started shouting, “You’re going to die” and “You’re going to burn in Hell”. I turned to look at the kids, who were all goggle-eyed at the scene unfolding in front of them. Only a few feet away and dressed as Robin Hood, I turned back to

the demonic being who was framed by the outline of St. Mary’s against a raging sky, and sought to engage him in conversation, to control the situation. He looked into my eyes. I looked into a black abyss. There was no reasoning here. I turned to the group, gave the marching orders and we swiftly moved to a quieter corner of town.

A few weeks later, I was in my local Sainsbury’s in disguise as a normal person.

The same guy came in in a more lucid state, recognised me and apologised. I accepted and we went our separate ways.

I like to wind down by drinking fine ales in Nottingham’s great watering holes, which is a favourite pastime. In the relaxed state the ideas flow, so I have to capture them before they disappear into the ether. Ezekial Bone is part of the tradition of writers and artists haunting pubs, watching the city and crafting their art. Hanging out in the town's parks and watching quality films helps feed the imagination while relaxing at other times.

Opening the Castle as the Official Outlaw after its £30m renovation was cool, as previously closed doors and glass walls had been removed and the new team at the Castle came seeking my services. The most memorable event was winning Silver in VisitEngland’s ‘Experience of the Year’ awards 2020. Robin Hood - one man on the streets of Nottingham - was up against £2 million attractions, and came second in England. Not bad for something that started off as a dream.

Now that I’m getting too old for the green tights, Robin Hood will segue more into Ezekial Bone and I’ll be working on other heritage entertainment projects. As long as the adventure keeps going and pays, then the way ahead will be clear.

It’s a feather in my cap that the Robin Hood Town Tour has won so many awards and is a main Nottingham attraction. But so far this is only part of the journey, and another chapter will be opening soon - but what I’ll be doing there remains to be seen.

As a kid I vowed one day I would be Robin Hood and he is the reason I came to Nottingham. Now, I am Robin Hood and am an Ambassador for the City and Sherwood Forest. The dream has come true.

leftlion.co.uk/issue137 13

interview: George White photo: Curtis Powell

MANNING T HE FORT Since joining the Nottingham Castle Trust back in September 2019, Sara Blair-Manning has managed to successfully lead a mammoth £30 million project through the pretty sizeable challenge of a global pandemic. We chat to the Chief Executive about the Castle’s extensive redevelopment, her role within the Trust and the activities she’s most excited for people to check out.

How would you describe your job at the Nottingham Castle Trust? What are your main responsibilities?

My day-to-day role as CEO is to make sure everybody has everything they need to be able to do their jobs. I also lead on strategic direction, making sure the budgets are right and the visitor experience is right. I have quite a bit to do with the creative side as well, helping to guide everything you find here - from things like medieval reenactments through to the exhibitions.

The Castle’s redevelopment began way back in 2018. Were there any particularly difficult challenges to navigate during that process?

This was a massive project, really, both in terms of the capital but also the operational side.

COVID has meant things have been even more demanding. To deliver a £30 million project on time and on budget is challenging in normal circumstances, but when you have a pandemic to deal with - something none of us have had to overcome before - it was definitely difficult.

Some of the supply chains were delayed, we had to reprogramme things, and we were only able to recruit and train our staff online between four and six weeks before opening - so that was really condensed down in terms of timescale. But there have been some positives. Because the majority of people started at the same time, there’s been a really good community feeling here and everybody's been very supportive of each other.

As you mentioned, this has been a major venture for the Castle and for Nottingham. Are you happy with how the project has turned out?

Absolutely. We got there in the end, we stuck to the programme and I think we've delivered a fantastic outcome. We had a thorough evaluation process to make sure we were creating an experience that visitors want. People were quite clear that they’d like to hear about Robin Hood in a more meaningful way, for example,

and they wanted to learn about rebellion and protest and activism, both at the Castle and across Nottingham more widely. But we also knew we didn’t want absolutely everything here to be a history lesson or an art lesson. It’s just as important that visitors can come and have a nice walk around the grounds and have a cup of tea.

We’ve got things for all different types of people.

The aim is to make Nottingham Castle a globally significant site and to act as an economic driver for the city You have a strong connection to Nottingham, having studied at Nottingham Trent University before becoming CEO here. How did it feel getting to look after such a monumental project for the city?

It’s given me great pride. I've always loved Nottingham - it's always felt very welcoming and friendly. The range of activities here is ace too. It was nice to come back to the city where I did my undergrad and really reconnect with it. It's been so interesting to have conversations with people in supermarkets or at bus stops and hear what they think about the Castle and whether or not they're intending to go, and why they might or might not go. It’s a joy to be working in the heart of the city.

The Castle will be running projects like volunteering opportunities and teaching and learning schemes - how important is it to get local people involved at the site?

We want to connect with diverse communities and allow them to feel part of the Castle and to have ownership over it. Ultimately, we're just the guardians of the Castle - it's not ours, it's the people's. We're trying to give as many

opportunities for residents in Nottingham to come and visit, and feel a connection to their local history and culture.

What are your hopes and plans for the venue now it has officially reopened?

The aim is to make Nottingham Castle a globally significant site and to act as an economic driver for the city, encouraging people to come and spend money in shops, bars and restaurants, maybe go to the theatre and stay in local hotels.

That's the overarching goal of the project. We already have ideas for more exciting features at the Castle so we can continue working towards that goal. We’ve had great interest in terms of artists and curators, as well as academics. The next range of exhibitions is going to be really diverse and interesting for people to come and see. We've got one happening at the back end of next year which isn't quite confirmed yet, but it will be of international importance - so if everybody can travel by then, we should get lots of visitors and press coverage for that.

With the redevelopment finally complete, what would you say is your favourite part of the Castle?

Oh, that’s like choosing your favourite child you just can’t do it. There are lots of different areas that I like across the whole site. I love the fact that there's lots of green space and people can get a breath of fresh air. The fact we’re one of the green lungs of the city is really nice.

But then when you go inside the museum, you have the alabaster and salt glaze gallery which is just beautiful, as is the art gallery. But then the Rebellion Gallery is just so rich and full of amazing stories too. And, of course, having a go on the longbows at Robin Hood Adventures is just great fun. There are elements across all of the Castle that I think are really nice - it’s impossible to choose just one.

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Once Upon a Time In Hollyhood A $50 million budget, Hollywood’s biggest star, England’s most famous legend, an Oscar nomination, a BAFTA win, a song that became one of the best-selling singles of all time, that performance from Alan Rickman and a box office take of almost $400 million. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves left a huge impact on the legacy of Nottingham’s folk hero and, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of its release, we caught up with some of the people responsible for bringing it to life: actors Mike McShane and Nick Brimble, who played Friar Tuck and Little John respectively, casting director Ilene Starger and editor Peter Boyle…

Before going on to appear in A Bug’s Life, Office Space and Treasure Planet, character actor and improvisational comedian Mike McShane was cast in the role of Friar Tuck…

There is a distinct Hollywood vibe that, if you fight it or are victimized by it, is not good. But if it’s coming through the work and the excitement it can be legendary fun and art at the same time On another occasion, Kevin Costner stepped into the Second Unit Director slot and picked up some reactions during a battle scene. It was MOS

[without sound], and he was coaching us on what we were seeing, where the arrows were flying and all that sort of thing. I felt like I was back in the days of silent film – I really loved it. There is a distinct Hollywood vibe that, if you fight it or are victimized by it, is not good. But if it’s coming through the work and the excitement it can be legendary fun and art at the same time. Also, in the scene where I get knocked off the cart, on my first take when Robin Hood offers his hand, I reached up and punched him in the testicles to get away. You know, faked it. The director and cast loved it, but Kevin Costner didn’t, so I ended up biting his leg instead. Hey, when you’re the star, you get to say how you lose your dignity.

My wife, who is not an actor, actually doubled as Maid Marian (on Alan Rickman’s recommendation) for a medium shot during filming. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio had wrapped and left days before, and the double looked like Eric Morecambe in a wig. That’s show biz!

When it came to approaching the character of Tuck, I had played The Jolly Friar of Copmanhurst in a production of Ivanhoe at a Shakespeare Festival years before, so I had boned up on the legend then. Eugene Pallette [Friar Tuck in 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood] was really from another time, so that wasn’t a choice for inspiration. I listened to Carmina Burana - not the Carl Orff version, but the early medieval songs the wandering priests used to sing that were rude, lusty and full of brio; I made up my own lyrics and sang them and that got me in the mood. I also called my carthorse Abelard, since he had been gelded. Get in the mood stuff, you know.

The last time I watched the film was actually this year. The BBC were showing it, so my wife and I decided to have a date night, with the proviso that I not talk ‘shop’ while it was going on. I have a bad habit of watching films with her and going, “Oh look, it’s Bob! Great guy. I remember doing Timon of Athens with him in ’84 blah blah blah…”

She’ll always look at me and say, “Really? We’re going on a walking tour through Mike’s Anecdote Village? Again?” The woman has my number.

Alan Rickman just looked at me, laughed and said I smelt like a dead hippie Being in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves put me in the slot of ‘character actor’ for many years and gave me some juice, and I am grateful every day for it, as well as the people, places and experiences I have been privileged to enjoy as a result. Our version was a flashy take on a great English myth, if you like the Hollywood lens on it.

Each culture has its glory fable that celebrates its skirmishes. The French have the Christians and Moors, here in America, it’s the Wild West, and in Carcassonne, they have Christians and Moors with wooden swords.

When it came out a lot of the British press lambasted it, but the audience over the years, who ultimately are the real arbiters, have embraced it. And I think my authentic Cornish dialect really sealed the deal.

leftlion.co.uk/issue137 17

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at 30

My overriding memory from the shoot thirty years ago was filming the entry into ‘Nottingham Castle’ in Carcassonne, Southern France. It was my wrap shot, and afterwards I wandered through the ancient streets, still in my costume, when two local villagers who owned a bar invited me in for a couple of glasses of cognac. My French is really remedial – I’m much better at reading than I am speaking – but I had been told that I had finished shooting, so I went along with them.

They were great hearty French fellows, and kept calling me “Peré Took,” while I was getting quite squiffy. I was just quietly hoping that the director didn’t find something that we had to shoot again.

One of them enquired where I was from and, after finding out it was San Francisco, pulled a bong out from behind the bar. Then we were off to the races – homegrown French nuggets sprinkled with hashish. Well, I certainly felt like Friar Tuck at that point, as we were singing songs by Jacques Brel, and they were telling me about playing Christians and Moors on the battlements as children. I eventually staggered back to the arena where they pick you up to drive to base camp, where Alan Rickman was waiting. He just looked at me, laughed and said that I smelt like a dead hippie. I couldn’t stop cracking up.

She’s worked on the likes of Sleepy Hollow, School of Rock and Night at the Museum and, as Casting Director for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, it fell on Ilene Starger to assemble the eclectic array of British and American actors...

The process of casting the film was enjoyable and challenging, as one always strives to honour the material. The script was certainly well-written, witty and moving, and one wants to do right by the writer. To name a couple of actors who were coveted choices from the start, given their brilliance: Alan Rickman and Morgan Freeman. And they said ‘yes’! Christian Slater somehow seemed right as young Will Scarlett.

With any casting project, I begin by reading the script multiple times. The better the writing, the stronger the characters and, as I read, I can envision and hear certain actors in the roles. I then start making lists for each character, and start checking availability with their representatives. Over a period of weeks and months, the lists keep changing; those who are not available are discounted from consideration, and I also keep adding names as I’m continually watching the work of actors, on stage and on screen, and many performances will inspire me.

I want to acknowledge the work of UK casting colleagues on the film, Noel Davis and Jeremy Zimmermann. Everyone involved brought their creativity, and passion for the project.

One of my favourite performances in the film is by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio... I felt very strongly that she would be a luminous Marian, fierce and tender, and she was. I suggested her for the role and was a strong advocate for her getting it The fact that the legend of Robin Hood is so well known probably helped the casting process, in that there was such enthusiasm to tell this story again. These are extremely popular characters; perhaps that’s why the story lives on in literature and in various films.

So many people the world over know the legend from early childhood, from books and filmed depictions. Thus, for everyone involved with this film, the challenge was how to stay true to the characters while trying to bring them to life in fresh ways for a new audience.

One of my favourite performances in the film is by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as Marian.

We’d originally cast Robin Wright as Marian, but she learned that she was pregnant, and left the project (everyone completely understood, and was very happy for her). I was, and am, a tremendous admirer of Mary Elizabeth’s work, having seen her on stage in New York, and in other projects. I felt very strongly that she would be a luminous Marian, fierce and tender, and she was. I suggested her for the role and was a strong advocate for her getting it. She is a superb, multifaceted actress.

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I’ve mentioned Alan Rickman and Morgan Freeman, who gave wonderful performances in the film; also, the marvellous Geraldine McEwan. It’s an ensemble, and every actor shines. Also, to have Sean Connery do a cameo, well, that was thrilling! He was a commanding actor: a legend, and had starred in Robin and Marian more than a decade earlier.

Alan Rickman had, of course, been doing wonderful work for years, but it was Die Hard which probably made him a star in the U.S. and internationally. I had seen him on stage, and he was magnificent: an actor of rare gifts. He was mesmerising. I don’t believe Die Hard had been released when I began casting Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but the word was already out that Alan was fantastic in it. It was sort of ironic that, between Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Alan was known for playing silky-smooth, darker characters; it’s a testament to his acting brilliance because he was, in real life, a deeply sensitive, kind and generous man.

He and I kept in touch over the years, and I would go to see him when he starred in plays or when he directed them. He was always warm, such engaging company, and incredibly smart. I think of him often, and miss him. He inspired, and was extremely generous to, countless actors and others. Thankfully, his work lives on in films.

My favourite memories from making the film were coming up with ideas and talking them through with Kevin Reynolds, the director, who is a lovely person and terrific colleague.

We’d worked together before, and it was always enjoyable. And, as I’ve said above, there was the excitement of working with actors who are so gifted.

I’ve always loved and admired actors, and being an advocate for them when I work on a project remains a great joy. To try and match up an actor and a role in which he/she/they will shine is thrilling.

It is difficult to believe that it has been thirty years since the film’s release; to be candid, I have not seen the film in a long while!

Answering these questions has made me want to see the film again. It’s always rewarding if a film one has worked on brings pleasure to people, or takes them out of their worries for a couple of hours.

The fact that the legend of Robin Hood is so well known probably helped the casting process, in that there was such enthusiasm to tell this story again Every film will have its admirers and its detractors, but for those of us working on them, I’d say the process is the most rewarding aspect. Of course, we hope the finished product will turn out well, and be a success, but often the best memories come from small moments and joys during the ‘making of’, and the friendships one forges which can span decades.

Respected stage, screen and voice actor Nick Brimble has been a well-known face on British film and television for almost five decades. But before appearing in the likes of A Knight’s Tale, Ivanhoe and Grantchester, the Bristol-born actor was chosen for the role of Little John...

One of my main memories was filming the scene in which I fight Kevin Costner in the waterfall. That was shot in November in Yorkshire, and man was it cold! From the first shot to the last we were fighting in that water and we weren’t allowed to wear wetsuits under our costumes because they restrict your movement while fighting. But it was freezing.

