Talia Robinson can usually be found chatting to bands in the green room or reviewing gigs with ringing ears. She has been an avid journalist with the LeftLion music team for the past eighteen months; having recently interned with the office team, she’s keen to expand her freelancing portfolio – and CD collection! – as she heads into her final year of university.
Having spent the last three years as Head of Music at NTU’s Fly Live Radio Station, she has had the absolute joy of presenting for BBC Introducing... and hosting live broadcasts from the press tents of Bearded Theory and Download. Not too bad for a Yorkshire lass! When she’s not spinning new tunes, she can usually be found playing cards with her mates in the best beer garden in Nottingham. Anyone fancy a Bodega lager?
Read Talia’s feature about The Grove music venue on pages 26-27
Marcus Holdsworth City of Literature
Illustrators
Paul Turner-Groves
Ike the Tike
Eleanor Youdell
Lizzie Bosworth
Emily Catherine
Jim Brown
Art Attack
123 Learning, 35A Creative, Aaron Murray, Alan Underwood, Alex McFarlane, Alison Gove-Humphries, Alison Hedley, Alison Knox, Anamenti, Andrew Button, Ant Haywood, Audrey & Lizzy & Margot, BadGrammar MakesMeSic, Barbara Morgan, Ben Martin Saxophone, Ben Stewart, Big Bob McPlop, Cat Kearney, Cerys Gibson, Chris Jarvis, Chris Underwood, Claire Foss, Clare Foyle, Colin Tucker, Cyra Golijani-Moghaddam, Dan Hemmings, David Knight, Dominic Morrow, Donna Rowe-Merriman, Eden PR, Erika Diaz Petersen, Fallowed, F C and E Ledger, GC, Gemma Barfoot, Grass Roots Garden Care, Graye Wilde, Half Moon Holistics, Harry Sutcliffe, Harry Turner, Hayley Howard, Heather Oliver, Holden Johnson, Holly's Merry Moggies, Ian Carroll, Ian Phillips, Ian Storey, Ian Yanson, Jack Moore, James Place, James Verran, Jane Dodge, Janine Lees, Jason Clifford, Jean Forsey, Jennifer Pearce, John Haslam, John Hess, John Holmes, John & Jackie Scruton, Jonathan Day, Joshua Heathcote, Julian Bower, Julian McDougall, Justyn Roberts, Kay Gilby, Kaye Brennan, Kayzi, Kiki Dee the Cat, Lawrence Poole, Laura Wilson, Leigh Woosey, Lilian Greenwood, Livi & Jacob Nieri, Louise Duffield, Louise Obuchowski, Marc Weaver, Mark, Mark Barratt, Mark Bond, Mark Dickson, Mark Gasson, Mark Jacobs, Mary, Matthew Riches & Justin Clark, MC, Mickey, Mike Carter, Miri Debah, Monica White, Nic, Nick Palmer, Nigel Cooke, Nigel King, NottingJam Orchestra, Paul, Paul Boast, Pearl Quick, Philip Renshaw, Rachel Ayrton, Rachel Morton, Raphael Achache, Richard Donovan, Richard Goodwin, Rob Arthur, Robert Wyles, Rose Harvey, Roy Manterfield, Russell Brown, Ruth Hoyland, Saara Maqbool, Sally Longford, Sam Fia, Sam Hudson, Sam Stiling, Sandra Pink, Sarah Colborne, Sarah Manton, Selectadisc, Simon Evans, The Sparrows’ Nest, Steve Benton, Steve Holland, Steve Lyon, Steve Wallace, Sue Barsby, The Edgar Family, Tom Huggon, Tony Shelley, Tracey Newton, Vanessa Shaw, Vibrant Ellz, Will Horton, Richard Donovan.
Fancy seeing your name (or the name of your band, small business, loved one, pet etc) in this mag every month? It only costs a fiver and the money supports this magazine. Plus you get all kinds of other treats too. patreon.com/leftlion
Whycliffe
21 years after their first conversation, LeftLion’s Jared Wilson catches up with mythic local singer Whycliffe, marking his return to music after some decades of substance problems.
Opening Doors
Grove Is In The Heart
Gearing up for their first anniversary, master curators of grassroots music, The Grove tell us how their beloved, minimalist music venue came to be.
Cherelle Fulton talks to us about Behind Closed Doors: a creative programme, facilitated at The New Art Exchange, which she formed to spotlight the work of women.
Save The Last Dance
As legendary Nottingham ice dancers Torvill and Dean prepare for their last performance before retirement, Julian MacDougall looks back at their cultural significance to our city.
Master of Mayhem
Ahead of Waterfront Festival we mark twenty years of promotions company I’m Not From London with Will Robinson: the man behind its myriad of gigs each month.
Pride & Joy
Not just cool gifts - this new LGBTQ+ hub on Maid Marian way is offering support groups, events and counselling, as well as a cosy café.
Greetings LeftLion readers, I am currently writing from a very warm LeftLion HQ. It's so warm I want to step right into this month’s gorgeous cover art (a wonderfully green scene by Beth Gillespie) and lie down under an anthropomorphic tree.
With Pride coming up at the end of the month, we dropped in to check out the new Pride shop on Maid Marian Way (p.22) and headed to the hills to discover a recently formed Queer adventure group (p.24), (shout out to Eleanour Youdell for her illustration, which immediately put a smile on my face). According to StopHate, sexual orientation and gender identity remain the third most reported motivation for hate incidents and crimes - proving that though Pride is a flamboyant celebration of community, the need for protest and solidarity is still pertinent.
Speaking of community, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about alternative co-living at Neds Housing Coop (p. 28) and the flourishing of new(ish) music venue The Grove (p.26) - a new favourite venue of mine, where I’ve enjoyed out some wonderful intimate gigs since it opened
Nature’s Song
Renowned artist and Derby University academic Caroline Locke tells us about her Sherwood Forestinspired creations that are featured in Nottingham Castle’s latest exhibition.
Out and About
We meet the founder of Queer Adventure Collective: a group interconnecting members of the LGBTQ+ community via the great outdoors.
Pride and Prejudice
CJ De Barra recounts how the disabled community in Nottingham brought the city to a standstill to make sure their voices were heard.
In Full Splendour
It’s back with a bang! We count down ten things to do and see at this year’s Splendour festival in Wollaton Park.
What’s in a Name?
Ever wondered about the meaning behind historic street names in Notts? We delve into the stories behind them, past and present.
last year. As a big lover of the Notts music scene, I’m also looking forward to chilling by the canal at the Waterfront Festival at the start of August. You can read my chat with I’m Not From London promoter Will Robinson about the festival and his hijinks over twenty years putting on gigs in Notts (p.18).
Finally, we’ve got some lovely slices of Notts history in this issue: delving into the meaning behind some of the city’s well-known street names (p.46), rediscovering a staunch protest by Nottingham’s disabled community in the late 90s (p.25), and recounting the story of when Torvill and Dean brought home the Olympic gold in 1984 (p.17).
If you’re reading this with some leisure time ahead of you, please find yourself a comfortable shady spot and a nice cool beverage to enjoy. You are excused from your duties for an hour for the very important task of reading about the delightful goings on in Nottingham. Now goenjoy some summer!
Until next time,
LeftLion
“I would quite like to infiltrate a cult.”
"Justtoclarify;my mum is a hairdresser butshe'snotapimp."
BlokewithstrongAmerican accentonthephone: "Ican'twaittogethometo the land of the free man... I don'tmissmygirlfriend,I missmygun!"
“Her bra was drawn on.”
“Actuallythe WikiHow article on thatisquiteuseful because it teaches youabouttongue placement.”
“I don’t know what butcolourhisjeanswere theytookmebysurprise.”
Pick Six
Ahead of their upcoming performances at Pride and Splendour, for this month’s Pick Six we turn to Georgie from Girlband! to tell us some of her and the band’s favourite things in Notts…
Girl one: "Yeah, that's the whole point of a one-night-stand."
Girl two: "Is it?"
Girl one: "Yeah! But I'm not taking contraceptives!!!"
"What's the nameofthelovelychap wearingEric Morecambe's trousers?"
“You’ve got to look out for the gingers with brown eyes because they’re stronger than the gingers with blue eyes.”
How come they call a place where horses live a ‘stable’ and not a ‘neigh-bourhood’?
Book:
This is a classic queer novel. It's like reading a Jack Kerouac book that’s relatable as a queer woman. It’s Rita Mae Brown's first novel and it’s just incredible. Especially for its time too. Following the life of Rita Mae Brown's life in rural America through to New York in the 50s and 60s - it’s a coming of age book that I think everyone has to read. I think it’s pretty significant in terms of reflecting on my own experiences and it was the first book I read that really spoke to me in that sense.
Song: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police
This is a song that comes on in the band pretty much every time we are on tour. It’s like our Girlband anthem. We have so many memories connected with it now. We also just love The Police. From the moment we started the band, The Police was the three-piece that we got so much inspiration from. We had the incredible opportunity of supporting Sting, which was wild. He watched the whole set side of stage and it was the most out of body experience.
Meal: Pici
I recently went with my girlfriend. We both love pasta and I cook a lot at home so it’s hard to find good ones that are worth leaving the house for. But this blew my mind. Fresh pasta too. Super lovely environment and it’s tucked away on my favourite street in Nottingham across from Broadway cinema. Highly recommend.
Notts Spot: Fisher Gate Point
We recently set up camp there as a band. It’s such a great organic creative space. We knock around all our ideas there for upcoming tours and photo shoots. We are having a lot of fun just putting down tracks in the studio [HOAM] too, which is a female lead studio. So that just feels right for us as a band.
Film: Thelma And Louise
I think this is the most important film for women without shouting about it. It’s so subtle in the way it projects freedom for women. Susan Sarandon is such a queen too. Her character is so wild and strong and we love that. We have a song that’s about this film too, which I wrote while I was watching it. I remember putting the demo down with this riff and I was like damn this film goes so well with it, so just constructing the song around that concept. So yeah this is the Girlband film. And a bloody good one at that.
Holiday: Sicily, Italy
It’s just the best place. The food, the wine. It’s very rustic and real too which I love compared to, say, Milan or Rome. Super inspiring for songwriting in that aspect too as it’s all going on but at a very laid back pace so you very much get the time to stop and reflect on the true forms of life.
words: Dani Bacon
Rubyfruit JungleRita Mae Brown
Poets Corner
Luke Howard Names the Skies, 1802
A man of classifying zeal, he chose Latin for his cloud names. So instead of tendrils, layers and piles, we have cirrus, stratus and cumulus. In the grimy science-hungry City, he readied his vision of clean heaven at Plough Court EC1. Stood in the sturdy black of his Dissenter’s coat. aware, but not ready, for the tinsel shred of worldwide fame. As candles were lit, the comfortable Gentlemen were already pondering their hearty dinner at the Royal Society later. Howard entranced them all, their pipes in mid-air. With borrowed Linnean thought and watchful patience, his measured reasoning cast elegant light on the river of our language, made words into new science. A paradigm for Constable’s clouds, Ruskin’s words. Today in Tottenham, the Stratus East and Stratus West stands soar above the roaring football crowd, in honour of the quiet East Londoner. No hotspur, no hothead, but namer of the skies.
Fiona Theokritoff
nottinghampoetryfestival.com
UNDERCOVER ARTIST
This month’s cover artist Beth Gillespie talks about art, folklore and finding fantasy in reality.
Tell us a bit about yourself...
I’m Beth, an illustrator, artist and all round creative. I’m originally from a town in the north called Stockport, but I moved to Nottingham around seven years ago to study BA Costume Design and Making at NTU. I fell absolutely in love with the city and couldn’t bear to leave it behind. So here I am, still in the East Midlands, and still creating!
What is the story behind the cover?
Nottingham’s most opinionated grocers on...
Splendour
We went to the very first one when it was the Heineken Tent and Kirsty MacColl was top of the bill. Everyone sat on the slope and the lake was at the bottom. It was marvellous. And it was free in those days. But it's on a Saturday you see so we’re in the shop. We got some VIP tickets once, but we couldn’t go so we gave them to a lad who worked here. He thoroughly enjoyed it. We went to see Public Service Broadcasting at Rock City and we were standing for two hours. It nearly killed us. When you’ve been standing for two hours and you’ve got to move, you can’t because your legs don’t work.
Street names
They are fascinating. If you go up to Mapperley Park or Basford, you've got Cairo Street and Lucknow - they’re all named after the Empire. And in Bulwell, you've got Apollo and they're all named after astronauts. In 1968 it was built. In Arnold you've got Ramsey Drive - that's after the football squad, and you've got Gordon Banks, Charlton. In town in the square looking up from Chapel Bar, on the left is Long Row and on the right is Angel Row, but only for a small section. Round the corner from there you've got Beastmarket Hill. We got a traffic ticket there and it's only ten yards flaming long.
Major Oak
It’s alright. It’s being propped up by steel now isn’t it? When we were children it wasn’t. You could just play around it. You could get inside it. It looks like it wants to die now but they won't let it. Someone came into the shop and said there is an even older tree in the Park Estate somewhere, but it’s not listed or named or it would be vandalised.
I was asked to create a cover depicting the Major Oak from Sherwood Forest. I find it particularly fascinating how they preserve the tree, keeping it alive after all these hundreds of years. One of the main preservation techniques involves the quality of the soil, which on its own isn’t enough to sustain the tree. I believe they tried lots of techniques, but the one that stuck was to actually just let nature do its thing! By letting the grass, flowers and plants grow freely around the tree, die, then compost, they add the nutrients the tree needs back into the soil. There's a lot of parallels between this and what the Green Man represents: the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth. So it felt very fitting to show the great oak as the Green Man himself, celebrating the circle of life and how nature can sometimes be the best solution.
What inspires you as an artist?
A lot of my inspiration comes from choosing to observe what’s around me, especially the patterns and hidden imagery within nature. I find having a sketchbook on hand to record images, as opposed to the camera on my phone, really allows me to capture a different kind of detail and energy. There can be a lot of fantasy within reality, if you know where to look.
Tell us about some things you’ve worked on in the past...
I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to work on a range of creative projects, including illustrations for LeftLion Magazine, the Derwent Press and Tongue in Trees, as well as a variety of commissions. I’ve really enjoyed the creative freedom that has come with each brief and the chance to get involved with local projects. One of my favourites to work on was Tongue in Trees, where I created an illustration that was a visual collage of some of my favourite UK walks from 2024.
Do you have any tricks for getting started and staying inspired as a creative?
Keep an open mind and proactively seek out new experiences! Learning how to see the potential in the day to day for an exciting new idea is a really great skill to have. A lot of the time, I find it can be my not so artsy experiences that feed into my ideas and keep me inspired, even just people-watching in a local café or going for a walk in the rain.
If you could sit down and chat with any artist in your field, who would it be and what would you talk about?
It would have to be Morvern Graham! I have such admiration for her approach to storytelling and how she connects this with her local landscapes. We’d probably talk all about folklore, and her current residency as storyteller whilst creating mythical prints.
Anything else you’d like to tell LeftLion readers?
Stay curious! Keep observing and let your experiences inspire you. bethgillespieart.com
Whycliffe: The Rebirth and Redemption
It was 21 years ago that I first got to know Donovan Whycliffe Bramwell. I was working an office job in the Lace Market and would often see him in the street, looking dishevelled and asking people for money. Like most people I’d usually try to avoid such lunch-break encounters, but one day someone told me this man had once been a famous singer. It was a year after we’d launched LeftLion and I was interested in stories like this…
I did a bit of fact-checking and discovered it was true. A decade before, under the name Whycliffe, he’d released two albums; Rough Side (1991) and Journeys of the Mind (1994) on MCA Records, an American label which had since been merged as part of the Universal Group. I saw the photos of him on those album covers, looking sultry with his smokey eyes, and it was just unmistakably the same man. Other people who recorded on that label include Elton John, BB King, Big Daddy Kane and Cher. I wondered why no-one else seemed to be writing about this amazing, but tragic, story on our doorstep.
So the next time I saw him in the street, it was me making a beeline for him. I gave him a bit of money and asked him if he’d sit with me and tell me his story. The actual interview took place over several encounters, which were not easy to arrange. However, each time we met I came bearing gifts; a few quid, a couple of cans of Red Stripe, bits of food and once several pairs of brand new socks. I remember him looking really bemused by the socks, but he wasn’t wearing any and it was getting near winter.
The stories he told me back then will stay with me forever. He talked about how he’d grown up singing along to Top of the Pops in Broxtowe, how he’d been ‘discovered’ singing gospel and was flown to LA to record music videos. He claimed he’d supported the Godfather of Soul James Brown at the Hammersmith Odeon, but was unsure of dates, (I later checked this and I believe it was on 4 July 1991). He talked to me about his friendship with Danni Minogue, who was signed to MCA at the same time, and how he met her sister Kylie on the kids TV show Live & Kicking. I’d heard rumours that Danni and Donovan were more than just friends, but when I asked he was just really sweet about her and I didn’t push for a salacious scoop. I also found videos of him from The Chart Show and The Word on Youtube and old press clippings and press photos of him on ebay.
Towards the end of our first interview Donovan talked about how he’d started to get ill and go on a downward spiral. We never talked fully about how it went so drastically wrong. I’m not sure he was capable of vocalising something so painful, or that I'd have been capable of dealing with the aftermath of opening up Pandora’s box. The truth is that, for whatever reason and despite major label backing, the hits never came. In total from seven singles he only had three minor UK chart entries, the highest peaking at #56. The music industry is known for being cruel and eventually the people around him back then lost interest and let him go. What happened next is unclear, but he definitely had his demons and perhaps a touch of Icarus, having flown too close to the sun. We didn’t talk openly about drugs, but it was obvious he was on some bad ones.
After we first published the interview, a lot of people got in contact with me about it. I had email exchanges with several old acquaintances, including his former manager Tim Andrews. Most seemed happy we’d published the story, but at times I wondered if he’d have been better off with people not knowing his backstory; especially when videos popped up on Youtube of people being mean to him; filming him singing while he was out on the streets begging for money.
For the next two decades, I continued to see him in town and offer the occasional few quid. I was loosely involved in a couple of attempts by friends to help rehabilitate him - one who gave him a guitar and studio time and another who ran a record shop and gave him back some of his old records. However, none of us were qualified; or perhaps just had the time, will and dedication, to rehabilitate someone like this. Eventually I heard through the grapevine he’d sold the records and the guitar. It’s horrible to say now, but I assumed this would be the rest of his story.
Then in May 2024 an account in the name Whycliffe Bramwell popped up on Facebook. At first I was dubious as he was the last person who I thought would be on social media. His first post was him smiling, dressed in a suit accompanied by a woman I assume from the comments to be his mother. Then there was a photo of him in a recording studio and with a record contract in hand and the simple message “I’m getting there finally.” In September there was a series of photos of him looking
words: Jared Wilson
photos: Sam Tariq
sharp in a suit and hat at his niece’s wedding. Then a post from someone called Howard ‘Nuggz’ Nugent with a photo of them both that said “Sometimes you get to see the Soul not just the person.”
