LeftLion Magazine - February/March 2021 - Issue 133

#133 Feb/March 2021

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Alan Gilby Alphrodite alan.gilby@leftlion.co.uk

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

Emily Thursfield Assistant Editor emily.thursfield@leftlion.co.uk

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

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

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

Eve Smallman Events and Food Editor eve.smallman@leftlion.co.uk

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

Eileen Pegg Music Co-Editor eileen.pegg@leftlion.co.uk

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

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

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

Becky Timmins Music Co-Editor becky.timmins@leftlion.co.uk

George White Screen Co-Editor george.white@leftlion.co.uk

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Kate Hewett Literature Editor kate.hewett@leftlion.co.uk

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.

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

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

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

Fabrice Gagos Photography Co-Editor fabrice.gagos@leftlion.co.uk Cover Kev Grey Sub-Editor Lauren Carter-Cooke Writers Claire Bale Roshan Chandy Kelly Holmes Jenny Joss Ieva Kambarovaite Liam MacGregor-Hastie Mhairi McFarlane Sam Nahirny One9Ate7

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

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

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

Georgianna Scurfield Nick Strang Alex Traska Nadia Whittome Photographers Alice Ashley Dave Button Richard Chung Subhranil Debnath Emma Ford Mathias Goldstein Mann Hans Kingdom Hudson Charlotte Jopling Jennifer Luoko

Chris Middleton Dom Navarra Peter Richardson Justin Roe Georgianna Scurfield Pete Spenceley Jennifer Warrior Greg West

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Featured Contributor Roshan Chandy Roshan is a freelance film critic and writer based in Nottingham. He has a particular passion for Science Fiction cinema, but appreciates all genres of films from every corner of the world. He approaches every new release as though they could be the next Gone with the Wind and regularly writes up-to-theminute film reviews of all the latest releases on his personal website at roshansreviews. com. As well as writing for LeftLion, Roshan contributes to an ever-expanding list of publications and websites including moviequotesandmore.com and Cheer Full magazine. He also presents a weekly film and TV podcast, What You Been Watching?

You can read Roshan’s interview with actor Tom Blyth on page 38

Illustrators Kasia Kozakiewicz Kate Sharp Ali Taylor-Perry Carmel Ward /leftlion

@leftlion

@leftlionmagazine

Contents 15

18

Dear Notts...

We asked you lot to write longing words to our fine city, and you didn’t disappoint. Here’s the best of your love letters to Notts...

22

Love on the Ice

We hear how record-breaking Notts pair Michael and Fiona Thornewill became the first married couple to reach the South Pole

Meet Your Match

Lockdown scuppered your Valentine’s plans? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with a dating game guaranteed to find your perfect match

13

A Wedding Pianist in Notts

31

20

Valentine’s Day: Massacred

34

Creative Incubators

21

Labour of Love

36

A Catalyst for Change

27

Everything I’ve Learned About Love During Lockdown

38

An Englishman in New York

28

Ten Years of Beers

41

St. Ann’s: Fifty Years After The Demolition

Jenny Joss’ Causes to Care About

46

Out of Time

30

Tickling the ivories while the bride and groom take their first dance means you see a lot over the years, as we find out...

International best-selling author Mhairi McFarlane draws on personal experience to explain why Valentine’s Day stinks

Claire Bale explores the importance of The Colour of Love, the Notts project archiving stories of mixed-race relationships

Our Eve Smallman opens up about the various trials and tribulations of finding and losing love in the age of Coronavirus

Jared Wilson talks beer, artwork and music with Black Iris Director Alex Wilson as the Notts brewery celebrates its tenth birthday

Jenny Joss takes a break from spilling the beans on Notts’ biggest scandals to explore the charitable causes close to her heart

Watch this Space

Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity is back with a lockdownfriendly, ten day series of online talks, workshops and events

Eileen Pegg investigates the important role of music studios, and how they’ve survived and blossomed over the past year

LJ Vaughan talks to Saziso Phiri about CATALYST, a programme exhibiting and supporting black artists and artists of colour

We catch up with Notts-born, New York-based actor Tom Blyth about working with Terrence Davies on his new film Benediction

We preview the new book of photographer Peter Richardson’s documentation of the demolition of St. Ann’s half a century ago

No love-themed issue would be complete without a look at the greatest Notts love-story that never was: Torvill and Dean

Parental Guidance: This issue contains a few swear words

Editorial

There’s an unceasing conga-line of things to hate in the world at the moment: from the pandemic that’s swept across the globe like a Biblical plague, decimating everything in its wake, to the seemingly bottomless pit of imbeciles in charge of making sure as many of us get through it as possible. Our TV screens are a constant reminder of deep-rooted societal injustices, our social media streams are filled acts of unparalleled imbecility and selfishness and, as I write this, the outgoing President of the United States is rumoured to be pardoning tiger bandit Joe Exotic on his last day in office.

We’re officially through the looking glass; nothing quite feels like real life and it’s hard not to drown in the swirling, suffocating froth of negativity.

I’ve always liked the phrase ‘sunlight is the best disinfectant’. It’s usually applied in the context of hate speech, with the idea being that, rather than closing it down, you expose it for the foolishness that it is and drown it out with more speech. But taken more literally, we’ve tried to use this issue to show that, despite the world being one enormous dumpster fire right now, there is still plenty to love and be positive about.

Anyone who has the misfortune of knowing me knows that those last words won’t have come particularly easily. I’ve had the demeanor (and dress sense) of a curmudgeonly grandfather since the age of six, and positivity isn’t something readily found in my genetic makeup. But when I sat down to plan this love-themed issue with the rest of the LL team, the ideas, be they dumb, serious or somewhere in-between, flowed with beautiful fluidity. And reading your love letters to Nottingham (page 15) as they came in genuinely filled me with a giddy delight usually reserved for when I see people fall over in public. Personally, it was a timely reminder that, even when things are as bleak as they seem now, there is always something to love, laugh at or be amazed by. I really hope this issue makes you feel the same.

Until the next one...

Ashley Carter, Editor ashley.carter@leftlion.co.uk leftlion.co.uk/issue133 5

GENTS! HOLD YOUR NERVE

Resist the Urge to

DIY

YOUR BARBER IS STANDING BY! WE RE-OPEN AS SOON AS WE RE-ENTER TIER 3* Scan & register on our Booking App for an early ‘head’s-up’ & appointment.

*BASED ON CURRENT UK TIER SYSTEM.

DIY

Fail ? RELAX, WE CAN FIX IT! IS

NOTTINGHAM

www.thedandygent.co.uk

Notts

Goss Nottingham’s most opinionated grocers on...

with Jenny Joss Want the scoop?

I’m not one for wicked whispers... but to be perfectly honest with you readers, there’s nothing else out there to tickle my fancy. This darling had rather hoped we’d avoid a further lockdown in the same way that broad in Rushcliffe dodged the swan that came crashing through her window last week, but alas. My one wish for you half-wits was that you took time over the festive season to better yourselves, but judging by the steady stream of anti-lockdown protestors I’ve spied from my windowsill, I’m sad to report that we didn’t leave idiocracy in 2020 after all.

One bloke desperate to prove this theory correct is Celine Dion – previously Thomas Dodd – the former manager of Pryzm nightclub. The dimwit downed so much champers on Christmas Eve that he willingly forked out £89 for the pleasure of legally sharing the starlet’s moniker. More laughable than idiotic, you may be thinking – but that’s not what’s got my panties in a twist. No, the fool made his grave error when he chose to hand The Ellen Show the exclusive tale rather than gifting old JJ the scoop. I fear for his sanity as much as the chumps who made a Sutton-in-Ashfield pad the most viewed property on Zoopla last month.

Trendy as it may seem, I’ve seen real Hollywood glamour in my time, and can confirm the key to happiness is definitely nowhere to be found near Mansfield.

On my returnfrom the Yuletide break, my desk was swarmed with letters vying for this sweetheart’s attention, but one particular report caught my eyes faster than the rest. In a study by a UK energy watchdog, our city has been ranked among the first to be destroyed during a zombie apocalypse, due to the lack of wind farms, electric vehicle chargers, and recycling centres available to help us self-sustain. Now, I’m not sure about you lot, but I’m in no mood to get devoured any time soon.

My advice would be to start taking this global warming lark a tad more seriously, and look into regrowing your onion ends. It’s every mortal for themselves out there, and I certainly won’t think twice about serving any of you up on a silver platter.

Anyhow, I’m off to devour another Agatha Christie novel before something else kicks off. This sleuthing business doesn't come easy, you know.

Just remember, lovers – keep your lips loose, your ears to the ground and your eyes on the goss.

illustration: Carmel Ward

Favourite love songs There are thousands of brilliant love songs, so it’s hard to choose. But since you’re pushing us to then I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten by Dusty Springfield, Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye and Long Live Love by Sandy Shaw. We also love Something by George Harrison, although it’s better sung by Shirley Bassey.

The old ones are the best and these are all really fantastic songs.

Favourite romantic films Well, it’s not like we sit together and watch love films every night, but I suppose we do enjoy the odd romantic comedy.

We like Scent of A Woman, where Al Pacino plays a blind man and has the tango scene with a young lady. The End of The Affair is a favourite, but obviously we’re talking about the fifties version, not the remake. Oh and The One and Only, where the Fonz, Henry Winkler, becomes a wrestler. Those are all marvellous films. Casablanca is terrible though, as are most modern day American rom-coms.

What else do you love?

We love fruit and vegetables. If everyone ate more of them the world would be a better place. Vegetables that are in season are particularly delicious; right now garden peas are amazing, roasted parsnips are to die for and Brussels sprouts are gorgeous. Savoy cabbage… mmmmmm. And can you imagine life without roast potatoes? What would be the point?

JJ x With town being a bit deserted of late, Big Baby decided to dip into the comment sections on our social media accounts to find some of the odd things you lot write to us…

ave if th ey 'll h ” “Wonder r bog roll o , rs o o d seats, or

“I am truly disappointed in you LeftLion” caff in k fast in a “Had brea w week s ago a fe Sleaford o ds inted no m o p p a – dis cam e in”

“Polish Joe use d to dro us off s p om e h o m em ad Polish s e a usa g e (first tim I tasted e garlic)”

r t ra m r e Ba “ Da v o s i n g fo y ” t d u s e d a d d y wa d w o h S

y km la t h in ins t a l rip l l i t “ I s o s a l to d z i l l a g o p p r o h i g h G y ea t i n y ll t 5 0 f i n e t i c a e is w a g off k recka nd’” a w n br th e e ‘o r o m

“Unfor tu nately, th ere's no bull dozer e m oji”

“Stupid question but wh ere IS North Nottingham, exactly?”

“Just North of Nottingham”

“Th e All Saints made a top five gig at Rock Cit y FFS”

“ Look s lik to drink e a great place K cider”

“Noooo, not th e toilets.

Th e am ount of tim es I've held som eone 's hair back or found som e girl cr ying in th ere was part of th e night”

t to s t wa n “ You ju acing on a yr go bo night ” y S u n da

lrea “I’ve a ” le ar tic

d y r ea

d this

“ St a r C a s p te d w e l l th e e re d n I fe ”

lt

n’t se do “ P l ea m e l o o k e mak p” u stu ff

leftlion.co.uk/issue133 7

‘

words and photo: Georgianna Scurfield I’ve had Jackson for two years now, he was a rescue from Jerry Green Dog Rescue in Blidworth. We’ve had a bit of a challenging journey as he had some behaviours we had to try and sort out. It took him about six months or so to settle in and since then he’s been my favourite thing in life.

He’s the most boisterous dog; recently we were off lead round Colwick with a friend and her two dogs, they were running around and playing, absolutely fine. Then a lady comes jogging past us wearing bright pink and for some reason he chases after her, puts his front paws on her bum and starts hopping behind her like he was doing the conga.

She called him a horribly out of control dog and I got shouted at a little bit too.

I’m not telling you my favourite place to walk him because I don’t want anyone else to know about it. We go every morning and we see the same people with the same dogs so he can be off lead and have a good time and he still listens to me. During lockdown he’s become overly attached because he’s got used to me being at home. He’s very needy for my attention and whines and sits on me and stuff. I think that if you get a puppy during lockdown who’ll be so used to you being at home all the time, for you to just get up and go to work one day, it’s going to have no idea what’s going off and what to do with itself. I hope all the people who got lockdown pooches are prepared for poostained carpets and chewed shoes.

Pick Six

This month, we’ve tasked relationship and dating coach Ieva Kambarovaite with choosing a few of her favourite things...

Book The Course of Love Alain de Botton’s book has a more realistic approach to love.

It shows no matter how ordinary, boring, or difficult to live with you are, you can learn to love and be loved.

Film Closer I must have watched it at least five times. That's when I fell in love with Natalie Portman.

It's one of the most brutal and honest portrayals of love. A great cast and witty dialogue.

Meal Tiramisu All day, every day. I can’t wait to enjoy my tiramisu with a cup of coffee at 10pm watching the world go by again. Do not start with me by saying tiramisu doesn't count as a meal.

Notts Spot The Arboretum It has got the friendliest squirrels and the prettiest greenery no matter what time of the year it is.

Also, good for socially-distanced dates. I go there to think.

Song Candy by Paolo Nutini It has got the most immense and painful love we're all craving for, but most of the time we're too scared to make that jump. If only Paolo Nutini could read this. I miss him so much.