During lunch we just stood next to a fire to warm up, before putting our wet costumes back on and going again. The actual scene in the movie is only a couple of minutes, but we filmed in that water for the whole day.

I went up for an audition, and then was sent to meet the director and producers. I think I met them three times, but I knew they were casting the lead roles in America. Even though they wanted to see me for Little John, I knew they wouldn’t cast me, so I wanted to go up for Guy of Gisbourne instead. I’d been in a project called Crossbow, which was about William

Tell. I played the bad guy, riding around on a horse in black leather, which was a very Guy of Gisbourne-type part – you know, the henchman who beat up peasants and all of that. I thought that was the role for me! I tried to talk them into giving me that part, but they were adamant that I should be Little John.

I’d just recently been living in a village in Somerset, and I knew a lot of the guys who used to drive around in old pickup trucks with Confederate flags in the back. They were the kind of guys who didn’t want to pay their taxes, and it occurred to me that they were the sort of characters we were talking about when it came to Little John, so that’s how I approached it. They liked it, and I got the job.

Knowing that the legend of Robin Hood was so big around the world made it a project that I really wanted to be part of. When I was first going to the cinema aged around ten, the film I saw was the Disney live-action version [The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, 1952].

Richard Todd was Robin Hood, and the great James Robertson Justice was Little John. For me, that was the world of Robin Hood as I knew it – I had a picture book of the film, and there was a stream near where I lived that my friends

and I would go to and recreate the fights in.

It was part of the mythology of being English, I think. I loved it, and was so grateful to be part of it. I’ve been in films that you’ll never have heard of – they just disappear. There was even another Robin Hood film being made at the same time that nobody seems to know anymore. Luckily, we were a version of the story that everybody knew and loved.

We came to Nottingham itself for the British Premiere. We didn’t have any of the American cast with us, and we had to walk down this red carpet and all everyone was thinking was, “Well, where’s Kevin Costner?”

It’s great that I am Little John to a certain generation of people. So many of the things that you do, even if they’re well-received at the time, are here and then they’re gone. For one reason or another, they just disappear from people’s minds. The fact that Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is still being talked about is wonderful. It’s one of those movies that everybody seems to know, and it’s part of people’s lives. I’m very lucky in that sense.

It was very exciting to be part of that group of actors. I remember when we started filming we didn’t have the completed cast – I think Alan Rickman came on board a little later, and we started shooting without a Maid Marian, but it evolved and changed as we went along.

When the film first came out I was so excited and delighted. I liked it, and everyone I knew liked it. The critics didn’t like it, and it didn’t get great reviews. You know, saying it wasn’t historically accurate and blah blah blah… But, and you don’t see this now, there were queues around the block to see it, particularly in America. It was a smash hit and, because it’s still on TV all the time, people still know it. At the time it was hard work and maybe a little chaotic, but I had no idea it was going to be the success it went on to be. I haven’t sat down to watch the film from beginning to end for decades, but it pops up on TV now and again and I’ll think, “Oh there’s that bit!” or, “Oh my God there’s me!”

I remember we came to Nottingham itself for what I believe was the British Premiere.

We didn’t have any of the American cast with us, and we had to walk down this red carpet and all everyone was thinking was, “Well, where’s Kevin Costner?” Sorry, it was only me! We stayed at a hotel and they wanted us all to arrive in limos, but there weren’t any available, so the company sent over some converted hearses instead. And then after the film we were invited to Nottingham Castle for a big banquet, hosted by the real Sheriff of Nottingham. It was all very funny and strange.

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at 30

I have plenty of memories of making the film.

We didn’t actually shoot in Nottingham – the exterior of the castle was Carcassonne in France, and we were only there for a couple of days. The rest of it was built in Shepperton Studios.

Oscar and BAFTA nominated editor Peter Boyle has collaborated with director Kevin Reynolds on numerous projects, including Waterworld, The Postman and Tristan + Isolde. But their second film working together, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, saw the pair clash with the Hollywood machine...

As an editor, the biggest difference between then and now was the fact that it was all shot and edited on film. It was the old style of editing: white gloves, white chinagraph pencils and a moviola. Me and my assistant, Jonathan Lucas, travelled around the various filming locations in caravans, editing on location as we went except when they were filming in Shepperton Studios. The idea then, as it is now, was that as soon as a scene is shot, the directors and the producers want to see if the material cuts together and works. As editor, you’re meant to say, ‘Oh it’s all wonderful, but we haven’t got a close-up shot of this moment.’ The negative would be sent to the courier after the day’s shooting, processed overnight and then the printed material would be sent back to the cutting room at Shepperton. The team there would sync up the sound with the picture, and courier the reels of rushes to wherever we were, which was on Hadrian’s Wall at times. As soon as we got the material, I’d cut it as soon as possible and the director, Kevin Reynolds, would come and watch it. By the end of any given day, I would have cut what was shot the day before. It was a very efficient system, but involved a lot of people!

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at 30

That’s when people realised that Kevin Costner wasn’t going to be the star of the film, because Rickman was taking some of the glory.

From that moment on, there was always this sense of anxiety bubbling away Kevin Reynolds and I got on terribly well, and remain great friends. We’d make changes in the edit and do what we felt we wanted to do, and what worked for the film, before it was shown to the studio. But that’s when things get complicated. You see, in Hollywood, everyone wants to feel like they’ve ‘saved’ the film. No matter how successful, or how well it works, someone will always say, ‘Well I came up with the idea that saved that film’. And that’s when we hit problems. After shooting we went to Hollywood to edit the film and, I don’t know fully what happened, but there was a falling out between Kevin Reynolds, Kevin Costner and the studio. We actually got the edit finished ready for previews, where it had started to get the most phenomenally high scores. Of course, the moment something becomes successful, everybody in Hollywood wants to get their hands on it so they can say that they were part of it. It suddenly became very political.

Then there was the famous incident where we were locked out of our own cutting rooms. The studio tried to fire Kevin Reynolds – and this is after we’d got the highest ever score for a preview screening – so it was total madness.

By then, the cutting room was a big element, as we had about ten people working on the edit.

Because we all loved Kevin, and were totally

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loyal to him, we told the studio that, if they fired him, we were all walking. In those days that was quite a dilemma for the studio because there was only one version of the film – all of the scenes that had been changed or removed existed only in my head. Today, there would be endless digital versions of each edit, but then, without the editor, it was all lost. Eventually, the whole editing crew was fired. Or rather, we walked off and, when we went back to get our things, found that the locks had all been changed.

Up until that point it had been a terribly happy experience, but Hollywood doesn’t do irony or self-mocking at all. They didn’t recognise the sense of humour that Kevin Reynolds had – particularly with Alan Rickman, as they worked terribly well together. Kevin Costner was the biggest star in Hollywood at the time – and is a very lovely guy – but the studio wanted to protect this huge investment they had in him.

Right from the start there was an anxiety that Rickman, this relatively unknown British actor, was acting him off the screen. I think it started during the end-of-shooting party. It’s a tradition that, once filming has wrapped, the cast and crew would come together for a party to watch the outtakes. It was only on the day of the event that they asked me to edit some bloopers together, and all I could think of was the scenes in which Alan Rickman was sword fighting. He got it wrong a few times, but always in such a funny way – he was a truly wonderful character actor. So I cut all of these mistakes to Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones, and rushed it up to BAFTA where the party was happening.

When I got there I bumped into Alan, who said to me, “If you can, try and save my role.” I couldn’t think what he meant, until I went into the party and found out that Costner and his team were watching the outtakes of Alan for the fifteenth time. That’s when people realised that Kevin Costner wasn’t going to be the star of the film, because Rickman was taking some of the glory.

From that moment on, there was always this sense of anxiety bubbling away.

Other people fiddled with the cut of the film that we left and, I must say, I was pretty horrified by some of the editing.

It was very crude. So it didn’t feel like our film when I saw it. Much of it was, but they messed up a lot of moments. I haven’t watched the film for years, so I have no idea how I’d feel about it now. As an editor, you know every frame of the film – it’s burnt into your brain. So even if they only change two frames, it jumps right out at you. That’s what happened when I saw it.

Kevin Reynolds is a wonderful director, and he and Costner go back a long way, but have always feuded. He actually gave Costner his first break in a small film that was spotted by Steven Spielberg. I believe that, to this day, Costner and Reynolds still own the rights to a pirate project that hasn’t come to fruition. It would be a wonderful film if they made it! I don’t know, they may well be talking again now.

I still look back on the film with great affection, because it was a very happy project to work on.

The moment it went wrong in Hollywood was right at the end of the process, so it was just an unfortunate conclusion. Overall it was a very happy experience, and was my first big budget film. We all know the legend of Hollywood; getting to experience it first-hand was very amusing and fascinating. To go there with a big film, on a big salary, was like being given the keys to Disneyland – it was just a lot of fantasy and a lot of fun.

We Need to Talk About

Kevin

What would a celebration of thirty years since the release of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves be without the inclusion of the main man himself: Kevin Costner? Well, still quite good, we hope. But you know… we tried…

It’s 1am and I’m looking at the wholly intimidating IMDb page for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I know it takes an army to make an independent feature film, so I shouldn’t be surprised at the masses of names I see rolling past my tired eyes for this Hollywood blockbuster. The idea is simple – I want to try and interview as many people from the cast and crew of the film as possible.

Actors, camera crew, the director, the sound team, casting, make-up, props, the editor. Everyone. I know it seems like a bit of a scatter-gun approach, but this is LeftLion. We’re not blessed with resources, and I have a deadline of around two weeks to try and pull this together. But it’ll all be worth it if I can get Costner.

The entire process teaches me two things: one, that I need to look for a new career and two, there’s a very fine line between journalist and stalker There are long shots, longer shots, there’s Derby getting promoted next season, and then there are the odds of us getting hold of Kevin Costner for this magazine. From experience, actors are very rarely thrilled by the prospect of talking to anyone, especially some rag-tag independent magazine in little old Nottingham. Then there’s the fact that he won’t even be discussing a new film, but one that came out three decades ago. But the one thing that’s giving me hope is previous success. In 2019, I set my mind to getting an interview with Emilio Estevez when he came to Notts. It took countless emails, phone calls, a white lie or two and a lot of hiding in a cupboard, but I got there. Maybe there’s a chance. Maybe.

After sending out close to a hundred emails to the various agents, assistants, Facebook pages and PR firms of pretty much everyone in the cast and crew, I turn my attention to the prize. It’s now 4am and I’ve got about a dozen leads, and I start by sending an initial email explaining the idea to each of them.

Now comes the wait.

Brian Blessed’s PA gets back to me with a soft yes. Nick Brimble – Little John himself – and casting director, the lovely Ilene Starger, are confirmed. We’re gaining momentum and, as a result, a bit of hope. We even get closer to

Morgan Freeman than you’d ever believe. But nothing on the KC front as of yet. Another day passes, and we’ve got Costner’s stunt-double Simon Crane and Peter Boyle, the film’s Oscar-nominated editor. We’re in discussions with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, but it eventually fizzles out. Then, much to the relief of my ears, if not my inner-journalist, Blessed drops out. Still nothing from Camp Costner.

That night, after one too many cocktails, I start to draft up a list of questions for the man, should the impossible happen and I do get ten minutes of his time. He gets a hard time, does Kevin. At the time Prince of Thieves came out he was the biggest name in Hollywood. He was the charismatic, rugged-yetsensitive sort of actor that made him equally appealing to men and women.

Something of a throwback to the Golden Era of Hollywood, as comfortable in a Western as he was in a crime thriller. My Mum had a signed photo of him from The Untouchables that she’d bought off eBay for £20. We argued when I told her that it was probably fake.

Realistically, he probably doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Waterworld and The Postman are nowhere near as bad as the Internet would have you believe, and he’s made some genuinely cracking movies in his career: 3000 Miles to Graceland, Thirteen Days, Dances With Wolves. His performance as Devil Anse Hatfield in Hatfields & McCoys (directed by Prince of Thieves director and long-term collaborator Kevin Reynolds) was superb.

The emails have fallen on deaf ears and it’s time to start hitting the phones.

Considering this is literally my job, you’d be hard pushed to find someone more poorly equipped to talk on the phone. I mumble, stutter and go blank at the first sign of pressure. It takes me fifteen minutes to figure out what time it is in LA. Turns out it's 3am. Probably worth waiting for a bit.

When the time comes, I ring the agency that (according to IMDb Pro at least) represents Costner. All I have is a general phone number, which I dutifully call. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Taxi Driver, but the call went about as well as Travis Bickle’s post-porn-date chat with Betsy. “LeftWHO?” I hear asked time and again. “LeftLion miss. Ma’am. Madam. I’m looking for a representative for Kevin Costner. We’re an independent magazine in Nottingham that’s writing an article celebra…” I manage to spit out before being asked, in that pitch-perfect American politeness that can’t help but feel insulting to British ears, to please hold. Hold I do, before another voice answers. “LeftWHO?” The now-familiar question bounces off my tabs. I’m getting nowhere here. I’m starting to doubt whether LeftLion even exists. Is this all some anxiety dream? Jesus, these people would eat me alive in person.

I Britishly apologise for having bothered them, after pitifully explaining my hair-brained scheme to no fewer than three equally befuddled staff members.

I call his PR company, his legal representatives, the person who runs his merchandise site, his own production company and get pretty much the same response every time - just a sense of genuine bafflement that I was even attempting to get hold of Kevin bloody Costner. One woman, with the best intentions in the world I’m sure, talks to me like she’s just found me wandering through a supermarket looking for my Mum, “Yes I’m sure you’re a big fan of Mr. Costner. He’s a very popular actor, who has been in lots of movies. If you would like to write a fan letter, I’m sure he’d love to read it…” For the first time in this dopey odyssey, it’s me that tries to wrap the call up early.

Though not successful, the entire process teaches me two things: one, that I need to look for a new career and two, there’s a very fine line between journalist and stalker. It’s really only the successful interview at the end of the hunt that separates the two and, seeing as I failed, you’d have to put me in the latter category.

words: Ashley Carter illustration: Kate Sharp leftlion.co.uk/issue137 23

words: Gareth Morgan illustration: Sophie Elizabeth

Rebel City 1330: Edward III vs. Roger Mortimer We all remember being seventeen. Early forays into the world of work, perhaps still at college, driving theory tests, cans of cider down the skate park – all done while not quite old enough to be out from under the watchful auspices of the parents. In 1330, being seventeen was a little different for Edward Plantagenet, the third King Edward of England – and not in the 17 Again Matthew Perry-Zac Efron cinematic epic way.

When he was fourteen, Edward’s dad (also Edward) was murdered, allegedly on the orders of his wife and young Edward’s mother Isabella – often referred to as The She-Wolf of France and played by the beguiling Sophie Marceau in Braveheart.

Edward’s dad, Edward II, is a king with a story that deserves some discussion, as it has been widely speculated that he was gay – he famously had male favourites at court who would accompany him, rather than his wife, on state affairs. Both of his two most famous favourites, first Piers Gaveston and then later Hugh Despenser, were exiled and later killed by supporters of Isabella.

Although he had four children with Isabella and another child outside of his marriage, the idea that Edward II may have been gay or bi has stuck, though we will never know for sure and contemporary evidence is scant.