Other photos of him followed doing everyday things like going to the barbers (T-Cuts on Alfreton Road), eating cheesecake in Wollaton Park and doing his supermarket shop. For anyone else this would be the kind of rammel you’d scroll past quickly, but it was beautiful to see him enjoying the mundane aspects of normal life.
On Christmas eve last year he dropped a new video and song called Merry Christmas Happy Christmas. A two-minute festive banger, it brought genuine joy to me and many others. Over the next few months it became clear that the key figures in his rehabilitation were Howard ‘Nuggz’ Nugent and two ladies called Sis and Jane. Between them they are also helping him out by putting the messages up on social media.
I arranged to meet up with Donovan, Nuggz and Jane on a sunny early evening in June. One of the first things I asked Nuggz is how on earth they’d got him back on the straight and narrow.
“There’s a lot to tell. It’s hard work and it will continue to be,” he said. “But one of the things that helps is that we give him a bit of Jamaican brown weed and a half of bitter every evening. You can’t expect him to go from taking the stuff he’s taken to being sober straight away. He might never be completely sober, but he’s definitely better off on this than that.”
Early on in the interview I ask Donovan to confirm to me what the drugs he was addicted to for so long were. I knew the answer already, but I want to hear him say it. He was reluctant to do this on the record at first, but Nuggz pushes him, pointing out that admitting to addiction is part of the recovery process. Donovan confirms that his core addition for many years was crack cocaine.
“After a while it didn’t even feel like I was getting much from it, I just knew I needed more,” he says. “So I ended up hanging out in alleyways and getting into cycles where I'd beg for three hours just so I could get enough money to buy another £10 worth of that. Then once I’d done that I’d start the process again. It went on like that for a long time.”
Apart from crack, he also had brief dalliances with the psychoactive street drugs Spice (“I only tried that once.”) and Mamba (“I had that three times. When you take it you realise why they called it Mamba. When the snake bites you it knocks you down to the floor.”)
I’m grateful for his honesty, but it’s also clear that in the environment Donovan lives in he’s never very far away from other addicts. He currently lives in a sheltered housing complex with around a dozen other people, all of whom are in there for a reason. When Nuggz describes the neighbours he says;
“Those people are lost and that place is their last hope before they end up living on the street. In some ways he might be better off if he was actually in prison. It’s clear he’s got some mental health issues, but he’s surrounded by people who are much worse. The man upstairs often screams all night long. Another guy came into his room saying ‘Donovan, give me some crack.’ He told him he doesn’t smoke that anymore, but the guy just starts shouting angrily at him and telling him that he’ll always be an addict. It’s definitely not a good environment for someone trying to recover.”
“One of the reasons Donovan and I wanted to do this interview was to see if there is anyone out there with access to proper rehab or better accommodation that can help him to progress
on to a higher level. If there is someone with resources who can help a Nottingham legend like him, please get in touch with us; either through our social media or through LeftLion.”
From seeing Nuggz and Whycliffe together you’d assume they were old childhood friends; they’re about the same age and both born and bred in Notts. However, although Nuggz was aware of the Bramwell family as a youngster, they actually only got to know each other in 2022.
“Someone at IllKid Records in Leicester told me they wanted me to find him and see if we could get him back in the studio,” Nuggz tells us. “So I put the word out amongst friends and a week or so later someone saw him in the West Indian shop on Alfreton Road and called me. I drove straight down there and told him to get in the car. It was raining heavily. I drove him over to Sis’s house. That was where it all started.”
i was on the road, i was on the streets and i Know how i was LiVing. the truth is i was dying.
i’m not a boy and i don’t LiKe to be toLd, but thanK god For one reason or another i'm not on the streets anymore
“When people start off on the path to being addicts, everybody thinks they're bigger than the drug. But it only takes one unhinged screw in your head and the drug will find it and take control. I’d had some previous experience of helping friends get their lives back together in situations like that, but nothing on this scale. In hindsight he was so deep into his mental health issues that I don’t believe he would have lasted until now if we hadn’t intervened when we did.
“The first time we felt we were making a breakthrough was when we took him to the IllKid studio in Leicester. It started badly. He was having an episode outside and Sis and I were looking at each other, thinking this wasn’t going to work. But eventually we got him inside and into the vocal booth. The engineer puts this Marvin Gaye track on and the rage begins to subside. He starts singing, hits one of the notes perfectly and then just bursts into tears, Sis and I looked at each other and realised we’d found a way in.
“I was on a finders fee to get him in that studio. But three years later I'm still here and no-one is paying me to be. Sometimes I don’t even like him. Often, I just want to pull his arm off and beat him with it. But the fact is that when he gets into that studio, he just blows my mind with what he can do. We’re also making a film documentary about his life and recovery. He was born to be a singer.”
Donovan was born on 2 August 1968 in the city hospital and grew up in Broxtowe. He was one of twelve children and he has four children of his own, with whom he now has increasing levels of contact with. He’s lucid enough now that I'm able to get details like this from him, which would have been impossible a few years ago.
A week before the interview Jane, who spends a lot of the daytime with Donovan, whilst Nuggz is at work, took him to visit his childhood home; “If I ever got rich all I'd ever want to do is buy that house in Broxtowe,” he tells us. “I’d rather have that than a mansion. There’s a lot of memories for me in that place and if I ever earned a million pounds I'd be happy to spend all of it just on getting that place back.”
Jane didn’t want to speak as part of this interview or be in the photos but it’s clear that alongside Nuggz and Sis, she’s put in a lot of hours to help Donovan to get back on the straight and narrow. She takes him on regular day trips to places like Matlock, where they shared a fish and chip supper. It also seems Donovan has become part of her family. At one point she shows me a video on her phone of him playing in a playpark with her four-yearold granddaughter. Donovan is amused by this too: “She tricked me. I told her I’m not going on the slide because I’m too old. But she holds my hand and before I know it I'm up there and there’s only one way down. I had to slow myself on the way otherwise I'd get all mash-up at the bottom.”
When I ask Donovan to describe Jane’s part in helping him, he’s as sweet as he was talking about Danni Minogue twenty years ago; “I hear voices and they bother me. But Jane told me when it happens and I need her I can phone her, day or night. That’s really helped me. She’ll come round and see me and we’ll have a talk and I'll play my guitar. When I play my guitar that voice gets louder and he thinks I'm his. I still hear the voices when she’s with me, but just the fact she’s there really helps.”
It’s been a long hard road to get Donovan back where he is now and coping with mental health and addiction issues is something I suspect will be part of his life forever. As a group Nuggz, Jane and Sis - who I didn’t get to meet - seem to have done something that most people, including myself, assumed wasn’t possible. It’s also worth pointing out that no-one is paying them to look after Donovan and they’re not tied to him in the way that many are to family members or childhood friends. I’m sure like everyone they’ve got skeletons in their closets, but between them they’ve acted like angels putting the graft in to pull a Nottingham legend back from the brink and set him back on a path to recovery.
Having told his story twenty-one years ago and again now, I realise I've also become part of his story. However, these days Nuggz, Sis and Jane are his core supporting cast. If you ever saw him in town and said hello, or gave him a quid you are part of his story too. Life isn’t a fairytale and it’s likely there will be further obstacles and hiccups along the way, but for now, he’s back on his feet and I hope I speak for everyone in Nottingham when I say we are all rooting for him to just keep going.
I’ll leave the last words to Donovan himself: “I was on the road, I was on the streets and I know how I was living. The truth is I was dying. I’m not a boy and I don’t like to be told, but thank god for one reason or another I'm not on the streets anymore. Thank you to the people who have helped me the last few years. Your support, kindness, and encouragement have meant so much to me and I truly appreciate the way you’ve been there when it mattered most.
“I’d like to thank my loving family, Nuggz, Sis and IllKid for starting me off on this journey. Robin from Sirkus for letting me have studio time. Daniella Quigley and the team at Harrison Dental for giving me back my smile and Jane, Bobbie, Kennedy Shayla and Amiyah for showing me love and normality.
“I also want to say a big thank you to everyone who gave me money, food or drink back in those darker times. A lot of people were kind and tried to help me and it’s only now I can see that clearly. But I don’t want people to offer me money when they see me anymore. Instead please just listen to my music or come to my gig instead.”
Whycliffe: The Rebirth is on at Fisher Gate Point on Sunday 20 July 2025. Tickets are £12 each. If anyone out there believes they have the resources to help Donovan further, please email whycliffe@leftlion.co.uk with details.
Above: Whycliffe and Nuggz. Below: A selection of Whycliffe records from the 90s.
words:
Save the Last Dance
Beeston, 14 February 1984. I was fourteen, with nowhere to go for Valentine’s Day and zero interest in ice skating. However, these were the days of four TV channels (and the fourth was quite new), so mass TV events were a must watch. Plus Torvill and Dean were from Nottingham! So, we joined the twenty million to tune in to their Bolero at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics…
I think we watched it in black and white. Apparently, not everyone in the country was watching the same coverage. Some regions had the feed from America, some got the British crew’s pictures, others were watching with the rest of the planet, from the Yugoslavian host broadcaster JRT, with commentary for the UK. To complicate matters further, the BBC had concerns about JRT so also broadcast the event through a handheld camera.
I cannot remember which of these we were watching. My brother says he “associates it with Des Lynam” and he recalls the subsequent Bolero saturation. My Mum says a friend told her that Radio Rentals turned their sets in the window, so the screens faced out to the street, but maybe they always did that? I also have a second-hand memory of thousands assembling in Market Square to watch it together. I really don’t know about any of that. I just know I watched it.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean were born in the late 1950s and trained together at the Nottingham Ice Stadium, now rebuilt as the National Ice Centre and re-opened by Jayne in 2000. Chris was from a Calverton mining family and began his career as a police officer. Jayne had come from a Clifton estate and had worked in insurance, from parents who worked at Raleigh and the Lace Market. When Chris’s parents split up, the hard impact of this on his childhood was offset by his stepmother giving him a pair of ice skates. Jayne was first taken to the Ice Centre on a school trip. Both had some success on the ice before they met, but they first began training together in 1975. Sliding doors.
So nine years later here they were, at the Olympics, not only winning gold but with a perfect score. It was objectively ‘massive’. I remember some frisson from their costumes and the speculation about their relationship status. The maximum scores they were awarded were unprecedented. But now, forty years on from the victory parade where Torvill and Dean were given the freedom of the city, and just ahead of their final concerts, it’s much more clearly ‘up there’ with the most exceptional moments in the history of Nottingham.
A decade ago, at the thirty-year mark, Jared Wilson interviewed the pair for these pages. They reflected on the Nottingham City Council grant that got them to the Olympics, and Jared got some further lowdown on their teenage ‘dabble’ which had previously only been revealed to Piers Morgan. It ended quickly and skating was the sole focus.
Billy Ivory’s 2018 film Torvill & Dean (shown on ITV on Christmas day) explores their chemistry in a more nuanced way. Poppy Lee Friar and Will Tudor play the skaters and Ivory’s work captures something which, with hindsight, was perhaps always there, but escaped articulation at a Nottingham comprehensive school in the mid 1980s. He put it this way in an interview with Drama Quarterly:
“I think they made sacrifices for their art, rather than their sport. For me, that’s an even more noble thing to do,” he says. “We see where they come from and we see their circumstances. They had no money, no help. They came from really simple backgrounds, and to achieve what they did, I think it’s really worth celebrating. We’re not great at celebrating our heroes in this country, and we should do with them.”
I think back in 1984 we understood the rags to riches aspect of their story. This is Nottingham, home of Robin Hood and the success of Forest in the decade before. That part made sense and defined how they were different in their sport. But Ivory brought to the surface a ‘suffering artist’ dimension and now we can revisit those memories through this lens. His film portrays Chris as someone who finds it hard to express his feelings and its testimony to Ivory, himself a very
prominent product of Nottingham, that he had the craft and guile to work with Chris and Jayne and gain their trust to unravel this aspect of their partnership which had been obscured by the more obvious ‘are they, will they?’ love interest on the part of media and public alike.
When Notts TV launched, in 2014, the channel’s first screening was of a mass Bolero with thousands of Nottingham folk recreating the act outside a range of the city settings. Torvill and Dean themselves appeared. This choice says something about the importance of that Olympic perfection for Nottingham. Ok, perhaps it is easier to create a viral ‘crowd-chained’ homage of a performance to music than, say, the works of DH Lawrence or Charlie Palmer leaping over Stuart Pearce (or, OK, yes, Trevor Francis at Malmo). But logistics aside, this was a re-appraisal for the network age, locating Torvill and Dean’s Bolero as a signifier of Nottingham, as iconic folklore, in the zeitgeist, a community generated digital tapestry. Torvill and Dean, by the people and of the people.
Back to Sarajevo, it was not only a flawless performance but a case of sportspeople as avant garde artists, refusing to compromise their creativity when, apparently, all around them were advising caution. This was 1984, the days of ‘Two Tribes’, the cold war and, back home, in these parts, the miners’ strike. The old adage – sport and politics. And they were in Yugoslavia! But these were different layers of politics. The politics of dancing, even.
Torvill and Dean had prepared a traditional routine, evoking 42nd Street. But then, together, changed course, with The Bolero We saw them kneeling on the ice facing each other, a strategy to add extra time, as the piece is too long for the competition’s rules, but the same rules stipulate that the time starts when the ice skates hit the rink. Kneeling is not skating.
None of this was apparent to me in the eighties. I was failing to apply myself at school, frequenting Meadow Lane and Trent Bridge, reading the NME, running the gauntlet of approval at Selectadisc and supping cider on Way Ahead concert tours. I understood that two ice skaters from the city had done something incredible in their sport, but their sport was off radar. But I was into subculture, indie music and alternative art, the four pillars of hip hop, Dylan, the Beat poets and fanzines. Did I miss something obvious about Torvill and Dean, at the time? Was Nottingham at the vanguard of the counter-culture on the ice rink? Were they the Sleaford Mods of the times? Did I miss all this? Well, maybe.
In a 2017 paper titled Sport as art, dance as sport, Canadian academic Jason Holt observes how a performance can be categorised as art in a showcase but not in the competitive moment of the event. Holt rejects this distinction and its ‘unwarranted assumptions’, citing Torvill and Dean’s Bolero as the key example in arguing that this debate is wrongly “neglecting the equally viable question of whether art in some form may also count as sport. I conclude in favour of an appropriately qualified sport-as-art thesis.”
So, looking back; it was a bigger deal than I knew at the time. For now, the finale will be big, drawing the curtain on this incredible career and the professional lives of these two holders of the keys to the city. However in future their Bolero, from Nottingham to Sarajevo and across the art-sport threshold, is a transgressive event that will endure long ahead and far beyond their last performance at Nottingham Arena.
Torvill and Dean will be performing Our Last Dance at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena from 10-12 July. torvillanddean.com
Julian McDougall illustration: Natalie Owen
WE BUILT THIS CITY (ON ROCK N'ROLL)
interview: Sophie Gargett
photos: Natalie Owen
Man about town, creature of the night, gig aficionado, and master of mayhem Will Robinson has been keeping Nottingham’s music scene alive and kicking for twenty years with promotion company I’m Not From London. As the fifteenth Waterfront Festival draws close on Saturday 2 August at the Canalhouse, anniversary celebrations in the works and a great roster of gigs coming up, we caught up with Will to hear some highlights from two decades of gigs.
Happy twenty years of I’m Not From London! For anyone not aware of INFL, tell us a bit about what you get up to…
Gigs, lots of them. But also other stuff. We make music videos, run music-based community projects and on our label we release music by some of the bands we work with. Venues get in touch with us if they want to start up a live music night and we put on different bands for album launches and give them the platform to play. We believe in ‘co-oper-tition’ and work with lots of different organisations and venues on different projects at one time and we really don't get as much sleep as we should.
You put on 10-20 events in Nottingham each month - over two decades that’s a hell of a lot of gigs. Do you know how many gigs you’ve hosted over the past twenty years?
We (my son Vincent) worked out there were 1400 Facebook events since the Outstanding Festival ten years ago so I'm gonna confidently guestimate double that. I'd equate that to a swimming pool of Guinness and a garden pond’s worth of blackcurrant!
Have you got any standout highlights from the twenty years?
My stand out has always been when The Invisible Orchestra and I hired out the Masonic Hall for their album launch… And all the Waterfront Festivals… The INFL does London overnight gigs, the prohibition night at The Maze, which was on the last day they banned smoking. We had cigarette girls hand out fags after midnight, a slide-hatch speakeasy in the back with bands and boxers for an exhibition fight. They didn’t turn up, so me and the promoter Andy Cydesdale fought it out in the ring… The Captain Dangerous album launch was incredibly special and I’ll always remember my parents waltzing upstairs at The Rescue Rooms as we dropped the balloons… The Ghostbus tours gig on the London bus were funny, we didn't get wristbands so we’d be losing people in each pub we’d stop on and end up having random people on a double decker bus with Captain Dangerous dressed as ghosts playing while everyone dances… The nights with Gimme Danger, the burlesque band I managed, were always fun and shambolic… All the fuzzbox gigs I do with Brendan/Metempsychosis Lights are fun - we had one where we gave everyone 3D glasses to complement his insane lighting… The Gob Sausage night where we had to protect the lead singer in a gimp suit from getting beaten up from the other bands whose pedal he’d broken... The Mexican wrestling nights at The Maze and the I’m Not From London Marafun where we had bands in multiple pubs that we’d all run to to get hand stamps with a pint got very messy… The Cardiac Arrestival charity fest we did with Moonbullet in Sheffield… My niblings 18th birthday INFL gig at Wharf Chambers in Leeds.
Most recently we had an amazing gig at The Grove where everyone got out their phones to light up Hurtsfall’s final song of the evening, so much love in the room, then we had the DSM IV close the gig. Eighties Matchbox B Line Disaster are my favourite band of all time, up there with Iggy. I was so happy by the end I attempted a backflip off the stairs which Cam later sent me footage of (turns out I can’t backflip).
Alongside live events INFL is also a record label - who are you working with at the moment?
Dusty 4 Track and Moonbullet have albums with us in the pipeline, and Dim Bulbs are our most recent and up and coming signings. Also the music that most resonates with me personally is garage rock so I was beside myself when our old signing No Nothings asked us to release their new album, it sounds so badass. If you like Thee Oh Sees and Black Flag you’ll dig em! Louis (Cypher) and I are also planning the next I’m Not From Brooklyn release for autumn.
The grassroots music scene is often touted as precarious, but Nottingham seems to be increasingly producing great music. Where do you think we’re at as a city, locally and nationally?
I honestly spend so much time in Nottingham working on what we have here it’s sometimes hard to see things with that perspective. I guess that’s it, there’s things happening here and we get on with it. We’ve always bubbled, we’ve got arenas and massive independents as well as a few (fewer) smaller music venues that struggle, but there’s a very strong community feel around it. The Hockley Hustle, Dot to Dot, Beat The Streets festivals are testament to that.
Earache Records and new labels and promoters like Jearum from Gnarwhal and Hannah Foxton are putting on amazing lineups with a great ethic and energy behind them. Stand out bands in Notts pop up each year. You could watch a band every night of the week if you wanted to. I’d say we’re doing just fine but with the little venues it’s use em or lose emfingers crossed for the success of the Mist Rolling In (Derby Road).