Holiday Destination Vietnam At this point even being on a plane sounds exciting. I'd love to go back to Vietnam and stock up on Vietnamese coffee. I think it’s one of the most underrated places. Insanely beautiful.

photo: Dom Navarra whyamistillsinglebook.com @ieva.kamb

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Nadia on...

Nadia on...

Homelessness The Pandemic in Nottingham

words: Nadia Whittome words: Fabrice Nadia Whittome photos: Gagos photos: Fabrice Gagos

I’m writing this column on a day when a further 1,610 deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded. That's equivalent to more than one death per minute for 24 hours. The highest Sinceso2010, the number ofthe rough sleepers in the daily total far, at a time when UK has the highest UK increased by 165%, with around 4,677 people death rate in the world. sleeping in the streets on any given night before the startpeople of the pandemic.

However, rough sleeping Over 100,000 have now died from Coronavirus – only theofmost form of homelessness.

For more is than 400 themvisible in Nottingham.

Behind every single person whoand ends up in the streets, deathevery is a life cut short a heartbroken familythere grieving for are many people without a stable home: in their loved one. more The pandemic has been a devastating blow temporary accommodation, hostels or night for our community in a myriad of ways.

People have also lost shelters; orand crashing on friends’ sofas. their jobs, theirsquatting businesses, their homes.

Homeless charity Shelter estimates that around How could thispeople have happened a country which,aton the 280,000 in the UKinwere homeless the end face of is better ofit,last year. setup than many others to deal with a pandemic? A wealthy country with a universal healthcare system.

To better understand the problem in our city, I recently met with Framework, a specialist charity based in Nottingham supporting homeless people and those at risk of homelessness across the East Midlands. In this month’s column, I’d like to talk about what I found out.

The problems also run deeper than the last twelve months. The effects of widening inequality over Despite the evictions ban being in place until recent years been ofborne September this have year, an average two new out rough sleepers were reported in Nottingham every week. in the pandemic The Everyone In policy, which saw thousands of

street homeless people housed have in temporary Around the world, other governments made different accommodation at the start of the pandemic, didn’t decisions – better decisions. In New Zealand, Australia, and who lost theaimed roof over their heads since large help partsthose of Asia, they have to eliminate COVID-19, thereduce first lockdown started.

Rising not just it. And it has worked.

Newunemployment, Zealand has especially among low-paid young people, domestic not recorded a single case of COVID transmission in the violence family breakdown, and number renters being community for and more than two months. The of unaware ofdying their rights have all tothe UK people currently from COVID in acontributed single day in this situation. is forty times the total number who have died in Vietnam throughout the entire pandemic.

On a national level, 90,063 people have been threatened with homelessness since April – and more than half of them have already lost their accommodation. In Nottingham, Framework’s City Outreach Team has worked with a total of 634 rough sleepers since the first lockdown started – half of

In contrast to these strategies, our government has bungled to local enterprises like Nottingham Street Food, The its response at almost every turn. At the start of the Pudding Pantry and Greyfriars providing free meals to pandemic it failed to take the virus seriously, to lockdown school children, and charities such as Autistic Nottingham Framework, which will soon be celebrating its 20th asylum seekers,people’s others moved here formental work but thenI have felt early and to effectively trace and isolate cases. supporting wellbeing and health. anniversary, helps around 18,000 people every year, lost exceptionally their jobs andproud foundtothemselves destitute, with represent this city and I know that including street anddespite vulnerable nowhere totake go. Because localcommunity authoritiesspirit can’tinto fund The NHS was not homeless adequatelypeople prepared, previous we will this renewed 2021 people at risk of losing their homes.

While primarily programmes to help them off the streets, Framework warnings, and the government was slow to order PPE, and beyond. based in charity also covers leading toNottingham, shortages forthe healthcare workers on the frontline.has had to rely on fundraising to support this Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, North The ill-thought-out “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme fuelled thevulnerable group.

Lincolnshire and ield. Homeless people rarely second wave of theSheff pandemic.

Scientists’ concerns about the stay inofone place,to explains its CEO Andrew Redfern. return students universities were ignored.

Then there Charities like Framework are a lifeline for the hundreds of people in Nottingham, and thousands was the last-minute Christmas bubbles U-turn fiasco. of people around the country, who don’t have secure Throughout the pandemic, the government has also failed accommodation. “Unlike many companies, we to properly support those affected by lockdown and couldn’t just suspend our work during lockdown,” self-isolation measures, making it harder for people to explains Redfern. The people they work with need stick to the rules and more likely to suffer serious financial support The other everylight day. at the end of this tunnel is the vaccine. Like problems. The list goes on and on. everyone else, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this programme be the exception to the government’s However, to endwill homelessness, individual solutions While the government is keen to blame the current wave will never catalogue of errors.We Weneed needtoa address quick anditseffective be enough. root roll out on the new variant from the South-East, it is their failure to protect most at risk and and the get lack our lives back on track. causes: such asthose spiralling rents of social to suppress the virus that helped it to mutate. It is clear Whenthe yousevere are offered the vaccine, please do take it up. housing, underfunding of mental health that so much of this mess was avoidable. How many lives and other support services, and a benefits system could have been saved if the government acted swiftly and the not too distant future, there must be a public inquiry that In lets people fall through the cracks. Austerity decisively from the start? into the government's mishandling of the pandemic and Homelessness can’t be seen or addressed separately measures have contributed to growing numbers justice for the families of all those whose deaths could have from its underlying causes. It always has a context of rough sleepers over the past decade, and a The problems also run deeper than the last twelve months. been avoided. I will be pushing in Parliament to make sure to it: whether that’s addiction and mental ill health, fresh round of cuts would risk even more people The effects of widening inequality over recent years this takes place. We need to learn the lessons of this dark domestic violence, or poverty and unemployment. losing their homes.

The hostile have been borne out in the pandemic. Ethnic minority episode to ensure that such aenvironment disaster can also never happen That’s why Framework not only helps people fi nd a makes people homeless, which is why I have been communities have experienced a disproportionately high again. We need to rebuild our society to put economic, home but also supports otherthat areas of life. campaigning abolish No Recourse number of deaths.

Studiesthem have in shown systemic social andto environmental justice atto itsPublic heart. Funds.

On top of providing accommodation for nearly 3000 disadvantages – like overcrowded housing and jobs with a peoplerisk each year, the charity also–off ers specialist a future whereI homeless charities become higher of exposure to the virus are large contributing I want In the meantime, am here for you if you need support and physicalGoing and mental health services care home and no oneI hold has to fear spending Christmas factors. forward, we must tackleand the astructural racismobsolete representation. telephone surgeries for constituents for people with complex needs; it helps people gain in the streets.

Until then, I’m thankful for thepandemic people has and inequality that pervades our society. every week.

If you have a problem, if the skills and find work, and prevents homelessness in our city who their lives to helping those turned yourdedicate life upside down, if there’s an issue you care for where example supportinghas prison or by whopassionately find themselves without place–to call home.

But theby government failedleavers our community, so about, let meaknow I want to hear about it. mediating between tenantshave andstepped landlords. many people in Nottingham up to the plate. People like Framework, but also Emmanuel House From mutual aid groups helping people in self-isolation,

nadiawhittome.org which provides shelter and support for vulnerable While all homelessness is political, some cases adults in Nottingham, or Host Nottingham who help in particular are a direct result of government house destitute asylum seekers – these are the quiet policy. For example, a proportion of the homeless heroes working every day to save and transform leftlion.co.uk/issue133 9 population are people with No Recourse to Public lives. Thank you for all you do.

Charities like Framework are a lifeline for the hundreds of people in Nottingham, and thousands of people around the country, who don’t have secure accommodation

Where the government has failed our community, so many people in Nottingham have stepped up to the plate

Notts Shots

For where thou art, there is the world itself Jennifer Warrior - @jenniewarriorprincess

I would not wish any companion in the world but you Alice Ashley - aliceashley.co.uk

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

The stroke of death is as a lover's pinch Pete Spenceley

The object of Art is to give life a shape Justin Roe - @justinroe99 10

leftlion.co.uk/issue133

And where thou art not, desolation Greg West - @greggorius_

Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night Subhranil Debnath - @artspectiv

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind Tom Quigley - tomquigley.co.uk

Good shepherd, tell this youth what 'tis to love Kingdom Hudson - @75hudsonn

Lovers ever run before the clock Dave Button - @davebutton68 leftlion.co.uk/issue133 11

A Wedding Pianist in Notts I played piano for years before I started performing at weddings. It was predominately at home because I didn’t quite have the courage to play live in front of people. I’m not sure why – maybe I thought I wasn’t good enough. One day, I was doing some cleaning work in Radcliffeon-Trent where there’s a bar called The Piano Bar. I was working with my wife, and while she went to take a break I went in and thought, ‘You know what, just pluck the courage up and ask the waitress if I could play the piano they had there.’

I played one song when the manager came out of the back and asked me if I wanted to play. I was dumbfounded because I didn’t think I was good enough. That was fifteen years ago. I ended up getting a regular booking to play there every Saturday, which I did for about three years. That gave me the confidence to become a wedding pianist.

It was never really an ambition as such, more of a happy accident. I’d played for so long without having the courage to perform live. I remember telling my tutor at the time that I felt nervous, but he couldn’t understand why. I was just worried that I was going to mess up. He advised me to buy some busker books and go from there. I bought three of them – which I still have – and just worked my way through them. It was great, and the reception from the people listening was fantastic.

It’s all easy listening, you know, it can’t be anything too loud or brash – more ballads and evening music. I know classical music, even though it’s not my key area of expertise, but I can play a really wide range of songs.

I started playing at some events, including performing in the Market Square where the lions are, and one thing basically led to another. I found my feet and started feeling okay, and made a website advertising myself as available to perform at weddings.

illustration: Kasia Kozakiewicz

You feel a great sense of pressure performing at someone’s wedding. You’re sitting at your piano, all the guests waiting, and you start playing as the bride walks in. They’ve specifically asked for a certain song and you’ve got to absolutely nail it.

The thing that minimises that pressure is a huge amount of practise before. You might think that practise isn’t going to work that directly, it does though, because the moment when you need it most, it just kicks in and you get it right.

I’m essentially doing something I love, surrounded by nice people in a beautiful location. It’s like an evening out for me On one occasion, the bride hadn’t decided what she wanted to walk down the aisle to, and they just asked me to choose something. I picked Annie’s Song, which I played when the bride and groom came down the aisle. The only saving grace is that the aisle was quite short. It was a lot of pressure to choose that, because it’s a memory that they’re going to have with them for the rest of their lives.

Luckily, the piano they had there was a £70,000 grand piano, so I had that to my advantage!

The best advice I received is to always start with something simple, as it helps you get over any nerves you might have. Once you’ve got one good song out the way, you can just play song after song and really get into your element. That’s when you feel comfortable.

Weddings are beautiful occasions. People are happy and friendly, and always appreciative of what you’re there to do. I enjoy the music I play, so I’m essentially doing something I love, surrounded by nice people in a beautiful location.

It’s like an evening out for me! Sometimes they even provide food, so I’ll get some hors d'oeuvres and a little drink to top it all off. Saying that, I never drink alcohol when I’m playing because I need to stay focussed. To be honest, there isn’t anything I dislike about the job, other than the rare occasions that they don’t have a piano, and I have to transport mine. That can be a bit straining on my back.

Music is incredibly important to the overall wedding experience. People’s memories are usually attached to certain songs, and I always try to get the theme of any particular song out when I play, just to make sure those memories are strong. Music also relaxes people as they’re arriving – it gets rid of any awkward silences and has a calming effect.

You might not think it, but it’s usually the Disney songs that go down the best, because grownups like them just as much as the kids do. Disney songs are uplifting, so I always try to incorporate them into my set.

My ambition is to always progress as a pianist.

One thing I’ve been doing quite a bit recently is composing my own songs. I wrote one called Change Your Dream at the beginning of the last lockdown, which I mixed, mastered and released myself. Moving forward, I want to get more of my own music out there, and generally keep improving.

I would never say I’m ‘there’, because I don’t think musicians can ever really say that. It’s always a learning process, and I must admit that I went back to my piano last night in order to play some of the songs I played when I first started at The Piano Bar all those years ago, and they’re so much easier now. In a sense, I can see that I’ve moved forward as a musician. So even though I wouldn’t say I’m ‘there’, I’m at a place where I feel comfortable.

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. . . s t t o n r dea

Love is in the air, but so is COVID ... meaning that we’ve all spent the best par t of the last yea r locked up indoors. As such, our city hasn’t been getting the TLC it usually receives from its residents. To remedy tha t sad situation, we asked you lot to pen love letters to your fav ourite par ts of Nottingham.

Here are some of our favourites...

ant wittah bthlee at n g e r p s a , w m I ha . it Notting e camee toall vigs ot together, ear, hugogdeparents. w e c in s e m ti th W g It’s beebnuta nolonone else knllew thye et.kids, grandparents, bro too small for baby, staurant in town; a s a w y b a b e e the r travel. Then th to nt a n g e r p o d the spare Then I mwaakes tothe trip. te in a p e r m u M us to March 2020. in t i s i v a : t i ed you; nines.ver Then we plann e e s to n w o d room. s nevesr ubnecelen and aunt and cous ha y b a b he T et hi ned.