Isabella, during the times Edward spent away, had herself fallen in love with Roger Mortimer, a powerful lord from the Welsh borders, and the two struck up an affair.

When this became public, the pair fled to France with young Prince Edward.

In September 1326, they returned to England with an army to depose Edward II. The people of London rose in support of the queen and Edward fled, pursued by Mortimer and Isabella. After wandering helplessly for some weeks in Wales, the king was taken prisoner and was compelled to abdicate in favour of his son. He died less than a year later in captivity – some say murdered on the orders of Isabella and Mortimer by having a red-hot poker inserted somewhere rather painful.

Young Edward was installed as king aged just fourteen with his mother and her lover acting as his advisers and de facto rulers of the country. Nottingham was one of their favourite castles and it was here that their three-year proxy-reign came to an end,

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slightly ironically considering how Edward II was possibly dispatched, via an unguarded dark hole beneath them.

On 19 October 1330, the young King Edward and a small group of heavily armed supporters were in Nottingham. Their intent: to dispose of Mortimer and allow Edward to rule uncontrolled by this usurper.

They planned to enter the Castle at night and take Mortimer to London to be tried and executed. However, none of this could have happened without a little bit of Notts help, namely from William Eland – one of the most important people you’ve never heard of who lived in New Basford (apart from me). Eland was the deputy constable of the Castle and knew the hidden tunnel that would take Edward and his supporters from the base of the Castle Rock into the bowels of the fortress virtually unnoticed. Edward would stay in the Castle, so as not to arouse suspicion.

While Edward was a figure of great power, this act of rebellion was one which had a huge impact medieval Britain and on Europe On the following day, Mortimer had planned to convene a parliament at Nottingham at which Edward and his supporters feared the usurper regent would attempt to further curtail the young king’s power. As Edward’s chief supporter William Montagu told him: “It is better to eat the dog than be eaten by the dog”. Though only a small group of 28, they set out from Eland Hall in Algarthorpe (now the Selco builders’ merchants on Radford Road) down the Leen to capture Mortimer.

At around midnight the raiders entered the tunnel through a concealed entry way in the deer park on the west side of the castle (now Castle Grove in the Park) with Eland leading the way. The tunnel is believed to have come out into the middle bailey, close to the royal apartments. Eland and Montagu climbed the stairs to the queen’s chamber where

she and Mortimer were sleeping. Though there were 200 knights and men at arms guarding the castle, only three guards were outside the royal bedchamber. All three were dispatched by the mace of Sir John Neville, one of Edward’s more fearsome knights. The men broke into the chamber and disarmed Mortimer, placing him under arrest for treason against the king.

Edward now joined his men and went with Montagu from chamber to chamber, ordering the arrests of Mortimer's sons, Geoffrey and Edmund, and his henchman, Simon Bereford. The Bishop of Lincoln Mortimer's closest friend - was captured trying to escape down a privy chute.

Mortimer was bound and gagged then led to the castle’s supply tunnel. At the bottom, in Brewhouse Yard, he was tied to a horse and then ridden to London for trial and execution. Isabella was initially taken to Berkhamsted Castle, and then held under house arrest at Windsor Castle until 1332, when she then moved back to her own Castle Rising in Norfolk.

While Edward was a figure of great power, this act of rebellion was one which had a huge impact on medieval Britain and Europe.

Edward would go on to be one of the great kings of the age, winning great victories against the French at Crécy and Poitiers; transforming England into one of the most formidable military powers in the West. He oversaw vital developments in legislation and government, the evolution of the English Parliament, as well as, topically, guiding the country through Bubonic plague.

He didn’t forget his friends either – William Eland was made Constable of Nottingham Castle within days of the successful raid, and Edward would return regularly throughout his reign, including for the great Parliament of 1337, where important laws around cloth and fur were enacted.

Edward’s later life was more conventional for a medieval monarch but to perform a daring coup d'état which ends up with your stepdad (who allegedly ordered your dad to be murder by red-hot poker up the rear end) being hanged is quite the way to go, and all before reaching his twentieth birthday.

Quite the teenage rebel.

More than most cities in the UK, Nottingham has a long and proud history of rebellion, and few places have seen more rebellious acts than the Castle. In its various iterations, it’s been the setting for acts of insurrection, injustice and was even burnt down by rioters fighting against social wrongs. To celebrate its reopening after an extensive renovation, which includes a brand new Rebel Gallery celebrating the city’s past, Gareth Morgan of the Nottingham Castle Trust explores two of the best stories of rebellion at Nottingham Castle...

1831: The Reform Bill Riots

By October 1831, Nottingham already had a bit of a reputation. Since the 1760s there had been a riot in the town every other year, sparked by almost anything: markets flooded with cheap imported fabrics? Riot! The king’s birthday? Riot! The price of cheese too high? Riot!

These riots were obviously not without cause and, to quote the great William Cobbett (a mainstay of my A-level History syllabus), “I defy you to agitate any fellow with a full stomach” - many of Nottingham’s disturbances were due to high food prices, poverty wages and destitution. However, the town’s radicalism was also inflamed by another source: politics.

Nottingham had an election riot back in 1754, burnt effigies in the Old Market Square denouncing the French Revolution in the 1790s, an anti-Tory riot in 1802 (could another of those be coming?) and, in 1812, brawls in the streets between royalists and republicans over whether you should stand up for the National Anthem.

1831 was different still.

On Sunday 9 October, hundreds of people assembled beside the White Lion public house (which was on the corner of Clumber Street and most recently filled with slot machines), awaiting the arrival of the mail coach. The news they eagerly sought was whether the reform bill had passed in the House of Lords, which would have extended the vote to most men with a small holding of property (sorry, women and the working class) and ended some corrupt voting practices. Leading the opposition to these reforms was Henry Pelham Clinton, the fourth Duke of Newcastle and owner of Nottingham Castle.

When the mail coach arrived and the news was read out, Nottingham heard that the reform bill had been defeated. To subvert Sam Cooke, a change ain’t gonna come. An eyewitness at the White Lion, a Mrs Gilbert, described the mood as “ripe for every form of mischief”. From this point until Tuesday, two days later, the streets of Nottingham became the scene of fierce clashes between special constables, soldiers and paramilitary yeomanry against “the mob”.

Windows were smashed along the rows of shops near the Old Market Square and the Mayor of Nottingham was struck by a stone thrown by the crowd. Placards read “Down with the

boroughmongers, down with the Duke,” and “The King, liberty, and reform”. At dusk on Sunday, the Riot Act was read to little heed. As the military began to disperse the crowds, the rioters moved their focus and targeted other places: Bradshaw’s wharf on Leenside, Sharpe’s millers on Mansfield Road, Cooke’s grocers on Chapel Bar and, fittingly after the 1766 cheese riot, North's cheesemongers.

Overnight the office of the Nottingham Journal was attacked too.

It is at this point that the famous yell goes up – a cry of “to the Castle”. If you could ransack the house of a local lawmaker, why not the house of a duke!

By Monday morning, the crowds had returned with 15,000 peacefully filling Old Market Square to listen to pro-reform orators. The Town Clerk, perhaps overenthusiastically, stood the troops down. As the meeting broke up, the crowd headed toward Sneinton and windows were again smashed – grocers, bakers, town officials. Over in the Forest, the mills were attacked – the flour stolen, and the sailcloth slashed. At this point, about 3pm, the Mayor called for the military again.

The mob in Sneinton was aware of the news and they armed themselves – pulling up railings on Notintone Street to create rudimentary pikes. Their fury settled on John Musters, a strict Nottingham magistrate who owned Colwick Hall. The mob marched to Colwick and sacked the property, including drinking Magistrate Musters’ sizable wine cellar! It was at this point that the famous yell goes up – a cry of “to the Castle”. If you could ransack the house of a local lawmaker, why not the house of a duke?

During this attack at Colwick, the mob from the Forest had armed and attacked the House of Correction on St John’s Street (which would now be next to PRZYM). The troops and constables, dealing with this attack, were unaware of the group now marching along the river towards Castle Rock. At

around 7.30pm, they reached Wheeler Gate and were smashing up houses before they stormed the Castle, which was guarded by a solitary gatekeeper.

The rioters ransacked the building, which had been unoccupied for several years, and built a giant bonfire in the basement which ripped through the house. By 9pm, the fire could be seen for miles and, as described by John Hicklin in his history of Nottingham Castle written only five years later, “thousands thronged the Castle-yard, to gaze upon the dreadfully novel spectacle… a tremendous sacrifice to the demon of anarchy and crime.”

By Tuesday morning Nottingham Castle had become nothing more than a charred hulk. Sadly, the bodies of two children, who had probably died exploring the smouldering ruins, were also found. During the night the main body of rioters had headed down Derby Road clashing with police. An attack on Wollaton Hall was only stopped by a full cavalry charge.

Overnight too the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry had been called up to deal with the rioters, giving the law some much-needed reinforcements.

The main troublemakers of the crowd continued down Derby Road making it as far as Lowe’s mill in Beeston, which was also torched, while the Yeomanry began forcibly dispersing the crowds in the Old Market Square. On Bridlesmith Gate two men were shot by the troops during repeated skirmishes. At 5pm, the Mayor proclaimed a curfew and by 7pm the streets of Nottingham were clear of people, while the Duke’s mansion smoldered atop the hill.

As the embers cooled, the justice system began its work. Framework knitter John Armstrong from Pleasley (26), bobbin and carriage maker George Hearson (22) and boatman George Beck from Wollaton (20), who had also been the tap boy at the Eclipse pub on Chapel Bar, were hanged for their part in the riots – not specifically for the torching of the Castle but for Colwick Hall and for the mill in Beeston. Six more were transported to Australia.

In August 1832, a special court awarded the Duke of Newcastle a sum of £21,000 as compensation for the destruction of the Castle. As a silent rebuke to the town, the Duke left the charred shell of the building un-repaired for the rest of his life and it would remain a blackened ruin for the next 45 years.

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words: Ashley Carter photos: Curtis Powell

nine at the museum Nottingham Castle’s museum has been given a good sprucing as part of their extensive renovation and, after getting a sneak preview, we can attest that they’re looking bang on. Capturing elements of Nottingham’s artistic, industrial, military, social and rebellious history, the new exhibitions do a great job of providing an insight into the city’s eclectic, eventful past. To celebrate their reopening, we took a nosey around to find nine items that caught our eye...

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World War I PH Gas Helmet Museum of the Mercian Regiment The British Army issued this early example of a gas mask during the First World War in order to protect troops against the various types of deadly chemical weapons being used during trench warfare. Rather than acting as a filter, as was the case with later developments of the gas mask, the PH Gas Helmet was dipped in sodium phenate, a chemical that neutralised the effects of some gasses. The use of deadly gas, including chlorine, phosgene and tear gas, was a new development in warfare at the time and, by the end of the conflict, had killed an estimated 30,000 men, permanently injuring a further 500,000.

Private Derby Museum of the Mercian Regiment Far more than just an ordinary ram, Private Derby is a serving soldier in the Mercian Regiment, has his own bank account and even accrues holiday. As the mascot of the Mercian Regiment – a British Army infantry regiment drawn from the five counties in Central England – Private Derby is an old and cherished tradition. While the 32nd version of Private Derby is alive and well, Nottingham Castle is home to a beautifully taxidermied previous iteration, which served as the mascot during its time. Whisper it quietly, the Ram is even mascot at D*rby County games around Remembrance Day.

Salt-Glazed Monkey Figurine Early Nottingham Craft Gallery The process of salt-glazing originated in the Rhineland of Germany around 1400, but became widely practiced in Britain during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, when Nottingham established itself as producers of some of the highest quality and highly sought after salt-glazed items. The process, which involves adding salt to the kiln when it reaches its highest temperature, creates a glossy, orange-peel-like texture that is also much more durable.

This particular example from 1767, which takes the shape of a monkey and has openings in its humped back, shoulder and mouth, is said to have been used as a pipe holder.

Albert Ball’s Bullet-Pierced Windscreen Museum of the Mercian Regiment As one of the most decorated fighter pilots in World War I, Albert Ball’s legacy is widely celebrated in Nottingham. At the time of his death in combat, aged just twenty (Ball was only seventeen when he first joined up), he had 44 confirmed victories to his name, which saw him posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross – the highest British military honour. This windscreen, manufactured by AVRO, was pierced by an enemy bullet and taken from one of Ball’s aeroplanes in 1917.

It’s a visceral reminder of the horror of war, and the close margins by which each soldier, pilot and sailor lived and died during those four years of fighting.

The Flawford FIgures Early Nottingham Craft Gallery Sometimes, the stories behind how artifacts end up in a museum are as interesting as the items themselves. These stunning alabaster statues are rare survivors of Henry VIII and his Reformation, when England broke from Rome to become a Protestant nation, and almost all Catholic sculptures, images and books were destroyed. Having been discovered by chance in 1779, these statues of Virgin and Child, A Bishop and St. Peter as Pope – which all date from the late fourteenth century – were amazingly used as garden ornaments before finding their way to the Castle.

Safeguard Lace Badge Nottingham Lace Gallery After World War I showcased the strategic importance of certain industries to the country, the government made moves to protect British industry with a series of policies aimed at shielding them from foreign competition. As Nottingham’s prime source of manufacturing, the lace industry was at first not considered for safeguarding, ensuring that the lacemakers of the city headed en masse to Hyde Park in London on specially laid out trains to protest in 1930, wearing these badges as they marched. A chance discovery in a charity shop, this badge is thought to have been worn during those protests.

Lace Evening Dress and Jacket Nottingham Lace Gallery As one of the standout pieces in their impressive collection celebrating Nottingham’s lace history, this dress and jacket were created for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Worn by Lady Bragg, the wife of Nobel Prize recipient Sir Lawrence Bragg, its intricate design was based on the recently discovered crystalline structure of the mineral Beryl. It was manufactured by A.C. Gill, a lace firm based on Warser Gate in Notts, and founded by Albert Charles Gill who was a key figure in the city’s lace industry before emigrating to Australia, where he died in 1918.

Horse Leg Statue Fragment Rebellion Gallery This bizarre object throws up as many questions as answers. Let’s start with what we do know: it’s part of a horse’s leg, made of wood and taken from a statue of the First Duke of Newcastle which was on display on the Palace’s Eastern front. It was taken as a souvenir in the 1831 riots, during which the Castle was burnt down. But why is it made of wood? Was it a replacement for some earlier damage to the statue? Who took it with them? And how did it end up back at the Castle? History, you are as fascinating as you are frustrating.

Jeremiah Brandreth’s Execution Block Rebellion Gallery One of the most poignant elements of the Castle’s brilliant new Rebellion Gallery, this large wooden block was used in the execution of Jeremiah Brandreth, one of the last men in Britain to be executed via the method of beheading by axe. Brandreth, also known as The Nottingham Captain, was an out-of-work stocking maker from Sutton-in-Ashfield who was one of the suspected leaders of an 1817 Luddite march on Nottingham. The display is a visceral reminder that Brandreth paid the ultimate price for his participation, but is still remembered as a hero of the worker’s cause, and a true Nottingham rebel.