If someone wants to hear more local live music, which venues do you suggest heading to?
We've been running Ruby Tuesday nights at Billy Bootleggers for three years. Always free entry every second Tuesday. Alt Blk Era played our first one and last month they were on Jools Holland after their fantastic performance at Bearded Theory. So there you go, get on it.
Perhaps drag yourself up to Derby Road, there's a wee gem of a bar called The Mist Rolling Inn, it's home to the finest sound system that ever did grace this fine city of ours. You'll find all the best gig putter-on-ners from The Chameleon there and some great new ones too.
If you're putting on a gig in Nottingham it makes complete sense to have a local band support. You have the big touring bands on at Rough Trade and Bodega and then for small fun intimate gigs I couldn't recommend JT Soar more as you can BYOB which stands for BRING YOUR OWN BOOZE. How good is that? £10 on a ticket, £10 on your drink and you've seen two local bands, normally a couple of international bands too and get to chat to them immediately after.
Obviously there's also more lovely independent haunts like Carousel, The Grove, Fisher Gate Point, The Tap and Tumbler and The Sal for locality. This is by no means biased but if you'd like a good sup with your local music you want to drop by The Angel. It's the INFL office and run by an entrepreneurial young go-getter named Benjamin Rose. He really is a great bloke and lets me drink all his beers for free or at least at staff discounted prices which I think your readers would all agree is very fair.
working on our Be Scene And Heard project. I really value their help and - although interning in the day is unpaidwhen there are budgets available everyone gets paid.
the mexiCan wrestLing nights at the maze and the i’m not From London maraFun where we had bands in muLtipLe pubs that we’d aLL run to to get hand stamps with a pint got Very messy
Tell us a bit about your internship programme which has provided experience to dozens of people looking to get into the music industry…
It's hard starting out when you want to do something but haven't got experience. If people want to learn about promoting bands, releasing music, putting on events then we're happy to give them that experience and the help is valued. It's good to have a crew and people need to build a network. I can't physically be at every night we run.
We work with lots of freelancers; the day-to-day projects I work on utilise a lot of skills. We took our first interns on about ten years ago and it's been a revolving door policy since. It's generally one day a week they'll do for us and it's about finding out what works best for them and giving them as much responsibility as they're willing to take. There's been a great legacy with interns going on to work for Kilimanjaro Events, DHP, Rough Trade, Sony and Disney.
We started our Hellcats Under 18s night whilst Nat Greener was on her school work experience week and she promoted it to her school friends and sold out the show. She went into music journalism and then her younger sister took on the mantle, this was carried on by Joni and currently Viv and Sophie.
You are also a community interest company and run programmes like 'Be Scene and Heard' in Mansfield that connect musicians to people with learning disabilities and special needs…
Our CIC, Dedicated, was put together as a way of getting funding for projects that we couldn’t sell tickets for and it really came as a lifeline for INFL and lots of the musicians I work with when Covid struck. Lockdown meant we couldn’t put any gigs anywhere.
Be Scene And Heard brought together young disabled and deaf musicians who we put together with Nottingham musicians to help them enjoy and make music. We're currently working in Mansfield on what will be its fourth year. It's a very special project; Ben, Oscar and Jake are really passionate course leaders on it.
In your opinion who are the most exciting musical acts in Nottingham at the moment?
Alt Blk Era, Divorce, Baby Tap and Drury Hill, and have you checked out the insane story behind the rise of Panchiko… For those with more gothic tastes, I'd highly recommend Modern Coven, Bloodworm and the precocious Joshua Todd. I also love Full Blast All Stars, they're like the Happy Mondays but funnier and also better musicians.
Our favourite day by the canal, Waterfront Festival is coming up soon - as well as being a very fun day of live music it is an event that has raised over 40k for Nottingham charities in its fifteen year run. What can you tell us about this year's festival?
Fifteen years is absolutely sublime. It's a real marker for me and all at INFL really. It's the day where we give the new bands we've been working with a solid, fun, and busy festival to play at the amazing Canalhouse. Big thanks to our sponsors Gigantic, Castle Rock, Madri and Diamond Press really help. We've raised over £43,000 for different charities over the years which we’re massively proud of and it's always fun. This year will be for Emmanuel House and Mermaids.
We've pushed the boat out a bit this year and booked a lot more touring bands to keep it fresh, with Los Fokin Biches from Mexico, a goth choir from Sheffield called The Midsommers, the incredible Poundland from Derby. My festival partner Hannah Larham is just coming as a punter this year so it will be weird doing it without her, she was an incredible force to work with. This year we decided to rename the Secret Stage, the Darren Blair stage after our first full time apprentice who was tragically killed in Vietnam last year. He was an amazingly upbeat and larger than life man who worked so hard for us and with so many other musicians in the city. Stage headliner's Bad Milk Blood Robot and The Hoplites were kind of managed by Daz in their old bands so it's kind of a way of getting his spirit back down to party with us all again as we all miss him so much.
Any other big events coming up which you’d like to shout about?
My Dad would say ’start now’ when I talked about ideas I had about things I wanted to do when I got older. It’s that sort of impetus we like to encourage. The internships are a way to pass on skills we've learned and give the next gen the opportunity to try things themselves with support. I had the same photo sent to me by two old interns who were both working for big promoters from Newcastle and London respectively, they were both working in the box office for Sam Fender, got talking and realised they’d both worked as an intern for INFL before they landed their current gig!
Apart from our regular freelance crew, our interns are my main team. Karlos DJ's and designs some amazing posters for us, Holly films and reviews band submissions for our website, Mia helps with the Waterfront Festival and project bids, and Jake produces fantastic video ads as well as helping stage manage gigs and festival stages for us and as
Well it's twenty years of gigging so we're celebrating with a few big gigs this year. First out the trap is Miranda Sex Garden at Rough Trade on Thursday 10 July, then the DSM IV back in Notts at The Angel on Saturday 13 September (I’m on a no backflip guarantee). Then our first label signing Captain Dangerous are reforming with a string orchestra as a one off reunion gig/twenty years of INFL party on Saturday 22 Nov - that’s gonna be fun! We also have Chopper from The Cramps' new band Heathen Apostles playing the Vat & Fiddle on the Monday 4 August (following Waterfront Festival) and a very special Halloween gig in the works at the Angel!
I’ve now lived here longer than I have anywhere else. It's a privilege to work with the creative community of Notts and I’ve met some great friends here. We’re here to help if you want, but when it comes to doing something creative, you can’t get a better experience than just getting out there and taking your own risks. DIY or shut up. The music never stops, it just gets remixed...
To keep up with I’m Not From London and hear about upcoming gigs, head to their website below.
imnotfromlondon.com
NOTTS SHOTS
Want to have your work featured in Notts Shots? Send your high-res photos from around the city (including your full name and best web link) to photography@leftlion.co.uk or tag #nottsshots on Instagram.
Passers By Drew Brookes
'Ay up'
Lauren Freestone
To the Square Nick Archer
Sun, Shadows and Streets Maiko Only
Candy Clouds Stephen Charleston
Window to the heart Jason Thompson
Murder on the Royal Concert Hall Dancefloor Gary Stringer
Pride and joy
words and photos: Frances Danylec
This year will be the first Nottingham Pride since The Pride Shop on Maid Marian Way opened its doors to the public. More than just a shop, it offers a safe space to the LGTBQ+ community in Nottingham through support groups, events and counselling, as well as a cosy café. We spoke to founder Jake Hook about his motivations for setting up the business and its impact on the city.
In 1978, activist and artist Gilbert Baker created the iconic rainbow flag: an outward symbol of LGBTQ+ rights, identity and pride. 47 years later, the rainbow is used globally and has found an extra home in Nottingham too. On Maid Marian Way, just a hop round the corner from the Kitty Café and Forbidden Planet, is a place with more rainbows than you could imagine: say hello to The Pride Shop.
Surrounded by a plethora of headbands, bags and badges, cofounder Jake Hook tells me how he set up the space along with his partner Graham, after running the shop online for several years. As I glance around, it’s hard to believe that this was once a stained and worn-down unit left unused since 2018, until it opened its doors at the end of November last year.
The unit has two spaces, Jake explains. The downstairs space hosts the shop and café, with a community notice board, lending library and a range of board games. The upstairs space offers support groups, events and counselling through a community interest company (CIC) called Pride Space, with income generated from the shop helping to support free and low-cost counselling for the LGBTQ+ community.
With The Pride Shop already thriving online, ‘Why host this inperson space?’ I wonder aloud.
“We spoke to the Gilbert Baker Foundation about selling pride merchandise,” says Jake. “They were quite surprised because [the Pride Flag] is so used and not many people come and say ‘actually can we use this?’. They said ‘Yes, of course! He gifted it to the community.’ When we walk past the rainbow, we instantly know what it means - we haven’t had to do any marketing for that. So in a way, because we're not having to do that, we should be putting our money into something that’s positive for our community. That's why Pride Space exists. I want to help people. I want to make sure that it's here, for Nottingham.”
The café offers an appetising array of sweet treats and lunchtime bites alongside your cuppa, including New York Style rainbow cookies and posh cheddar, sundried tomato and pickle sourdough cobs – all at prices I haven’t seen for at least five years. Sit in a chair to the left of the counter and you’ll
have a cheeky neon sign above your head that reads: ‘I can’t even think straight’ - a photo opportunity that many grin and take up as they call in.
On the café counter, there’s a jar of wooden heart tokens. In need of a free coffee? Pick up a heart and pass it over, no questions asked. Able to donate a coffee? Add a token to your order, and the cost of another drink will be added to your bill, for someone else to pick up when they need it. This simple gesture sums up the ethos of the place: we are a community, we are here for each other, we give and receive support when we need it.
i reaLised that there wouLd be others in the same situation as me, FeeLing LiKe the ‘onLy gay in the ViLL age.’ in the end it was an impuLsiVe tuesday morning deCision to start QaC, and one i am Very happy with
“I think that I've always had the ambition to have a coffee shop,” Jake says. “It’s just the heart of the community, particularly now. We needed a space that wasn't just a pub or a club. That could be something specific for LGBTQ+ people and that was a safe, welcoming place they could be themselves. Somewhere that didn't have alcohol as its main driver or dating at its core. Don’t get me wrong, we all need those spaces and I would champion for those to continue, but this is different because this is a daytime thing. This is a space for people maybe who feel too nervous or overwhelmed to go to a bar, who might struggle with noise, thinking of neurodiverse people, or people who aren’t even old enough to go to a bar. This is a coffee shop, it doesn’t matter what your age is. We’ve had families here.”
It's clear the space is much needed. A report by Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire Health & Wellbeing Board in November 2024 recognises inequalities, highlighting that people who identify as LGBTQ+ are more likely to experience mental health problems. It also identified, through consultation with stakeholders, that there was a lack of services for specific
populations, including people from LGBTQ+ communities.
A long-time volunteer for the national LGBTQ+ helpline Switchboard, Jake formalised his counselling skills and set up Pride Space after he qualified. “Empathy and being with somebody will only go so far. It is a lived experience that says, ‘Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from’,” he says.
Alongside one-to-one counselling online or in person, Pride Space currently hosts a recovery meeting, a carers group, and a gay and bi men’s therapy group. “It’s something I’m quite passionate about, providing therapy services for our community. I work with other therapists from different communities to create the support groups.”
Alongside the therapy groups there’s community events too, with a weekly queer social, peer-led yoga and ‘Pride Rocks’ rock painting currently on offer – all for free. With so many options of groups to run and such a need in the community, how do they decide what to do next? “It’s very much community led. I have so many ideas and not enough hours in the day. I have to keep on telling myself ‘Leave that for next year!’” Jake laughs. This will be their first Nottingham Pride since opening and they’re planning a placard and sign-writing session the day before the event, with the option to store your masterpiece safely in the shop if you can’t get it home.
Gilbert Baker is quoted as saying in an interview about the flag: “Our job as gay people was to come out, to be visible, to live in the truth, as I say, to get out of the lie. A flag really fit that mission, because that’s a way of proclaiming your visibility or saying, ‘This is who I am!’” This is echoed in another neon sign in the shop that reads: ‘A place I can be myself’.
“That to me, is the ultimate goal,” says Jake. “Whoever comes in here feels that they are comfortable. However they arrive, they can be themselves.”
Visit The Pride Shop & Cafe at 65 Maid Marian Way, NG1 6AJ. Pride Space is a CIC that offers counselling and a range of therapy groups.
F r i d a y 1 8 t h J u l y 2 0 2 5 a t 7 . 3 0 p m T I C K E T S £ 9 i n c l u d i n g a c o p y o f D i v i n e M o u n t e b a n k
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B O O K
Out and About
As much as we don’t endorse stereotypes at LeftLion, there is something to be said about the correlation between a large proportion of the Queer community, and the outdoors – we bloody love a hike! Queer Adventure Collective (QAC) began in March and is the Midlands’ new (and rapidly growing) LGBTQIA+ group. LeftLion caught up with founder Meg Atkinson, to talk about everything adventure.
As a lover of the outdoors, Meg’s driving force behind creating the Queer Adventure Collective (QAC), was to create a “safe and inclusive space for the LGBTQIA+ community, to get together, share like-minded interests of the outdoors, whilst making friends.” Meg also spoke of the benefits the outdoors can have on a person’s mental health. She’s not wrong - a study in 2012 showed how it can take “as little as five minutes” in nature to regulate your nervous system.
The origins of QAC are rooted in Meg’s personal journey into Queer-hood and coming to terms with her sexuality. “I came out as a Lesbian at 25. Before this, I considered myself to be Bisexual, though I rarely entered Queer spaces.” Meg grew up in rural Nottinghamshire, where diversity was severely lacking; she was surrounded by “nuclear cisgender people and families.” It meant that her knowledge and experience of Queer culture was largely limited.
It may come as no surprise to hear TikTok is partly to thank for Meg’s exposure. For those of you on the right side of the algorithm, you’ll already have seen (or heard)how TikTok contributed to many women’s Queer awakenings. It was especially rife during the pandemic - think thirst traps, and sexy dancing. For Meg, the algorithm is where she first saw an advert for Queer Surf Club. It really spoke to her, so much so, she packed up and took the long journey down from Nottingham to Cornwall.
“I’d never surfed before,” she shared. “I didn’t know anybody, but that weekend truly changed a lot for me. There was a moment that stood out when I was surfing. I looked left, and then right, and could see that I was surrounded by a hundred other LGBTQ+ people, within a sport that is usually very white, and cis-male dominated; it was magical.”
Although a beautiful moment, it was one that had to sadly come to an end. Upon her return, Meg expressed she felt “isolated.” She continued to attend Queer Surf Club events, whilst also delving into some closer endeavours in the North and West Midlands, but became increasingly frustrated, and initially toyed with the idea of moving, though quickly had a change of heart. “I realised that there would be others in the same
situation as me, feeling like the ‘only Gay in the village.’ In the end it was an impulsive Tuesday morning decision to start QAC, and one I am very happy with.”
The recent council elections resulted in Reform UK taking control of large areas across the East Midlands. Meg stressed that “owning our own spaces” is incredibly important in the current political climate. When she first advertised QAC, many comments were “fuelled by hate and ignorance.” She opened up about the seriousness of the homophobic backlash, and that she received death threats. Despite being a country where LGBTQIA+ individuals have more rights and protection, the hate Meg endured highlighted why these spaces are vital.
i reaLised that there wouLd be others in the same situation as me, FeeLing LiKe the ‘onLy gay in the ViLL age.’ in the end it was an impuLsiVe tuesday morning deCision to start QaC, and one i am Very happy with
“There is still so much prejudice and anger towards the LGBTQ+ community. Nottinghamshire is a county with a lot of rural spaces that lack diversity,” says Meg. “I was confused by my own sexuality for so long, because I wasn’t seeing Queer families, dynamics and spaces. QAC offers that acceptance, so everyone can take their mask off and breathe again.”
Now in its third month, QAC has quickly become an established asset amongst the East Midlands Queer community. They hold two main events per month, which has included social walks, larger hikes, cycling and even a Queer Sports Day in May. The sports day had their largest attendance, with 52 people overall. Meg shared how this was her proudest moment so far with QAC. “I love bringing people together and seeing how much they benefit from these events. It’s great that I get to share the magic I felt at Queer Surf Club closer to home.”
One attendee of the sports day, Halyna (she/her), said it
was her favourite event so far. She called QAC “refreshing,” describing the event as “full of friendly competition and hilarious moments.”
Alongside this, there are “smaller sub-groups for people with particular interests, such as climbing, skating, open water swimming, and even a parents chat too.” Ad-hoc meet ups are arranged within the group, and not formally organised by Meg. It means that they have a “more intimate feel for those that prefer that dynamic.”
One of the biggest things that surprised Meg is the variety of people who’ve got involved with QAC. Her original target audience were LGBTQIA+ individuals, living in rural settings, where Queer spaces and events are next to none.
“It’s been great to see a large amount of support from people based in the city, already involved in Queer communities,” she said, adding, “many of whom have always wanted to try certain activities but needed a safe space to enjoy that. I love seeing complete beginners, who are so willing to take up new sports like paddleboarding, open water swimming and climbing.”
In QAC the emphasis really is on community. Member Lauren (she/her), spoke fondly of her experience; “This is what I feel I was missing. Meg has created this safe, diverse space, whilst ensuring to keep most events accessible,” she explained. “Even if you’re not particularly sporty, there’s no pressure to be chatting in the groups, or attending every event. It’s super laid back; with no hierarchy, or formulised structure to adhere to.”
Most events are free, though car parking or transport costs may be needed, so travelling together reduces this. There are some events that need to be prebooked, such as an upcoming trip to Go Ape. However, Meg hopes to seal some funding in the future, “to allow as many people to attend all events as possible.”
For anyone wanting to get involved in QAC, the best way to keep in the loop is via their Instagram, and WhatsApp group chats where everything gets arranged.
Q @queer.adventure.collective
Pride and Prejudice
While some might see protest as disruption to everyday life, for others taking to the streets is one of the most conspicuous methods of getting voices heard. Civil rights, such as simple access to transport, are easily taken for granted by many, but the most marginalised groups in society have had to fight for their civil rights through civil disobedience. For Disability Pride month, CJ De Barra recounts how the Disabled community used high-profile demonstrations in Nottingham to ensure their rights were fairly given.
Remarkably, almost twenty years ago, on a spring morning in March 1996, a large protest by the Disabled People's Direct Action Network (DAN) brought the city of Nottingham to a standstill. All central roads into the city were targeted, creating a traffic backlog that stretched as far as the Queen’s Medical Centre and Trent Bridge.
The protest was the largest to date from DAN, which had been formed in Norwich just three years earlier. It had already built a reputation for high-profile demonstrations involving civil disobedience, rallies and protests across England. The Nottingham action, its sixth protest, came a few months after a similar protest in Birmingham had resulted in £130 million being allocated for accessible buses.