It nevetor hihas ppgerandparents, never m been ar.

Maybe this ye Claire

Stage If a pavement is my stage, n cage then there is nothing that ca r my feet, this feeling of freedom unde te.

I applaud my creative concrebu ild.

The walls are only what wefilled.

The alleyways with stories I bow and twist and belong song. to the roads that carry my ach out and meet, The cracks in the floor, I regy and beat. with the rhythms and ener Sian W Taylor

I’ m a f irst y n ex t to n ot ear stude n t th h ing i f latm at n at wors es a nd th co m m on wi has e by t th h i at’s o s h n (leg a ll y) so e li m ited o ly bee n ma cia lis p de m y f la p o rt ing w t ith pe u n ity for co mfo , so I’ ve f ople o ou r u ts ho m e t in the si nd m y se lf g hts city . takin i de o T g stand f my he re ad o pt a o ed the C u t b u t sit re a few s t o win te u n ci l Hous ing on the pots that e, cof r ’s ev ste ps fe g o by e o is on e n ing watc e in hand, f h to m e o i o n na f g li th fe . But I don ’ ’s si m ple p e world any o t fee f th is l lon e leasu res . ly; n o t wit Ja m e h s

Market Square

hot sausage meat. va la g in in ta n co g me furtively.

Flaky pastry n ei ey n eo ig p ed g g e-le grubby browns.

The cooing of the on d n a s y re g t ou washed A great expanse of se's chiming bells. ou H l ci n ou C e th of away a jumbled g in y The droning echo rr ca e m st a m moving p .

The bustle of a tra g too close together in lk a /t g in d n ta /s g ttin blur of people all si ok for granted.

All these things I to r a steak bake. es fo My heart now ach Colette Colver

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ks a n d ug h pa r o r h t s wa s m y r wa lk bore tu m r A h o u se I long fo e h t re ptil e , but s e h ie t r ; e d t o u ting . dho ce m e as An O e in ch il w c la it p l d a n a on s, m ag ic pa rrots the ca n n n e o h t t a r s a e l, wa s n e ised by he tu n n ted in t m es m e r u e o r h e s w e W and own h il ls lake. roll ed d m of the is ic t o x ithou t the e e red w t t a c s e es we r and ore tu m ad 's ash b d r d A r e a h e t Ih to ing the e, avoid n cry ing e a r r t o s ig , b a nd m y me n a m e in ecre t a s is y h s s d o e m n ow; a ca r v specia l ow it 's e N r . o s p m o n r e sn owd it eve n u m is ev at I love Arbore t h t d e r v o lo f e b and 's g rave it 's dad m ore. ve. stil l in lo , a k s r o am Basia Z

My love for you has not ceased Miss steppin g throug h your cobble d streets The pebble stones that lead to the brillia nt, hidden Archways and vintag e Hockley distric t with friend s in the city for brunch meets And coffee shop dates where I would wait in the station Starbu cks writing in my red faux leathe r journa l Roman ticisin g the city and him where I walked past the Robin Hood statue via the Castle toward s Ye Olde Trip to Jerusa lem Our intima te safe haven I'll miss the bar dates but most of all Sitting betwixt the preserved cave walls And amber-lit ambien ce that'll forever serve A warm memory of my compli cated Nottin gham love Jill Lupupa

i u m, .

Stad ag a i n La n e w o back d t a i e t M n e a t pi De a r dIw a mea ow a n Navi , n ded lba r r u e e o h e r T h r aw e r a t te se a t s u e the b e I had a p esca n for vo u ri o r a t f a on ce d e y g e y I it in m a m i ly . I n e x pe ri e n ci n s o hat t and by e pa i r t and f d d es y life i e n ds n a r a d f y n y r o b ti ve t. ru m e li ng s of e la i n the pas h u md en fe e t f e o h t o wh a t ed s m ore kn ow rovi d p 't e n o 'v y ou Yo u d a ng , " he ll s c ". t e i n M o ni it 's g As Jo t ‘ti l o g e a i n? y o u 'v o u ag se e y o t e om ca n I c Whe n Love, Davi d

ou pl e ing c v o l , fu n n ate th ird . o i s s s, Pa for a e l l iou g b n e i r k d l oo for d an tu re ve a l ove ays be l u c be Ha e a lw tast Must n edg e. ops and t a e a r h with nde n t s t ou t . G e p gh i e n d in or a red . f l n i can a d ow e re q u h t d o in fo a l ong are. a l ks the Sq u u ring w g n on y ou d tes i ove l We l ffee da hotos of y ou r p co on l y to add n i ce and se e ake t d n l l ’ a oki ng We hou r We’ re l o y to ou r n e d . er g ol n g l e s n d m y st a t s ta be e men cou ld ex c i t e we m . . r s e e h l iv g ha m ew y , so l y , Nottin t i c l l y , a n . Id e a l Id e a w l e do sett eo s&T e n g A

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When t We’ll l his worldwid e o And on ok towards o intermission c “Shall e again, with ur Broad Str ends w Netflix e meet at B delight, we w eet friends roadwa , Mubi, ill say: They d y on’t su Amazon Prim ?” e it Stream ing’s no Paul Smith just won’t d It’s like t the o, stripes We go a Silver Scre same, so why like you. t Like ‘af ogether like ening without risk it? t We’re l er work dri ba ba ba ba the biscuit n Cos’ all onging for th ks’ and ‘mez and Pearl a nd Dea za e work f n. rom ho spectacle, th nine’. e story me and Sophie , t no pla Diver y makes he collective joy, Jack a dull bo y.

Dea r Nott s, I love your colour and sple ndour in Hyson Gree n. Your groc ers, keba b shops, market and the man wea ring a sombrero, carr ying a cockatoo everywh ere he goes.

I love your heri tage , the way you let me sit in my favourite plac e at Woll aton Park, picn ic afte r picn ic, content and full of pea ce. I love the hustle and bustle of your Broa d Stree t. Warm summer even ings and down eati ng, drin king, dan cing and laug with frien ds litte red up hing late into the nigh t.

I’m not with you anymore, last year you hurt me to the poin t I had to leave.

We need ed a brea k. But no matter wha t corn er of the worl d I resi de, I’ll always be coming home to you in the end .

Forever yours.

Zx

Whe re: ci ty bo u nd a nd a r riv Ma nsf ie ld ing a t the Road a t b row of th the site of Sho ps e h il l on the o ld ci as the y ca ne m a . Wh ll it o u t o m a nn e r of y? She r w n the b us g re a t pr . It ’s g ot ood e- loved a d rin king f in e food nd s usta in ve nu es . B , a ll ab le stuff u t b est of know n a nd , a rt a nd a ll - it ’s u nknow n the sig h t - m e e ti ng a nd pote nt of pe o p le , m ix ing . ia l conn e ct It ’s tha t se ion. It ’s th not fe e li ng nse of p la a t oh-so a lone. ce im porta nt fe e li ng of Sim on, She r woo d (obvio u s ly)

I miss going into town, just because I can. Cycling so close to the canal edge, I know I’m going in sooner or later. Saved by magnet fishermen, latching onto the metal in my dodgy knee. Wobbling on my Raleigh past disgruntled pigeons in flat caps, smoking rollies under the Wilford Street bridge. Sour-faced mermaids by the Canalhouse, combing their hair with forks like they’re in a bleddy Disney movie.

Climbing the hill to Hockley, to be reincarnated with pints of cider and conversation at The Angel.

Watching the world go by, not standing still, feeling stuck, missing Nottingham.

s s ba r i ce les o d n v a n ow ro ud ow n t n ds p a t s Lockd k Roc C astle s t i wa n Pa l? a ‘avi Wot Y n a ws o Ala n D

Leanne Moden O nce a n o home. A rmal morning, w hen work twist, a tu in breathe s low, no n rn, a silent rush. g wasn't from Step back eed to p us h. , A place to fi n d my space commoti in o taking so n - still as a lio all the commuti n, ng me time so back to dream surveying the sc - is that ene, .

O f lost ti how long it 's reall mes, a y ear or y been?

O ne day soon, yo u'll welc ome u s b ack.

Jostling, crowded , criss - cr meet fou o n in a welc tains, hear the la ssing paths. Wher e slabs ughs, tin ome bath y feet sp . lashing Square, c entre of our dom again. ain, let 's fill you up Jacquelin e Varley

e you smil e? k a m ld u o w I if .

I w on d e r s qu ite a wh il e t' a th y, b e n o g Fi ve ye a rs il d . w a n d n ot a c h il e .

You're old e r n o w, it 's bee n a wh o n n a m g n u yo You're a I've u we re born ye t yo n e h w st e b y I trie d m a ll I a d ore d . n eve r forg otte n ir Cu pid Love you Ali sta stay sa fe , stay h From you r Da d , sa d xx xx

a ppy, d on’t be

While some couples might share an interest in binging Netflix series’ or battling over a Monopoly board, Mike and Fiona Thornewill MBE share a unique passion that has seen them become the first married couple to reach both the North and South Poles. And if that wasn’t enough, Fiona also holds the title of being the first British woman to reach the latter. We caught up with the Nottinghamshire couple to talk Polar exploration, breaking records and staying sane in the middle of the Antarctic….

Mike Thornewill was only a boy when he first heard the name Robert Falcon Scott. He was captivated by the stories his father told him of the British Antarctic explorer. Stories of bravery, leadership, adventure, sacrifice and heroic failure. Stories that would leave a deeper mark on the six-year-old than his father could ever have imagined. And over a century after Scott perished on his ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole, Mike and his wife Fiona proudly hold the crown of being the first married couple to reach both the North and South Poles, with Fiona also being the first British woman to reach the latter (alongside Scott himself as the first British male).

“It just seemed like something other people did,” Mike, a former policeman in the Nottinghamshire Police Force, tells me. “After growing up with those stories, it just got shelved as a pipe dream.” And understandably so, with expeditions to the North or South Poles likely to set you back at least £35,000 and £50,000 respectively. “It’s something only the really wealthy can do,” he continues, “or people that can ally themselves to a charity.”

But the couple, who were both born and raised in Nottingham (Fiona in Southwell and Mike in Arnold), took their first steps to realising that dream at a 1997 reading of Captain Scott’s diaries at the Royal Geographical Society in London. “I accidentally set off my personal alarm, and everyone stared at me,” Fiona remembers, laughing. “And Princess Anne was in the audience!” But the event had a profound effect on the pair: “I just thought, ‘you know what, let’s do an expedition. I’ve always wanted to do one, and for Fiona it was a case of ‘let me get this out my system.’”

It was at that time that Alex Hibbert, a climbing partner of Mike’s, became terminally ill with leukemia. His death in 1997, aged just 32, sparked an interest in fundraising for Alex’s cause by way of undertaking a polar expedition to Spitzbergen. The first person to add their name as a sponsor was Princess Anne.

Love on the

Ice

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That tough traverse of Spitzbergen, an island of the Svalbard archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, marked their first foray into the world of polar exploration.

“It was an incredible experience,” Fiona recollects, “I don’t think our guide expected us to stick to it. It was cold, and we got stuck in blizzards. But he definitely changed his tone towards us.”

Sharing a curry following the conclusion of that ten-day journey, they realised that Spitzbergen had given them a taste of something they wanted much more of. “Mike told me that no British woman had ever been to the South Pole, and maybe it could be me,” Fiona explains. “I told him that if he raised the money, I’d take on the challenge. And that’s where it all began.”

The ice crystals in the air, with the sun shining through them, look like specs of silver dust twinkling like a myriad of tiny diamonds… It’s the closest you’ll ever get to walking on another planet Loss is something that seemingly drives both Mike and Fiona to push themselves to the physical and mental limits, living every minute of every day to the fullest. As well as the death of his friend Alex, Mike lost his father to cancer at the young age of 45, while Fiona’s first husband and childhood sweetheart Bill tragically died in a road traffic accident in 1991. It was the cause of his father’s death that inspired Mike into selecting a charity partner for their expedition to the South Pole. “We had to raise £68,000, and we didn’t have money,” he explains, “So we went into collaboration with Marie Curie cancer care. The idea was to do something useful with the expedition, as well as getting what we wanted to achieve personally out of it.” It took two years, but they hit their fundraising target, securing the support of almost 600 individuals, companies and organisations along the way.

“Standing on the start line felt like the biggest achievement, because most of the hurdles you have to face come before that,” Mike remembers. “You

think ‘wow, I’ve actually got to the start line!’ It’s almost easier after that.”

But the expedition was far from straightforward. Battling forty knot winds and temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius, they were forced to overcome a series of issues during their 966-mile trek. Pulling 200lb sleds loaded with food and equipment, they suffered from weight loss and frostbite, with Mike badly damaging his right knee in the process.

But on 4 January 2000, they became both the first married couple to reach the South Pole, and Fiona the first British woman.

“It’s still quite hard to believe that we actually did it, even though we have plenty of photographs to prove it!” Mike laughs. “I just felt a sense of great internal contentment.

It’s not a quick high, like when you buy a beautiful car and the novelty wears off. The feeling stays with you because you’ve put so much into it.” Fiona continues, “It’s relief, it’s joy, it’s pride…and definitely a bit of girl power. It was hard to take in that I was the first British woman to have ever done this.”