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My Photo Moment

Tom Quigley - tomquigley.co.uk

photos: Tracey Whitefoot

Make the Moat of it From archery competitions to clothing catwalks, Nottingham Castle has an abundance of fascinating new features for visitors to check out. We take a look at the pick of the bunch...

Hood's Hideout

Exploring the grounds of Nottingham Castle has never been more fun for the young ones, with Hood’s Hideout adventure playground giving kids the chance to slide, climb, jump and swing their way through history. Built into the dry moat of the Castle, children of all ages can get hours of amusement from the creative timber play structures that snake through the venue.

Rebellion Gallery

Curated by Dr Richard Gaunt, a professor in History at the University of Nottingham, the Rebellion Gallery will transport you back to the most riotous and bloody episodes throughout Nottingham’s rich and resilient past, celebrating the city’s famous rebel spirit which has played such a key role in the history of this country and beyond.

Described as “a dream for any young outlaw”, the area below the Ducal Palace has been carefully designed using historic interpretations of the ballads of Robin Hood, and includes everything from tunnels and slides to rope bridges and a replica gatehouse.

The Hideout is surrounded by the gorgeous green of vibrant trees, but still offers stunning views of the grounds and the beautiful bandstand. In this utterly unique setting, youngsters can have a proper adventure and discover everything this splendid space has to offer.

Famously, the beginning of the Civil War was declared on the Castle’s very grounds, and you can learn about the soldiers, sieges and subterfuge that shaped the monumental event. There is an exhibition on the Luddites, telling the story of Ned Ludd who, in 1811, took a hammer to the masters’ knitting frames in an act of defiance against the mistreatment of Nottingham’s textile workers - and inspired the proletariat into action. Finally, you can discover more about that fateful night of 10 October 1831, which became Nottingham’s most rebellious when rioters torched the Castle as the House of Lords ruled against granting greater voting rights to the lower classes.

There are also various multimedia elements, including a series of films celebrating modern-day Notts rebels made by yours truly here at LeftLion towers. The first two shorts, made by Georgianna Scurfield and Curtis Powell, focus on Paralympian Richard Whitehead MBE and Notts’ musical legends the Kanneh-Mason family.

Robin Hood Adventures

For those wanting a properly interactive experience, Robin Hood Adventures is definitely the place to be.

Does your dad make out he’s a next-level Bear Grylls that could overcome anything that’s thrown at him?

Now he can prove it, with innovative gaming tables challenging visitors to last a day in fourteenth century Nottingham, navigating all the dangers and threats that would have entailed. Aspiring archers can show off their skill with a bow and arrow, going headto-head (or hood-to-hood) with Robin himself in a digital archery competition. And masters of the quarterstaff can spar with Little John in the digital depths of Sherwood Forest.

Yet if battles and fights for survival aren’t really your jam, you can chill out in the virtual forest clearing and experience some legends and ballads on digital “in the round” storytelling screens.

Through this deeply engaging experience, visitors can discover the world of Robin Hood like never before.

Creative Galleries

As well as its deep history, Nottingham Castle is home to an impressive range of fine and decorative arts. In the Creative Galleries, visitors can check out everything from centuries-old portraits to contemporary photography, with the exhibition showcasing the miraculous masterpieces that Nottingham had to offer in the past and the boundless talent the city boasts today.

In the Early Craft Gallery, the wonders of Nottingham’s handmade history can be found, with items including medieval alabasters and salt-glazed stoneware from the city’s early potters. Visitors can have a go at making virtual pottery and designing their own sculptural masterpieces. The brilliance of Nottingham’s lace industry is showcased through a ‘catwalk’ of a hundred years of classy clothing, and the relaxing Art Gallery features a stunning collection of paintings, ceramics and jewellery from throughout time.

Modern artistry is also spotlighted in The Lab, a unique space which brings together the diverse stories of Nottingham Castle and the bold creative minds of Nottingham Trent University. leftlion.co.uk/issue137 31

words: Oliver Wakefield illustration: Leosaysays

castle Rocks One of the most iconic sites in the city, Nottingham Castle, is situated high on rock which records a period of history that looks very different from the city we know today. Regional Geologist Oliver Wakefield, of the British Geological Survey, takes us on a dive into Castle Rock, and tells us why the history of Nottingham is so intimately bound to its geological setting.

Probably one of the most iconic sites in the city, Nottingham Castle is well known worldwide as the mythical centre of the fight between Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Despite this acclaim, the very foundation that the castle sits upon is often overlooked, by which, of course, I mean the rocky cliff of ‘Castle Rock’. Yet, like all rocks, its geology offers some fascinating insights into the city’s past.

The city of Nottingham stands on an outcrop of Triassic sandstone that forms low hills on the north side of the River Trent. Castle Rock is made of the same sedimentary rock that is located directly beneath most of the city. Indeed, it is this rock, part of a group called the Sherwood Sandstone Group, which hosts the myriad of tunnels and caves for which the city is so well known.

This sandstone records a period of history which would have looked very different from our modern understanding of Nottingham. This is because the sandstone was originally deposited by a huge river that flowed all the way from Northern France. This river would have been very wide, likely thousands of metres, and it flowed over a barren, hot, desertlike landscape.

You might not notice as you’re posing for your next picture with Robin Hood, or marvelling at the ancient Gatehouse, but the evidence of this ancient river is recorded in the very rocks we now see in places like Castle Rock, itself a major geological landmark in the city, with its bare sandstone cliff rising to around 38 metres to the castle terrace.

A quick glance upon the cliff and you will probably see a yellowish rock. But look a little closer, and you’ll find all manner of subtle colour changes from yellows to deep reds and oranges, and also strange curved layers. These layers are interesting as they run contrary to the general thinking that sedimentary rocks are made of horizontal layers like you’d get in a good cake. In fact, if you spend even a couple of minutes looking at Castle Rock itself, it’s relatively difficult to see any horizontal layers in the cliff at all.

Instead, these layers are all curved, some look like interlocking ‘U’s while others exhibit more subtle lines. They are all actually the same thing;

examples of huge fossilised ripples that were flowing within the channel of our ancient river.

The technical name for these curved layers is ‘crossbedding’. You might already be familiar with seeing sandbars or small ripples in rivers; these are the same but much bigger.

This sandstone records a period of history which would have looked very different from our modern understanding of Nottingham Satellite images of any of the big rivers around the world often show sandbars in almost every river channel, and it’s very likely that our ancient Nottingham river looked very much like these.

It’s well worth a visit to Castle Rock just to spot all of the beautiful curved layers in the cliff on a sunny day. Alongside the crossbedding there are lots of pebbles scattered throughout the cliff.

Some are small and coin-sized, while others are, as a guest on a tour once pointed out, more potatosized! They range from milky white quartz to dark, almost black, igneous pebbles, and chocolatebrown mudstone pebbles. These pebbles can, in places, be grey-green instead, a colour change caused by water present in the ground. They are actually very soft and often smeared into a combination of curious shapes. A quick trip into the famous Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub and you can see them with ease.

One of the hidden gems in all the sandstone outcrops is the fascinating Grade II-listed Park Tunnel; a cavernous tunnel originally designed as a grand thoroughfare for the horse-drawn carriages of an exclusive Victorian residential development, but was allegedly created at a gradient too steep to safely use. Despite this rather mysterious engineering blunder it is without doubt the most pristine sandstone outcrop in all the city, where you will find all manner of wonderful features in

the walls and ceilings, and evidence of this ancient river is clearly displayed in the intricately curved layers of sandstone.

Further in from the entrance, you might even spot the big ‘U’ shaped layers I mentioned earlier, which cut deeply into underlying layers, thickening considerably as they do so. About midway into the tunnel, the layers are perfectly aligned either side of a crack, or ‘joint’. It is very likely that the crack formed when the tunnel was originally dug, however the rest of the sandstone is sufficiently strong enough to make up for it.

It is well worth taking the stairs at the exit of the tunnel up onto The Ropewalk, with its vantage point over the Park Estate, where you can see clearly the impact of the sandstone and how it shaped this part of the city.

Research tells us that Nottingham owes its origin to its combination of geology and geography, which resulted in the presence of the sandstone cliff and enabled the Normans to take advantage of its strategic importance by building a castle on its cliff-bounded summit. It is the geotechnical properties of the sandstone that allowed rock shelters and caves to be easily excavated.

Added to that, Nottingham is an area rich with an abundance of natural geological resources, so that as the city grew and industries developed, it was supplied by clean water, sandstone, limestone and coal, all within easy transportation distance of the city. By the early twentieth century Nottingham was a major industrial centre of the East Midlands.

Today, our geological understanding of the city continues to be hugely important, not only because building construction in Nottingham continues to take the presence of caves into consideration.

As populations grow in the future, solutions founded in geology will be needed to protect our environment, natural resources and the health of the population. All cities, like Nottingham, will face new challenges as they continue to develop and to meet the challenges of a changing climate. Tackling them has to start with a sound understanding of the rocks beneath our feet. bgs.ac.uk

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Robin All Over the World Whether he was a real man or not, the figure of Robin Hood inspired countless acts of rebellion against injustice all over the world. So much so, in fact, that the name Robin Hood became a moniker for those who mirrored many of the legend’s tropes: robbing from the rich to give to the poor, standing up against tyranny or being a talismanic hero in the face of adversity. While the list of latter day Hoods is endless, we’ve rounded eight of the best stories of Robin Hoods from around the world… illustration: Chloe Henson Dr. Ozel Clifford Brazil

Nakamura Jirokichi

Described by Black Like Vanilla as “a Robin Hood who never stole a dime”, Dr. Brazil left a legacy of sending an estimated 18,000 black students to college in Los Angeles during the nineties. Though his methods weren’t always above board (he was sentenced to three years in prison in 2003 for financial-aid fraud), his results were incredible.

A scholar, activist, minister and leader, Dr. Brazil recognised the rampant disparity in the US college system and addressed it with relentlessly effective action. He made it his life’s mission to get black children off the streets and into education, and he was overwhelmingly successful.

More widely known as Nezumi Kozō (Rat Kid), Jirokichi was a well-known thief and folk hero in nineteenth century Edo (present day Tokyo). Having been caught and banished from Edo, he returned to burgle over 100 samurai estates, stealing an impressive 30,000 ryō during his fifteen-year career, which he is said to have distributed to the city’s poor. Like many people on this list, the law eventually caught up with him, as he was eventually caught, paraded in public and beheaded. Over the years, so many people have taken parts of his memorial tombstone that it has been replaced several times.

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Ned Kelly

Juraj Jánošík

Good old bucket head himself. Arguably the most famous Robin Hood-inspired outlaw on the list, Ned Kelly was the Australian bushranger who stood up to what he saw as the injustices of the police, the Victorian government and the British Empire. He demanded justice for his family and the rural poor, and evaded capture for two years owing to the support of an extensive network of sympathisers.

Following a bloody shootout in which he was the only survivor, Kelly was captured and sentenced to execution. Despite a petition signed by thousands, he was hanged in 1880, aged just 25. Purportedly, his final words were, “Such is life”.

A popular figure in Slovak folklore, and the subject of countless books, poems and films, Juraj Jánošík was an eighteenth century highwayman who, you guessed it, robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, before being brutally executed at the age of 25. How much the real life Jánošík has in common with the legend that spun from his deeds is highly debatable but, much like Robin Hood, he’s grown into more of a figurehead than anything else. His name is so synonymous with the fight against oppression that, during the anti-Nazi Slovak Uprising in World War II, one of the main partisan groups fought under his name.

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Pancho Villa

Salvatore Giuliano

Among the more contentious names on the list, Villa was either a revolutionary hero or a ruthless murderer, depending on who you ask. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but what’s certain is that he rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most prominent figures in the Mexican Revolution. While his penchant for violence and torture was well-known, he had a soft spot in his heart for the downtrodden, and is said to have re-distributed money, corn and cattle stolen from the wealthy, corrupt haciendas to the Mexican poor.

Bloodstained though his legacy may be, he had a proven track record of helping the lower classes before his assassination in 1923.

Described by British historian Eric Hobsbawm as “the last of the people’s bandits”, as well as the first Robin Hood figure to be covered in real time by a mass media, Giuliano was a Sicilian bandit who rose to prominence during the chaos that followed the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. He strived for Sicilian independence, fought the police whenever he could and traded food on the black market at a time when 70% of the island’s food was obtained illegally. Widely acknowledged as the inspiration for Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Giuliano may have lacked Robin Hood’s altruistic motivations, but makes the list for his anti-establishment efforts regardless.

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Kayamkulum Kochunni

Leonarda Emilia

India’s answer to Robin Hood was a legendary bandit who stalked the highways of Travancore (modernday Kerala), stealing from the wealthy in order to help the lower classes. A devout Muslim who is said to have visited his local mosque five times a day, Kochunni had a sceptical view on the legitimacy of the Indian money system which, coupled with an upbringing rife with poverty, saw him take a negative view of moneylenders, landlords and rich landowners. Much of his life is shrouded in mystery, but his legacy is one of India’s great folk heroes, whose shrine attracts thousands of visitors each year.

As a young woman from Mexico, Leonarda Emilia was in love with a French soldier who was later captured and sentenced to execution. Her pleas to spare his life fell on deaf ears, leading to a campaign of revenge that would make Quentin Tarantino blush. Assuming a new identity as La Carambada (The Amazing Lady) she became a vigilante in an outlaw band that stole from rich travellers and redistributed the wealth to those most in need, killing corrupt officials along the way. The perfect blend of altruism and revenge, Emilia is said to have added her own personal flourish to each robbery by flashing her victims in order to emasculate them.

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words: Thomas Griffiths

The Hood, the Bad & the ugly It’s been well over a century since Robin Hood first graced the silver screen. Since then, the revered revolutionary has been portrayed by Hollywood legends, Soviet stars and a cartoon fox. We take a look at the most memorable movies from the leader of the Merry Men, as well as some of his more disappointing depictions...

At the turn of the twentieth century, cinema was realised as the perfect medium for telling the story of legends; the tallest tales of history could be bigger than ever before. One character, more than any other, felt perfectly suited for the screen - Robin Hood fit so perfectly, in fact, that the legend would go on to feature in every decade of cinema’s history.

Robin and his Merry Men presented the first cinematic depiction of the hero of Sherwood.

Though a simple plot of rivalry and honour, the film sets the stage for a character that would soon be captivating audiences many times over.

Robin Hood saw the second attempt at the tales, this time introducing the key characters of Marian and Guy of Gisbourne.

While the plot is typically simple for its time, the film takes a great step forward in the storytelling potential of a Hood motion picture, namely the romance of Robin and Marian and the rivalry of Robin and Guy, both factors that would later make or break future cinematic iterations of the stories.

With key characters, romances and rivalries, humour and action, Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood could learn from earlier attempts and bring the tales alive in full feature length production. After the success of Fairbanks in The Mark of Zorro (1920) and The Three Musketeers (1921), Hollywood’s brightest silent star chose Robin Hood as his next subject.

These three films dramatically increased the size and scale of storytelling while retaining a focus on character and morals. With sets designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and distribution courtesy of Charlie Chaplin’s United Artists, the film became one of the greatest financial successes of the twenties. Its ambition paid off and proved that cinema could elevate century old stories to new heights and continue to find relevance in ever changing times. Perhaps most importantly, the 1922 film demonstrated that an ideal Hood picture must balance action with character.