DAN protesters learned valuable lessons from the civil rights movements and the power of ‘zaps.’ A zap was a protest technique aimed at bringing short, powerful bursts of political action designed to cause maximum disruption while drawing attention to a cause. It was a favoured tactic of the American Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) in the early 1970s.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) was introduced in 1995, which made it illegal for employers and service providers to discriminate against disabled people. However, the law fell short when it came to practical access, like transportation. The goal in Nottingham was clear: to protest the lack of accessible transport. This was focused in particular on the city’s £22 million Robin Hood Line, which had been introduced two years previously but was not accessible.
The protestors began gathering outside the Nottingham Playhouse at 7:30am. The aim was to hit the city at the height of rush hour traffic for maximum impact. When they moved onto Maid Marian Way and the roundabout, protesters began targeting the main road into the city centre with wheelchair users positioning themselves across lanes and refusing to move. They also began chaining themselves to buses as traffic ground to a halt on Derby Road, Wollaton and Parliament Street. By 9am the city was completely gridlocked, and within the next
hour traffic was backed up to Trent Bridge.
In the afternoon, DAN turned its attention to the Robin Hood line by moving towards the Midlands Station on Carrington Street, where it faced a heavy police presence. Although the police had been initially caught off guard by the protest, they had moved quickly to deal with the traffic disruption. Unsure what to do, they threatened to start using bolt cutters to separate protestors in wheelchairs from the buses.
when they moVed onto maid marian way and the roundabout, protesters began targeting the main road into the City Centre with wheeLChair users positioning themseLVes aCross L anes and reFusing to moVe
Confrontations grew more intense with reports of protesters being pulled from wheelchairs, with several arrests made. Frustrated by the backlogs, some commuters began heckling the demonstrators. Similar scenes were unfolding over in West Bridgford as protesters targeted the constituency surgery of the Rushcliffe MP, Kenneth Clarke.
Disabled people of all ages and backgrounds, with varying impairments, united in protest, chanted: “What do we want? Civil rights! When do we want them? Now!” They brought Nottingham to a halt for two hours; no traffic moved through the city centre. Some drivers abandoned their cars while rubbish piled up in the street after bin men couldn’t get through to collect it.
Speaking to the local paper, Outrage, Sharon Mace, an activist from Oxford, described the action as “empowering.”
“It’s crucial for disabled people to be on the frontline,” she said.
“Our action was very empowering. Maybe non-disabled people can begin to realise what it is like to have our rights of access denied 365 days a year!”
Many demonstrators wore t-shirts or carried signs bearing the slogan: “Piss on Pity” which was part of the wider campaign. Also speaking with Outrage, Nigel Bull, who had travelled from London, added: “Our civil rights are at last under discussion. Many people were talking about them for the first time. We are here also to represent the thousands of disabled people out of sight, out of mind in institutions.”
Eventually, the demonstrators were corralled into a car park for several hours while a DAN spokesperson negotiated with railway bosses. DAN promised further action if improvements were not made. Police prepared for more days of protests by installing extra traffic wardens and emergency diversions.
In a joint statement, a Central Trains manager admitted that the Robin Hood Line was “currently failing Nottingham’s disabled travellers,” but pledged improvements.
“By September, at the latest, we will introduce lightweight ramps to the Robin Hood Line, making it accessible to all disabled people,” they said. The company further promised to extend this rollout to all Central Trains within two years, pending approval from disabled passengers themselves.
As the announcement was read aloud, the crowd erupted in cheers. DAN declared it a significant victory. After Nottingham, the group turned its attention to Derby, holding street protests in September of that year and installing a concrete ramp at Buxton train station.
More than 100,000 people took part in these types of action across the country, either by handcuffing themselves to buses or joining demonstrations, including ones outside Parliament. DAN became instrumental in bringing disability rights into mainstream politics and creating real change.
Grove is in the heart
Proving that you don’t need a big budget to make a big impact, The Grove is built by gig-goers, run by musicians, and powered by the scene. It may be small in size, but Talia Robinson discovers that it’s massive in heart, helping local artists record, perform, and find their place in Nottingham’s ever-growing music family...
You don’t expect sunlight in a music venue. Walk into The Grove, tucked away within a nondescript unit in Sneinton Market, and that’s exactly what you get – natural sunlight pouring through a skylight and a room that feels more like a minimalist art studio than the birthplace of mosh pits and DIY records. It’s small – proper small – but every inch is intentional.
Run by longtime friends and fellow musicians Dan Cunningham and Cam Worne, The Grove isn’t just another black box venue (in fact, its walls are white – scandalous). It’s intimate, it’s scrappy, and it’s lovingly cobbled together by people who actually care. In just twelve months, what started as a dream, built on shoestrings and favours, has grown into one of the city’s most exciting grassroots spaces. As they gear up for their first birthday bash – not an anniversary, they insist “it’s a party, there will be hats and cake” – we sat down to talk about what it means to hold space for a scene that is very much alive.
“People tell us The Grove reminds them of places that have shut down, which is flattering, but it’s got its own identity, and hopefully legacy, too,” Cam says, explaining how neither of them expected it to take off the way it has. The closure of other spaces in the city has created a gap, one that The Grove is cautiously, yet confidently, filling. “There’s just this massive demand for small venues.
“Not just from local bands, either; we get messages from artists in Australia, the States, asking if they can play here. Bands who maybe can’t pull more than sixty people but want a room that still feels like a show.”
launches, the space is fast gaining a reputation for sounding really, really good: “We’ve had bands say it's the best sound they’ve ever had, which means a lot when we literally built this room ourselves!”
Perhaps most symbolic of this DIY ethos is ‘The Wall’, fast becoming tradition at The Grove. Once you’ve played here, you sign the stairs. Cam shares: “It started on the bottom step, and now we’re running out of space already. Bands come in and ask for the sharpie before they even soundcheck – but you have to earn your signature. No play, no pen.”
That sense of pride, playfulness, and respect for the space radiates through everything they do. “There’s no filler nights,” Dan is adamant. “We’re not open seven days a week. We only open when there’s something special on. And the people who come back, our regulars, trust that. They might not know the band, but they know it’ll be a good night.”
“I think that’s the biggest compliment. We’ve got regulars now who come to shows regardless of who’s playing, just because they know it’ll be a good night,” Cam goes on to explain how he overheard a conversation between customers the other day: “They were saying, ‘If I’ve got nothing on, I just check what The Grove is doing’, and it made me grin. That kind of word-of-mouth is everything.”
The space itself used to be an empty unit just off the main stretch of Sneinton Market. Dan first spotted the potential while walking past every day on his way to work: “I just thought, this would make a really good venue.” He took a punt, sent a proposal to the council – one of ninety applicants – and got the keys. “It was too fun of an opportunity not to jump in on,” he says, still sounding slightly surprised it actually worked out.
In a time where small venues are closing left and right, The Grove opened with a simple goal: put on as many good gigs as possible. “We didn’t take a penny from here for the first six months,” Dan continues, shouting out tech know-how Logan Thomson, friend and partner of the venue, who has built a lot of the equipment that makes the place pop. “We have all kept our day jobs and reinvested everything into the space – gear, backline, keeping the bar stocked. We wanted to do it properly.”
That focus on quality has paid off. Both founders are musicians themselves, so that sense of care runs deep; from the carefully tuned acoustics to the shared backline gear they’ve built up over fifteen years in bands, everything is designed to make the artist sound good and feel good. “A lot of bands walk in and are surprised by how small the room is,” Cam says. “Once we’ve sound checked, the worry disappears. You can see the shift in them. Suddenly it clicks and it is a vibe.” From intimate live sessions to fully booked EP
From the beginning, it’s been a tight operation. Unlike venues where you’re met with a clipboard and a shrug, The Grove brings a personal touch with professional sound. Friends help behind the bar. Freelancers run sound and doors on busy nights. “Because we’re such a small team, it means everything is hands on,” explains Cam. “If someone emails asking to play here, it’s us replying. We ask what they’re working on, they’ll send us a demo, and we’ll listen to the music. There’s no automated message, no £500 hire fee. We’re invested. Do you want to do an EP launch? Do you need help booking support? We want to make sure it’s a good night from start to finish.
"Because we’re out at gigs constantly, we're always writing lists of bands we want to put on. Sometimes we book a band the second they come off stage, other times we work with external promoters, which keeps things fresh.”
Their calendar has been packed since day one. “The first month we opened, we were so focused on launch night that we forgot to book anything else,” Dan laughs. “Now we’re booking into next year. We’ve got stuff lined up through to next June already.” And the bills are always stacked. Vonavella, Victory Lap, Catmilk, Davoli, Sex Toy Vending Machine... the list goes on and on. “We try to make the lineups make sense. Genrewise, tone-wise. Nottingham has got such a ridiculous number of good bands that we’re struggling to fit them all in.”
Whilst they stop short of claiming they’re shaping the sound of Nottingham, it is hard to ignore the impact they’re having. Dan promises: “We do pick who plays, so there is a bit of us in
there, but it’s more about curating good nights than putting our stamp on anything.”
That artist-first approach is what keeps people coming back. They’ve hosted live sessions; intimate semi-secret sets for just twenty friends; full recording days for bands laying down drums and tracking guitars in their tight yet finely tuned room. “We try to keep it all artist-led,” says Dan. “We’re not here to control the sound or tell people how to make their record. A lot of people are doing stuff at home now and just need a space for the parts they can’t do in a bedroom – drums, live takes, good mics. We’re here for that.”
“Sometimes people come to us saying they’ve never put on a gig before, and we’ll make it happen. That’s the point of grassroots space. Lowering the barrier, letting people try something new.” Cam laments that it’s not just about live shows. They’re keen to start offering workshops, especially for younger sound engineers, photographers, and techs trying to break into the industry. “There are a lot of music tech grads in Nottingham, but jumping straight into the big leagues is tough. You need hands-on experience. We’ve had people shadow us at gigs, even take over the desk for a night. That kind of thing makes a difference.”
That commitment to the next wave is something they’ve always felt themselves, as Cam adds: “We’ve played in bands for years. A lot of the gear in the room is our own personal stuff from past projects. We’re trying to slowly replace it with house kit, but right now we’re still using what we’ve got – thanks to Logan – and it works.”
Despite everything they’ve achieved, the biggest misconception is that they’re doing it full-time. “We are, time-wise,” laughs Dan. “But not money-wise. We’ve still got other jobs. People think we’re raking it in because it’s going well, but most of the time we’re just trying to cover overheads and make sure the bands get paid.”
sometimes peopLe Come to us saying they’ Ve ne Ver put on a gig beFore, and we’LL maKe it happen. that’s the point oF grassroots spaCe. Lowering the barrier, Letting peopLe try something new
“It’s not glamorous,” says Cam. “But we’re not here for glamour.”
They’ve hosted higher-profile artists too – Peter Doherty, for example, did an acoustic set just a few hours before he joined The Libertines on stage at Rock City last year –and are quietly dreaming of snagging more secret shows. “If someone’s playing Rock City or the arena,” says Dan. “Why not a matinee acoustic set here? No harm in asking. We’re eager to have those conversations.”
Their birthday bash this August is shaping up to be a real party. The line-up features artists who’ve played The Grove before, alongside a few first-timers. Local talent Daudio Matsiko and Stack Duncan are on the bill, plus the founders’ personal favourite Me Rex. “He’s based in Brighton but played here a few months ago and we couldn’t believe how good he was. He’s on our playlist all the time – we had to take him off it the day he played so it wasn’t too obvious.”
While at most of their events, around 80% of ticket revenue goes back to the artists, for the birthday celebrations they are hoping to amp this up to 100%. They’re similarly proud of their charity gigs that they’ve hosted and helped to raise thousands for; Young Musicians For Palestine and Girlband! sold out fairly quick, and the lads say it’s nice to give back to those that directly benefit. “We’re banking on the bar doing well enough to cover our side, but that’s fine. This one’s about celebrating. About saying thanks.”
Looking back, both Cam and Dan have had moments where it all clicked. “Sometimes we just give each other a look across the room,” Dan smiles. “It’ll be a great band, the room buzzing, people in the moment. And we’re like – this is it. This is why we’re here.”
Cam remembers Swallowtail’s EP launch as a highlight: “It was sold out. Drury Hill and PICT were on the bill. We’d just set up the projector, the lights were perfect, everyone was buying drinks, the bands were on form. I was just stood there thinking, ‘This is the best night’. This is exactly what we hoped it could be.”
The Grove is part of a bigger shift happening in Sneinton Market – a creative pulse running through venues, bars and bakeries alike.“It’s not just us,” says Dan. “There’s Working Men’s Kitchen, Neon Raptor - all these brilliant independents bringing people into the area. We’re proud to be part of that.”
In fact, The Grove just won Best Independent Bar in Nottingham at the Ducky Awards, beating out hundreds of other businesses. Not bad for a team of two and a couple of mates. “There were only three music venues shortlisted across any category: Bodega, Peggy’s Skylight, and us,” Cam beams. “Somehow, we won. Totally didn’t expect that!”
Still, the bar – just two fridges wide – punches well above its weight. Expectations aside, they’ve had plenty of moments where it all works out; where the effort, the stress, the ten-email chains and sixteen hour days pay off. Brick by brick, beat by beat, Nottingham’s better for it.
Find The Grove on socials to keep up with their upcoming events, and to snap up tickets for their birthday celebrations on Sunday 24 August, head to their website. We recommend buying tickets early to avoid disappointment!
thegrovenotts.co.uk
words: Talia Robinson
photos: Natalie Owen | Mark Bond | Sophie Gargett | The Grove
Our House
Established in 2001, Neds is a housing co-operative in Nottingham, where members live in a large Victorian house and former pikelet factory. There’s a good chance that sentence raised a few questions for you… What is a housing co-operative? Is it a commune? Who’s Ned? … and what’s a pikelet? We’ll get to most of these questions shortly. But to answer the last one: it is a thin crumpet. Matteo D’Alesio finds out more…
A housing co-operative is essentially a mutually owned business owning property for its members to live in - if you’re a member you’re both a renter and a landlord. Confused? Well if you’re currently renting you’ll likely pay rent to a private landlord who is taking a juicy profit on top of any costs they might have. You pay your rent, then the profit disappears.
In a housing co-op there is no profit. You pay rent to the business you mutually own - that rent pays for any costs you might have, like repaying loans taken out to buy your property, property maintenance, and so on. If there’s any surplus (what a private landlord would call profit) that remains within the business. So if you decide, as a house, to renovate the kitchen or bathroom - you’ve got a nice fund to dip into, all whilst paying significantly lower monthly rents too.
So what’s the catch, and why isn’t every renter doing this? There’s a few reasons but key are availability (there aren’t many co-ops in the UK), knowledge (people don’t know they exist or what they are), and preference (people don’t want to live communally).
Still confused? Well hopefully Sarah, who has been living at Neds for the past ten years, can help.
“Some people have ideas about 1970s communes and swapping partners, and you’re like, ‘Oh no, that’s not what it's about!’” says Sarah. “It’s an intentional community for people who want to live in an environment which recognises and supports people that are doing work around social justice and animal rights. The rent is affordable enough that people can work part-time and be involved in those things.”
Not all housing co-ops are politically motivated - some exist as an economic or social alternative, but Neds is firmly rooted in activism and political action, right down to the name.
“Ned is Ned Ludd. The frame breaker who stood up for the masses against the enforcement of early stage capitalism.” Ned Ludd is now remembered as the name behind the Luddite movement: a pro-worker movement originating in Nottingham that is often misattributed as being ‘anti-technology’. (It was also the name of the former pub on Friar Lane which is now being turned into offices - even in death Ned Ludd is suffering at the hands of commercial interests.)
I ask Sarah more questions about how a housing co-op functions day-to-day - who does what, how close-knit are the residents - trying to gently scratch the surface to see if any horrors lie beneath. It becomes increasingly apparent that it's like any other shared living situation, just with a couple of big differences. At Neds, and other housing co-ops, there are explicit intentions and expectations set, and most importantly people want to live communally rather than being forced by circumstance.
“There’s a collective living agreement. It's a set of principles we’ve agreed by consensus. If you’re in an intentional community, that takes a bit of time to do,” explains Sarah. Agreement by consensus is when everyone has to agree, so in theory everyone is happy - or at least no-one is unhappy.
“It’s time well invested to get the principles correct, how you want to operate and work together, otherwise it's not going to work,” Sarah says.
Everyone pitches in; you might cook for the house once a week which means food is cooked for you for the rest of the week; there’s a cleaning rota and there’s a house meeting every other week. The phrases ‘cleaning rota’ and ‘house meeting’ might fill you with dread, creating an image of pressure-cooker living and trodden toes, but Sarah does not paint that image.
“Someone who was looking to move in came to have a look around and asked if we spend lots of time together, and well, it's sort of a mix. It was one of the member’s birthdays recently and we had a little birthday meal, so we will do things [together]. Some nights a few of us cook together and you might cook for six people, but someone is at a choir rehearsal, someone at the climbing wall, etcetera.”
Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that a housing co-op that has existed for nearly 25 years functions well, finding a gentle balance of communal living and individual autonomy. But it can’t all be good, can it?
“We’ve had our ups and downs here. We haven’t had masses of finance, we’ve had situations where a person here is a bit of a challenge to live with. We’re not pretending we’ve never had any issues,” Sarah says. It’s another reminder that between romanticising and reviling the idea of housing co-ops, you find a far more grounded reality.
“The easiest positive is the sense of community and support. People have had difficult times here and people have been amazingly supportive - you can absolutely rely on people. It's a bit cheesy but it's sort of like a family.”
The family created at Neds is maybe best demonstrated by the party they threw for their twenty year anniversary, and how many of the fifty odd members returned for it. “Nearly all of our old members came back. People travelled huge distances because the people who have been involved are really invested in it,” Sarah recalls. “Off the top of my head, I would say that there were four people that didn’t come. It
wasn’t just the people who lived here, there was someone who showed up from the Netherlands who was handing out prosecco.”
If your interest is piqued, Neds are currently looking to fill a space. Or perhaps you’re interested in finding out more about starting your own housing co-op? “Come and talk to us. That's what we said to Kunsthaus, they invited us over for dinner, they started asking us questions we’d never even thought of. We thought ‘we should do this more often because it’d just be really helpful.’”
Kunsthaus Housing Co-op are the new kids on the block, named after a former arts collective that previously lived in their current rented property. Currently an unhoused co-op, meaning they don’t yet own their own property, I talked to members Robin and Rowan about the journey so far.
“In some ways we’re still very early days even though it's been quite a process to get here,” Robin tells me. “It’s been over a year now. You think about how many meetings we’ve had.”
Radical Routes, a meeting that Kunsthaus mentions, is a mutual-aid network for co-ops where full members can access various means of support, like financial: the biggest sticking point for new co-ops. It's no different for Kunsthaus as they’re currently looking to raise funds to buy a property.
it's diFFiCuLt to go against the systems we’ Ve been trained to LiVe in - LiVing aLone or owning your own property. it's Kind oF a radiCaL ChoiCe to want to LiVe in this way
“Lots of banks who previously gave mortgages to housing co-operatives have stopped that now,” Rowan adds. “Quite a lot of new co-operatives who are buying properties are having to do it purely through short-term loans from friends and family, grants, self-finance, and potentially a Radical Routes loan as well.”
Despite the evident difficulty in getting a new housing co-op off the ground, the passion for living cooperatively is evident from Kunsthaus.