Whereas the uninitiated might see the Antarctic as a barren white landscape, the couple are quick to explain how much natural beauty the area contains. “The sky is the deepest cobalt blue – it’s like walking through a snow-shaker,” Mike recounts. “The ice crystals in the air, with the sun shining through them, look like specks of silver dust twinkling like a myriad of tiny diamonds… It’s the closest you’ll ever get to walking on another planet.” Fiona continues, “Sights like that last forever in your mind.”

While that might have been the zenith of most people’s life achievements, Mike and Fiona weren’t content. “Reaching the South Pole satisfied a lifetime ambition that I never truly thought would happen,” Mike remarks, “but Fiona said, ‘wouldn’t it be great to do the double and go to the North Pole too?’ To be honest, that hadn’t really been in my equation.”

Having learnt a lot about fundraising, the couple managed to raise the required £56,000 in only six months, and less than a year after becoming the first married couple to conquer the South Pole, they repeated the feat 12,440 miles away in the North Pole, adding another Guinness World Record to their growing collection.

The Thornewill’s exploits deservedly earned them media attention, and a flurry of press interviews followed their return to the UK, making the return to ‘normality’ even

more bizarre. “We went on Good Morning, got interviewed by the BBC and all that sort of thing, but it just felt like I’d been taken out of the jungle and dropped into civilisation,” Fiona explains. “Everything seems so fast. Cars that are going at 30mph feel like they’re going twice that speed,” Mike adds. “You get used to seeing things being so slow and methodical, and that business hits you. It’s a weird feeling at first.”

As well as the physical implications, the end of a journey as intense as those to the Polar Regions can have a psychological impact too. “Fiona had a bit of a low after the North Pole expedition,” says Mike. “I just felt like I hadn’t been pushed to my limit,” Fiona admits.

That limit would be reached in even more dramatic circumstances, when Fiona decided that she was going to attempt the South Pole again, this time solo and unsupported. “If you met Fiona you would say she’s a party girl who likes to wear posh frocks, socialize, drink wine and have a good time,” Mike tells me, “But there’s this other side to her that, when she decides to press the button, is so physically and mentally strong, as well as incredibly determined.”

During all of their adventures, the couple continued with their daily working lives. Mike saved his overtime and holidays, while Fiona fitted her intensive training schedule around her job in Nottingham. “I’d either run or cycle to work and back, which was 22 miles a day,” she explains. On top of that, Fiona had to prepare her body to pull a 130kg sled – the equivalent of a fully loaded washing machine – with everything she’d need for the trek, embarking on a regime of pulling a truck tire back and forth along the same stretch of path for hours on end. “It’s a mind-numbing exercise. You can do a mile-an-hour if you’re lucky,” she recalls. “I’d do that same journey day after day, and every time I stopped I’d tell myself that this was the difference between winners and losers.”

But for all she had prepared herself physically, Fiona’s solo journey was plagued by technical difficulties that hit her soon after her expedition had begun: “My phone failed after ten days, so I had no communication with the outside world,” she recalls. The technological failure meant that, for 31 days, she was alone in one of the most remote places on Earth with no contact with the outside world, and Mike only being able to track her progress through the Argos beacon GPS tracker fitted to her sled.

While that vital link to her loved ones might have been catastrophic to others, Mike explains how his wife coped with that sense of solitude: “There are two types of loneliness: there’s loneliness of the soul, where you’re not feeling loved or wanted. But if you’ve got that love and support in your life, you’re not lonely. You’re just physically separated,” he tells me. “It was interesting reading Fiona’s diary afterwards and seeing how she talked to herself,” he continues. “It’s

not a difficult read as you might expect. It’s a journey of happiness. It’s a joy to read.” Fiona even admits that the loss of her communication channels might have even enhanced the experience: “Would I have left England if I’d known that, after ten days, I’d have had no communication? No,” she reveals. “To be honest, it actually made the journey richer. I was able to say that I did it solely on my own.”

Further technical difficulties, including the loss of both her primary and backup stoves, made for a gruelling conclusion to her solo expedition. Unable to melt ice for use as drinking water or to hydrate her dehydrated food, she was forced to rely on a technique they’d prepared in an emergency scenario. By filling a plastic bag full of ice and placing it above her tent, where the temperature was slightly higher in the 24-hour sunlight, she was able to melt just enough to have a cup of water. That would have to be enough to sustain her for the last 49 miles of her journey, which she did with just a sleepless three-hour rest in-between. “I skied for 24 miles, put my tent up, but I couldn’t sleep, so at 3am decided to carry on,” she remembers. “After another nineteen miles I was really thirsty. I desperately needed water. But I kept telling myself I could do it.”

To make matters worse, the GPS tracker on her sled failed just three miles short of the Pole. “She was obviously struggling,” Mike says, “So we thought she’d collapsed.

We didn’t even know if she’d made it.” But after reaching the South Pole, she was able to contact her mum to let her know she was safe. Mike, who was also in the Antarctic in a supporting role, was overcome with relief, “Walking in and giving my wife a hug was the highest moment of my life.”

Fiona had taken enough provisions for 65 days, and the pair had planned for a journey of 60, with an ideal schedule of 55. As a couple, their trek to the South Pole had taken 61 days, but Fiona was having to carry all of the additional equipment, as well as having to do all of the camp work herself. Liv Arnesen, a Norweigen Olympic cross-country skier and the first woman to do the journey solo, managed to complete the journey in only 50 days in 1994. Fiona had managed to do it in just 41.

“It was partly to see if I could push myself to my upper limits,” Fiona recounts. “But also partly in dedication to my first husband, Bill. He’d been cheated of his life, so to feel like I was making the most out of mine spurred me on. I felt like I’d done it for him as well as for Mike.”

The couple now have 31 Polar expeditions between them, having taken a series of first-timers out to both the North and South Poles as guides. During this time they became the first people to walk across Great Slave Lake, as well as the first to make a complete crossing of Great Bear Lake. Mike has also led a blind person and three deaf people to the North Pole, as well as guiding the youngest ever

person (at the time) to the South Pole. “I’ve always enjoyed taking people who think they can’t do it, and showing that they actually can,” Mike says with pride. “More than half of the people we’ve taken are female. A lot of them have been women who have had children and want to show their kids what they can achieve.”

Mike and Fiona have two children of their own, and face a very different daily challenge of home-schooling them during the ongoing pandemic, meaning they don’t have a lot of free time to recollect on their adventures. “We haven’t spoken about it to anybody for quite a while, and in a way it’s nice to think about it again,” Mike reminisces. “It rekindles those emotions again.”

With the history of British exploration dominated by expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, both successful and unsuccessful, heroic and foolhardy, I ask Mike and Fiona whether they consider themselves part of the same club as people like Shackleton, Franklin, Ross, or Mike’s hero, Scott.

“We’re just normal people, so I personally don’t put myself up there,” Mike says with sincerity. “But Fiona can after her solo expedition. So much was made of Scott for being the first British man, and there’s a bit of inequality that less is made of the first British female. For that expedition, she is up there.”

In terms of the future, the pair say that they would like to focus on inspiring and supporting their two sons with whatever they choose to do in life. “I feel very content, and don’t feel like I need to prove anything,” Mike says. “But I would love to do one last South Pole expedition. The problem is that you need to find four people with £45,000 each to make it happen. I’m fundraised out – we’ve raised just under £350,000, and it really psychologically tires you.

I just can’t do it anymore. That would be my last big expedition.”

But for Fiona, whose last great adventure came with climbing the The Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite, California to celebrate her fiftieth birthday in 2015 (accidentally breaking the speed record in the process), her ambitions have all been achieved. “I don’t think I really have anything left that I want to do. I feel satisfied,” she tells me, before adding, with a wry smile, “Although I have talked about rowing the Atlantic…” polarchallenge.org

words: Ashley Carter artwork: Emily Thursfield

Valentine’s Day: Massacred Author Mhairi McFarlane is based in Nottingham, but writes about romance for a worldwide audience. Her debut novel, You Had Me At Hello, has been translated into sixteen languages and is being developed as a major feature film. In the run up to the release of her seventh novel, Last Night, she explains to us why she thinks Valentine’s Day is a tad overrated...

Life takes some strange turns and I’m not sure there’s going to be many weirder for me (well, never say never) than realising here we are in 2021, and my professional title is more or less ‘romance novelist’. After seven books about relationships in the women’s commercial fiction or romantic comedy genre – or if you want to be politically incorrect, chick lit – I guess I can boldly and fairly claim the label.

That doesn’t really sound like a job you can have, does it? With hindsight, I am dismayed I didn’t tell the careers advisor at Rushcliffe Comprehensive that was my ambition, given she thought I was an absolute joker as it was for saying ‘writer’. Though at certain points in my so-called career I’d have had to admit she had a point.

Anyway, romance novelist sounds like I eat Turkish Delight on a fainting couch and am surrounded by those dogs that look like mobile powder puffs, like Matt Lucas in Little Britain as Babs Cartland. Take this down!

I have a sort of Pixar-looking fluffy cat and a lot of leftover chocolate from Christmas, so I guess I’m a fair way there? Totally up for the fuchsia muumuu, too. This is a long way round to saying that as a romance novelist, I’m sometimes asked for my opinions on Valentine’s Day, like I might know anything about it.

Well, here is my piping hot take: it is the antimatter of romance. It takes everything that could be romantic, and sucks it into a black hole vortex super-event of non-romance.

If you want to pay over the odds for one of those pared-down ‘Presume You’ll Be Having Sex Later, Sir And Madam’ cringey subtextladen menus which inevitably involve salmon somewhere and blush cava, in a dining room with a strained, funereal mood – because groups always make the atmosphere, like it or not – be my guest. Be Frankie & Benny’s guest.

Yes, I used to be one of those fools who bothered with it, as part of the mindset you have in your twenties where you think the world is looking at you, cares what you do and is giving you marks out of ten on your cultural normativity.

One year, on February 14, on a night colder than Jacob Rees Mogg’s heart (it’d not be a complete fix, but holding Valentine’s Day in, say, May would help a bit, wouldn’t it?), I was in a central Nottingham restaurant with my visiting Valentine. A few tables over, I spotted a colleague of mine out with his date. Buoyed by pleasant surprise and the cheap white wine

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I’d been chinning, once the meal was over, I tottered over to his table on my Valentine’snormative high heels to say hello.

I still remember his expression as he looked up at me: like a face you might see through the porthole window of a crashing plane. After some agonisingly terse conversation, and observing the Paddington stare given me by his girlfriend, I realised I had not just intruded on a private conversation, I had interrupted them actually breaking up. Clutching my cellophane cornet of aggressively-priced single rose, I staggered away, muttering my apologies.

Romance is a funny thing in that once you try to make it explicit, pin it down and demand it appears on cue, the reverse immediately occurs Now that encounter stands, planted flaglike in my memory, as the apotheosis of Bad Valentine’s. The boss level V Day, if you will. They had come for the rigmarole and pantomime of three courses of Thai cuisine to prove to themselves, each other, and the imaginary beady-eyed world, that they were still in love. Somewhere during the Tom Yum soup and prawn rice parcels with dipping sauce, they’d realised they were over. Stick a chopstick in them, they were done. No-one would plan to have the parting of ways on that night of all nights, so you can only assume the massive spotlight moment necessity of needing to feel something in the surroundings, dealt the fatal blow. Ugh. I feel giddy with horror just thinking about it.

Romance is a funny thing in that once you try to make it explicit, pin it down and demand it appears on cue, the reverse immediately occurs. BE ROMANTIC as a command is kind of like BE EXCITED or BE HAPPY, as soon as you’re told that’s the emotion you’re obliged to be experiencing, it flies away. Romance is in a smile, in a shared look, in a gesture, its charm and very power is that it is wholly specific to your individual context and the person you’re feeling romantic about. Which is why universalising and commercialising it is doomed. It is simply not on sale in Paperchase for £4.99, and do you need any stamps?

I could write a romantic scene between two people having a Burger King in the car park at Scotch Corner Services (no euphemism) but put those people in a gondola on a honeymoon in Venice, and I’d genuinely struggle. It has to be spontaneous. You’ll no more capture moonlight in a jam jar than get dewy-eyed over novelty pink lychee cocktails served with an embarrassing garnish of Love Hearts sweets, whispering self-consciously in a joint that’s rinsing you blind for a couple of steaks and a tarted up Gü pudding.

Call me a Marxist, but even the restaurant is going through the motions, dry-humping you – all this flummery only exists to keep the tills ringing. Like when caterers charge you extra for hire on a knife to cut a wedding cake, or a hotel wants more out of you for a Sunday roast served during December. It is, my dear friends, a con. And yes, I say that as a big romance lover. George Foreman liked the grill so much he bought the company, I like hearts and flowers so much I made them my nine to five.

But there’s no getting round the fact that Valentine’s Day seems to be making a coded statement to society. I Found Someone.

Someone Loves Me. Two By Two Onto The Ark For Us. Suck It Sad Singles. Or more often: The Magic’s Still There, I Promise, Slash, My Wife Would Kill Me If I Didn’t. Once again, in making the gesture, it has the opposite impact.

It lands as faintly desperate, as if you’re trying to prove something that doesn’t need or want proving, if it’s there already. Ugh. Do you know, I think I finally realise how ThaiGate happened.

After that incident, or thereabouts, I changed my own Valentine’s celebration protocols.