1909 1912 1922

This trajectory of ever grander storytelling arguably reached its peak when Robin Hood was projected in Technicolor for The Adventures of Robin Hood. Elevating previous standards set by Fairbanks, this time Errol Flynn brought the character to life and, for the first time, into the era of sound and colour. Now audiences could hear the iconic character and see the green leaves of Sherwood in “glorious technicolour”. Through the direction of Michael Curtiz, the supporting acting of Olivia DeHavilland and Claude Rains, and Academy Award winning editing, music and set design, these stories, first told 800 years prior, were now perfectly fitting of the time. Again, the clear values presented alongside captivating action proved a winning combination, off the back of the Great Depression and approaching the dawn of WWII, these moral values had greater relevance than ever before.

The iterations of the story released on screen in the following decades would fail to match the success of the 1938 film, often falling off the balancing act of action and character by leaning too far into humour and pantomime, the vivid greens of technicolour then looking more garish than heroic.

As is often the case in cinema, the success of one film leads to a succession of copycat films to be created in the following years. All in all, ten Robin Hood films were created in the following thirty years, some so blatant in their copying that they borrowed sets from one another’s films. This period from the forties through to the end of the sixties offered nothing new to the story, gone was the method used in 1922 and 1938, the character had entered a stage of fatigue and belonged more on afternoon TV than the big screen.

1938

1973 1976 1991 2010With this in mind, we can appreciate even more the originality of Disney’s Robin Hood. Finally a new take on the story had arrived, returning to the tale’s roots and working with the best elements of Flynn’s portrayal of the character 35 years prior.

This iteration, although featuring no people at all, is perhaps the most human take on the tale. It is interesting to consider the cartoon’s ability to bring stories of this kind to life; we are able to empathise with animated animals far more than the overly theatrical acting of the forties and fifties Hood films. Though Disney’s was the first feature length animated Robin Hood, there had already been many cartoon Robins.

From Looney Tunes to Popeye, the humour of the character translates well to animation. It is however, of all these animated versions, the Disney picture that manages the essential feat of humour and heart. For these reasons it is the only Robin Hood feature that often rivals Flynn’s portrayal for the best performance.

After Disney’s version of the now staple story of cinema one could easily wonder where to take the tale next. Robin and Marian provided another alternative take on the familiar characters. Where the film is weak on action, and often also in plot, its post-Crusades setting and ageing characters create heartfelt performances of Hood’s final years.

Cleverly adapting the theories that Hood was poisoned by a prioress at Kirklees Priory, the film slowly paves the way for emotional scenes that Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn hold completely, with Hepburn delivering an iconic final monologue.

The film is a great testament to the more human elements of the tales - the dying outstretched arms of Robin and Marian failing to reach one another is imagery that is worthy of the best performances put to both of the iconic characters throughout any of their on screen incarnations. Through Connery’s performance, Hood becomes an unexpected cautionary tale of the hero, failing to know when his fight is over and forced to live up to exaggerated legend. The film poses new questions towards the actions of the Crusades and the morality of the life of a legend, an impressive feat for a story that had now been shown on the screen for 70 years.

By the arrival of the nineties there had been no Hollywood production of Robin Hood for fourteen years, the longest period so far without the character in Western cinema.

However, in the East the story was finding new relevance. Themes of robbing from the rich to help the poor struck a chord in Soviet Russia with The Arrows of Robin Hood (1975), while Aaj Ka Robin Hood (1988) proved a successful Indian film.

Back in the west the studios were eager for a Robin Hood picture fit for the nineties, so much so that in 1991 there were two Robin Hood films released only one month apart. The American production would be Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves while the British would release Robin Hood.

Enough has been written about Kevin Costner’s take on the character, so instead it’s interesting to examine the British attempt.

With Robin Hood we find Patrick Bergin sporting a questionable moustache, not as Robin Hood but as Robert Hode, a character that fires more corny one liners than arrows.

There are none of the usual faces of Guy or The Sheriff, and Robin (or Robert), cares more for stealing Marian than money for the poor. The cinematography is nicely English and Bergin offers an alternative take on the character, yet both of these films represent a complete shift of approach, barely recognisable with the original stories.

Since the nineties we have seen the tales told again and again, each desperately trying to achieve something new while ignoring the key strengths of the stories.

2010’s Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe is utterly devoid of character or humour, and the story is unrecognisable as a Robin Hood production. Whereas Otto Bathurst’s 2018 version, Robin Hood, is an equally unnecessary attempt that could perhaps mark the final shot fired by a 21st century Robin Hood.

Looking back over 100 years of Robin Hood on screen it’s impossible not to wonder where the story will head next. What is certain is that the perfect picture would, like the legend himself, have to be a collection of all these past tales. The ambition of the silent feature film of 1922, the direction of Curtiz seen in 1938, the warmth of Disney’s full length 1973 feature, and perhaps the sense of loss and fear displayed by Connery and Hepburn in 1976. Only through combining all these factors into a tapestry of tales, much like the earliest collection of stories over 900 years ago, can the perfect Robin Hood film of the 21st century be produced.

When we study a century of Robin Hood productions we can’t help but also study the history of cinema itself. Each Robin Hood film is a product of its time, whether it be the biggest film of the silent era, a technicolour glimpse of hope after the world’s worst financial crisis, or a cartoon fox that brings new life to a near 1000 year old story. Through these films we see how cinema and it’s audience has changed but equally how it remains the same, still hungry for the same old legends.

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words: George White illustration: Shane Connery Volk

comic zans Mad Cave Studios’ new comic book series Nottingham sees the Castle’s most famous resident, the Sheriff of Nottingham, take on the role of detective as he tries to figure out who is hunting the county’s cold-hearted tax collectors. We speak to David Hazan, writer and creator of the books, about his decision to take the age-old story of Robin Hood in a brave, unconventional direction.

Over the years, the world has been exposed to more stories about Robin Hood than Derby County have had off-field scandals, making it difficult to find unique and interesting takes on the character for new audiences.

Yet David Hazan, writer and creator of brand new comic book Nottingham, came up with a striking solution to the problem - focus your Robin Hood story on, well, not Robin Hood.

Across a fascinating five issues, this series instead follows ol' Sheriff of Nottingham - yes, the wicked villain in so many of our hooded hero’s adventures as he becomes something closer to the Sherlock of Nottingham, tracking down the Merry Men and their lauded leader in what has been described as a ‘True Detective-style’ medieval noir. Having the traditional bad guy as the star of the show is certainly a bold move, but one Hazan says made sense for adding some originality to a well-trodden tale.

“This was a way to depart from what everyone’s seen before,” the Sydney-based wordsmith explains.

“I knew I wanted to do a noir from the beginning and this led to a snowballing thought process where I ended up with the idea of, ‘What if we do a Robin Hood story where the Sheriff is a cop that hunts down the Merry Men, who are seen as sort of terrorists stalking Nottingham’s tax collectors?’

“The Sheriff is really made for the role of a morally ambiguous detective. He’s a person who has to serve the interests of the upper echelons of society and keep an eye on the lower classes at the same time, which can lead to some really challenging dilemmas for the character.”

So often in the past, audiences have seen the Merry Men depicted as dedicated defenders of the downtrodden, with Hood and his gang painted as virtuous, honourable chaps scrapping against tyranny and injustice. Hazan, however, turns the notion on its head, questioning their motives and making their ambitions less clear. This alternative angle on the characters comes from a source of scepticism, the writer admits.

“That was mostly a function of my cynicism towards the original story. I looked into the history of who Robin Hood was in the tales and he is often noted as a member of the nobility who was leading a peasant rebellion. My brain couldn’t get around that idea,” Hazan says.

The messages from Robin Hood transcend different countries and languages “My take was that he had a clear ulterior motive, pushing the rebellion because it served his own ends of getting people to support his friend, Richard the Lionheart, against Prince John. I wanted a more nuanced approach to examining what Hood did, interrogating whether the idea of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor was more of a publicity stunt in a war of propaganda between two sides.”

Despite his cynicism, though, Hazan’s desire to write these books also came from a genuine love of the characters, and the impact this long-lasting legend has had on communities around the globe.

“The messages from Robin Hood transcend different countries and languages,” he says. “He’s popular everywhere because there is a powerful and attractive message about fighting for those in need.

That’s what makes him so beloved by so many.”

Across the series, Hazan’s story is told through immaculate imagery and stunning illustrations, with artist Shane Connery Volk bringing a “very nineties grunge style” to the books. While this wasn’t always how the creator envisioned the comic, he admits the final product is a gorgeously engaging work of art.

“Shane took the story in a direction I wasn’t prepared for, but when I saw what he was doing, I thought, ‘This is it. This is how we’re doing it.’ I adore the way that each character’s physique matches their inner turmoil. It’s very Shakespearean in that way.”

Among the detailed character designs and startling sketches, there is plenty of glorious, gruesome action

on display. In issue one alone there are enemies littered with arrows, high-octane chase scenes and blood splatters aplenty. Don’t be fooled by the vibrant visuals - this ain’t no Disney flick.

“Violence was a way to get things done back in the twelfth century; often the primary way to get things done,” Hazan says. “An honest retelling of a story from that time necessitates that we show a little blood and a little brutality.

“But the violence is always infused with the storytelling. Each burst of action helps to move the story along. In comics you don’t always need to fill a page with words, you can let the art speak for itself.

Sometimes you can learn way more when people hack away at each other than when they’re sitting around talking.”

Since the first issue was released, the feedback Nottingham has received has been almost overwhelming. Every day Hazan’s Twitter account is flooded with enthusiastic readers who have been soaking up every panel of this unpredictable adventure - and in the real Nottingham, the book is prominently placed on shelves in Forbidden Planet and Page 45.

The writer says he’s been “delighted” with the response he’s had and that he can’t wait to finally visit our great city when he gets the chance, after COVID brought a halt to his plans of joining us this year. “I was hoping to do Nottingham Comic Con but obviously the pandemic put a stop to everything,” he explains. “But it’s definitely my aim to come as soon as I can.”

Will he have new releases in the Nottingham universe to promote when he does? Hazan stops short of committing to anything concrete, but says with a smile, “I have enough ideas for years of stories, so I’d love to continue doing it. I guess it all depends on how many more people pick up a copy!”

More information on the Nottingham comics can be found on the Mad Cave Studios website

madcavestudios.com/nottingham

foodand DRINK

going down a treat

interview: Adam Pickering photos: Curtis Powell

With a long lineage of local confectionery crafting, a big focus on supporting charities and the local community, and a serious eye for sustainability, we thought we’d better check out the new Treat Kitchen. We chatted with two of the co-owners, Jess and Martin Barnett, and Head of Product Development, Katie Gilbert.

Tell us about how Treat Kitchen got started - how long have you been around and what’s the inspiration behind it?

Jess: My husband Martin, one of the co-owners, has had a sweet factory in his family since the 1890s making boiled sweets in Nottingham, so we've got that history. We've just been around sweets a lot in our past and we wanted to bring them up to date, and give a modern twist on the food gifting sector, really.

You have a focus on “sweet gifting”. What does that involve?

Jess: It’s about capturing something that tastes great but also making it look great. We want to create perfect gifts, to maybe celebrate something or say thank you or happy birthday, and we do that by bringing quality design and quality confectionery to create a gift that looks as good as it tastes - whether it's something to give away or to treat yourself.

You're working with the old Thorntons team as well.

How did that come about?

Jess: So obviously we all heard about Thorntons suddenly having to close, but we wanted to utilise and really showcase the talent that this store already has as a team; working with them over the last few days as we’ve gotten ready to open has made me see what a great bunch of people they are. I think they're going to do a fantastic job for Treat Kitchen, and the fact that we've all been able to work together is just amazing. So this was a bit of a unique opportunity. We're also in a position where we can support the great organisations we’re working with, like Base 51 and Double Impact.

food for thought

Tell us more about your work with charities.

Jess: Well, they both fall into that category of preventing people from slipping through the gap.

Base 51 focuses mainly on supporting young people aged eleven to fifteen. Then we've got Double Impact supporting those in recovery from all forms of addiction - we've supported them through their Towards Work programme where we've employed

New Business – Grounded Kitchen The fresh gourmet eatery is the newest restaurant to open in West Bridgford, priding themselves on striking the perfect balance between mind, body and fuel. groundedkitchen.com

people and given work experience. We supported Base 51 by helping them create a website and with marketing recruitment, and we're doing dedicated instore ranges where proceeds will go to support those charities, such as Outburst which is Base 51’s LGBTQ+ group.

We really love being a part of the Nottingham community, so we’re always going to go with quality local producers wherever possible Was there a particular experience that led you to supporting Double Impact?

Martin: It came from when we had the shop down on Wheeler Gate - there were a lot of people with substance and addiction issues around that area. All we really saw was them either being fined for leaving a doorway or being moved on or pushed around. We used to park in a couple of underground car parks nearby and there were groups of people from that sort of demographic just asleep or hanging around in the corners. We thought we’ve got to do better than just pushing them underground and out of sight like this. We like supporting that mix of both young and older people.

What new products have you got coming up at Treat Kitchen?

Katie: We have a massive selection of products and they all cater to different demographics and age groups. One of our main focuses is glass-based packaging, giving our products to people in nice things that you can reuse. The Outburst range is a favourite of mine, it carries on our positive messaging selection that we’ve been working on for a while. So

To Nosh – The Rump Rub (BOHNS Best Burgers) Beef patty, jalapenos, American cheese, chilli mayo and jalapeno and raspberry jam.

Sweet Jesus. We’re obsessed. @bohns_official

we have a great range with funny, quirky puns and things like that, like the “Things are alripe” bottles filled with gummy avocados.

Can you tell us more about your focus on sustainability?

Katie: We're trying to convert our whole packaging range to more sustainable options, and probably midway through next year we should be able to get to pretty much 100% recyclable, compostable or biodegradable packaging. So wherever you see glass in our store it can be recycled, and almost everything is made from recycled glass and plastic. Then there's a lot of other things that we're doing as well, outside of products. We’re making sure that we source all the other goods in store locally, not getting them from very far away - like our coffee, cake and ice cream.

We're also working closely with a company called Ecologi to carbon offset each individual staff member by planting trees.

That’s great, and I love that you’re working with lots of local businesses that we like...

Jess: Well we were already working with Stewarts Coffee, so they were the natural choice for our barista coffee here - the drinks are just great and they’ve been amazing by training up our staff as baristas.

We’re working with Bluebell Dairy just over in Derby who make all of our ice cream too, so that’s nice and local, and they’ve got some really exciting flavours.

Homemade make all of our cakes, and I know that their brownies in particular are very popular in Nottingham so it’s great to bring them to the shop.

We really love being a part of the Nottingham community, so we’re always going to go with quality local producers wherever possible.