“There’s a feeling that if people live together then what you can do politically can become supercharged to some degree,” Robin says. “There’s the potential there, but it takes a bit more organising and less chance to talk about things because we don’t live together.”
“Not everyone involved in a co-op is politically active,” he adds. “We’re all politically active and very passionate about that. But some people go into it purely for the financial side and that's a valid way of being in a co-operative.”
A third of the UK population today are renters, with renters facing rising prices each year thanks to a lack of supply, as well as precarious regulations and often substandard conditions. Rental payments can be anywhere between a quarter to half of monthly earnings, which then further contributes to the widening the gap between renters and property owners.
“Some people can’t afford to have the deposit to get a mortgage, simple as that,” Robin tells me. “Renting is so precarious; sometimes the properties are not fit for purpose, sometimes they’re very expensive, but you can also get turfed out.”
With housing co-ops you cannot get evicted in the same way - in theory you could live there forever, typically people leave due to personal choice, and in rarer cases due to personal conflict. But what does happen when you leave? “When you live in a co-operative you don’t own any of the property,” Rowan explains. “So if you left you would have no stake, it's not like you’re doing a shared mortgage. It doesn’t give you that long term security - it’s security for as long as you want to stay. But if we had more co-operatives that would be less stressful.”
Being unable to build equity is a valid concern but with significantly lower rents there is greater potential to save for if your next move isn’t going to be another housing co-op.
Rowan points out that the benefits, however, extend beyond the financial: “If you’re having a down day or you have a project you want to talk about, there’s people generally who are around who have similar views to you,” he says. “Living with people can be annoying at times, but then I remember what the bigger picture is - maybe I’m a little bit annoyed that someone didn’t wash their plates but we can have a really nice film night together or I can talk to them over breakfast.”
Kunsthaus are looking for new members to help get their housing co-op fully up and running with its own property. “Please come and talk to us if you’re interested in joining,” Rowan says. “There’s a lot of really good information available. This will sound super cheesy - keep hope. It's difficult to go against the systems we’ve been trained to live in - living alone or owning your own property. It's kind of a radical choice to want to live in this way.”
You can read a longer version of this article via our website. Contact Neds or Kunsthaus via the email addresses below - learn more about Radical Routes via the website.
Artist and Derby Uni’s Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts, Caroline Locke is known throughout the country for her imaginative work with sculpture, light, and sound. Six of her creations are currently featured in FOREST: an ongoing exhibition at Nottingham Castle - in light of that she told us more about how forests ( particularly Sherwood Forest) have become a central part of her art practice in recent years.
“Just down the road from me, in Sherwood, is a piece of ground with trees that have remained between two bits of road, which join the Mansfield Road,” says Nottingham artist Caroline Locke. “There is a sign there that is now old and unreadable but it used to say that this spot was once on the very edge of the Sherwood Forest - where the city joined it - which has always interested me.”
Sherwood Forest isn’t just a short distance from Caroline’s home - it’s also been at the back of her mind for decades. Her connection with the wood goes back to the early 90s, when she moved from her home county of Somerset to study Creative and Live Arts in Nottingham. Exploring the forest, the ancient canopies and sprawling pathways sparked her imagination, and partly kept her coming back to work in Nottinghamshire over the years.
Now, as one of the country’s leading interdisciplinary artists, Caroline, while her connection with green spaces in Notts has never been stronger.
Caroline’s work is currently displayed at a temporary exhibition at Nottingham Castle, titled FOREST and curated by Tristam Aver. Walking into the exhibition space you’re presented with a pretty immersive blend of art, video, sculpture, and writings on history and folklore, all related to forests, and what they’ve meant to people over time, especially in a Nottinghamshire context.
i guess that For an artist, to be hidden away in the gaLLery, onLy reaChing an audienCe that is an ‘art’ Crowd, isn’t Quite so satisFying
Exploring low lit spaces, you get a vivid sense of how woods have captured the human imagination for centuries, from writings on the mythic ‘Green Man’, to witchy rituals, to representations of early modern ‘enclosure acts’, the ‘rightto-roam’, and links established via art between climate-induced forest fires in Nottinghamshire, and more recent ones like those earlier this year in Los Angeles.
Central to the whole experience, however, are six of Caroline’s artworks commissioned for the exhibition, the likes of which you certainly won’t find anywhere else. The first is Forest Bell: at first glance a shiny bronze handbell installed in an aluminium and wood frame. Scan the nearby placard however, and you’ll learn that the bell is tuned to the ‘frequency’ of a Sherwood Forest oak tree.
Trees, and the sonic frequencies they emit, have been on Caroline’s mind for a while now - “I was at Yorkshire Sculpture Park as part of an artist residency - I was building an installation in the chapel there, and was creating works focused on cymatics: sending sounds through water. I was interested in revealing the invisible,” she says, referring to an early iteration of her ‘sound fountains’: sculptures that visually project sonic waveforms from water onto nearby surfaces.
“Staying onsite I spent a lot of time walking in the trees - there was something about their movement which paralleled the movements I saw on the water,” Caroline says. “I wondered if I could find a mechanism of recording the movements over time. I thought about recording the number of times a branch moves from side to side over a minute, and started doing ad-hoc experiments. I then found a paper from a Nottingham University researcher who came up with a theory of recording the frequency of a tree to work out its health. What he did was use a laser scanner to map out the tree and record its movements against that.”
With this approach Caroline created ‘The Frequency of Trees’ - an interactive group of tuning forks (still displayed at Yorkshire Sculpture Park) tuned to four trees: Oak, Cedar, Beech, and Horse Chestnut. Eventually Caroline started creating bells: sculptures that resonated (pun not intended) with climate change, and became a mechanism for reconnecting with the natural world.
“Bells are used for signals, bringing people together, and warning sounds. There’s a history of them being used in war, to let people know if they were under attack. But they’re also used for celebration. So they became pertinent for me in encouraging people to connect with nature, and protect our environment,” says Caroline, adding, “the other thing about bells is that they change their tone with the temperature. At Taylor Bells Foundry - where mine are cast - they tune them at 21 degrees centigrade. So as the temperature goes up there will be changes to their tone.”
words: Caradoc Gayer photos: Caroline Locke and Spyros Kitsas
Forest Bell - tuned to the frequency of a young oak tree close to the Major Oak
From Forest and Frequency, created by Georgianna Scurfield
A replica bell showing the size needed if tuned to the frequency of the Major Oak
Visitors to the FOREST exhibition can interact with the Forest Bell
In the lead-up to creating Forest Bell, for display in Nottingham Castle, Caroline created bells tuned to other trees, like Southwell’s original Bramley Apple Tree, Newton’s Apple Tree in Lincolnshire, and even a Bunya Pine in Brisbane Australia.
One creation: The Forest Charter Bell, is designed for socially engaged practice, and is used in tree planting sessions with Notts schoolkids. At local green spaces, Caroline has participating students ring the charter bell for each sapling that they set-a-growing.
“I’m hoping that they’ll create a memory then go back to the tree and make sure that it’s okay. I guess that’s what this socially engaged practice is about for me - trying to create situations where people connect with nature, and that connection becomes more important and lasting in their lifetime.”
And having leveraged this art-making method so often, was there anything more that Caroline could create for FOREST, at Nottingham Castle? Very much so - it turned out - she decided to go big or go home, and see about capturing the frequency of The Major Oak: arguably Nottinghamshire’s most famous tree which, according to Victorian legend, was a hideout for Robin Hood and his compatriots.
In the final exhibition room you see the project’s results - a year-long task with roots (get it?) in 2018, when Caroline started monitoring the Major Oak.
There’s lots to look at: from acorns and leaves, from Major Oak branches, cast in bronze and silver, to an immersive video conveying Sherwood Forest’s ambience. Then, arguably the focus: a documentary about the project, created by mate of LeftLion Georgianna Scurfield, seeing Caroline revisiting The Major Oak over a year, speaking with all kinds of folks about it - from Sherwood Forest locals, to University of Nottingham staff who helped her create the laser scan of the tree.
The end result was, perhaps, a little unexpected. The Major Oak’s frequency was so low that it required a 125 metre wide bell, which with earth’s gravity quite literally couldn’t function. To represent this the exhibition features a tiny, Major Oak model dwarfed by a gigantic bell: a statement, maybe, on the massive impact of just one, innocuous tree that we take for granted? Well, that’s up to the viewer.
What also stands out, however, are the impromptu conversations Caroline has beneath The Major Oak, featured throughout the documentary. From hearing stories about it, to the efforts people have taken to protect it, you come away from the film with a detailed impression of how trees, and forests, mean so much to people in so many different contexts.
“In these dangerous times we’re living in it is really about trying to take action, and trying to be actively engaged in what’s happening,” says Caroline. “I guess that for an artist, to be hidden away in the gallery, only reaching an audience that is an ‘art’ crowd, isn’t quite so satisfying.”
FOREST, featuring the work of Caroline Locke and other artists, is on display at Nottingham Castle until 2 November 2025
Oikonomos - acorns and leaves, fallen from the Major Oak, cast in copper, silver, and gold
125 metres across - a bell tuned to the frequency of the Major Oak couldn’t function on earth
In Full Splendour
After a brief hiatus, Nottingham’s much-loved Splendour Festival is back and ready to reclaim its place in the East Midlands’ cultural calendar. On Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July, the two-day music extravaganza returns to its original home in Nottingham, Wollaton Park. With expanded stages, some very well-known names in UK music, and plenty of surprises in store, Splendour 2025 is more than just a returning festival — it’s a celebration of live music, community, and Nottingham culture. Whether you’re planning to go for the sing-alongs, the new discoveries, or just a great pint with friends in the sun, this one’s not to be missed. To help get you hyped, here are ten very good reasons why you should mark your calendar now.
Hits All Weekend Long
Splendour’s 2025 line-up is a feel-good, hits-smashing playlist brought to life. Picture thousands singing along under the sun to I Predict a Riot, Banquet, Rather Be and Murder on the Dancefloor
Headliners Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Clean Bandit, Travis and Sophie Ellis-Bextor are joined by Nottingham’s own Jake Bugg, along with Natasha Bedingfield and Echo & The Bunnymen.
Whatever your jam, this year’s offerings are primed to deliver those euphoric, arms-in-the-air moments from start to finish - so start learning the words to all these classic songs!
Discover Your Next Favourite Artist on The Bodega Stage Emerging talent has always been part of Splendour, and the new Bodega New Music Stage levels it up. Curated by the iconic Nottingham venue (recently awarded Grassroots Live Music Venue of the Year), the stage will showcase rising national stars such as Tom A. Smith, Aziya, Mickey Callisto and Cardinals, as well as upcoming local favourites Bloodworm, Bored Marsh and Swallowtail.
With so many talented artists across the weekend, it's the perfect place to stumble across the next big thing and then brag about it for years once they eventually appear on the main stage.
Daytime Clubbing With Day Fever
Our Dementia Choir Returns For A Third Time
However, Day Fever isn’t the only place to catch Vicky McClure across the weekend as Our Dementia Choir, which was formed by Vicky herself, returns to the festival for the third time to bring warmth, courage and talent to the main stage.
Some moments at Splendour are about more than the music and their performances bring the crowd together in a way few acts can. So, get yourself prepared for some joy, emotion and plenty of heart from the main stage on Saturday.
Six Stages Bringing Unlimited Vibes
With six stages now on site, including the returning Splendour, Confetti and Comedy stages — plus new additions Day Fever, Dance, and The Bodega — the 2025 edition is officially Splendour’s biggest yet.
Whether you're vibing with Trevor Nelson, throwing it back with Hedkandi, or grooving at Day Fever, there’s a stage and a sound for everyone.
Family Fun with Free Kids Tickets
Splendour is a festival for all ages, and it is not all just talk: this event comes with free entry for under-11s, a dedicated Little Splendours kids’ area, fairground rides, hands-on workshops and even Trent Rockets popping up across the weekend. There’s plenty to keep little ones happy and space for parents to relax too, giving families a great day out that doesn’t break the bank.
Crack Up at the Comedy Stage
1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 3
Nottingham Talent Front and Centre
Splendour has long championed East Midlands music, and this year’s line-up is a love letter to local talent.
Look out for local acts including LYVIA, Kezia Gill, The Publics and the (TBC) winners of Future Sound of Nottingham. They will all be sharing stages with charttoppers, offering breakout opportunities to the region’s finest. No other festival gives local acts this kind of platform!
Eat, Sip, Shop, Repeat
This year, Splendour steps up its food and drink game. The Main Arena will pour pints of Brooklyn Pilsner, Stonewall IPA and Thatchers Juicy Apple, with an Ale Tent serving local legends Black Iris, Castle Rock, Lenton Lane, Blue Monkey, Shipstones and Hollow Stone.
Canned cocktails, wines, sparkling drinks, and a dedicated Guinness bar (including zero alcohol cans) ensure no-one goes thirsty. VIPs can also enjoy Estrella Damm, Poretti and a frozen margarita bar. Meanwhile, the Bodega Stage serves up its own canned Bodega Lager.
Add food trucks, an independent market and the return of the Silent Disco, and you’ve got a full festival experience.
Wollaton Park: The Star of the Show
Day Fever is Splendour’s boldest new addition, a proper retro day rave curated by Vicky McClure, Jonny Owen, and Jon McClure (of Reverend & The Makers).
Expect nostalgic bangers, full-on dancefloor vibes, and some surprise DJ guests. It’s big fun for grown-up ravers and perfectly placed in the (hopefully) sunny daytime slot for maximum serotonin. But don’t worry, it promises to get all ages rocking!
Need a break from the bass? Head to the Comedy Stage for some laughs, courtesy of acts including Jonny Awsum, Karen Bayley, Steve Royle and Duncan Oakley.
With a packed schedule across both days, it’s the perfect stop when you fancy a giggle or some fresh air away from the music.
And last but certainly not least, Nottingham’s most famous park might just be the city’s best festival venue, not forgetting that all of it combined makes Splendour Festival one of the biggest festivals in the East Midlands.
With sweeping lawns, scenic woods and that unmistakable hall, Wollaton Park offers a stunning backdrop just a short hop from the city centre.
Splendour Festival takes place at Wollaton Park on the 1920 July.
splendourfestival.com
words: Marta Tavares
photos: Marcus Holdsworth
Out of Time: What''s in a Name
words: Phoebe Leonard illustrations: Lizzie Bosworth
We walk along the streets of Nottingham every day without paying much attention to their names. They may be just words to us now, but street names were often originally descriptions, giving us information about important goings on in that area. Here are the meanings and history behind some of Nottingham’s streets that you may not have thought about before.
Fletcher Gate
The original name for Fletcher Gate was ‘Fleschewergate’, meaning ‘butcher street’. This comes from the Saxon word ‘flesher’, a term for a butcher, which doesn’t sound very appealing. For a while some thought the street was named after ‘fletchers’, who make arrows, but this appears to just be a coincidence. The ‘gate’ often used in street names like this comes from the Old Norse ‘gata’, meaning ‘road’ or ‘street’, which suggests that there was a Viking presence in the area.
Clumber Street
Clumber Street is now filled with shops, but it originally had a very different purpose. Its old name was ‘Cow Lane’, most likely because cows would walk through it on the way to their pasture. The lane was very narrow, and in 1812 the then Duke of Newcastle widened the street so he could more easily sell property there. Apparently this was a smart move and people loved it – so much so that they renamed the street ‘Clumber Street’ to honour him because his family owned Clumber Park. ‘Clumber’ itself is a bit unclear though. It was first called ‘Clunbre’ in the Domesday Book and it might refer to a ‘lump of earth’, or be made up of a combination of a Celtic word for hill and the river name ‘Clun’.
Maiden Lane
It could be easy to assume that the ‘maiden’ referred to in Maiden Lane is Maid Marian, but this isn’t the case. In fact, it doesn’t refer to one specific ‘maiden’ at all. The first known name for the street is from the 1300s, when it was recorded as ‘the Horelane’ and ‘Hory Lane’. In the 1400-1500s, the street was known as ‘Fairemayden Lane’. This history of names suggests the street was an area frequented by sex workers. It’s not clear when the current shortened name emerged, but it seems to be some time in the 1800s, and it was likely changed to avoid the previous associations.
Poultry
Poultry, a row of buildings next to Old Market Square, has a strange history. In the 1300s it was known as ‘Cuckstool Row’, believed to be because a ducking stool (also known as a cucking stool) was kept there. Ducking was a practice where people believed to be a nuisance, often women, were dunked into water on a stool as a punishment. It was also known as Hen Cross in the 1400s, the name of a nearby landmark marking the poultry market. The street was officially renamed in 1731 after one of the women drowned during the punishment and the name ‘Poultry’ emerged, likely also referring to the poultry market.
Drury Hill
Drury Hill was a very narrow street that led onto Bridlesmith Gate. It was originally called ‘Vault Lane’ because of the large stone cellars (or vaults) that are underneath the nearby numbers 2 and 4 Low Pavement. The name was changed to ‘Drury Hill’ around 1620 to honour Thomas Drury, an alderman who was an important figure in the city. Unfortunately, Drury Hill was demolished in the 1960s to make way for Broadmarsh Shopping Centre and there is now no evidence that it existed apart from people’s memories.
Hounds Gate and Spaniel Row
The references to dogs in these adjoining streets reflects their shared history. Historians aren’t entirely certain on their meaning, but the main theory is that they held the kennels for the dogs of the castle. Hounds Gate was first written as ‘Hungate’ in 1326 and the lack of change over the years suggests it was a significant area, as these resist change more often. Spaniel Row was written ‘Spanyell Strete’ in 1463, and likely refers to the spaniels that King Charles I loved so dearly.
Mount Street
Mount Street is located near Maid Marian Way and is now a very unassuming road, but it has an interesting (and grisly) history. Its previous name was ‘Bearward Lane’, the name for someone who kept bears for bear baiting. Bear baiting was a gruesome sport where a dog and bear fought each other and was a popular form of entertainment until around the 1800s. The street name likely changed when it fell out of favour, as ‘Mount Street’ was first used in 1800. The current name likely comes from a nearby mound or hill, though historians aren’t entirely sure.
Cheapside
Surprisingly, the name ‘Cheapside’ doesn’t mean that the area is cheap. It actually means ‘the side where the market is’ or ‘the market place’, which makes a lot of sense given Cheapside’s location near Old Market Square. This comes from the Old English word ‘ceapan’, meaning ‘to buy’. Though the name comes from Old English, it’s only been used for this street since the 1700s. It used to be called ‘Rotten Row’ in the 1500s, but with no evidence as to why, we can only guess the happenings of the street at that time. Cheapside is a very common English street name, with at least 23 other towns or cities in the country using it for one of their roads.
Bridlesmith Gate
Bridlesmith Gate, like Hounds Gate, is one of the few streets on this list whose name has barely changed over time. The earliest reference to the street is ‘Bridilsmethisgate’ in the early 1300s, and it means ‘street of bridlesmiths’. A bridlesmith is someone who makes the metal parts of a horse’s bridle, which is used to direct a horse. For many years, Bridlesmith Gate was the main shopping street in Nottingham. In 1819, attempts were made to change the name to Bond Street, like the most fashionable street in London. People were very angry about this though, and the street returned to its historic name not long after.