I kept the champagne (but of course: don’t blame champagne for this mess) and the idea of a meal, but changed it to God’s finest food: delivery curry. We watch a film – which is a rom com if a decent candidate’s about, equally can involve guns and spilled intestines if that’s the better-looking option on Netflix. I mean, there was a Valentine’s Day massacre, it’s not like crime takes a day off. Thus applying the Sir Alan Sugar law to fix Valentine’s Day: no, not be a belligerent cockney Tory. Take the best of what’s on offer, and make it work for you.

Mhairi’s latest book, Last Night (HarperCollins) is out on April 1 in paperbook and e-book. Turn to page 40 to check out a preview excerpt mhairimcfarlane.com

words: Mhairi McFarlane illustration: Kate Sharp

Labour of Love

Claire Bale, author of Oo! That’s a Bit Racey! – a new blog about race, equality and inclusion – explores the impact of The Colour of Love, the organisation dedicated to preserving the stories of mixed-race relationships in Nottingham’s past...

What a pleasure it was to meet Coleen Francis, who founded The Colour of Love project, and her two volunteers, Ndinda and Sedi. True to form, when Black and mixed-race women get together, we laughed a lot, shared personal stories, supported each other and felt like we could have talked all day.

Love is certainly the right word to sum up this project.

Not only is it based on the love stories of individuals who overcame adversity, it’s an organisation that is fuelled by the team’s love for what they do. Run by a dedicated, passionate team of volunteers, they are constantly motivated by the stories they uncover and share. During the course of our conversation, I fell in love with them myself, and can’t wait to see their exciting plans come to fruition over the coming months.

The Colour of Love officially began in 2015, although Coleen had been documenting her own family’s story since the mid-nineties when her mother sadly passed away, taking her own inspiring story with her. Having been beaten and locked away by her own parents in an attempt to curtail her relationship with Coleen’s father, Coleen’s mother was one of many white women who suffered greatly because she fell in love with a black man.

Finding little information on the stories of mixed-race relationships both in Nottingham and nationally, Coleen was determined not to let these histories disappear. She set about researching, documenting and sharing the important stories of individuals, couples and families’ experiences, alongside the social and political context they lived in.

They’re a huge part of Nottingham’s history and carry valuable lessons for us today in terms of racism, equality, community and, most of all, love.

Ndinda, one of the team’s volunteers, shares this passion.

Ndinda’s mother, a white missionary working in Kenya, fell in love with her father, a Kenyan man, and consequently lost her position with the Salvation Army. They married in

1959 and brought up their family in Kenya, before fleeing to Nottingham during the Civil War. When their travelling trunk finally arrived in Nottingham seven years after they set off, having been trapped in the Suez Canal crisis, Ndinda was fascinated by the photographs, journals and incredible pieces of history her mother had cherished.

They’re a huge part of Nottingham’s history and carry valuable lessons for us today in terms of racism, equality, community and, most of Over the years, The Colour of Love team has secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and grown to a team of fifteen volunteers, all with a common interest in celebrating mixed-race relationships.

They’ve already achieved some wonderful ways to share Nottingham’s mixed race histories, with a beautiful book, The Colour of Love: A Celebration of Mixed-Race Relationships in Nottinghamshire 1940s-1970s, a popular photo exhibition at the New Art Exchange and a celebratory event at the Nottingham Playhouse in August 2019. The next step on the journey will be a film, which many – myself included – are incredibly excited about. It’s going to be shown online for the first time on Saturday 13 February, the perfect weekend to celebrate so many untold love stories.

A huge leap along The Colour of Love’s journey is their plan to take these stories to the next generation through educational packs for schools. We’ve all seen the increased interest in Black history over the last few months and, traditionally, white history has always been taught in schools. But there are a million additional facets to history too, made up of different communities. As time moves

on, it’s important to enable the next generation to grow through our city’s history, through their communities’ stories and through the lessons that society has learnt. It’s also important to help young people understand their own heritage, and that of those around them, a powerful tool in ensuring all children have a sense of belonging and an enabler to social progress.

At a time when many of us are appreciating our families and communities more than ever, The Colour of Love has an exciting role to play. The team shows a huge appreciation for their community and the support they’ve received. They would like to thank their volunteers, past and present; supporters including the Nottingham Playhouse, New Art Exchange and Five Leaves Bookshop; Andrew and Gian at the digital agency, Nzime, who are helping to build the group’s website pro bono; the National Lottery Heritage Fund; Kelly Thompson, their lead Teacher Volunteer; and, most importantly, their contributors. Without them, so much of our history would be lost.

If you’d like to find out more, join The Colour of Love community on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For everyone who would like to support them, your time and expertise would be greatly valued, especially from those with professional skills as the group expands. Most valuable of all, of course, are your stories of love, because, at the end of day, that’s what it’s all about.

I’m honoured to share a little bit of their brilliant work with the readers of LeftLion in this love issue, and to help The Colour of Love in their mission to document and share the stories of Nottingham’s mixed-race relationships before they disappear. facebook.com/thecolouroflove @colourofloveuk You can follow Claire Bale’s blog, Oo! That’s A Bit Racey! at thatsabitracey.com and on Instagram at @oo_thats_a_bit_racey

words: Claire Bale photos: Colour of Love

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Meet Your Match Look, we hear you. Lockdowns have killed your 2am Hockley Arts Club pick-up game, and you've had just about enough of circling through your five dating apps to be bitterly disappointed by the lack of normal humans they have to offer. It's about time you put your trust in us, and let us matchmake you with your perfect date..

You’re standing in a supermarket queue when the elderly woman in front of you drops her shopping…

You stop and help her without a second thought.

So? Silly old mare shouldn’t have been so clumsy, and I’m not losing my place in the queue.

No chance, I avoid cameras at any cost.

Start Here

The microchip that Bill Gates put in my brain, obviously.

Erm… me?

Your date asks you if you fancy getting dolled up and going to Colwick Races for the day…

Oh, what a spiffing idea!

Your potential date asks to see more photos of you…

Erm, no thank you. That’s blatant exploitation of animals.

Luckily for them I have a folder for just such an occasion. What do you prefer? Portrait?

Landscape? Head shot?

Shirt on or off?

My perfect Sunday roast is…

Mummy’s goose! It’s famous with all the family back home.

She’s rather a legend in the kitchen.

First things first who’s responsible for the choices you make in this quiz?

Not only do Toby Carvery do four types of meat, but you can upgrade for an extra Yorkie and sausages.

That’s five types of bloody meat!

But do you really care about animal welfare?

I do on social media, and that counts… right?

The Posho Jolly good! Your date is rather marvellous and can’t wait to let you know it. Wealthy, Jack Wills-clad and distantly related to their last partner, they think Boris is doing a bloody good job in beastly circumstances, and won’t hear a word said otherwise.

Fancy getting blotto in West Bridgford this weekend? It’s been absolutely yonks, darling.

the boomer Your date is known by many names: Boomer, Gammon, Karen… Call them what you want, just don’t call them unpatriotic. From posting on social media in all capitals to questioning why Marcus Rashford doesn’t just focus on football, you can expect an evening of relentless lecturing about why COVID is a hoax after all.

Yes!

the skater

the athlete

You were wondering why your date looked so familiar – you saw them at Tom Quigley’s Skate & Create exhibition last year. Independent-minded, slightly introverted, but with a quiet confidence that makes them a joy to be around. Your first date might be no frills, but you’re guaranteed an adventure and a lot of laughs.

Gym, meal prep, recover, repeat.

Physical fitness is everything to your date, and be prepared to hear it. If you’re thinking about ordering carbs, think again, because they’re going to be watching you like a hawk. That stamina might come in handy though – just don’t expect to get much mirror time the next morning.

illustrations: Ali Taylor-Perry

In an ideal world, my dream date would be…

Anywhere outdoorsy, I can’t stand being cooped up inside.

Indoors please. It’s safe and warm.

Inside, outside… it’s all the same to me.

Your potential date asks where you're from…

You find yourself walking through Sneinton because…

It’s the only place left in the city where I can skate.

Extinction Rebellion are staging a climate protest in Market Square...

I mean, I’ll click attending on Facebook because I support what they’re doing. But will I actually consider getting out of bed? Maybe not…

Turmeric and beetroot latte with pea milk please. Here, I brought my own cup…

Notts mate.

Nottinghamshire, darling.

Is Etienne Stott going to be there? I know he won an Olympic medal but I could probably bench more than him.

I’m lost?

Surface Gallery have a new exhibition I wanted to check out.

Not only will I be there, but I’ll turn up an hour early and bring drinks, snacks and blankets.

Your date wants to take you to Blend for a coffee…

Is black coffee the cheapest? I’ll have a black coffee. No actually, I’ll just have water. Tap water, that is.

I’ve got coffee at home.

Your new love interest asks your thoughts on Wolfgang Buttress’ Out of the Sea…

You say something non-committal before changing the subject quickly, all the while laughing to yourself that they said the word ‘butt’.

It truly redefined what can be done with oil, wax, shellac and graphite.

the artist

the hipster

the vegan

the student

Know your Manet from your Monet?

Well, you’d better if you want to keep hold of this one. Cultured, quiet and highly educated, you’ve landed yourself a belter here, so get ready to see everything that NAE and the Contemporary have on offer. Sure, they might dress a bit weird, but it’s a good weird, you know?

The type of person who revels in telling you that you’ve been holding your wine glass the wrong way all these years, or what a filmmaker was actually trying to say. Obnoxious, elitist and dresses like they’ve just been drop-kicked through every charity shop on Goose Gate. Who needs a personality when you’ve got a hat, right?

Did you know that they were a vegan?

Of course you did. You knew that before you knew their name. Quirky, independent and nature-loving, get ready to spend your Saturday mornings at the Vegan Market in Sneinton. Oh, they do pizza and cakes? You know what, maybe this vegan thing isn’t that bad after all...

Rapid tweeter and up for joining any social cause, whether they understand it or not. Currently planning a sit-in to protest the use of leather in the university library, so you might have to wait for that date. They might be a slightly-smarmy slacktivist, but there’s a certain charm there too. Expect nuggets at 2am.

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My Photo Moment

Mann Hans - @mannhansphotography

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Everything I’ve Learned About Love During Lockdown Being in love is gripping. It grasps at your heart as it falls into your throat, fills your lungs as you breathe in the moments, and sinks into your fingers, so imprinted you can’t let go. During this past year, we’ve all come to rely on it as everything else around us falls down and tightens up. But this year of instability forced me to let go of collapsing cliffs and find the joy of carving out new shapes. And so I embarked on a year of love lessons during lockdown...

Around this time last year, I was gazing at the Eiffel Tower from a balcony in Montmartre. My boyfriend and I were celebrating our three-year anniversary, and I’d just finished crying after reciting a poem I wrote for him. I wasn’t crying because I was so in love with him – I was crying because I was scared of this moment being one of our last big ones together.

We’d been battling long-distance, and COVID-19 was quietly creeping up the headlines. But it didn’t matter, as we were in the city of love.

Long-distance is difficult enough without the pain of a pandemic. We had differing views on so many aspects of life, but we had plastered so many layers of gloss onto our would-be and could-be that it didn’t matter how different we were so long as we had each other. It was so easy to do that in person when we could look at each other and know we wanted to keep brushing. Or so he could look at me and I’d keep patching up spots that appeared. But we couldn’t. Text messages, phone calls, they hold electricity but they can’t jolt together that need and want if it’s not well and truly there.

When he told me of champagne parties on his street while I grappled with the shock of almost losing my father to COVID-19, I took a step back. I put my paintbrush down. He didn’t want to fill in the cracks, and I realised I didn’t have the energy any more. We were in two different worlds, that couldn’t be put together no matter how much I wanted. Three years, and I ended it all with a phone call, as we couldn’t meet in person to do it. Did lockdown speed up the inevitable? I think it stomped on my rose-tinted glasses and I needed to find out there was more to love than climbing up a never-ending hill. And when we had our first post-breakup call and he rattled off a list of everything wrong with me, I was pushed down it. But I was able to, for the first time in a long time, come up for air.

Like many twenty-somethings, a couple of months later I found myself on a dating app. The summer sunshine was sifting through the window, the bars and restaurants were bubbling with beer and conversation, and I was soon sitting outside Blend with a tall guy who ordered a black cup of tea.

No frills, no extra grande mochaccino. There was something so quiet about it, so uncomplicated and yet so warm. On our second date, we were lying on the grass in the Arboretum, and he offered me his jacket to rest on. On our third, he rolled up my sleeves when I was washing up. And as we trekked up hills on the outskirts of Nottingham to head to the pub, I started to pin down the feeling.

As the sun set earlier and the leaves crunched beneath my feet, lockdown hit again. But there were no questions. The taste of the summer pollen lingered in our throats, but it wasn’t a fling or a memory. Even with the difficulties of lockdown, we made it work and tried hard together. He parked his car and we ate chips, overlooking the road while it rained down. It wasn’t the Eiffel Tower, but I didn’t want it to be or need it to be. The taste of salt washed down with a Diet Coke brought me an inner peace that I didn’t know I didn’t have when I was sipping espressos and enjoying patisserie croissants.