Treat Kitchen, 11 Victoria St, Nottingham NG1 3QB

ttkconfectionery.co.uk

To Sup – Oat Milk Iced Latte (Effy) If you fancy supping your cruelty-free cold brew in the most Instagrammable cafe in town, you’re in luck. It’s properly tasty, too. @effynottingham

Environment

words: Adam Pickering

Burning Ambitions

The LeftLion Sustainability Review At the beginning of 2021 we began a sustainability review across the whole LeftLion operation, because we want you to be confident we’re doing everything we can to face up to the climate crisis. We want to have as little negative impact on the environment as possible, and we’re committed to working towards a future where we have a net positive impact.

This is an ongoing process, and it by no means finishes at plonking a few words in print. We’re getting trained up on how to tackle the big issues.

As our sustainability lead, I recently completed a course in Sustainable and Inclusive Leadership along with achieving a carbon literacy certification from the Carbon Literacy Trust via Nottingham Trent University, and in good Notts fashion we’re meeting regularly and collaborating with all our partners who are making similar efforts.

As with our own individual homes, lifestyles, and current level of understanding, we’re all on a journey here - so wherever you’re at on it, we hope you’ll come along with us. While we’re not in a perfect place just yet, here’s a bit of an overview of where we’re at, and what we’re doing to change in our key business areas.

Digital We’re committed to powering leftlion. co.uk sustainably, and we’re looking to move our website over to completely renewable-powered, carbon neutral servers at the next opportunity.

Our current servers are based in highly efficient data centres that use no air conditioning, with a carbon consumption rate of 200kg of CO2e emissions on average per server/ year - half the general average of 458kg CO2e per server/year. Our cloud computing services are handled

by Google who are a carbon neutral company, and we’re working to make sure other services we use are as eco-friendly in their own working practices as possible.

Coverage Since we were founded, LeftLion has always taken environmental issues seriously. With the increasingly clear risks of catastrophic climate change, and the growing appetite for more coverage of these issues that’s been

reflected in interest from our readers, we’re expanding our environmental content by launching this new Environment section, dedicated to tackling the subject of all things green through a Notts-centric lense. You’ll be seeing more stories across LeftLion Magazine, on leftlion.co.uk, and in our weekly LeftLion Newsletter too, and we’ll be doing our best to inspire action and hold ourselves and others to account through this work.

Other bits We’ve reviewed our supply chain to make sure that all our office supplies are as sustainable as possible. We use rechargeable batteries, and we recycle any old technology that we no longer need. We’re also exploring options for zero-emission delivery of our magazines, such as electric vehicles, and as many deliveries as possible are made on foot.

If you’ve got any specific questions, concerns, or suggestions, we’re keen to hear them. We’re also looking for contributors to write and illustrate for this very section - if you think you can help tell a story about Nottingham and the environment, drop us an email. environment@leftlion.co.uk

DIG THIS

Print LeftLion Magazine is fully recyclable and home-compostable. We print on paper that is recycled or made using FSC certified sources, which means you can be confident that any forestry in our name is being conducted responsibly and sustainably. Our printers boast one of the most modern and efficient printing presses

in the UK, and they’re run on 100% renewable energy. We also aim to never print more magazines than we need to - so every one of them (bar a few archive copies) ends up in our readers’ hands. If there is ever any wastage, it’s recycled.

Windmill Community Gardens Art in the Garden The beautiful Windmill Community Gardens in Bobbers Mill (Radford way) will open up their gates for an art trail, green activities, entertainment and refreshments on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July. windmillcommunitygardens. blogspot.com

Clean Champions By tooling up hundreds of local residents with litter grabbers and purple bin bags, Nottingham City Council’s Clean Champions are transforming local green and public spaces. Sign up online. nottinghamcity.gov.uk/ cleanchampions

Wild.NG New north Nottingham city based project Wild.NG aims to help nature along street-by-street through community action, creativity and science. Get stuck in. wild-ng.uk

With a world of topics at my feet, I’m going to start with the big picture - where are we at, and should we be optimistic or terrified about our chances of solving the climate crisis?

Over the last year, some rays of sunshine have burst through the gloomy climatic weather outlook. I admit I was overexcited when Joe Biden won the US presidency and pledged previously unimaginable resources to “building back better” with a green and inclusive infrastructure bill. The EU have recently set ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets too, and even our own Tory Government are giving it a decent whack. On a local level, Nottingham has an eye-catching goal to be the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2028.

Of course, none of this matters without action - the sort of nation-mobilising policy and fiscal efforts previously seen in the face of world wars, and now the COVID-19 pandemic. But US directives are falling apart in Congress, the UK Government are being criticised by their own climate scientists for not reflecting promises in policy, and Nottingham City Council’s planning department continues to wave through concrete wildlife deserts.

Many countries aren’t at the stage of setting targets commensurate with the science - the International Panel on Climate Change asserts that emissions “would need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050” to avoid catastrophic warming. China the world’s leading greenhouse gas emitter at 30% - have stated that their emissions will “peak” by 2030.

So now’s no time to relax - we need to keep the pressure on for change up top, and grow hope from the ground up in our homes, streets and communities. The climate change fightback will be a bumpy ride, but this new section aims to provide a bit of the inspiration we’ll need to stomach it.

words: Adam Pickering

MUSIC interview: Serena Haththotuwa photo: Asa Hudson & Neil Tolliday

I felt that with Champyun Clouds I was able to talk about various topics that I felt I couldn’t as a solo act, and to try and encourage myself to discuss more universal topics that may resonate with listeners in a more direct fashion

We Are the Champyuns After releasing their impressive self-titled debut album, Nottingham duo Champyun Clouds have received praise from far and wide. Having made the record without meeting at all, members Asa Hudson and Neil Tolliday describe what it was like collaborating on their eclectic first piece of music together and tell us what might be in store for the future...

You’ve released your debut album in the midst of a global pandemic. How much did that have a part to play in the creation of the record, and did it affect your sound?

Neil: I wouldn’t say it affected the sound or process of creating the album at all, it just meant we couldn’t be in the same room together whilst making it. We didn’t have time to think about it, we just went with it. The majority of the tracks were done by myself and just sat around for over two years waiting to see the light of day.

How did the opportunity to create the album come along?

Asa: I’ve known Neil since the days of The Music Exchange when we worked there and I got to know him more over the years and became aware of his work with Bent, DiY, his solo stuff and other aliases and projects which I greatly admire.

I kept on hinting at wanting to work with him ‘pestering’ would be a good word to describe it.

But in mid-2020 he sent me a track he made years ago called How Far and asked me to put some guitar to it, which I did, sent it to him and he released it on one of his many Bandcamp pages.

Around late January 2021 Neil sent me around thirty more instrumentals to work on in the hope that it would shut me up.

Neil: Yeah. That kinda backfired and now I have to work with him.

Asa: Hot Delivery was the first track I started work on and when I sent it to him he said he liked it, so I went on to finish more and the rest is history.

Did the sound of the album have deliberate direction, or do you think it gradually evolved?

Neil: There wasn't a specific direction. Hot Delivery is totally different to a track like Lime O’Clock, for example. I don’t really think about what I’m making. It generally depends on the day with whatever is in my head or what mood I’m in at the time.

Asa: For myself, being a solo artist over the last

ten years most of the time, it was the first time not being part of the process of actually creating a track from scratch, which I really enjoyed as every day I didn’t know what Neil was going to send me and that helped me channel different styles lyrically and vocally. He would bake the cake and I would apply the icing, if that makes for a decent analogy.

The album touches on having paranoid feelings and the desire to feel ‘alright’. Lyrically, would you say most of the album is coloured with your own personal experiences or did you gain inspiration elsewhere?

Asa: It’s a little bit of both, yes. I felt like with Champyun Clouds I was able to talk about various topics that I felt I couldn’t as a solo act, and to try and encourage myself to discuss more universal topics that may resonate with listeners in a more direct fashion. Like the pop hits of the sixties which can be drenched in psychedelic melodies but at the same time contain very straightforward lyrics. I feel the same way about eighties music too.

I always avoided writing ‘love songs’ or topics dealing with loss or witnessing close friends slip away as it felt too painful and surreal to dive into that for me personally. But here I felt I could achieve that. It felt like a big weight off my shoulders being able to appear more vulnerable in my words and I was able to get a lot off my chest.

Which song on the album is the most meaningful to each of you and why?

Neil: I don’t think I could pick a single track as I see it all as one single body of work. Asa was completing three songs a day at one point and didn’t have time to think, but I knew it was all good.

Asa: Every track for me is equally meaningful for various reasons. I guess if you had to push me for an answer I would probably say Lime O’Clock

as I’d always wanted to make a tune like that. It reminded me a lot of Japan, and therefore my naive dream of becoming David Sylvian and Mick Karn for a day seemed like a reality, hence the fretless bass towards the end.

What does ‘Champyun Clouds’ mean?

Neil: It was gonna be First Born Champions as Asa means ‘first born’. Neil means ‘champion’ but also ‘clouds’ - so basically it’s all about me.

Asa: ‘Champyun’ is just how we pronounce ‘champion’. It’s how my dad says it too. We were toying with the idea of being called ‘Bargain Wilson’ at one point, but that story’s for a nother day.

As we see the UK return to a ‘new normal’, what does the future hold for Champyun Clouds?

Neil: Another album before the end of the year, rehearsals for playing live will commence soon, remixes, maybe even being in the same room together whilst recording.

Asa: We have a four-track 7” out on limited splatter vinyl with artwork by Beth Ellen (@ beefchop) which is being released through Hongo Malo Records. Recording lots more new music and hopefully being able to collaborate with other artists. We recorded a track with Little Barrie and it would be nice to get other people involved at some point. Emperor Mingus plays fretless bass on one of the tracks on the 7” and that sounds mint. I kinda see us like Steely Dan where its two main instigators calling the shots and we can bring disciples in as and when we like. Tea and coffee will be provided. Maybe some biscuits if we like what we hear.

Music available from Champion Clouds official Bandcamp page, Rough Trade & Juno Records

champyunclouds.bandcamp.com @champyunclouds

If you’re from Nottingham and want to get added to our music writers list, or get your tunes reviewed, hit us up at music@leftlion.co.uk

NUSIC BOX

Your new Notts music tip sheet, as compiled by Nusic’s Sam Nahirny. Want more? Check out the fortnightly podcasts and live sessions on the Nusic website.

Sunday 4 July was meant to be the Future Sound of Nottingham final - six NG artists smashing it on the Rock City main stage, with the champion playing Splendour. COVID got in the way of that, so the fourth is a no-go, but we’re hopeful it will happen in the near future. The six artists due to play that legendary stage (date TBC) are...

Philclarkful

SOFIA

Soaring somewhere between indie-pop and big-boy pop rock belters, Phil has got a right knack for a saucy monster hook. The industry pros’ favourite in round one, Phil was put straight through to Rock City - and we think his humongous choruses are destined to sound special on that RC soundsystem. Just think how good that is gonna feel. @philclarkful

A brand new artist, who also flew straight through to the final after the round one industry pros loved her so much, Sofia has nailed the art of a perfect pop song.

Beautiful melodies. Bleeps and bloops that tickle nice parts of the eardrum. All with an undeniable swagger.

If this is just the start, it’s going to be a special time for Sofia on that main stage. @sofiacdoesmusic

MYNTR

Concrete Rose

Pop-punk done really bloody well, with a sprinkling of Gen Z energy. Half Trent students, half Hucknall locals, we can already feel the Carling-soaked sweat of a mosh pit hitting us, and it feels glorious. Despite only forming mid-pandemic, they’re another set of humans who have smashed a hell of a chorus hook - and we can’t wait to scream it back at them. @myntrofficial

A band designed to make you feel real, real good.

Concrete Rose embody sunshine in every possible way; lovely humans, uplifting melodies, and a ‘let’s change this place for the better’ attitude. Plus, they’ve got a bag of songs that’ll have the whole RC crowd belting them back. A shot of serotonin when we all need it most. Lovely stuff. @concreterose_band

Embxrs

Bexx

Time to get your anthemic mosh on. A mad powerful vocal, heavy but accessible instrumentation, and more than a hint of badassery, Embxrs feel very suited for the RC stage. They have riffs for days and sneaky choruses that you’ll try to sing along to - but fail miserably. You won’t mind, though, because you’ll be so entranced in their wall of sound. Get your ibuprofen, it’s post-mosh headache time. @weareembxrs

Epic is a very appropriate word to describe Bexx’s tunes. Mind-frazzlingly catchy choruses, big eightiesesque drum fills that bring out your inner Cabury’ssponsored Phil Collins, plus a saucy key change. In short - pop done really, really, really well. Lead single ‘Hard to Love’ is another one of those ‘we can’t wait to hear these blow our ear drums in the RC crowd’ type tunes. And we are ready. @bexxmp3

Art

words: Alex Stubbs photos: Phil Formby

don’t blame the blacks Available at Nottingham Castle until Sunday 22 August, Don’t Blame the Blacks is an exhibition that highlights the groundbreaking activism of labour unionist Oswald George Powe and showcases the boundless talents of black artists in Nottingham. Alex Stubbs reviews this one-of-a-kind collection…

On 22 June 1948, HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, a small industrial town that sits on the banks of the River Thames in Essex. Aboard the ship were workers from across the Caribbean, arriving to fill post-war labour shortages in the UK. 73 years on, carrying the scars of generations of segregation and racism and a history rich with social and political activism, the British public is finally beginning to realise the importance of the Windrush Generation.

As Nottingham Castle reopens its gates to the public after three long years of closure, it is home to a significant exhibition. Curated by Nottingham Black Archive founder Panya Banjoko, Don’t Blame the Blacks explores the history of Nottingham’s black communities since the 1950s. The title of the exhibition comes from a seminal text written by Oswald George Powe, a labour unionist, activist, and politician whose life and work is the focus of the collection. Using archival material to build a rich picture of the activist streak in Nottingham’s black communities, the exhibition sheds light on the importance of Powe and his fight against racial discrimination at Raleigh Industries.

It’s a small exhibition. A display case filled with newspaper clippings, letters written by Powe, and other artefacts taken from the Nottingham Black Archive sits in the middle of the room. A film installation from British artist Keith Piper and photography from Vanley Burke are the only other works to be found. The journey we take, however, is an intimate one. As we explore the history of Powe and the black workers who fought alongside him against the once deeply systemic racism at Raleigh, the works appear larger than they first did; they shout louder, and the faces sitting patiently on the wall seem imbued with a richer sense of history.

So while the space may be small, the significance

of what’s on display makes it feel much bigger than it is. Vanley Burke is no stranger to documenting the lives of black people in the UK - he’s been doing it his whole life. For this exhibition, though, Burke’s work takes on a slower pace. That’s not to say it’s any less impactful; it seems more measured and calculated than his other works, which are often wrapped up in the powerful spontaneity of documentary photography. Here we see Burke’s portraits of the black men and women who worked at Raleigh in the fifties and sixties. They’re Nottingham locals, people who are deeply tied to the history of black activism not only because they participated in it but because their lives were inherently affected by it. Not only are Burke’s photographs poignant reminders of real people of real lives - they are also aesthetically beautiful artwork that hold within them a powerful sense of resilience.