Standard Hill
Standard Hill seems like a pretty boring name but it actually has a very important history. Located just outside Nottingham Castle, it was the site where King Charles I ‘raised his standard’ in 1642. This declared war on Parliament and began the English Civil War. At the time, the area was called ‘Hill Close’, but it was changed to ‘Standard Close’ to mark the occasion. It’s not clear when or why they changed ‘close’ to ‘hill’ in the new name.
L iterature
perFeCt ten
Readers, prepare your confetti. 2025 marks our first decade as a UNESCO City of Literature - with many more, we hope, to come. Since 2015, Nottingham City of Literature has been honouring their commitment to building better futures with words, especially for our young people. This has included working with local educational institutions to enhance literacy, facilitating career events for blossoming creatives, and fostering global connections with Nottingham’s UNESCO sister cities. We took a look at what they’ve achieved so far….
“We’re looking forward to building on the successes of the last decade,” Hannah Trevarthen, Director of Nottingham City of Literature, told us. “And to continue to champion Nottingham’s past, present and future stories, writers and readerslocally, nationally and internationally.”
City of Lit has now pasted a celebratory message on the side of an NCTX bus, which reads: ‘Barcelona, Ljubljana, Nottingham, Lviv, what do they all have in common?’ The answer is that they’ve all been Cities of Lit for ten years - and they all know how to throw a party.
But before the corks start popping, let’s look over some of the things that City of Lit has offered to our literary city over the years…
youth adVisory board - From 2021
This board is made up of a team of young creatives aged 16 to 25 who meet monthly to produce literary events and opportunities for young people in Nottingham while supporting the City of Literature in their projects and future aims. In recent years they’ve helped out with celebrations for Nottingham Poetry Festival, World Poetry Day, and International Youth Day. This Youth Advisory Board also gives back to its board members - they receive free books and event tickets, skill development sessions, paid experience in event planning and delivery, and career advice for the creative sector. Let’s give big thanks to all the board’s past and current members: Annie Cross, Mia Hagues, Ava Richmond, Henry Lambert, Elle Jacobson, and Jacob Hall.
internships
Each year, Nottingham City of Literature offers at least five paid internships to support talented creatives in getting a foothold in the literary industry. These internships train interns in various employable skills such as social media
literacy, event planning, and project delivery. The City of Literature blog is a great way to track the interns’ developing creative insights as they go.
young poet Laureate programme (From 2017-2019)
Georgina Wilding, founding editor of Mud Press, was Nottingham’s first Young Poet Laureate. This began with an open call from the City of Literature which inspired creatives to join its citywide contest for the twoyear Arts Council funded position. During her tenure, Georgina wrote and performed commissioned poetry for city stakeholders such as The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. She also contributed to Nottingham’s community by performing at Hockley Hustle and leading writing residencies for over five hundred young people at Lakeside Arts, City Arts, Hyson Green Library, and Djanogly Academy. It’s more than safe to say that Georgina achieved our City of Literature’s aims of promoting literature, inspiring young people’s creativity, and providing insights into what it means to be young in Nottingham. Currently, Georgina continues to support our city’s literary scene as a prolific poetry performer and as Nottingham Central Library’s Events Manager.
internationaL opportunities
“Nottingham is nothing less than a cultural beacon,” said Sam Lux of Nottingham City Council. “But this has been too often overlooked. Having our City of Literature status over the last decade has helped us to shine a light on our rich heritage and current array of talent. It’s opened up wonderful opportunities and allowed us to establish our well-deserved place on the global stage”
The City of Literature team regularly facilitates such international opportunities, strengthening
Phew. In an effort to stave off the impending Jenga-collapse of the climate, scientists have recommended that we keep painting our houses white, which can lower indoor temperatures by up to five degrees and save us from abusing the air con. Soon you might expect Bulwell to look like Santorini, the roof of the Tuck & Tanner pub beaming like a Mediterranean taverna.
Nottingham’s place in our global literary community. For example, this past year, the City of Literature organised virtual writing residencies for our Nottingham creatives Andrew Tucker Leavis, Alison Moore, and Neal Pike to exchange artistry with our sister UNESCO city Melbourne. Most recently, this June we’ve had the blessing of Vanessa Belle at our door - bringing us readings of her newest anthology Monuments and speaking on her life, creative practice, and career in Québec as a City of Literature.
nature poet Laureate programme - Coming soon
This past March and April, City of Literature opened up to poets under the age of thirty-five, asking for their applications to become Nottingham’s first Nature Poet Laureate. By establishing this role City of Literature is responding to our earth’s forgotten importance: seeking an advocate for climate crisis awareness and nature’s integral role in our individual and collective wellbeing. Moreover, Nottingham City of Literature has an activities programme in the works which plans to connect our communities with each other and nature - inspiring us all to employ the written word to celebrate our local ecosystems and planet.
Be on the lookout for our next laureate! They’ll be popping out of the chrysalis sometime soon to serve an eighteenmonth tenure alongside community facilitators as a mentor of local talent; a representative of Nottingham’s young creatives; and as an educator on the climate crisis.
So, to all the creatives, readers, and residents of Nottingham - happy tenth anniversary. Many more celebratory events are coming throughout 2025, so stay literary! We’ll see you there.
nottinghamcityofliterature.com
Maybe this need to reflect sunlight is why everyone’s getting married. All those bridal veils! The country is being painted by white dresses - reducing, I would imagine, the forehead temperature of excited brides by up to five degrees. Will you marry me to save the planet?
It seems that everyone who met each other during the lockdown has got to that settle-down marker. What’s next after you buy a sofa and a pug called Lily? Those matrimonial spores float menacingly through the Nottingham air, adding another danger to those of us with persistent singledom, or hayfever. Literary loves often happen in the heat, perspiring in a flop-sweat. In Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria quartet, steamily uncoordinated affairs happen because the temperature forces idleness, and conversations which become ‘filled with the debris of lives lived without forethought’.
Maybe if we were to paint our houses white, we would cool down and make better decisions. But romance has never been friends with rationality. You need to be a bit frazzled to commit your life to someone, I’d say. After all, as the psychiatrist David Viscott writes, to love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
[ Q @andrewtuckerleavis
words: Aurora Amaryllis photos: City of Literature
illustration: Jim Brown words: Andrew Tucker Leavis
nott your aVerage art
Aiming to take the ‘art out of the gallery and into the community’, the Not(t) Art Collective is a new project that hopes to provoke interest from people who wouldn’t necessarily ‘do’ art. Taking place at The Barley Twist pub on Carrington Street, the collective looks to engage people in a range of social creative activities; from portrait drawing socials, to bring your own arts-and-crafts evenings, to the bare essentials - life drawing! We spoke to Matt Smith, founder of the Collective about his motivations for starting the group.
For anyone who has yet to hear about Not(t) Art please could you describe the collective and tell them about your wonderful events they could get involved with?
The catalyst for starting Not(t) Art Collective was from wanting to start an art group whilst I was at university. Personally, I had never done arts and crafts growing up as it can be very high brow and exclusionary in certain places and we want to be the complete opposite. One Sunday I discovered there was a life drawing group in the local community centre. I was curious, so decided to go along to give it a go. I came out of the first session, and it was like floating on a cloud! You just focus on creating something really nice. I was hooked and started going once or twice a week after that. That was about fifteen years ago.
What we want to do is to take it to the people who wouldn’t normally do arts and crafts and persuade them to come to a session, whether it’s an evening of life drawing, or a portrait drawing social. Another session (that we are currently negotiating with the pub - they just need to check on the risk assessment) is bring your own craft. We're going to encourage people to bring their own craft in, to either share it, teach it, or just sit and do it, but within a supportive group. We’re hoping to do two bi-weekly bring your own art and craft sessions. Life drawing and portrait drawing are bi-monthly, usually at the end of the month.
What motivated you to start this community art group?
When I first started Sheffield Hallam University as a mature student back in 2020, we were under lockdown and another university with a very active arts society was letting us join in their online life drawing sessions. That kind of created a level plain field as everyone could join in and it created a real sense of community in a very difficult time. I saw not only the enjoyment but the value of arts and crafts, the mindfulness, and just how good it is to get involved.
The main thing that motivated me was seeing the good that it could do. These little communities that sprung up in lockdown were such an escape really. I was talking with a friend who is an illustrator, and he was frustrated that he wasn’t getting the chance to do his art, and my community art sessions that I was running in Sheffield had run its course. Then we came up with this idea of taking art into places where you wouldn’t normally expect to find it, which sparked the idea of Not(t) Art!
I think a lot of people think that art’s not for them. For one thing it can be quite expensive, and some might feel like that it’s not ‘your place to do art’ - which is why we have called it Not(t) Art.
i thinK a Lot oF peopLe thinK that art’s not For them. For one thing it Can be Quite expensiVe, and some might FeeL LiKe that it’s not ‘your pL aCe to do art’
What’s your connection to Barley Twist? What makes this lovely Notts pub suitable to host a community drawing space?
I did my dissertation on the importance of community spaces. The original plan was to get my former life drawing group to be a university society - obviously at university you’ve got instant access to their resources but if you’re not at university, you don’t have that, so these spaces are so important. They're a form of community for so many people and basically, without pubs and clubs, our art group wouldn’t have existed. It was a social club first, and then we had the two pubs give us free function room hire.
The Barley Twist is a lovely little pub based in a very historic building near the train station. They host an extraordinary array of community events ranging
from pub quizzes, vinyl record nights and books clubs. It's a mutually beneficial thing to support a community venue. The brewery tends to be very supportive of community and charity as well, which is another thing we want to support. So, it's a win win!
Your ‘bring and share a craft’ social is in aid of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the county’s leading conservation charity – why do you want to use Not(t) Art as a platform to support this charity?
During my university degree. I studied social sciences, and my number one interest was community spaces, community engagement, and lifelong learning. But a secondary interest was conservation volunteering. Some of the stuff that’s going on with the Wildlife Trusts and catchment trusts is absolutely amazing - the rewilding and the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust runs a place called Idle Valley, which is basically a coalmine they’ve turned into a wildlife haven. To get the support for something like that is brilliant and very valuable for future generations.
Finally, what do you hope for the future of Not(t) Art Collective?
We're launching our life-drawing from the end of May. We are currently having a rethink of what we are going to offer... This project is partially with students in mind, but we are also looking at doing two biweekly bring your own art and craft sessions.
But I hope we’ll attract more people who have never done art before! Perhaps they’ll try some portrait drawing or life drawing, or any arts and crafts we’ve got going on that particular session, and that they will enjoy it and they’ll hopefully keep doing it! Just like I did when I first went into that community centre fifteen years ago. And I have been doing art ever since.
Q @nottartcollective
interview: Katherine Monk-Watts
From mansFieLd with LoVe
interview: George Straw
photos: Rachael Halaburda | Mansfield Town Film Festival | Grace Morgan
This July, the Mansfield Palace Theatre will once again be host to the Mansfield Town Film Festival, the largest film festival in Nottinghamshire. The festival has a special focus on centering diverse working class stories, putting on show a wide range of exciting and interesting films from around the world. We spoke to Jay Martin, the festival director, to find out what makes this festival such a hit.
Tell us a bit about how the festival got started?
I made a political documentary called Redt’Blue, which tells the story of how Mansfield switched from Labour to the Tories - one of the first seats to do so back in 2017. We premiered that film in Broadway Cinema in 2022. There were a lot of politicians and councillors in the room, as well as a lot of regular folk from Mansfield.
We programmed some locally made short films, music videos, documentaries, and then Redt’Blue as the main event. I gave a speech and gave the politicians in the room a bit of stick about arts funding cuts and I told them that if they carry on cutting funding to the arts in this way, then all the incredible films they’d just seen would not continue to exist. They took that on board and after that event they got in contact and asked ‘What would you like to see changed?’ So I pitched the Mansfield Town Film Festival.
What’s the ethos behind the festival?
What I said from the beginning was that it needs to be a festival rooted in the working class community, promoting diverse voices, women’s voices, LGBTQIA+ voices, neurodiverse and disabled voices. Mansfield for a very long time has not had much of a cultural scene, not because people in Mansfield don’t love the arts, but because the access isn’t available there. We were lucky that around the time I pitched the festival, the Council had successfully become an NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) with Arts Council England, which unlocked millions of pounds of funding.
Is it exciting to host the festival in the Mansfield Palace Theatre?
Absolutely. The theatre was actually originally built as a cinema, in the early 1900s, it was called the Electric Palace. For us to be able to take over the Palace for the three days and transform it back into a cinema is really special. We’re very lucky that the theatre is owned by Mansfield District Council who are big supporters of the festival, and we’re very lucky we have that space to use every year for the festival as well.
What type of film do you look for when deciding on the programme for the festival?
We have quite a unique focus on promoting diverse working class talent, which makes us one of the only festivals in the UK with a dedicated working class stance. We’re open to any and all films, really: short films, documentaries, music videos, international shorts, animation - anything you can think of, we have. We have an incredible team of fifteen people on our selection jury who watch every single submission and rate them based on a variety of factors, and that’s how we whittle down our programme. Every year, we have hundreds and hundreds of submissions, and we’ve got to chop them down to build a bespoke programme. We try our best to build a programme that is rooted within that working class ethos.
Do you think film festivals have a responsibility to make the film industry more accessible?
Absolutely. I’d been to film festivals before, and as a filmmaker it can feel very
inaccessible - the right word isn’t ‘snobby,’ but something to that effect. We wanted the festival to be accessible for filmmakers and for regular people as well. Practically, what that means is taking steps like having our submission fees be as low as we can keep them, and our ticket fees being just £4 a session. I think yes, that responsibility does lie with festivals; we are an organisation as well as a festival so we need to make money to sustain ourselves, but we also have to think about the practises that make a film festival accessible.
we’re proud oF the FaCt that we Can CaLL ourseLVes, at Least this year, nottinghamshire’s L argest FiLm FestiVaL. we haVe more FiLms on, more breaK out sessions, more masterCL asses
What do you consider the highlights of the festival this year?
Our opening night on Friday is called From Mansfield with Love, and has loads of amazing films in it, one in particular is a film that was made right here in Nottingham called She Will Play On, which is a working class story about two sisters. Another film is a music video for Girlband - a Nottingham band, their lead singer Georgie is from Mansfield originally - their music video Not Like The Rest features Bella Ramsay (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us), again a local talent.
Can regular attendees of your festival expect any radical changes from festivals in previous years?
Yeah, definitely. This year is sort of a year of change for us, we’re doing things differently. So the first thing we’ve done is change our ticketing system: for the last few years we’ve operated on a day pass system, but this year people can pick individual sessions so they can really build their own festival experience. We’ve also introduced a VR cinema experience, which will be free for any attendees wanting to experience some immersive cinema.
Do you have any ideas of where you want the festival to go in the next few years?
We’re proud of the fact that we can call ourselves, at least this year, Nottinghamshire’s largest film festival. We have more films on, more break out sessions, more masterclasses. My ambition is to continue to grow the festival. To be able to do that though, we need bums on seats, we need people to come down and support us. We’ve built up a really good core audience of folks in Mansfield, and what we’d really love to see is folks from Nottingham and beyond jumping on the bus, jumping on the train, coming up to Mansfield, and seeing what we’re all about.
The Mansfield Town Film Festival takes place between Friday 25 - Sunday 27 July at Mansfield Palace Theatre. For listings and tickets please visit their website.