For my birthday, my ex sent me a box full of my old clothes and a book with annotations on why I’m so impossible to be with

For my birthday, my ex sent me a box full of my old clothes and a book with annotations on why I’m so impossible to be with. At Christmas, I closed my eyes and dipped my hands into a box crisply wrapped, full of beautifully tender presents handpicked for me. I’m still doing that every day, in little ways. It hasn’t been easy. We’re still working through obstacles, lockdown-shaped and others.

But whether we’re having a fierce debate about nothing or trying to put into words that this is something we’d actually quite like to give a go, I’m always quietly smiling.

When I occasionally cracked – whether from spilling pizza dough all over his kitchen counter or from the weight of COVID-19 breakages in my life – he’d just stay calm and make me a cup of tea. Sometimes he’d even make me a fish finger and waffle sandwich if I was lucky. But he wasn’t afraid of the bad sides of me. He didn’t resent me for them. Oh, this is it.

This is what it feels like, to have a real boyfriend, who wants me. Just me, and not just because I want him too. But the fantasy and the reality are woven together, and that’s what he wants. He wants all of it.

What I’ve learned about love during lockdown is that life is far too short and spontaneous to waste energy on someone that doesn’t appreciate you.

Inside and out and all over, for the right person you’re worth fighting for. I’ve also learned that it’s little acts of love that build a mountain, not big pushes that wear you down. You need strong motivation around you to navigate these difficult waves. Shipmates that will help steer you back to shore, whether that’s family members, friends, or something more. And everything that’ll come after lockdown… That’s just all part of the journey.

words and illustration: Eve Smallman leftlion.co.uk/issue133 27

interview: Jared Wilson photo: Curtis Powell illustrations: Kev Grey

Ten Years of Beers Black Iris Brewery celebrate their tenth birthday later this year. We caught up with Director Alex Wilson to talk artwork, music, history and that time that they raised a smile from Sandi Toksvig and Alan Davies...

So where did it all start?

It all began, as many good things do, in the Lincolnshire Poacher pub. I finished a politics degree in 2009 and became a barman there, which is where I met Nick. He’d studied chemistry, which is incredibly handy for doing all the sciencey parts of brewing. We lived together and got into home brewing.

A couple of years later we decided to start a brewery.

The people at Castle Rock were incredibly generous with their time and advice, in particular their brewer Adrian Redgrove. Then we heard about a landlady at a pub in Derby called The Flowerpot, who had a full microbrewery kit that had been mothballed for a couple of years.

Nick and I asked if we could rent their kit. They agreed and so we set up in business with relatively low capital costs. It was rudimentary equipment, but perfect to start with. Neither of us drove, so we got the Red Arrow bus there and back every day.

We spent the summer getting everything shipshape and launched our first beers at their annual Potfest festival, on August bank holiday 2011.

What were those first beers?

Black Iris Bitter, a nut brown 4.3% traditional bitter; Peregrine Pale, a 4.6% Pale Ale; and Iron Gate Stout, a 5% New Zealand hop stout, which is a similar recipe to Stab In The Dark, which we still brew.

Why the name Black Iris?

I studied politics and before we set up the brewery, I was involved in a start-up housing co-operative. It was on the shortlist of names for that and stems from the idea that Iris flowers grow rhizomatically and connect to other plants horizontally, without any hierarchy. It wasn’t chosen, so we used it for this instead.

Tell us about the team you have now…

There's me and Nick, who are both directors of the company. There’s Reg who’s been involved right back since the Flowerpot days – he started as a driver but now runs our new taproom and bottleshop. There’s Ash who came here as a volunteer many years ago when he was studying brewing. He volunteered so much we offered him a job. Then, more recently, we’ve taken on two new staff, Meg and Dan. Meg has come in to help push all our marketing and merchandise forward and Dan is a brewer who joined us from Castle Rock and has been working some serious magic.

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The monochrome art work of Kev Grey has become seminal to your public image. How did you first discover his work, and when did he get involved?

I first saw it growing up in my home city of Sheffield.

A lot of areas I used to hang out in were full of his graffiti and I loved it. I also knew him a little bit because we moved in similar circles. When we originally set up the brewery, we used a different artist. His designs were great, but no-one could really read the ornate swirly lettering. When we moved back to Nottingham, we decided to rebrand, but I was keen to stick with a monochrome feel. Then I remembered Kev’s graffiti and emailed him out of the blue. He said yes.

What was the first design he did for you? And do you have a favourite?

He started with four designs: Snake Eyes, Rose of My Heart, Stab In The Dark and Better The Devil You Know. I still have a real soft spot for the Snake Eyes design. I think it's so well balanced and bold, with this beautiful serpent shape and the two eyeballs that really stand out. Also, I just like all his designs with the snakes, I find they make a really pleasing shape on the can. I also love Bury Me In Smoke, a beer we did as a collaboration with Torrside brewery. It's a burning church, but in his soft cartoony style.

In 2017 Black Iris achieved a moment of international fame, by failing to organise a Piss Up In A Brewery...

Haha! It's almost like a Greek tragedy where we encouraged our own failure. Piss Up In A Brewery was the name of a regular event we did with I’m Not From London, where we put on bands in the brewery and sold beer direct from the source. We’d already organised nine very successful events under that moniker. But in one of the early iterations of Nottingham Craft Beer Week we invited some other breweries to join us. We initially looked at a few bigger venues for it, but for one reason or another we ended up deciding to do it at our place. For all the other events we’d put all the licensing requests in months in advance, but we totally forgot to do it for this one until it was too late.

We ended up getting loads of press for it, including being on the BBC TV show QI and on the No Such Thing As A Fish podcast. The people from that podcast even came to visit us in the brewery when they toured their show at the Nottingham Playhouse. We made it into their book of the year under ‘I’ for Irony. In the end we were totally rescued by The Lion at Basford, the pub,

two doors up from our brewery. They let us use their beer garden and licence for no rent and were just all-round amazing. It turned out to be one of our best events ever, a proper glorious day out in the sun. Ever since it’s one of those fun things that keeps coming back.

Will we ever see the return of events in the brewery?

Quite possibly. We stopped because we became busier selling beer and needed more production time and space. But during lockdown we’ve moved things around and made space for a tap room. Plus we fitted some proper toilets and, finally, got a permanent premises licence. We're definitely looking into events later this year, to celebrate our tenth birthday.

How’s the pandemic treating you?

We’re doing okay. The positives are that we invested in our own canning machine. This has given us a lot more control over our product and getting it to market. We deliver beer around the city (and nationally) to people who order it through our online shop, so we’ve been able to engage more directly with our customers. But the sad thing is that the pub and bar industry, which is a really important part of the country’s economy, has been really badly affected and to a certain extent scapegoated in all this. If we’re not careful, a big part of our community will go to the wall before this is over.

Music is obviously important to you. Who are your musical inspirations?

The big two genres for me are punk and metal. So Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Misfits, Minor Threat, Black Flag and then Black Sabbath, Slayer, Tool and The Melvins. Music plays a pretty big part in what we do here, which is why we often weave song titles and lyrics into the names of our beers.

Seeing as this is a love-themed issue, can you tell us what it is you love most about beer?

I love the Nottingham beer community. From my first week working in the Poacher I realised this was the industry I wanted to work in. I’d lived in Nottingham for three years as a student, but hardly scratched the surface. Since then I’ve met some of the best people and made lifelong friendships. It’s probably the least cut-throat local industry you can imagine. Everyone works together and the strength of the collective is more than the sum of its parts. blackirisbottleshop.co.uk

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words: Jenny Joss illustration: Carmel Ward

Jenny Joss‘ Causes to Care About Despite my numerous attacks on his rather limited wardrobe choices, my Editor was gratuitous enough to gift none other than I, Jenny Joss, Nottingham’s most inspired gossip columnist – an entire page to spread my new year cheer. While this may surprise you – after having read my monthly reports on Nottingham’s rogues and rascals found on page 7 – I really do care deeply about the welfare of this city, so have decided to temporarily change my tune, and give exposure to the charities, groups and general luminaries who are planning big things for 2021 and deserve your support…

Nottingham C.A.N Formed in the back-end of 2020, Nottingham Community Artist Network (C.A.N) made a name for themselves with their series of workshops encouraging men to be more open about their mental health struggles, which culminated in the release of a poetry anthology. Through artistled research, and arts delivery and events, they’re now aiming to enrich our local communities, both educationally and creatively. With the announcement of their ‘Reviving the Chapel’ project in the beloved Angel Microbrewery and a possible friendship with MP for Nottingham East (and our other dazzling columnist) Nadia Whittome teased on Instagram, I’ll happily place my bets that these are the ones to watch. facebook.com/nottscommunityartistnetwork Home Delivery Nottingham During lockdown 1.0, the hero behind Home Delivery Nottingham, Harry Grout, set up this food delivery service on the first day he was furloughed from his full-time job at a gin distillery – talk about wasting no time. At the height of the pandemic, he was busy ensuring shielding customers had access to fresh, locally-grown fruit and veg while they were stuck twiddling their isolated thumbs. Over the last eight months, the enterprise has expanded and is now providing NG postcodes with produce from a host of local farms and bakeries, and even treats us to plums, pears and apples from his family’s garden and allotment. And, if the bank man gives him a mortgage, we’ll spy a physical store opening in Keyworth later this year. homedeliverynottingham.com The Nottinghamshire Mental Health Helpline While I enjoy nothing more than lambasting you folk for actions you ought to be ashamed of, one thing I wish to make clear to you readers is that asking for help when you’re struggling is not one of them.

Delivered by national social enterprise Turning Point, which has provided specialist mental health services on behalf of the NHS in Nottingham for over thirty years, the Nottinghamshire Mental Health Helpline is accessible from 9am until 11pm, seven days a week. Once connected, you can speak to an experienced, trained worker who is there to listen, support, find solutions or advise you how to move forward with your life, or find a little bit more light in this seemingly incessant darkness.

0300 555 0730 turning-point.co.uk/nottingham-helpline Femme Fatale Gals In my humble opinion, 2021 is the year we all need to work harder at dismissing those negative voices inside our heads.

And, what a better way to do it than with the help of words from warriors around us. Femme Fatale Gals is an annual magazine and self empowerment platform that’s produced three successful issues and amassed over 2000 followers since its conception in 2018.

Curated by Khaya Ayomide Job, passion and pride radiates from her posts, and more copies of

Issue 3: Purpose, have now been restocked after a sell-out launch. Having previously held talks on empowerment, mental health and relationships, I for one am intrugied to see where the Femme Fatale Gals go next. Oh, isn’t it good to see a local girl succeed. femmefatalegals.co.uk Be Scene And Heard Those I’m Not From London mischief-makers, normally known for larking about in our local music venues, have won a bid to run a youth music project involving young people with any level of deafness (tinnitus, partially/fully deaf) in songwriting, recording music and writing, recording or acting in music videos. The free to access events will be delivered online from their shiny new premises at Fisher Gate Point alongside Nottinghambased singing teachers, videographers, producers and musicians from Monday 25 January - Friday 12 February. Don’t waste any time getting involved, and let this be a lesson in how to successfully break down barriers in new and exciting ways, kiddos. imnotfromlondon.com/to-be-scene-and-heard/ Slow & Flow Yoga As a daily bubble bath kind of girl myself, this darling knows the importance of taking a few minutes out of the day just to breathe, focus on myself and acknowledge my emotions. However, I’m not naive enough to think we’ve all mastered the art of mindfulness. Slow & Flow Yoga preaches the message of slowing down and giving space to your thoughts through the practice of yoga, among other methods. Self-care Sundays are a series of online workshops run by Isabella herself, each with a different theme; coming up this year we have sessions on sleep, journaling and the exploration of self-care as a concept. slowflowyoga.uk The Wolfpack Project Not knowing where to turn in times of loneliness is an isolating experience, and one I hope none of you will experience thanks to the work of these do-gooders. The Wolfpack Project is a local charity dedicated to reducing loneliness and social isolation among young adults in our city. They provide members with Wellbeing Wolf-Packs, stocked with self-care, happiness boosting items such as puzzles and healthy snacks, and through their Buddy Scheme they are able to provide one-to-one support, encouraging individuals to engage in new hobbies, pursue their passions or attend events. If you’re looking to grow your social circles locally, check out their virtual support groups too. facebook.com/thewolfpackprojectuk FlyGirl This was, frankly, one of the best things to come out of the catastrophe that was 2020. The FlyGirl community pride themselves on unapologetically connecting and empowering womxn of all shades while prioritising those of colour. Their consultancy services encourage business owners and larger organisations to put strong policies in place to better serve their staff, using a combination of diversity and inclusion workshops, training days and more. Their website is also home to a directory which increases job opportunities for womxn of colour and, in a post-COVID world, they’ll be running some inspiring events too. Please, somebody tell a girl what’s not to admire. fly-girl.co.uk

JJ x

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interview: Ashley Carter photos: Emma Ford and Jennifer Luoko

After wowing audiences with an eclectic programme of events last year, the Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity is back with a new look and a lockdown-friendly digital festival this February. We caught up with festival producer Megan Shore to find out more about what FoSaC 2021 has in store…

For those who don’t know, can you tell us a bit about the Festival of Science and Curiosity?

We’re a community-focussed science festival. So we’re less about getting the likes of Brian Cox to come to Nottingham and sell out an arena, and more interested in bringing together our community, local researchers and everyone in the city to take part in science in some way.