Curator Panya Banjoko is sending a signal to the city’s cultural institutions; no longer will black and brown faces be kept hidden, nor will the voices of the artists who capture them Don’t Blame the Blacks, while strong on its own, is also part of a wider exhibition that stretches along the walls of the main gallery. Amidst works from the Castle’s collection, which includes iconic British artists L S Lowry and Ivon Hitchens, Italian-Ghanaian photographer Sarah Mensah fills the spaces in between with pieces from her Nottingham’s In Your Face project - a selection of

her portraits of local residents. It’s a celebration of the diversity of the city, but also of the young artistic talent emerging out of Nottingham. By placing Mensah’s work firmly within the gallery collection, curator Panya Banjoko is sending a signal to the city’s cultural institutions; no longer will black and brown faces be kept hidden, nor will the voices of the artists who capture them.

It's a strong and important message, and one that is reinforced by the inclusion of work from an established artist like Zanelle Muholi, whose black and white portraits of the South African LGBTQ+ community are displayed in the centre of the gallery. Securing pieces from Muholi, who has recently been the subject of their first UK solo show at Tate Modern, only adds to the excitement surrounding this exhibition. Muholi, themselves a self-identifying visual activist, captures the beauty of South Africa’s queer black communities through atmospheric black and white photographs. Placing their work in this exhibition alongside local artists imbues a sense of global solidarity to the message being conveyed.

This isn’t simply about Nottingham’s black art; it’s about black art, full stop.

Located at the heart and soul of Don’t Blame the Blacks is a statement of resilience. This is an exhibition which speaks not only to a past generation of black British people, but across history to black people of today, telling a story of representation - a lack of representation - and of hidden and marginalised lives. There’s hope too.

With space finally being made on the walls of the Castle gallery for black and brown faces, inclusion and representation aren’t merely buzzwords; they’re tangible actions, even if they are 73 years too late.

Don’t Blame the Blacks is open at Nottingham Castle until Sunday 22 August.

UNDER COVER ARTIST

Regular LeftLion illustrator and all round creative polymath Raphael Achache gives us the skinny on his Prince of Thieves inspired cover...

Tell us a bit about yourself…

Hello, My name’s Raph. I’m a person that does drawings. I started drawing when I was pretty small, now I’m big and I still do a fair bit of drawing. About a year ago I went freelance under the name Raphic Design. Good ennit?

What was the inspiration behind the cover?

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was my favourite film when I was small. I’m big now and I reckon it’s still pretty much my favourite film. So when LeftLion approached me to do a Castle themed cover we had a discussion about the contents of the mag. I think I heard a whisper of some Costner related content and decided the theme would dominate the whole piece.

The composition and style is loosely inspired by those vintage art nouveau posters but I sort of let my hand escape with it a little.

How does it compare with some other projects you’ve worked on?

Towards the tail end of last year I completed a 52 page, fully illustrated historical guide for Nottingham Castle. I love history so drawing stuff like this is a real buzz for me. Beats some of the work I do for my more boring clients.

What was the biggest challenge that you faced in creating the piece?

Getting the likenesses right is always a bit of a pain in the arse when drawing well known faces.

I get to a place where I’m sort of happy with it, then I show it to someone and they’re like…

“Nice, why have you drawn Pat Sharp as Robin Hood?’

Tell us about some projects you’ve worked on in the past…

Over the past six months I’ve been working on a project with Nottingham C.A.N. (Community Arts Network) to produce a series of illustration/storytelling workshops that help young males find a creative way to communicate their mental health issues. The pilot is about to be released, so keep your eye on my Instagram for that.

What have you got planned for the future?

Apparently I have to buy a house at some point so I’ll probably do a bunch more drawing, get some money and do that. Although the market is totally shafted so that’ll be fun.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell the LeftLion readers?

I hope you like my cover. Go follow me on Instagram, I’ve only got about 500 followers, if I had about 300 more I’d feel much more adequate as a human being. raphicdesign.com @raphicdesign

art at the castle

Laura Knight, Fine Feathers, 1939. Nottingham City Museums & Galleries.

words: Kelly Palfrey

Paul Sandby, Rare Mackerel, Three a Groat Or Four for Sixpence, c.1759. Nottingham City Museums & Galleries

The Castle’s world-class art collection returns to the four newlyrefurbished galleries. Arts writer Kelly Palfrey explores two works in the collection by Nottingham-born artists Dame Laura Knight and Paul Sandby...

Dame Laura Knight (1877 - 1970) Gypsy Splendor, also known as Fine Feathers, is one of a handful of paintings by Dame Laura Knight that can be viewed at Nottingham Castle.

Knight, who was born in Long Eaton in 1877 and enrolled in the Nottingham School of Art aged just thirteen, was one of the most popular painters in Britain during her career.

She was the first woman to be elected to full membership of the Royal Academy in 1936 and served as a war artist during the Second World War, being one of just three female British artists to go abroad during the conflict. Her success helped to pave the way for greater recognition of women artists.

Knight was fascinated by marginalised communities. Drawing on this as inspiration for her work, she spent considerable time painting Gypsies and circus performers. In the mid-thirties, Knight was invited to visit a Gypsy settlement in Buckinghamshire after befriending several travellers at the Epsom and Ascot races. She spent two years painting the community and it is here that she painted Gypsy Splendor. The painting features Lilo ‘Granny’ Smith, a Gypsy woman who was Knight’s favourite sitter, sitting in front of her caravan, staring directly at us.

The extravagant and almost crown-like hat that Smith is wearing, adorned in ostrich feathers, was given to her by Knight for the purpose of the painting. In doing so, Knight intentionally created a rather romanticized view of life as a Gypsy woman in the 1930s, drawing on her own rose-tinted memories of the Romany Gypsies she saw at the Goose Fair in Nottingham as a child. In using such a bold choice of headdress, Knight also seems to be making a statement on Lilo Smith’s position within her family and community; that this elderly woman is the matriarchal head of the family and deserves to be painted, and viewed by us, with the respect of a leader.

Despite the grandeur of clothing, jewellery and colour, however, a story of struggle and hardship is etched into the facial expression of Lilo Smith; she appears almost uncomfortable under our gaze. In this painting, Knight has managed to capture the conflict of society's romanticised view of Gypsy life, underpinned by the often harsh reality of living on the margins of society.

Paul Sandby (1731 - 1809) Rare Mackerel, Three a Groat or Four for Sixpence, also known as Woman Selling Fish, is a watercolour sketch by artist Paul Sandby which is available to view as part of the collection at Nottingham Castle. Sandby, who was born in Nottingham in 1731, Sandby is known as the ‘father of English watercolour’.

He spent five years in the Scottish Highlands as a draughtsman for the military survey, where he painted several watercolour landscapes, before moving to London. During his time in the capital, Sandby continued to paint landscapes but also began work on a series of prints which he called the Twelve Cries of London, each of which depicted a different street vendor and critiqued their attempts at making a living selling their wares on the streets of London. At the time, ‘The Cries of London’ were a popular topic for artists looking to create a series of prints to sell.

Rare Mackerel is the eighth in Sandby’s series of twelve. The watercolour housed in Nottingham Castle’s collection is a sketch, which Sandby did from life, in preparation for his later etched version. The painting depicts a woman with a large basket of fish seemingly yelling her sales cry at the woman looking on from the doorway of her home. The interaction between the two women is reflected in the animals at their feet.

The dog, appearing from behind the skirt of the seller, seems to be poised to bark his own cry, while the cat on the doorstep is arched in defence. The seller’s face is exaggerated with an element of caricature that is fairly typical of the depictions of the lower classes at this time. Rare Mackerel not only shows us the harsh reality of life as a street vendor in mid-eighteenth century London, it also shows us the attitude of the public towards them too - particularly women sellers.

Sandby has made the vendor outwardly brash, but it is the sign in the background of the painting that tells us how she really feels. The sign depicts a man carrying a woman, a monkey and a magpie and reads “A Man Loaded with Mischief”. This references a print, published almost a decade earlier, which mocked marriage, particularly to loud and unruly women, entitled; “A Man Loaded with Mischief or Matrimony: A Monkey, A Magpie and a Wife is the True Emblem of Strife.” It is no coincidence then that the woman is selling fish; to Sandby she is a ‘fishwife’ - loud, vulgar and rude. leftlion.co.uk/issue137 47

screen

interview: George White photo: Michael Krawec

The Music in Me

get your fix Michael Krewac set up his YouTube channel, Nottsflix, a few years ago to practice his video editing and scratch a creative itch. Little did he know, he was about to become the face of the county’s obscure history…

Have you ever wondered why St Ann’s Well Road is called St Ann’s Well Road? Have you ever questioned whether the Asda in West Bridgford has any historical significance?

Or have you ever thought about how nearby Gotham inspired the home of Batman and The Joker? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Michael Krawec - who runs Nottsflix, a YouTube channel dedicated to Nottinghamshire’s lesser-known history - has got you covered.

Since that first Broadmarsh video in November 2018, Michael has gained over 78,000 views on his channel, with masses flocking to the Nottsflix page to find out what obscure and interesting facts he’ll come up with next. In that time, he has worked hard to increase the production value of his documentaries and find new and unique ways to keep people engaged - with recent videos featuring a CGI spaceship, a demonic-looking Henry VIII and a superimposed Ben Mendelsohn.

From in-depth interrogations of Broadmarsh’s past to fun facts about local potato farming in the 1700s, Michael is slowly establishing himself as the king of niche Notts knowledge, and is picking up a loyal viewership along the way. Yet that wasn’t always the plan, he admits.

Michael explains, “I take inspiration more from the YouTubers I watch, rather than traditional documentaries from TV. I'm a big fan of H Bomber Guy, who has quite chaotic humor but is also very informative. I didn't want to make straight-laced documentaries. It's my channel, so I can do what I want, which is great. If I want a spaceship destroying Broadmarsh, I can do that.”

As well as his tongue-in-cheek humour and lighthearted editing techniques, the local sensation believes his videos have become such a success because people want to learn about their own culture -

Going forward, Michael has a long list of topics he wants to cover and exciting angles he’s eager to take. As always, be sure to expect the unexpected. “I like focusing on stuff that people don't know much about. I would like to expand beyond history at some point, and I’m hoping to visit more places and do proper investigations into more current issues, like student accommodation. I will generally keep a Nottinghamshire focus, though, that’s for sure.” Whatever Michael decides to do, expect it to be funny, informative and one hell of a ride.

You can find Michael’s videos on his YouTube channel youtube.com/nottsflix

To Watch Huldra Horror Shorts Festival Saturday 3 July Ever thought, “This horror just isn’t scaring me enough?” Well, luckily for you Huldra Horror Shorts Festival is here to take things to a whole other level. Held at Nott’s Maze in Arnold, this late night event will showcase a thrilling mix of shorts in the depths of the forest, creating an eerie atmosphere like no other.

For those wanting more of a chill rather than chilling - time, a fully licensed outdoor bar and wood fire pizza will be available too.

To Remember The Darkest Universe (2016) Five years before butting heads with Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson in the hit Disney+ series Loki, Nottingham’s own Sophia Di Martino was showcasing her impressive talent alongside legends of the British comedy scene in The Inbetweeners’ Joe Thomas and Simon Bird - although on a much smaller scale.

Made on a microscopic budget, this dark comedy received praise for its skyhigh ambition and intriguing premise - picking up award nominations in the process.

I guess after the year we’ve had, I’ve become more okay with trashy tunes and cheery capers I wasn’t always this way. As a ten-yearold, I (quite rightly) worshipped the cinematic masterpiece that is High School Musical 2 (and, in truth, I have done since - it’s so good it transcends its genre). And in my final years of primary school, I had a grand old time thinking I was Danny Zuko - when in actuality I was probably more of a Eugene Felsnic.

Over time, though, as I became more jaded and increasingly cynical, the thought of watching a film filled with jaunty jives and painstakingly choreographed dance routines started to grind my gears.

I had my head in my hands at the cosmically cringeworthy opening sequence in La La Land - even if much of the film did prove a treat - and I’m still haunted by the awkward rendition of Fernando by Cher and Andy Garcia in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

short reels

“When I started my channel, I initially thought I’d make a video about Broadmarsh just to practice how to make videos before moving on to stuff that I thought people actually might want to watch,” Michael says. “But then it did really well, which was a massive surprise. It still amazes me that my weird videos have been so popular.”

even the weirdest areas of it. “I guess even the most boring thing can actually be quite fascinating, if you look at it through a historical lens,” Michael claims, adding that because so many documentaries have a largely national or international focus, “when people find something that is so specifically related to where they live, they can get quite attached to it.”

Throughout my adult life, I have always hated musicals. In the past few years, as masses across the globe became obsessed with the cheesy feel good tunes of The Greatest Showman and Hamilton, I tried my best to avoid seeing Hugh Jackman dressed like a pound shop Queen’s Guard and covered my ears as my friends have sung - or, rather, rapped - unbearably upbeat numbers like My Shot and Guns and Ships. It’s been a nightmare.

To Follow Keane Pearce Shaw A self-taught filmmaker from Clifton, Keane Pearce Shaw has worked with some of the biggest names in the world, from David Beckham to Matthew McConaughey.

With his Instagram providing behind-the-scenes shots from his exciting commercial campaigns and interviews with massive stars from across sport and beyond, Shaw is well worth a follow. @keaneshaw

Yet now I find myself in a strange situation: I’m actually beginning to enjoy musicals again. I was one of the first through the door for In the Heights, a summery spectacle of a movie created by Lin Manuel Miranda, and I’m weirdly excited for tick, tick…

Boom!, despite it aiming to tell a deeper story through the medium of music.

I guess after the year we’ve had, I’ve become more okay with trashy tunes and cheery capers. That outlandishly positive spin on cinema is what we all need. So, if you see a slightly balding man with bushy eyebrows pirouetting down Broad Street while singing Dancing Queen, don’t be alarmed - it’s just the magic of musicals…

words: George White

Literature

interview: Hollie Anderson photo: Nigel King

Something to Write Holmes About John Holmes MBE – the voice of Nottingham Radio - has put pen to paper for a cracking autobiography that documents fifty years of shenanigans. He spoke to Hollie Anderson about his BBC legacy, career highlights and the process of writing his own life story…

If you’ve never heard of John Holmes…. Well, he’s a bit of a legend. Racking up five decades producing and presenting for BBC television and radio, there is hardly a subject or person he hasn’t rubbed shoulders with. From Radio 4’s Down Your Way to natural history programmes, iconic rock show Extravaganza to presenting sports shows in the glory days of Brian Clough.

I’m thrilled to be sat in his Nottinghamshire garden.

Magpies flit overhead as we sip cups of tea in sun loungers. I admire his roses coming into bloom. It’s idyllic; the perfect time to listen to John spin some tales.

I’d foolishly assumed the book was a product of lockdown but John is quick to explain that “I actually started it 10 years ago. I have so many stories and I wanted my family to have them. Then I showed it to Julie Malone and she said ‘You should sell this.’”

And now here we are, the hefty hardback in my hands. A younger John is beaming from the cover, radio mic swung to the side for the picture.

I was curious to know if writing the book was difficult, given he’s so used to asking the questions.

“Not at all, it came naturally. I just imagined myself sat in a pub, chatting to some chap.” John’s certainly a talker; the result was a draft 200 pages too long.

To be fair, he’s got more stories than you can shake a stick at and every paragraph is jam-packed with detail, his trademark cheeky humour peppered throughout. It’s like a history book with punchlines.