mansfieldtownfilmfestival.com
Based on
by Colin Dexter
Written by Alma Cullen
Directed by Anthony Banks
If you’re from Nottingham and want to get added to our list of music writers or get your tunes reviewed, hit us up at music@leftlion.co.uk
To listen to these tracks and more, check out our Notts Sounds playlist on Spotify
Cappo Houses (Album)
Cappo, legendary Nottingham hip-hop artist, blends awesome musical sense with prolific energy. His latest project is no exception. It’s an honest, real record, exploring challenging themes as always, but boy does it go hard too, with ice-cold beats, wide-ranging samples, and inspired riffs and basslines. Released only eight months after S.T.A.R.V.E., the new album is set two decades later, picking up the narrative of “a fictional working-class early-middle-aged father of two in contemporary Nottingham” who is struggling to adjust to fatherhood. It opens with a hard-hitting (potentially triggering) sample musing on suicide; later, eclectic samples (some from earlier times and some contemporary) are seamlessly woven in. Everything makes perfect sense and the effect - despite the potential for introspective gloom - is satisfyingly immersive. Centrepiece Hmrc finds joy in a rare moment when administrative madness works in our protagonist’s favour; and tracks such as Funeral, Unborn Seed and Solitaire mark the often tragic and sometimes magical moments of shared humanity. Backed by a brilliantly marketed physical product (complete with a “letter” from HMRC), this album confirms Cappo’s significance in the UK hip hop genre and in our city’s artistic melting pot. (Phil Taylor)
Set In Motion Finding Something, Doing Nothing (EP)
Rock outfit Set In Motion have been one of the most promising rising stars of the Nottingham alternative scene for a little while now. Their debut EP shows why they have generated so much hype across the city and beyond. Aptly titled opener Find Out Why is an immediate highlight, channelling Kings of Leon as Alfie Wallace’s gravelly vocals soar over shimmering, stadium-sized riffs. It’s the perfect introduction to newly arriving fans, with recent single Flying Too High also impressing thanks to a catchy chorus and sharp, jittery guitars. Runner is a mid-project highlight, Alfie’s vocals once again raising hairs and dropping jaws against atmospheric instrumentation. Don’t Break Me Down and Rest It raise the groove levels, before closing track Break Free endears the band to Sam Fender fans in suitably epic fashion. Confident and filled wall-to-wall with festival-ready anthems, Set In Motion deliver big on this assured debut EP. They say there’s no smoke without fire and underneath the smog of hype surrounding Set In Motion, things are starting to set ablaze. (Karl Blakesley)
David Collingridge (The Doctor's Orders Collective) Little Pharma (EP)
David Collingridge is a musician and regular in the Carrington micro pub Doctor’s Orders. He’s set up the shoestring Muttley Studios in his spare bedroom. A friend suggested that David should record the musician regulars of Doctor’s Orders and so Little Pharma was born. First up is a space shanty by Tom Manning of Seas of Mirth. Tom sings and plays all the instruments, including drums which were recorded in just one take. The second track, Solo, is by Gareth Cole (of band Bardic Depths): a cool, laid-back instrumental West Coast groove. Then follows a track by the legendary John Otway, Imposter Syndrum, sung in his unmistakable style with characteristic dry humour and social observation. Fourth up is the laid back Le Salvager by Crazy Heron, a whimsical homage to a TV programme, with backing vocals by Crazy Heron’s wife Nicky. The EP winds up with the excellent Uninvited Guest by The Mist – a deceptively simple song with interesting lyrics. (Tim Hills)
Lucy Crisp Maze (Single)
Rhythm Eaters No Food (Single)
There might be “No Food” because Rhythm Eaters ate and left no crumbs. Hooking listeners with a bouncing riff from the get-go, this latest addictive single blends a perfect balance between ska and punk. Lyrically seething with a punchy disdain for the government, Rhythm Eaters deliver a creative and thought-provoking commentary that would make the likes of Mick Jones and Joe Strummer proud. Rhythm Eaters demonstrate an immense skill and passionate ingenuity that cannot go unnoticed. This is a band with a lot more to give, and we can’t wait to hear what they come up with next! (Phillippa Walsh)
From a sweeping, instantly-immersive cinematic opening, Lucy's appropriately crisp vocals lead us into a high-energy exploration of emotional turmoil. We're locked into an auditory handhold as we follow Lucy through the maze, but ultimately the electro-tinged, beautifully fresh pop sound brings us to a place of light. She aptly describes the song as an "existential rollercoaster", capturing her past year, and we should be grateful that Lucy has chosen to share her thoughts and feelings with us in this way. (Phil Taylor)
SAT.23.AUG.25
Day Fever Festival
ARBORETUM GARDEN
BAR & BANDSTAND
WED.27.AUG.25 BODEGA
Bambara
SAT.30.AUG.25
BODEGA
Florence Black
FRI.19.SEP.25 ROCK
SAT.09.AUG.25
Ugly Kid Joe
RESCUE ROOMS
SAT.09.AUG.25
Maggie Baugh
BODEGA
SAT.09.AUG.25
Von Hertzen Brothers
RESCUE ROOMS
WED.13.AUG.25
Alan Sparhawk (Of Low)
RESCUE ROOMS
THU.14.AUG.25
Car Bomb
ROCK CITY (BETA)
SAT.16.AUG.25
Arab Strap
RESCUE ROOMS
MON.18.AUG.25
The Browning
RESCUE ROOMS
SUN.24.AUG.25
The Foolhardy Folk Festival
ARBORETUM GARDEN BAR & BANDSTAND
SUN.24.AUG.25 This Is Not The Greatest Festival In The World (This Is Just A Tribute)
ROCK CITY
MON.25.AUG.25
Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy
RESCUE ROOMS
TUE.09.SEP.25
49th & Main
RESCUE ROOMS
SUN.21.SEP.25
RESCUE ROOMS
Gig Guide
WED.10.SEP.25
Shayfer James
BODEGA
THU.11.SEP.25
Black Country, New Road
ROCK CITY
THU.11.SEP.25
Fun Lovin’
Criminals
RESCUE ROOMS
FRI.12.SEP.25
The Burning Hell
BODEGA
FRI.12.SEP.25
THE VAMPS UP ALL NIGHT
THE PALAIS
SAT.13.SEP.25
King 810Welcome to the Rustbelt
RESCUE ROOMS
TUE.16.SEP.25
Jo Quail
BODEGA
WED.17.SEP.25
Crawlers
RESCUE ROOMS
SAT.20.SEP.25
Midnight Rodeo
BODEGA
SUN.21.SEP.25
PINS
BODEGA
MON.22.SEP.25
The New Roses
RESCUE ROOMS
TUE.23.SEP.25
An Evening with Belly
RESCUE ROOMS
THU.25.SEP.25
First Time Flyers
BODEGA
THU.25.SEP.25
Republica
RESCUE ROOMS
FRI.26.SEP.25
Connor Selby
METRONOME
FRI.26.SEP.25
The Rifles
ROCK CITY
SAT.27.SEP.25
Overpass
RESCUE ROOMS
SAT.27.SEP.25
The Buttertones
BODEGA
SUN.28.SEP.25
Nathan O’Regan
BODEGA
MON.29.SEP.25
Lowkey
RESCUE ROOMS
TUE.30.SEP.25
Nekrogoblikon
RESCUE ROOMS
WED.01.OCT.25
Bad Touch & The Dust Coda
RESCUE ROOMS
THU.02.OCT.25
Cardinal Black
ROCK
FRI.03.OCT.25
Ellur BODEGA
SAT.04.OCT.25
Atreyu ROCK
SAT.04.OCT.25
Rusty Shackle
RESCUE ROOMS
SUN.05.OCT.25
Mass Of Fermenting Dregs
RESCUE ROOMS
MON.06.OCT.25
MagnumA Tribute To Tony Clarkin
ROCK
WED.08.OCT.25
The Manatees BODEGA
FRI.10.OCT.25
Low Island BODEGA
SAT.11.OCT.25
The Wedding Present
WED.15.OCT.25
New Found Glory
THU.16.OCT.25
Reef
ROCK
SAT.18.OCT.25
panic shack
RESCUE ROOMS
SAT.18.OCT.25
King King ROCK
SUN.19.OCT.25
Y&T
RESCUE ROOMS
SUN.19.OCT.25
Mclusky BODEGA
MON.20.OCT.25
Heavy Lungs BODEGA
The Pigeon Detectives
FRI.03.OCT.25
THU.16.OCT.25
Ally Venable
Kira Mac
in the pubLiC eye
interview: Thomas Gensler
photo: Rebecca Marshall
Local indie legends The Publics are known for high energy live shows and a unique double frontman approach. From a huge, sold-out Rescue Rooms headline spot back in December to a main stage slot at Splendour this year, they’ve been up to some very big things. We caught up with lead guitarist Elliot Stephenson to discuss their influences, ethics and upcoming plans…
You’re due for a huge slot at this year’s Splendour, playing the main stage on Sunday. How are you all feeling about it?
I think if you’d asked us a year or so ago we’d have said nervous, but now we’re just excited. I mean, we found out forever ago that we’d got the main stage slot, so we’ve just been counting down and now we’re only a month away. It’s the biggest stage in the city, so there’s not much more we can do after this one. It’s been a big bucket list slot, so we’re super excited.
Are there any acts that you are looking forward to seeing there?
The question we always get at gigs is: “Who do you sound like? Who are your inspirations?” and the Kaiser Chiefs always come up. So, to be on the same billnever mind the same stage - is just ridiculous. We’re as excited to watch them from the sidelines as we are to play. I’m hoping we can meet them. Kaiser Chiefs, that’s the answer.
You had a pretty big 2024, with the release of your debut EP and a sold-out Rescue Rooms headline show. You’re set up for an even bigger 2025 with two new singles already out and a November headline tour planned. How are you feeling about 2025?
Two years ago when we started, we set out a plan and that ended with Rescue Rooms - so to get there and sell it out after the EP, that was amazing. At the start of the year we had to start again, write a new roadmap, so we’re now in the first year of the next phase.
We announced the tour and Mansfield sold out in, I think, three days. It’s the first time we’ve ever played in our hometown as a headline show and to have that go so quickly, it gives us confidence. It’s the scariest thing when you play a show, always thinking ‘Is anyone going to actually turn up?’ So, to have one so close to home go so quickly, again we’re confident, we’re excited. Now the nerves are starting to fade and every time we release a song, it’s just, “Right, where’s this going to take us to next?’ I’m hoping Splendour’s the catalyst, and the EP last year has already done quite good things for the Spotify numbers.
Tell us more about the Mansfield headline show, how
did it come about?
The reason is we don’t like to do stuff twice. People are saying, “What’s your plan after Rescue Rooms, will you play it again?” To me, that’s a bit boring and from an audience point of view they’ve already seen it. So, the plan this year was instead of doing Nottingham, let's do a hometown show, where there isn’t normally much live music and do something there. Hopefully, all being well, we’ll then come back to Nottingham next year.
the pL an this year was instead oF doing nottingham, Let's do a hometown show, where there isn’t normaLLy muCh LiVe musiC and do something there. hopeFuLLy, aLL being weLL, we’LL then Come baCK to nottingham next year
How do you write songs? Is it more one person or do you come together as a band?
More recently it’s been a bit more collaborative. Originally - and this is what everyone finds really weird about us - I’m terrible at singing, but I write the words. Josh (Porter, lead vocalist and guitar) doesn’t write words because he’s terrible at it, but writes all the guitar parts. So, we basically write back to front! But it kind of gives us an approval process, so that nothing bad gets through the cracks.
A lot of bands say that they write thirty songs and then pick the best five whereas for us, if a song is not going to be good, or it doesn’t go anywhere, we only push stuff together that we are happy with. It’s a weird process but it works for us, so we stick with it.
You also have an interesting band dynamic of two front men. What’s that like?
This is a weird one as well! On paper it is Josh, but we all come from a background of team sports, and we don’t like us having one particular voice when you’ve got the characters that we have (in the band). So, we’ve just decided more recently that instead of trying to do
what everyone else does, let’s just do what we do well.
You mentioned the Kaiser Chiefs - what are some other inspirations for you, as a band?
We find that people always say that the best songs are the ones that are relatable… but we realised very quickly that we are not relatable people! So, if we try to write songs like Catfish and The Bottlemen or The Courteeners, it just wouldn’t work. Then it’s a case of how can we tell stories about other people but make it fun, or so that people can relate to it.
Songwriting wise, the songs fall into one of those two categories. DB Cooper is just a fun song, about a guy nicking some money and we’ve made it up into this story. Then you’ve got songs like Cutthroat where it’s nothing to do with us, but it comes across as a personal story. So, it’s just how we push it down one of those two lanes and if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t go anywhere.
You’re a band who have strong community values and want to give back, including a giveaway raising money for Music for Mansfield. Why’s that cause particularly important to you?
Lots of us have worked closely with kids in the past, and some of us still do now, so we’ve seen that it’s hard to get into music. We wanted change and I know we aren’t big enough to do that but we’re going to start. We’ve raised so far about £350, and that's going on new instruments for schools in Mansfield. At the Mansfield headline show, we’re going to do a raffle, put in some favours and sponsors, and get as much money as we possibly can to give people some instruments.
It’s been fun but hard - we need the money ourselves, but we know it’s going somewhere good. The nice round circle is that we’re playing Splendour and if this is the start of us getting someone else on that journey, even if just one person picks a guitar up and goes “I want to do what they’ve done” - then that's a win to us.
The Publics play the Splendour Main Stage on Sunday 20 July and will be touring the UK this November.
Catching some rays
words: Lucy Campion photo: Sophie Gargett
While the sun is gracing us with its presence, what better way to while away the hours than grazing on delicious food and drink in a terrace or beer garden? We’ve rounded up twelve of the city’s best spots for outdoor eating and drinking, so you can tick them all off your list before the summer ends.
The Blind Rabbit
9 Weekday Cross, NG1 2GB
New York inspired bar The Blind Rabbit brings a slice of the Big Apple to Notts. Situated on the corner of Weekday Cross and High Pavement, this venue has plenty of outdoor seating. The food menu pays homage to all-American favourites: chicken wings, burgers and loaded fries. Don’t miss out on 2-4-1 cocktails during happy hour, including stadium cup pint cocktails and signature creations.
Fothergills
5-7 Castle Road, NG1 6AA
Designed by (and named after) one of our city’s most famous architects, Fothergills serves bistro-style food, from classic pub grub like steak & ale pie to pistachio & herb crusted lamb and a fisherman’s platter. This upmarket pub also offers al fresco drinks and dining on the cobbled streets of Castle Road against the grand backdrop of Nottingham Castle.
Canalhouse
48-52 Canal Street, NG1 7EH
Nottingham canal flows directly through this iconic pub, with resident narrowboats docked inside and a twinkling footbridge for safe passage across the water. The outdoor terrace is heated so drinks can continue after the sun sets and the temperature drops. Canalhouse has a solid reputation for its excellent variety of craft beers and there is a wide-ranging food menu if you get peckish.
Nottingham Secret Garden
17 ¾ Trinity Walk, NG1 2AN
The discreet entrance to this secret summer spot is located down an alleyway off Trinity Square. Nottingham Secret Garden promises fun and colourful cocktails, plus feel good beats and vibes on weekends when the bar plays host to a variety of DJs. While this exclusively outdoor venue has a retractable roof and heaters to keep you warm and dry in all weathers, don’t forget to take a ‘just in case’ jacket for chilly evenings.
Blend
Unit 30, Avenue C, NG1 1DW
Blend now has three city centre coffee shops, each with its own distinct character, but the flagship store at Sneinton Market Avenues is the place to go for a cup of Joe in summer. Grab a seat at one of the picnic tables and order an iced coffee or something more unique, like a turmeric or beetroot latte. Alongside its famous grilled cheeses, Blend serves brunch dishes, sandwiches and tasty salads.
Bustler Market
Avenue E&D, Freckingham Street, NG1 1DW
Another fantastic Sneinton Market venue, which foodies will love! Bustler is the laidback destination for all occasions, whether it’s spontaneous after work drinks, date night or weekend plans. Following Bustler’s exciting transformation into a 500-seater food hall, four independent traders from the local street food scene
- Dirty Chicken, Banquet 1415, Big Mouth Gyoza and Little Big Sicily - are now permanently onsite.
Café Coco Tang
8 Byard Lane, NG1 2GJ
‘The Saigon Garden’ is a secret oasis on the rooftop of one of Nottingham’s bestloved food and drink destinations. Café Coco Tang’s outdoor terrace features tropical trees and ample seating, providing an idyllic setting to enjoy authentic Vietnamese cuisine. With so much choice on the menu, a bamboo basket sharer is a great way to try the best of the food on offer at this day-to-night restaurant and bar.
Another? Wine Bar
9 Trinity Square, NG1 4AF
Explore a selection of more than thirty wines at this self-service wine bar, which has its own rooftop terrace. Aside from taking a trip to a local vineyard, there is nowhere better to savour a glass of Sauvignon in the sunshine. If you get hungry, one of the best pizzerias in town, Slice ‘n’ Brew, is just a few doors down and you can order pizza straight to your table.
Junkyard
12 Bridlesmith Walk, NG1 2FZ
Junkyard is a craft beer bar and pour house with an inventive small plates menu and beer garden (feat. a disco ball) out back. You don’t have to like beer to appreciate a visit to Junkyard as there is a vast range of other tipples to try. Tucked away on Bridlesmith Walk, this bar is a relaxed haven from the hustle and bustle of town.
Hopkinson
21 Station Street, NG2 3AJ
There’s only one place in Nottingham where you can uncover a vintage treasure, buy a good coffee AND get a tattoo all under the same roof! Hopkinson is a vintage antiques and art centre with three floors of independent creatives, makers and sellers for shoppers to browse. The quirky coffee shop and bar on the ground floor has a mish mash of colourful tables and chairs that extends outside onto Station Street.
The Magic Garden
24-26 Low Pavement, NG1 7DL
The Magic Garden has one of the largest and most aesthetic outdoor spaces in the city centre. Hidden out of sight from passers-by on the streets outside, you’ll find a Wonderland-esque garden, with flowers and foliage in vibrant colours, and bunting and fairy lights overhead. An imaginative cocktail menu adds to the magic and summer food options include small plates, flatbreads, burgers and salads.
Dispatch Coffee
2 Goose Gate, NG1 1FF
This specialty coffee shop has gained popularity for its colourful, Wes Anderson inspired decor and community feel. Coffee and pastry lovers alike can often be seen basking in the sun in Dispatch’s bistro-style seating area. On breezier, blue sky days, there are blankets so you can still sit outside in fair weather. The upstairs window seat is a prime people watching spot with a birds-eye view of Hockley.
Theatre Deal 15% off your bill when you show your tickets
Your new neighbourhood dining spot in the heart of Nottingham, located just off the Old Market Square (in the building that previously hosted Kushi-Ya and Alley Café).
We are excited to bring you a taste of the seasons with British and European small plates, all crafted from the freshest local produce. We believe great food should feel like home – inviting, relaxed and made with love.
Exhibition Review: Your Ears Later Will Know to Listen
words & photos:
Caradoc Gayer
Combining many different artistic mediums, from sculpture to sonic installation, the Nottingham Contemporary’s latest group exhibition: Your Ears Later Will Know to Listen, explores sound and music and their relationship to themes like colonisation and dispossession.
A lot of the time, sound and music are concepts that we take for granted. We hear both so often that we rarely think about them in much detail – usually they’re just sensory information that’s either melodic or abrasive – comfortable or uncomfortable for us to listen to. But what if we asked: who ‘hears’ certain sounds, and who does not? Who ‘gets heard’, and who does not? What counts as ‘sound’, and what counts as ‘music’?
The Nottingham Contemporary’s latest group exhibition – Your Ears Later Will Know to Listen –poses these questions, among others. Via sound installation, sculpture, textiles, painting, and performance, the display ‘listens back’ to untold or lost histories – reinterpreting how sound was ‘positioned’ at a certain time and place.
The artworks in Gallery one tackle these themes with imagination and individuality – they’re predominantly the creations of Berlin-based visual artist and musician Satch Hoyt, who is of JamaicanBritish descent. Hoyt’s work tackles what he calls the ‘Eternal-Afro-Sonic-Signifier’: a soundscape, paralleling the actual and memorised sound which accompanied enslaved Africans when they were
forcibly taken from their home countries. The paintings are the first artworks that you notice. They resemble ‘graphic scores’: a method by which contemporary composers often write down music. As well as musical notation, the images also resemble oceans, with paths charted through them by ships.
as weLL as musiCaL notation, the images aLso resembLe oCeans, with paths Charted through them by ships
The soundscape playing over the speakers, meanwhile, is alternately abrasive and futuristic or traditionally African in tone. Hoyt composed it –we’re told via placard – at the British Museum, playing antique African instruments usually kept in storage.
Gallery two tackles similar themes, but from different angles. First, you’re invited to see an immersive series of films titled How to improve the World, created by Vietnamese artist Nguyen Trinh Thi.
Set in Vietnam’s central highlands, this three-screen installation sees Nguyen ask locals about their ‘first memory’ of sound or visuals. The result is an intriguing collage of dialogues and music, conveying the importance of aural tradition – stories passed down through generations, through sound: singing or playing – which is an important method of resisting colonisation and dispossession.
From textiles that interpret a traditional greeting in Mayan languages, to preserved, working songs sung by Sugarcane workers in Taiwan, there are too many more works to mention here. All-in-all, however, the exhibition is a very compelling chapter in the everfascinating story of the Nottingham Contemporary.
It’s worth checking out – if only for how unpredictable it is. From room to room you have very little idea of what you’ll be seeing or listening to next but you know, without a doubt, that the experience will truly transport you to another time and place.
Your Ears Later Will Know to Listen is at the Nottingham Contemporary until Sunday 7 September.
For this month’s Artworks we spoke to Abby Prior, whose digital-inspired works are part of the currently ongoing New Art Exchange Open exhibition.
This artwork is called The Systems Within and was a part of my final degree show. It’s a collection of paintings in which I had envisioned what digital connectivity and the transmission of visual information would look like.
The grid-like formation and vibrant colours visually display the complexity of these technological networks, implying a sense of limitlessness and interconnectivity.
The static lines and format suggest an infinite flow beyond the canvas, evoking the charge and tension of interconnectivity.
The process of creating these works starts digitally, through an iterative process of editing, distorting, layering and reorganising coloured pixels. A randomiser tool with multiple settings allows me to create limitless generations of compositions, which I edit further if needed. These are then translated into paintings using acrylics. The painting process becomes almost meditative and systematic, but there's a very human presence in the work: visible brushstrokes, uneven lines, and occasional imperfections. The paintings serve as a response to our fast-paced and digital-dominated lives by reclaiming the significance of human presence and materiality. The time it takes to paint can vary in terms of complexity. The Systems Within took around a month to create, but some of my smaller paintings take around ten hours.