We’re all about breaking down barriers to what it means to be in science, looking at who does science and opening up lines of communication between people who don’t often get to discuss topics around science.

Your 2020 festival had a really impressive, wideranging selection of events. Has it been difficult making this year’s festival digital-only?

Because the festival is so community-orientated, the events I’ll miss the most will be the ones at branch libraries, where you get loads of families coming along and there’s a really buzzing, excited atmosphere. It’s a little bit sad that we can’t do those sorts of things, but we’ve had loads of time to plan, and look at what other festivals, both in Nottingham and further afield, are doing in order to figure out some great alternatives. Forced innovation is what I’d call it, and we really have learnt a lot. So rather than it being doom and gloom, it’s actually really exciting to learn all of these new ways of delivering events.

Which events are you most excited about?

We’ve got a programme called Wollaton Watch which is going to be shown five nights a week on Notts TV. It’s an hour each day at 4pm, targeting children and families.

Over the last couple of months we’ve been out capturing lots of footage of our natural environments, young people who are taking action for nature, volunteers, tree planting, researchers who work with wildlife, and compiling it together in a BBC Springwatch inspired setup.

It’s all very local, so people will recognise the locations.

We also managed to get on the roof at Wollaton Hall to do some stargazing with an astronomy professor from the University of Nottingham. We were looking at the night sky in October, so we could see Mars and Jupiter, and it was an amazing experience. We also want people to submit their own footage, whether it’s animals in their local park or anything interesting in the natural world,

which we’ll show as part of the programme. We’ve never done anything like that before. It’s a bit scary, but it will enable us to reach loads more people and we’re really proud to be able to produce it.

There’s so much disinformation around, and people’s trust in scientists is being tested more than ever, so there’s a lot of stuff in the festival on the subject of medicine and health science The events of the last twelve months have seen the subject of science thrust into the limelight more than ever before. Has that affected your approach to planning the festival?

Definitely, because our understanding of science is much more important than ever before. There’s so much disinformation around, and people’s trust in scientists is being tested more than ever, so there’s a lot of stuff in the festival on the subject of medicine and health science.

Another thing we’re trying to work toward is showing that there are lots of different people that work in science.

Most of the scientists we see on television are still white males, and what we’re trying to do is change those perceptions and let people know that there is a massively broad spectrum of people working in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field.

How much of a problem is representation in the scientific community?

It’s a massive issue, and the last event of the festival is a panel discussion where we’ve got lots of people talking about the issue of diversity in STEM. We’ve got a really amazing speaker who runs Blast Fest, which is a Birmingham Festival that merges black culture and the sciences. Nottingham is such a diverse community, and it’s important that we get that right. Research shows that

people need to see people who look like them achieving their goals to think that it’s possible for them to do so too. We need to be doing more as a festival to make sure that the people we’re platforming are from diverse backgrounds. I think that stands for the entire scientific community, and it’s something we need to do by working together.

Is inspiring young people to pursue a scientific career one of your aims?

That is definitely one of the aims, because a more diverse science is a better science. But the festival is also about the enjoyment of science. You have music festivals, and people will go who aren’t musicians, and don’t want to be musicians, but just enjoy music. I think a lot of what we’re trying to do is show people that science is something that can be enjoyed as a hobby or passing interest, as well as being part of our shared culture – it doesn’t just have to be for people who choose it as a career.

One of the most impressive things about FoSaC 2020 was that there seemed to be as many events planned for adults as there were for young people. Who do you see as your target audience?

The festival is for people who are curious! People who want to know more and have questions about the world, and people who want to ask questions. Age-wise, it’s children, families or adults. It’s important to have a broad programme that appeals to different ages, because it helps the public understanding of really important issues.

That’s why this year’s festival has talks about how clinical trials work, and the future of medicine or the research behind sustainability. Those are really hot topics at the moment. I say they’re targeted at adults, but it’s really anyone over the age of fourteen will take something from them. It’s a shame that we can’t be doing things in Rough Trade and Broadway, the events we usually do, but hopefully we’ll be back there next year!

The Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity takes place between Monday 8 - Wednesday 17 February. Keep an eye on their website and social media channels for full festival info nottsfosac.co.uk @nottsfosac

The Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity is all about asking questions – and sometimes these can challenge the way we see the world.

In these two famous optical illusions, what do you see? In the picture to the left, which end of the bar is darker?

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the big cheese

interview: Kelly Holmes

From age-old recipes to newly dreamt up decadence, Cheesecakes by Big Mike’s Fat Kitchen have hit the ground running and are whipping up a storm in Carlton. We talk to the namesake and owner Mike Jones to get the lowdown…

So Big Mike, what’s the big idea? Why cheesecake?

It all started after I was furloughed back in March. I find it difficult to sit still so decided to start a little food blog on Instagram. Back when I was a teenager, I had done a couple of years in pub kitchens, so had a bit of knowhow on how to make food look good. It was all going well and then I decided to make my girlfriend a cheesecake for her birthday in May. I posted photos of it on my blog and it all went a bit crazy. I had never made a cheesecake before and suddenly people online were asking if I’d make them one.

Wait, what?! You’d never made a cheesecake before May last year?

No, never made a cake at all in fact. Might have made some brownies somewhere down the line. But that’s about it.

But obviously, other than the couple of years in pub kitchens, you have catering experience? Right?

Other than eating and making my own food, no.

I’ve got a real passion for it and absolutely love to share that passion with our followers and customers How does a Clifton lad, living in Bingham, end up on Carlton Hill?

An independent café on Carlton Hill had been buying some of our cakes and their customers were giving them great feedback, asking where they get them from and it wasn’t long before we were up there every day delivering. We saw the shop and decided to go for it. The support we have received from the local community has been unbelievable.

The other local businesses up there have welcomed us with open arms. I’ve had customers wanting selfies with me, coming in showing genuine interest in what we’re doing. I’m happy to talk about it to anyone who’ll listen. I’ve got a real passion for it and absolutely love to share that passion with our followers and customers. Unlike the bigger chains, we have the choice of dictating our own menu and recipes – it’s exciting making new flavours and seeing what hits the mark with the cheesecake connoisseurs.

What have been the big hitters that tickled the palettes of local cheesecake enthusiasts?

The Terry’s chocolate orange flies out, same with the Biscoff. Those two are definitely the bread and butter. Sticking with the roots of the business, the signature dish is definitely the unicorn cheesecake, it’s a really good looking cake and is very popular. Over Christmas, the Baileys Cheesecake was a massive success. It’s nice to do different things and change the menu up.

You opened the shop in late November and have already had massive queues. Are you surprised at how successful you’ve become in such a short space of time?

I’m not the kind of guy to pat myself on the back – we are selling out every day and all I can think is that we should be doing more. But we literally don’t have the space. We have been open two months and have already outgrown our kitchen. Jess and I have put so much into this, put so much on hold, so we are delighted with how it’s going. What we need to do is establish ourselves for a little bit longer and then think about the next steps. On the whole, we couldn’t have asked for it to go any better and are incredibly grateful.

What could your next steps look like?

Who knows! Big Mike’s restaurant? Big Mike’s burgers?

There are heaps of possibilities, but I have to stay loyal to the cheesecake and keep it on any future menu for any future venues. It’s made the business what it is and deserves respect.

Carlton Hill, Carlton, NG4 1JD

@bigmikes.fatkitchen

food for thought

So, let me get this straight: you’d never made a cheesecake before May and don’t have huge amounts of catering experience, so you decided it would be a good idea to open up a cheesecake shop at a time of unprecedented financial insecurity? Big Mike must have some seriously big balls...

Well, yeah. After posting the unicorn cheesecake which I made for Jess, things just started to gather traction.

I had always known that I wanted to have my own business and given how it was going we decided to get the council round to approve our kitchen at home, put some shoutouts on social media and started selling them for delivery. We ended up doing around 600-700.

My old job called me up and said it was time to get back, but I knew I didn’t want to. I had a big decision to make. Jess, who has been an absolute diamond, said that if I was going to do it, I needed to do it properly and get a shop.

New Business – It’s All Good Co We’re loving the funky branding of these handcrafted cocktails. They do all your favourite flavours – strawberry daiquiris, Long Islands and more – and will soon deliver straight to your door. @itsallgoodnotts

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Must-Try – Burg Burgers Coming in hot on the Notts food scene and sitting up top at Mapperley, these juicy burgers dripping with cheese are making us wipe drool off our chins. @burgburgers

New Venture – Sour Grapes From the team at Another? Wine Bar, this vino retail platform makes sure its products, packaging and delivery are all eco-friendly. Order yourself a bottle... or three. @sourgrapesltd

big guys thicc sauce

uramaki

Over twenty-or-so years I’ve subjected my alimentary canal to the full scale of chilli heat levels: from the warm throb of Tabasco all the way up to the World’s Hottest Curry, listed as such by the Guinness Book of Records, which nearly ended in a hospital visit and actually made me cry grownman tears in the morning as I clenched an ice-cube between my cheeks. Back then, naff labels often featured crude cartoons of characters suffering unfortunate incidents, relating to sauce names like ‘Ass-plosion’ and ‘Pan-galactic supersonic colon blaster’ (only one of those is made up), and their contents were usually a luminous orange blend of ambiguous chillies, with flavour sold down the river in pursuit of pure OTT-chilli heat.

Sushi is one of those foods I’ve always wanted to try, but I’ve never been able to enjoy it properly as the veggie options are usually miserable. Soggy cucumber in rice? No thanks. So when I was offered the chance to try Uramaki’s plant-based sushi box, I was mega keen. They’re a newlyformed Nottingham company specialising in luxury sushi who do both meat and veggie options and deliver all around the local area on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Fortunately, hot sauce and its side-kick BBQ has grown up. A growing category of seriously-good sauce, made by people balancing complex and unusual ingredients with nuclear-spice has taken off. Big Guys Thicc Sauce is the product of OG Nottingham resident, Luca Rollini, who used time under furlough to grow his product from an initial batch of sauce knocked up in his mum’s kitchen and sold via Instagram comments, to an established brand with its own kitchen that enjoys collaborations with some of the most exciting brands in the UK street food scene.

6 of the best romantic takeaways in notts words: Eve Smallman illustration: Natalie Owen

Straightaway I was impressed with the gorgeous, eco-friendly box my sushi arrived in. No crinkly brown bags of shame here. When opening the lid, it felt like unwrapping a present – and a beautifully presented treat it was. Rows of uniform sushi pieces lined the inside and were so well put together that I was reluctant to ruin it. But my eagerness and stomach prevailed, and I delved in.

They say the way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach – and what better way to win someone over than with some damn fine takeaways? Schmooze your sexy other half with these tasty treats...

His core range features a delicious Maple BBQ Sauce, made dark and sticky with molasses, bourbon, honey and maple syrup. The hot sauce we tried was the LA-inspired Black Truffle Hot Sauce, laced with fresh truffles, truffle dust and onions caramelised in truffle vinegar.

The balance in this sauce was an achievement – fruity, super-hot, garlicky and plenty t ruffle-some.

Big Guys knock out batches of sauce on a weekly basis. Look out for collabs and world-flavour variations of their wax-dipped hand-grenade bottles. Follow them on Instagram to keep your lips burning… Alex Traska big-guys-thiccc-sauce.myshopify.com @thicccsauce

I first tucked into the chargrilled zucchini nigiri, which was sweet and tangy, with a deliciously subtle bite from the grilling.

Next, the spiced kimchi uramaki with avocado, yuzu and jalapeno. The earthy, soft creaminess of the avocado cut through the aromatic and crunchy kimchi, making for a brilliant balance. My favourite one of the bunch – which was a really tough call – was the sweet bell pepper temari with black olive tapenade. I didn’t know peppers could come so alive, but these were sweet and full-bodied, and paired with the sharp and rich tapenade was outstanding.

They’ve recently launched a 38-piece Black Box full of indulgent treats (think caviar, lobster and sashimi), so if you’re looking to delight a lover on or after Valentine’s Day, get on that. If you decide to give them a go, you’re sure to be impressed. Uramaki truly is a wonderful, decadent food delivery experience that takes you on a journey in both style and flavour. Eve Smallman uramaki.co.uk @uramakisushinotts

To Follow – Candice’s Cakes Stuffed cookies. Gooey brownies.

Treat-loaded cakes. The stuff of beauty, basically. For a sweet pick-me-up, order her Brownie Lovers Box for a friend or loved one. @candicescakess

Want your Nottingham foodie business featured in the mag?

Fancy writing for us?

Email our Food Editor at eve.smallman@leftlion.co.uk

Happy Dough Lucky The owners of this joint travelled all around Italy to perfect their dough, sauce, and flavours, and it sure shows with every mouthful. Fresh and delicious, with unique, rich, and exciting flavour combos, this is the pizza you order when you want to impress. @happydoughluckyuk French Living When you can’t travel to Paris, bring Paris to your door instead. There is a range of dishes prepared with French flair such as filet de bar hollandaise and noix d'entrecôte, and you could order charcuterie and tartelette pomme rhubarbe as well for a full threecourse feast. @frenchlivinguk Calcutta Club This Indian powerhouse knows exactly how to make a memorable, gorgeous curry. Order nibbly bits such as tandoori mango prawns and chana puri, or beautiful dishes such as punjabi karahi and tandoori paneer shashlik. Or order everything.

We won’t judge. @calcuttaclub Nugs and Kisses Is your idea of romance chicken nuggets? Sames.