I became fascinated with John’s career trajectory and how, if fate had had her way, John may never have sat behind a mic or donned his trademark splash of red in front of the camera. To begin with, John – born in Leigh-on-Sea - had actually studied mining. “Yes – an Essex boy doing mining ain’t bad!”

suggested a career in broadcasting.

Did he regret leaving the arts behind? “Knowing my limitations, I probably made the right decision,” he chuckles, and when I ask him what his dream role would have been he excitedly jumps in with, “One of the big roles… Lear! Or something in Educating Rita.

Though I’d probably be better in comedy.”

Nottingham’s got balls!

That’s why we haven’t got a real castle – we kept burning the bugger down! I like rebellious people While we chat about his time at the Beeb, John quite proudly states, “I can’t think of anyone in the BBC who has had a career as varied as me,” but in the next breath says very seriously, “If someone wants to make it, focus is the thing. I didn’t have that! I blew with the wind.”

Regardless, it seems blowing with the wind has served him well. I was keen to find out more about his top tips for making it in journalism. When producing for Radio 4 – “the Rolls Royce of Radio, where I was my most confident” – he learnt that “you have to get your foot through the door. I made friends with the right people – after that one thing leads to another.”

He regrets not living in London, but says Nottingham would have always drawn him back. “Nottingham’s got balls! That’s why we haven’t got a real castle – we kept burning the bugger down! I like rebellious people.”

But John also aspired to be an actor, making his way to theatres up and down the country, and his decision to study in Nottingham sprung from seeing the Playhouse in the Sunday Times. “I saw the different productions, all the big-name actors… I wanted to be a part of it.”

It’s clear that John has tried to find rebellious, passionate individuals and help them – making sure they too were seen and met the right people.

He mentions colleagues Charlie Slater, an awardwinning journalist who used to man his phone at BBC Notts, and Emma Pearce, who now works for Radio 4. “I knew they were going to go places, and it’s wonderful to see. It’s because they’re hungry for it.”

In the end, it was one of the UK’s first computers that

When I ask which decade was the best to be working

in Nottingham, John acknowledges the sixties were a great time; post war, and the music was great, with seventies sport being cause for excitement.

But when talking about the developments in journalism specifically, John muses that “not all change has been good. People sit in front of a computer, waiting for stories to come in rather than getting off their backside. Lunchtimes used to be sacred; you’d head off for a drink and find your stories that way.”

He also says that “we can be too worried about audience figures and what the papers will say. If someone thought of a good idea then we should stick with it and make it work.”

Before we even get to the matter of his autobiography, John has proudly waved me into his house, past a planter with Notts County FC emblazoned on the side. He can’t wait to show me a room that seems entirely dedicated to his vinyl collection. Stacked floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall, he’s arranged hundreds of records alphabetically, spanning across the many artists he has played on air over the years.

It’s no surprise that John has also embarked on another project called Fragments of Rock, where he recounts tales from the countless bands and musicians he has worked with, saying that he “can’t help looking back”.

Already uploaded are episodes about The Police, Marc Bolan and John Cale. He’s quick to point out that, despite being assigned to sports, music was always a passion and he pushed for more support of local bands, and getting musicians into the studio. “People don’t realise how avant garde Radio Nottingham was.”

With the autobiography hot off the press and Fragments of Rock steadily building steam, it’s clear that John will never stop telling stories.

This is the BBC Holmes Service is on sale at Waterstones Nottingham, Lowdham Bookcase, Lulu.b café and Five Leaves Bookshop You can check out the docuseries Fragments of Rock on John’s website johnholmes.co.uk

words: Ashley Carter ilustration: Natalie Owen

During the 1913 renovation of a mosque in modern-day Istanbul, a fourteenth century tomb was rediscovered bearing the names of two men. The first was Sir William Neville, a former Constable of Nottingham Castle, while the second was Sir John Clanvowe, the man said to have penned the Robin Hood ballad upon which all later iterations of the legend are based. But the nature of the tomb, and other recorded evidence, suggests that Neville and Clanvowe could have been bonded in an early example of a same-sex union…

Sitting inside the Archaeological Museum at Istanbul is a tomb slab that, amongst the treasure trove of Byzantine-era artifacts, might at first glance go unnoticed. The rectangular block of whitish, grey-ribboned Prokonnesian marble had been rediscovered during the 1913 renovation of an Istanbul mosque where it was examined for the first time in centuries. Beneath the faded inscriptions lay two facing helmets, visor tips almost touching, above two shields inclined toward one another, insignia entwined.

Inscribed were the names of two men, Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe, who died within days of one another in 1391. The men’s titles are matched by their war crests: a bull’s head for Neville, and Clanvowe’s blooming crest of feathers – each atop a shield bearing a combination of the two families’ coat of arms, half Neville’s fleurde-lis within a diagonal cross, half tri-star on six

vertical lines that represented the Clanvowes.

While English knights being buried on foreign soil was rare, though not entirely unprecedented, the manner in which these two men were laid to rest was rarer still; the combining of their two family crests was a tradition usually representative of a marriage. Was the bond between them a brotherly connection or, as many have speculated (and evidence supports), something closer still?

Both Neville and Clanvowe were distinguished knights, experienced in war, administration and diplomacy. Sir John was of mixed Anglo-Welsh heritage, a skilled poet and writer and a member of an established, if modest, Hertfordshire family.

Sir William belonged to a much grander family line, and served as Constable of Nottingham Castle between 1381-88, as well as knight of the chamber to King Richard II. They fought alongside one another in the Hundred Years War, as well

as a North African crusade against an ‘infidel’ uprising, which the pair had caught wind of whilst participating in a joust in Calais. In fact, so entwined were their lives, and so close their bond, that the pair are rarely mentioned separately in contemporary sources.

Both men were close friends of Geoffrey Chaucer, and were witnesses during a bizarre 1380 trial where the poet was in trouble over an act for rape.

They were also followers of the Lollard movement – a Proto-Protestant religious association that demanded reform of Western Christianity and, despite counting several high-ranking influential courtiers amongst their number, were widely condemned as heretical during the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV. Clanvowe even went as far as penning The Two Ways, which offered a contemporary insight into the Lollard belief system.

photos: Curtis Powell

now and then

Bob Dylan at Nottingham Castle, 1966

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LeftLion’s Adam Pickering at Nottingham Castle, 2021

An accomplished writer, Clanvowe also penned The Jest of Robin Hood, a ballad written to honour the visit of King Richard II to Nottingham Castle, which is said to have been based on Clanvowe’s own close relationship with Neville. His best-known work, The Book of Cupid, God of Love, was a debate poem influenced by (and originally incorrectly attributed to) his friend Chaucer. In the poem, Clanvowe praises love, while simultaneously mocking it for causing more trouble than it is worth. Could this have been written in reference to his relationship to Neville, who was married to a woman named Elizabeth?

Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe were faithful to one another unto death, and their legacy survives as a testament to that love No sooner had Neville and Clanvowe returned to England from their North African crusade, they were petitioning their King for permission to travel abroad once more. Englishmen travelled to the East as envoys, missionaries, pilgrims and, when not fighting the French, crusading soldiers. Maybe the pair had read the description of an English knight fighting in the lands beyond the Mediterranean in the prologue of their friend Chaucer’s Tales, allegedly written a decade or so before their voyage? Perhaps, given their religious beliefs, they were on a pilgrimage destined for Rhodes or Jerusalem, the destination of many distinguished pilgrims of the late fourteenth century? Or, as was also fairly common at the time, were the pair, being trusted and proven knights, sent to either Jerusalem or Constantinople with royal permission under the guise of a pilgrimage in order to disguise what were really espionage missions? While the exact nature of their voyage is lost to history, we know that on 10 May 1391, Sir

William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe were granted protection for a journey abroad on unexplained royal business. It would be the last time either of them would set foot on English soil.

Both Neville and Clanvowe died in Galata or Pera, the Latin suburb just across the Golden Horn from Constantinople in October 1391. Clanvowe died first on 17 October, either from fighting an unknown enemy or the plague that was rampaging across the Peloponnese peninsula through which they would probably have passed on their journey. According to the Westminster Chronicle, Neville died just days later, so disconsolate at his companion’s demise that he refused to eat or drink.

Rather than their bodies being transported back to England, as was the tradition of the day, both Neville and Clanvowe were buried where they died. And it is on their tomb in modern-day Istanbul that we can learn the most about their relationship.

“To marshal the arms of two gentlemen thus impaling one another,” writes Maurice Keen, “is quite exceptional.” So exceptional, in fact, that only one other contemporary English example exists. Despite Neville having a wife, the tomb suggests that the men had a relationship beyond that of a brotherhood and could well have been lovers. Nottingham historian Tony Scupham-Bilton even goes as far as saying that “it’s commonly accepted now that they were a gay couple”. It is likely that Neville and Clanvowe were engaged in an adelphopoiesis – a ceremony practiced in the Christian tradition in order to unite two people of the same sex. Often referred to as a wedded brotherhood (which is mentioned in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale), the extent of the ceremony ranged from a siblinghood to a romantic involvement.

Given the nature of their relationship, and the rarity of their shared tomb, the latter seems far more likely.

It’s easy to see why their story is somewhat lost to history. The harmful trope of gay men being weak, or less ‘masculine’ in the old-fashioned sense, has long been perpetrated, with its origins buried deep in a

Object walk

religious practice of discrediting homosexuality as sinful and unnatural. But dig beneath the dogmatic Christian pedagogy that has plagued LGBTQI+ communities for centuries, and you’ll find a deep tradition as old as recorded history itself. Take The Sacred Band of Thebes, for example: made up of 300 men - 150 pairs of male lovers - the troop of soldiers were the elite force in fourth century Greece, ending a lengthy period of domination by the Spartans.

Though the power dynamics within the pairs is rightly considered highly problematic by modern standards - the couples consisted of an erastes (an older male), who would educate in the art of war his eromenos (a younger male) who in turn would clean and repair his partner’s armour - the bond that formed between the pair was deeper and stronger than any Ancient Greece, a landscape dominated by centuries of internal and external conflict, had ever seen. And as a result, The Sacred Band of Thebes were the most devastatingly effective military force of their day.

Clanvowe died first on 17 October… Neville died just days later, so disconsolate at his companion’s demise that he refused to eat or drink While so much of Neville and Clanvowe’s story is lost to the sands of time, their love – be it brotherly or, as the evidence suggests, romantic – has survived. Such was their bond, carved clearly into the very tomb that holds their remains, that the centuries could not erase it, nor lessen its impact. It survived countless conflicts, regional turmoil and religious dogma to serve as an example of the impact love can have on two people, regardless of their gender. Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe were faithful to one another unto death, and their legacy survives as a testament to that love.

photos: Curtis Powell

We’ve teamed up with the National Justice Museum to put objects from the past into the hands of people of the present. This month, we took an execution broadside reporting the hanging of George Beck, George Hearson and John Armstrong, who were all hanged for their part 1831 Reform Bill Riots, to Jess Sims of the Nottingham Castle Trust.

The item describes the roles of the three men in the events that led to the burning down of Nottingham Castle, and which saw them executed on the site of what is now the National Justice Museum. To many, the trio were merely a scapegoat used to make an example against future insurrection, rather than ring-leaders of the riots.

1

2

Whenever I’ve researched this story it’s always made me quite tearful. These men weren’t doing anything wrong - they were just looking for an equal opportunity, and that still resonates today.

3

I think it’s quite modern in a way. Even though it’s a report on the executions, you still get a sense today of people being portrayed a certain way in the media for fighting for what they believe in.

4

For both the Castle and the National Justice Museum, it’s a really important part of history.

Both buildings would historically have been visual representations of oppression...

… but now we’re able to help preserve this important piece of history that would have been lost otherwise. I think that’s really important. leftlion.co.uk/issue137 53

BEST OF JULY Piaf When: Friday 2 July - Saturday 17 July Where: Nottingham Playhouse How much? From £8.50 Directed by Adam Penford and starring Tony award nominee Jenna Russell, the Playhouse are bringing the iconic story of legendary French singer Edith Piaf to the stage. From singing in the streets of Paris to becoming one of the country’s biggest stars, the size of Piaf’s talent was only matched by the complexity of her personal life. With the performances taking place in cabaret-style seating, you’ll need to book early.

Huldra Horror Shorts Festival When: Saturday 3 July Where: Nott’s Maze How much? £15 Get ready for twists, jumps and gore, as Huldra Horror Shorts Festival prepares to showcase the best in spooky cinema this month. Set in the heart of a Nottinghamshire forest, the evening will include a select cut of horror shorts from around the world, which are set to be screened under a starry canopy of trees. If that’s not enough for you, they’ve got a fully licensed outdoor bar and wood fire pizza available too. Not for the faint of heart.

Scott Bennett: The Voice in my Shed When: Sunday 4 July, 2pm Where: Canalhouse How much? £5

Jay Sandhu: How Did I Get Here?

When: Sunday 4 July, 8pm Where: Canalhouse How much? £5

On 14 March 2020, Scott did what was to be his last real life stand up gig for about six months. He then found himself alone, in his garden shed with time to kill. This show is the result of that time in isolation.

From the creator of the viral lockdown hit, Stand Up From The Shed, Scott delivers another brilliant hour of brand new topical and observational standup comedy.

A work in progress show for Jay Sandhu's upcoming feature about his experiences with race and culture as well as his transition from adulthood to comedy. For this special show, Jay is even bringing a friend or maybe two to mix it up a bit.

A maths teacher by day, and a comedian by night - as well as a writer and poet - expect insightful, thought-provoking laughs from one of Nottingham’s most exciting talents.

Titus T.rex is King When: From July 4 Where: Wollaton Hall How much? From £8.75 (incl. booking fee)

The Great Gatsby When: Thursday 8 July & Friday 9 July, 6.30pm Where: Belvoir Castle How much? From £10

Newark Book Festival When: Thursday 8 July - Sunday 11 July Where: Various How much? Various

The Hundred When: Saturday 24 July & Monday 26 July Where: Trent Bridge How much? From £14

Explore the world of this titanic predator and his story: you’ll see the skeleton of the T. rex himself, as well as digital and interactive virtual media displays that will immerse you in his extraordinary journey from discovery in the Montana Badlands in the USA, through the experience of excavation, curation, examination, rebuild and final reveal.

Situated in the grounds of the Belvoir Estate, overlooking the magnificent Castle, Heart Break Productions transport you back to the 1920s on a fine summer's evening in July. Join the Nick Carraway quartet for an evening of jazz, prohibition style as he takes you to the summer of 1922 - when he lived next door to none other than the infamous Jay Gatsby. Sounds like the bee’s knees, old sport.

Notts’ favourite literature festival returns for a series of events, author talks and book signings in some of the area's most historic and picturesque venues. The four-day event boasts indoor, outdoor and online activities, as well as the welcome return of the ever-popular Literature Village. Tickets for in-person and online events, as well as a full schedule, are available at the Newark Book Festival website.

The brand new, action-packed 100 ball cricket competition heads to Nottingham, as Nottingham’s Trent Rockets take on Southern Brave in two groups games at Trent Bridge.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will be competing, with spectators promised worldclass players from around the world, including World Cup winners Joe Root, Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver.

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