I was born and brought up in Beeston and moved with my family to Long Eaton when I was eight. I completed a Foundation Degree in Fine Art at Loughborough University and then a Fine Art degree at Leeds Art University. After finishing my degree in 2024 I returned to Nottingham, where I still live and work.
My journey as an artist started with doing crafts with my mum when I was little. It felt like every weekend or holiday we did something different. I knew from around GCSEs it was what I wanted to continue, but hitting an artist’s block before university made me question what I wanted to create.
I then turned towards abstract geometrics while studying, beginning with the concept of the pixel and digital imagery. I’m now working full time and finding time to paint is much harder, so I’m using coloured crayons and pens to create looser and intuitive works.
What inspires me the most is colour. One of the first artists to really help me understand colour and abstract art was Hans Hoffman - he showed me how much importance colour has in creating a dynamic painting. As I combine painting with digital, artists like Dan Hayes and Hito Steyerl are also very inspirational, as well as the evolving nature of AI.
I am delighted to have been selected for the New Art Exchange Open 2025 - it is such an honor to be part of this exhibition alongside such exciting and amazing artists. I have also been selected for the Emerging Artist Award at the Melbourne Art Festival which takes place in September, which I am also very excited about; it is giving me the opportunity to sell my paintings and prints.
You can check out ‘The Systems Within’ at the New Art Exchange Open until 13 September 2025.
Reasons to be Cheerful
words:
Phoebe Leonard
Your Spaces Too
Looking to find out which Notts spots are inclusive? Instagram account @transsafe.spaces. notts has been sharing details of local businesses that are supportive of the trans community. Describing themselves as “just an ally trying to help”, the account lists the companies who have successfully signed up to The Pastel Project’s ‘Your Spaces Too’ campaign, where companies fill out a questionnaire about their policies to ensure they are a safe place for trans customers. The list of businesses is diverse, ranging from retail and hospitality to exercise, and includes businesses such as The Tokenhouse, Depot Climbing, and Bodega, meaning there’s something for everybody.
Pretty Fly
Nottingham pubs Fothergills and The Castle Pub have raised £16,432 for Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance as part of the Ever So Sensible Group. Fundraising efforts have included the sales of the burger Heliburger McCopterface (as named by the public), which donates £1 from each sale directly to the charity. They’ve also been selling the beer Helihopter, where the beer’s creators, Dock Beers, donates £5 for every cask sold. The pubs have also held events like wine evenings and Easter raffles to raise money for the charity. A huge well done to both Fothergills and The Castle Pub and their customers!
Still Hustling
The Market Square gets a lot of flack for its barren slabs, but back at the end of May Notts saw a beautiful display of community pitch up and take over as Green Hustle Festival returned. Aiming to inspire and encourage citizens to be more green, the annual festival brought together dozens of local environmental organisations, charities, artists and musicians. With over one hundred volunteers involved, highlights included the slow fashion show, 38 free haircuts given away by Shifting Your Mindset, and the Himmah Community Kitchen, which served 270 'pay as you feel' hot meals whilst raising £1235 in donations.
Toliet Humour
TRUTH
Something made you laugh in the lavs? Send your funniest quips to editorial@leftlion.co.uk
Guess the answer to this Notts themed riddle…
My first is a hill or rocky peak
My second a village if French you speak
My third is the head
Where knowledge is told
We collect sixes
And go home with gold
Last month’s answer: Rushcliffe Country Park
Unpicking Nottingham's urban myths
THE STRANGE CASE OF THE BRAMLEY APPLE
With this month’s LeftLion cover presenting you lovely readers with a zen looking-tree person, and Sherwood Forest providing inspiration for the latest exhibition at Nottingham Castle’s latest exhibition (read more about that page 31), it seems only right to dive into the greener myths and legends Nottingham has nurtured over the last millennium.
Whether it’s brown sauce (AKA HP Sauce if you’re crackers and prefer to call it by its government name), Shipstone’s beer, or a bit of Stilton, Nottinghamshire has a range of food and drink options synonymous with it. One of these delicacies, unfortunately not brown sauce, is the Bramley Apple, with a history dating all the way back to a garden in Southwell in 1809. A young girl named Mary Ann Brailsford pinched some pips from apples her mother was preparing and planted them in a flowerpot. As years went by, one of the pips began to thrive and so she planted it in her garden. Unfortunately, Mary left the cottage without knowing how influential her apple would be in the food and drink industry, given that Mary’s pips are responsible for what is today a £37 million industry. Hindsight really is a wonderful thing.
However, it was a local butcher named Matthew Bramley who purchased the cottage and garden in 1846 and coined the nameBramley Apple. Bramley’s nurseryman, Henry Merryweather, realised the potential of the apples growing from the tree’s branches. Henry, being only seventeen years old, enquired about taking cuttings from the tree to start his apple empire with there being only one catch: Bramley would only agree if the apple were to bear his name – hence ‘Bramley’s Seedling.’
The Bramley Cottage was eventually owned by Nancy Harrison, who is still credited as one of the primary carers for the original Bramley Apple Tree, as she cared for it for over 75 years. Nancy spent her whole life around the Bramley Tree, either living inside of the house or next door to keep a keen eye on its survival, whilst pesky tourists came to marvel at its beauty.
For over 200 years, the original Bramley Tree, nicknamed ‘Mother,’ has stood tall through violent storms, two World Wars, roughly eleven major theatrical releases of adaptations of Robin Hood and even season eight of Game of Thrones. Sadly, however, back in 2016 it was discovered that the Bramley Tree had contracted a fungal infection which attacks the water delivery system within the tree which is destroying the tree’s root system. Whilst the infection is deemed to be untreatable, Nottingham Trent University bought the cottage on 75 Church Street, in a bid to save the original tree. With staff and current students tending to the tree, it still continues to bear fruit to this day.
words: Matthew Blaney
best oF the month
Forest and Frequency: Film
Screening and Panel Discussion
When: Thursday 3 July
Where: Lakeside Arts Pavilion
How much: Free (booking required)
In tandem with Nottingham Castle’s latest temporary exhibition: FOREST, which focuses on Sherwood Forest and arboreal art, Lakeside Arts are hosting a screening of a documentary titled Forest and Frequency, created by filmmaker Georgiana Scurfield. The film follows renowned Nottingham-based artist Caroline Locke as she returns to The Major Oak tree over a year, working with Uni of Nottingham researchers to capture its sonic frequency (read our interview with Caroline on p.30). Post-screening there will be a panel discussion between the team who worked on the film.
The Notts Rap Show 3
When: Fri 4 July
Where: The Chapel, The Angel Microbrewery How much: £6
It’s been two years since the last event but the Notts Rap Show is back for a third installment. Previously held at Rough Trade, this year’s show is hosted by The Chapel. Nottingham’s finest rappers will be coming together for a night of bars and bass that showcases the area’s local talent, with performers including Danny Riggs, Niko, Jayse and Elmz XIX, and more to be announced. Tickets are available both online and on the door.
When: Sun 6 July
Where: Rock City
How much: £1
The Future Sound of Nottingham is back! Eight artists are to play the legendary main hall, and two to perform the main stage at Splendour festival. The finalists have been announced as No Cash Refunds, Emily Alice, Megs, Molly In The Metro, Louie Walsh, Benji Romeo, Archy & The Astronauts and Saffron Gray. The best part, YOU decide the champ - the winning decision made from a mixture of audience votes (via the loudest cheers!) and industry professionals! If you’re not a musician, tell your mate, and listen for the future of sound!
When: Thu 10 - Sat 12 July
Where: Motorpoint Arena
How much: From £53.80
Skating legends and Nottingham natives Torvill and Dean return to the Motorpoint Arena for the final shows of their Our Last Dance tour. Celebrating fifty years of partnership since their first dance together in 1975, the pair reflect on their illustrious and remarkable career in an arena spectacular. The shows give audiences the opportunity to witness them in action for the final time before they retire from dance and end an incredible era of British sporting history.
Amplify Seasons: Summer
When: Fri 4 July
Where: Nottingham Playhouse How much: From £10
Amplify Seasons is a new series showcasing the work of emerging East Midlands writers and creatives. First up is Frenemies, a double-bill of two work-inprogress performances about the complexities of friendship: Spare Goose and F*ck You Claire The second show, Lovett, delves into the backstory of Mrs Lovett from Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and is currently in preview before heading to Edinburgh Fringe next month. If you’re a theatre lover, this is a great chance to see some new talent before everyone else catches on.
Whisky Stain
When: Fri 11 July
Where: Bodega
How much: £12.10
Whisky Stain are a local Nottingham rock duo. Known for their blues inspired riffs, punchy drums and energetic performances, they’ve been featured on BBC Music Introducing and performed at festivals including Deerstock and Y Not. This special performance at Bodega is a showcase of neverbefore-heard music from their upcoming projects. There’ll be a mix of classic foot-stomping rock, grungy angst, thoughtful lyrics, and music that explores completely new directions. Perfect for anyone who loves supporting local talent and wants to dance to some bluesrock blends.
When: Fri 4 - Sun 6 July
Just The Tonic Comedy Club is loved by comedy fans far and wide, and this summer they’re taking over Elvaston Castle grounds in Derbyshire for a weekend of fun. Set over three nights, there’s a line-up of twelve comedians, with four performing each night, including Johnny Vegas, Gary Delaney, Nina Gilligan and Clinton Baptiste. There’ll also be a bar and food stalls on site so that you can focus on the laughs without getting too peckish. Both single show and weekend tickets are available.
A Dog’s Life
When: Sat 12 July - Sun 21 Sept
Where: Harley Gallery
How much: Free
If you’re a dog person, this family-friendly exhibition is for you. Harley Gallery has brought together work from over 100 artists who are inspired by man’s best friend, including photography, sculpture and painting. Visitors can see a life-size crotchet canine made by Shauna Richardson, Gerrard Gerthing’s portraits of dogs with their human lookalikes and Rafael Mantesso’s Instagramfamous illustrations. There’ll also be interactive elements such as a ‘name the breed’ trail, craft activities and a feature where you can see yourself as a dog.
Just The Tonic Comedy Shindig
Where: Elvaston Castle
How much: From 21.50
Future Sound of Nottingham
Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance
If you’re looking for a unique, statement piece of art or furniture then look no further. Commission your own piece of art from Herbie Hare.
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Tel: 07970 987 866
Email: herbiehare@hotmail.co.uk
Unit 44, Sneinton Market, Freckingham Street, Nottingham NG1 1DQ herbiehareartandfurniture.co.uk
best oF the month
Mangata Festival
When: Sat 12 July
Where: Various venues
How much: £44
Mangata is a heavy music festival that celebrates the best of Nottingham’s underground scene. Focused on local talent, affordability and sustainability, the event is run by a collective of heavy music enthusiasts. This year there are 46 bands performing over five stages, including The Raven Age, Abduction and Devastator. You can also pick up food, clothing and jewellery from brands such as Goth Burger, Morte Unchained and Freakshow Treats and check out a silent disco afterparty featuring emo, pop punk and metal.
Splendour
When: Sat 19 - Sun 20 July
Where: Wollaton Hall Park
How much: From £49
Get ready to party as Splendour returns to Wollaton Park this summer after a year off. Headliners this year are Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Travis and Nottingham-born Jake Bugg. Other performers over the two days include Sophie Ellis-Bexter, Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir, The Fratellis, Echo & The Bunnymen and lots of local artists. There’s also a comedy stage, a funfair and a silent disco, alongside independent market stalls and an array of food and drink. Prepare for a weekend full of good tunes, good food and good vibes.
When: Tues 15 July - Sat 2 August
Where: Theatre Royal How much: From £28
A hit on the West End, TINA is coming to Nottingham as part of its first UK and Ireland tour. It tells the singer’s inspiring story, from her humble beginnings in Tennessee to her transformation into a global superstar who won twelve Grammy awards. The show includes her iconic hits such as What’s Love Got To Do With It?, River Deep – Mountain High and The Best and stars Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi and Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy in the shared title role.
Minchin
When: Sun 20 July
Where: Royal Concert Hall
How much: From £39.50
Tim Minchin returns to the UK with his new tour, marking the 20th anniversary of his arrival onto the British comedy scene. Titled Songs The World Will Never Hear, the show draws from three decades of his distinctive songwriting. Minchin takes the audience on an unforgettable journey as he explores how he went from being a cabaret pianist in Perth to an extraordinary worldwide performer. Expect an eclectic mix of comedy classics, emotional Christmas songs and existentialism, all delivered with his signature wit and honesty.
When: Fri 18 July
Where: New Art Exchange
How much: Free
Looking for music and community? Local Legends is the place to be. The event returns for a second series to put the spotlight onto emerging talent from Nottingham and beyond, this time featuring producer and artist Riddla. Shaped by his Ghanaian heritage and time living in Germany and Nottingham, Riddla’s music explores genres like grime and highlife. He’s also worked with artists including Nottingham’s own Young T & Bugsey. Get ready for a night of raw, intimate performances and genre-blending sounds.
Inspired by a True Story: D.H. Lawrence, Sir Donald
and Me
When: Fri 18 July
Where: Nottingham Arts Theatre
How much: £9
Poet, playwright and theatre director Campbell Kay explores the issues of using biography and autobiography to dramatise real lives. To illustrate the issues, Kay will use excerpts from his own plays Phoenix Rising, about D.H. Lawrence, and Divine Mountebank, about Sir Donald Wolfit, alongside poetry. Included in the ticket price is a copy of Divine Mountebank and all proceeds from the event will go to Nottingham Arts Theatre.
The Rebirth
When: Sun 20 July
Where: Fisher Gate Point
How much: £13.20
It’s the return of a genuine local musical legend. If you don’t know the story of Whycliffe then flip to page 14 in this issue to understand more. He’ll be back on stage with a new band, performing a mix of his old material from the nineties, but we’re told there will be newly written songs on show too. Support comes from Lisa Fay, who was the lead singer of several bands on the Northern club circuit and The Missionaries. This really could be one of those ‘we were there’ moments.
Nottingham Pagan Book Club
When: Tuesday 22 July
Where: Five Leaves Book Shop
How much: Free
The Five Leaves’ reading group for people interested in pagan literature, past and present, will return in July. This time, the book in the spotlight is Cunning Folk by Tabitha Stanmore, a look at the history of magical practitioners in medieval and early modern Europe, and how they would be sought out by people with certain problems. Even if paganism isn’t your normal cup-of-tea, there’s nothing that feeds the soul quite like a book club - so this is certainly a good one to get you through the midweek. The book is available from Five Leaves at a 15% discount.
TINA - The Tina Turner Musical
Local Legends Vol. 2: Riddla and Friends
Wolfit
Festival
Tim
Whycliffe:
best oF the month
Stone Soup Academy Presents… Stand Up To Knife Crime 2025
When: Wed 23 July
Where: Metronome
How much: Free but booking essential
If you’re looking for an impactful event that hopes to spark positive change, join Stone Soup Academy for a night of raising awareness of knife crime in the community. Through film, music and spoken word, the event will highlight local talent, from rappers, songwriters and spoken word artists to students and guest speakers. There’ll also be a sneak peek of the B-movie The Correction Unit, which explores what could happen to the vulnerable if AI is harnessed by the most powerful in society.
Skate the Legacy
When: Fri 25 July - Mon 1 Sept
Where: National Ice Centre
How much: Various prices
Keep cool on the ice this summer at the National Ice Centre with activities for every age and ability. For two weeks you’ll be able to step onto their famous arena rink to make memories and skate where history has been made. Or if you’re in need of some training, they’ll be offering intensive skating lessons that fit six weeks of learning into just three days. Other activities include a junior ice hockey clinic for aspiring stars, Parents & Tots sessions for kids under five and a daily kids’ holiday club.
Waters This Is Not A Drill: Live From Prague - The Movie
When: Wed 23 and Sun 27 July
Where: Savoy Cinema
How much: From £9
Rock legend Roger Walters, founding member of Pink Floyd, is bringing his live show to the screen. The film contains songs from his time in Pink Floyd and his solo career, including the albums The Dark Side of the Moon and Amused to Death. Walters also condemns the corporate society we live in, calling on the audience to love and protect the planet we call home. Expect an immersive blend of music, technology, politics and philosophy.
Notts Pride
When: Sat 26 July
Where: Sneinton Market Square How much: Free
One of the biggest and most flamboyant events in the city centre calendar, this year sees the 28th Nottingham Pride. The march from Listergate begins at midday, heading through the Market Square and Hockley down to Sneinton Market. Browse the trader and community stalls in the Avenues, then dance at the main stage to local favourites like Girlband! and Rob Green, alongside Rileasa Slaves (from Ru Paul’s Drag Race) and Jason Kwann.
When: Thu 24 July
Where: National Justice Museum
How much: From £14.50
Step into the world of 1790s Nottingham in the latest instalment of National Justice Museum’s Crime Club. Explore the era that was defined by crime and rebellion, including the political riots between the Tory and Whig parties that saw mob attacks on buildings and people. You’ll get to see real evidence of real crimes and learn how Nottingham became a city of fights and radicalism. Plus, the ticket comes with a free drink!
Absolut Pride Party
When: Sat 26 July
Where: Das Kino and Tahulas How much: Free - £5
Das Kino on Fletcher Gate and Tahulas on Carlton Street are hosting one of the mustvisit events of this year’s Pride celebrations. Expect performances from some of the best drag queens on the circuit including Alix Atlantis, Miss Cara Mel-Latte, Kloe Bowie, Kobi Kaya, Dany Diamond and Notts’ very own local legend Kitty Tray. It’s ticketed, but free to get in. There’s also a host of drinks offers, with a share of the profits going back into the Notts Pride kitty.
Bama Lama Sing Song
When: Fri 25 July
Where: The Palais
How much: £12.10
Get ready to sing your heart out – Bama Lama Sing Song is back for another year. Join in with the crowd and become the performer you’ve always dreamed of as you sing along to well-known songs performed by a live band. There’ll be laughter, terrible dancing and drunken antics as everyone comes together to sing and dance like it’s the last night of their lives. Whether you fancy yourself a singer or not, it’s the perfect way to let loose with a group of friends.
Dartmoor Calling + Where is Heaven?
When: Sunday 27 July
Where: Mammoth Cinema How much: Pay what you feel
Mammoth is a climate action cinema on Broad Street, founded to encourage debate around environmental and social issues via independent film. This month, they’re showcasing two meticulously produced films about living close to nature.
Dartmoor Calling is about the history of land rights activism in Dartmoor, while Where is Heaven? profiles people living in Devon without mains electricity. Both screenings are guaranteed to be enriching watches and a chance to support a unique indie cinema in Notts.
Roger
Crime Club: The Madness of Georgian Nottingham
IME TO CONSIDER -LEVELS?
If GCSE revision and exams have been getting you down this summer, it’s not too late to consider your options for September.
T Levels are the nationally recognised qualifications, equivalent to 3 A Levels, which offer:
• A mix of classroom-based and practical study within a particular career or subject pathway
• A 45 day work experience placement, giving you a competitive edge with industry-specific skills and experience
• UCAS points to go on to university
• Choose from a variety of subject areas, including Healthcare Science, Broadcast and Production, Craft and Design