These bad boys do buffalo nugs, extra hot nugs, vegan nugs as well as loaded fries and shakes. Bag their romantic candles and nugs for two combo, or even get the solo nugs life combo if you’re living your best single life. @nugskisses No. Twelve These guys do vegan dining at its very finest. Enjoy one of their small plates or tasting menus for an intrinsic meal like no other. If you want to cook yourself, order one of their produce boxes, which come with fresh local goods and a recipe card from one of their chefs. @no12nottingham Egg Free Cakebox Want to pull out all the last-minute stops? Nab yourself a whole indulgent, deliciously fresh cake, that you can personalise with a special message.

Choose from victoria sponge, chocolate deluxe, or even naked berry if you want to put a more subtle message across. @eggfreecake leftlion.co.uk/issue133 33

MUSIC

words: Eileen Pegg photos: Charlotte Jopling

Creative Incubators: Notts’ Music Studios Are Thriving at Just The Right Time A rite of passage for musicians with a hunger to progress their ideas. A collaborative creative melting pot. A place to make memories with your mates and, for some, a lifeline. From Rockfield to the Brownswood Basement and the recent rise of Digital Holdings, the UK hosts a number of iconic music studios that have moved on from simply being a place to lay down some tracks. Adding to this is a steadily growing number of studios in Nottingham. Eileen Pegg takes a look at the role these spaces play for the creative community, speaking with established hubs in the city and those launched over the past ten turbulent months...

“I feel there are three or four major cities for music and art in the UK and while Notts probably isn’t one of them at the moment, with a bit of help and a push from the right people we could definitely be up there.” Lukas Cole runs club night and festival Wigflex, and is arguably one of those ‘right people’. Other names might be Wigflex codirector and FlyGirl founder, Avarni Bilan; club operator Ian Gardiner; community project producer Tricia Gardiner and I’m Not From London label head, Will Robinson. Last November they joined forces to launch the three-storey, 7,000 square foot arts space, Fisher Gate Point.

This move adds to the growing number of studios in Nottingham. After speaking with five of them – Community Recording Studios (CRS), Fisher Gate Point (FGP - home to Wigflex and Circle of Light Studios), Mount Street Studios, Summerhouse Recording Studios and XVX Studios, each identifies with its own unique story, sound and mission, doggedly believing in the benefits of creative practice going way beyond surface value.

Getting the green light Max Loelz is a rising rapper and producer, also running label and event series, XVX. In October 2020 his longterm dreams were put into action and XVX Studios was opened. Getting the green light from the Government for recording studios to stay open for professional use in November 2020 was a sign to Max that he’d made the right move. “This to me was a confirmation that someone, somewhere was beginning to see the effects of people not being able to access some of the creative spaces in their local vicinity.”

Most conversations echoed Max’s sentiment that “people in power need to understand the fundamental connections between the creative industry and what it is to this country.” Lukas also noted creative spaces are “vital for people to be able to express themselves and claw back any last bit of sanity this past year has sucked out of them,” adding: “As a sector we’ve been pretty much left out to dry.”

Naming The Musicians Union and UK Music Producers Guild specifically, Charlie Kirby, founder at Mount Street Studios said, “It was very reassuring to know that people in higher places genuinely fought extremely hard for recording studios to remain open [in November].”

Launched in 2018, Mount Street was already established in the city, but during 2020 they had “surprisingly, an incredible year.”

Core community St Ann’s-based Community Recording Studios (CRS) was founded in 1991 by Trevor Rose as a place to “help young people develop their skills and get into work.” Supported by funding from institutions including Royal Foundation,

their alumni includes Young T & Bugsey. I speak with singer/songwriter and tutor Ajay Henry, whose role has grown to include project manager, helping the studios to navigate through the pandemic. “[Back in March] we just had to close. Everything we do is in the community, we’re very face to face so it was a massive change,” he tells me. “We want people to come through us to connect.”

Offering an intrinsic supportive network alongside encouraging creative practice, it was imperative that an alternative solution was found. Its virtual schedule now includes Zoom hip-hop classes with local rapper Jah Digga, offering rap workshops as well as mixing and production sessions.

Social media has been big for the group. After running-up in an Instagram challenge, student Crossy now receives national radio airplay. Feed posts give an insight into CRS’ deeper community ties, advertising mentoring and support sessions. “It’s been very important to keep going,” he continues, “we have lots of people reaching out.” Growth is due to launch in February 2021, now online, helping those aged sixteen to thirty get into work and build confidence. “We have SO many projects,” Ajay says, his enthusiasm glowing.

Future plans Overall at FGP, this ethos is echoed. When not filming Bru-C music videos or making music in the Wigflex “synth den” with Tom Son Of Phillip, in summer the Circle of Light studios was a hub for 18-25 year olds. This February, co-founder Will Robinson of I’m Not From London will complete his project for young, deaf adults: Be Scene and Heard. Separately, Max notes that XVX has been able to take on interns looking to sharpen their production and mastering skills.

An expansion project for CRS is planned for 2021, with FGP also undertaking a series of renovations. For some, however, planning for the future is more challenging.

Nestled between FGP and CRS is SOAN (Stuck On A Name), renowned in the world of DIY bands. In October a fundraiser was launched to help ensure “there is a studio for your band to come back to once the restrictions have been lifted,” calling it “a place to practice, record and play. A place to rage at mind blowing gigs, party or just feel that sense of community, of belonging.”

Undoubtedly, many musicians will have been left with no choice but to record from home this year. Bridging that gap is Summerhouse Recording Studios: a purposedesigned space in Cameron Worne’s Bakersfield home, which opened to the public last May. Cameron’s experience in recording grew following demand from musician mates who didn’t have the budget for a commercial space.

“I think studios will always play a role in getting professional quality recordings out to the masses, though a lot of people have recently been getting into recording themselves from home as it's the only viable option for some,” he explains.

Keeping the door open Though these studios have been open, none are operating at normal levels. Charlie and Cameron tell me about their remote mixing and mastering services.

Numbers are limited and monitored at in-studio sessions, with risk assessments and cleaning procedures as standard. Even with these limitations, the pay off is large.

Back in September, Wigflex and Multimodal teamed up to give us Fleximodal, a club-alternative streaming platform, with an exhibition-based iteration planned for this year. Lukas is pleased to have completed an album close to his heart, picking up where was left off after tunes were stolen previously. Mount Street produced a steady stream of audiobooks, adverts, podcasts and live sessions, while XVX has been recording with artists including Mads, Mannimon, Lemzly Dale and Riddla, with commercial projects for large clothing and car brands due soon. Summerhouse worked on local band Soft Girls & Boys Club’s debut album, as well as Alice Robbins’ new single, while CRS students continue to turn industry heads.

“I am glad we can keep the ball rolling on this city's breakthrough year,” Max says, mentioning the ‘We Are Nottingham’ Spotify playlist created last spring. “We just need to stay positive and stay consistent as the ball is our court.”

The feeling that Nottingham has much more to offer was overwhelming, with each studio playing their part in nurturing the seedlings of talent that are ready to bloom.

Lukas told us, “The city has been growing quietly but confidently over the past few years. There's loads of cool stuff brewing that’s going to explode when all this passes over and it's really exciting to be a part of it all.” Charlie adds, “Everyone here is so talented, and it's down to their sheer determination and drive. If we can help contribute to that, whether it be helping the artists with their sound, or introducing them to someone we may know; we are just doing our little bit for this fantastic scene.”

Connect with these studios online at: crsstudionotts.co.uk | @crsstudionotts fishergatepointstudios.co.uk | @fishergatepoint mountstreetstudios.co.uk | @mountstreetstudios summerhouserecordingstudios.co.uk | @summerhouserecordingstudios @xvx.studios saveoursoan.bandcamp.com | @saveoursoan

Reviews Sleaford Mods Spare Ribs Rough Trade Records Impassioned front-man Jason Williamson soaked up the discontent of a nation floundering in furlough schemes, smothering it with his own abhorrence for critics, industry rivals and buffoonery of the Government. This is possibly his best work to date, neatly packaging it up only to then unapologetically gob it in your face with his vitriolic, signature style. Silent partner and beat boffin Andrew Fearn shows no inclination of getting stuck in a creative rut. Here he unleashes a barrage of stylistically diverse, filthy, smacking drums and huge, bass throbbing beats that shows a natural progression and evolution of their unmistakable, signature sound. It's time the band were given their due credit as undoubtedly one of the most important bands to come out of the UK in over a generation. One9Ate7

Yazmin Lacey & Congi Two Takes

F Boogie Rainbows in the Rubble

Two of Notts’ finest and most beloved musical talents joined forces last December, emerging from the studio victorious with a record that should seriously not be overlooked. To hear Yazmin’s radiant yet pitiful vocals and profoundly introspective lyrics over Congi’s expertly crafted spatially sparse soundscapes is a treat that we should all indulge in. Closing track Dust is an absolutely stunning, tantalizing late contender for my 2020 Track of the Year. Incredible.

Liam MacGregor-Hastie

This February, the Notts veteran emcee returns.

Lyrical skill and captivating storytelling ability is showcased while experimenting with different flow patterns and pacing over his lavishly selfproduced beats. Packed full of optimism and hope for the future, it feels like a new day is breaking and the weight has been lifted. After the year we've just endured, this is exactly what we’re in need of as we all search for our Rainbows in the Rubble. One9Ate7

Guohan Lost Sound Book Running Circle

Peaceful Ones 7000 Possibilities of Existence

Sixteen short tracks showcase a timeline of influences for Guohan, whose life has taken him from Ningbo to Notts via Shanghai. Circle bursts the LP open with bright eastern strings coupled with acid licks. The rest is hard to define – sometimes it’s hip-hop, using vocal samples and horns replaced by ancient instruments, sometimes it’s funk with flex-a-tone wobbles.

Walking down Alfreton Road and Lees Hill Hideaway round off a stunning fusion of contemporary and traditional music. Eileen Pegg

In his final project, Pete Woosh dedicates regular studio sessions to translating his neverending and thought-provoking ideas into music.

The result is uplifting, spiritual, danceable and ethereal; traversing beyond the foundations of the DiY sound. Following his path without assumption or genre, to the simplicity of the natural world in all its beauty, we are reminded to celebrate Pete’s spirit and eternal influence.

This is our soundtrack. Rest easy, Peaceful One. Nick Strang

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

NUSIC BOX

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

Sadé Eboné Sadé’s bio says she likes to write about the human experience. After listening to her debut single, I think it’s a very apt description. Heading is uplifting, resonant, and the positivity pill that we all need right now. A soaring gang vocal helps power the big boy chorus and, to add a droplet of wholesomeness, features her sister and father on the harmonies. As a debut single, it’s an incredibly exciting start. instagram.com/sadeebone

Zoutr Real-name Andy has been part of The Elementz – the legendary NG producers, and now under the alias Zoutr, he’s taken all those years of learning and hustling, and put it into one beast of an album. DXST is half rap record, half beat tape, and features everyone from Snowy to Gallery 47. Neighbour complaint-inducing bass. Sample mastery. And overall, 26 minutes of “pls Zoutr, teach me how to make a record this good”. instagram.com/andyzoutr leftlion.co.uk/issue133 35

Art

words: Laura-Jade Vaughan photos: Richard Chung

UNDER COVER ARTIST

a catalyst for change In response to their Black Lives Matter commitments, City Arts present CATALYST – a programme exhibiting and supporting black artists and artists of colour, designed by curator in residence, Saziso Phiri.

You might know Nottingham-based curator, Saziso, through The Anti Gallery (TAG) – a pop-up gallery inspired by alternative art and urban culture. By exhibiting art outside of the white cube, Saziso is interested in curating new and unexpected viewing experiences, exploring how art in informal and unconventional settings resonate with wider audiences. Often working with new and emerging artists, she is passionate about presenting artists whose work might sit outside of contemporary art institutions, be that street artists, or artists without the typical art school education.

The CATALYST programme was born from a series of discussions with a steering group of black creatives and people of colour, exploring their experiences of working in the arts in Nottingham – both opportunities, but also barriers – and the role City Arts could play in this conversation.

“I treat this programme as a kind of catalyst for change,” Saziso explains. “At the beginning I was anxious to get as much done as we can get – to get City Arts’ name out there and engage with all these communities. It was hard to realise that real change, and long-lasting change, doesn't just happen overnight. There's a lot of work that needs to be done, a lot of learning and unlearning.”

The programme includes two artist residencies specifically addressing anti-black racism: Honey Williams, a JamaicanBritish singer-songwriter, visual artist and designer; and Richard Chung, a film photographer who has recently been documenting anti-black racism protests. Curated with the pandemic in mind, the artists will be exhibiting in the large street-facing window of City Arts, and the exhibition series will be available online. The accompanying events programme includes artist talks, creative workshops, open studios and a six-part podcast series: Community Conversations.*

*Some of the activities are postponed due to lockdown, so be sure to check out City Arts website for more information.

Tune into City Arts Podcast: Community Conversations Hosted by LeftLion’s own art co-editor, Rachel Willcocks, with weekly guests, Community Conversations looks at the lives of black and mixed-race black members of Nottingham’s creative community. Through a truly diverse constellation of creative people – musicians, poets, historians, fashion designers, models – each guest tells stories about community in different ways.

Michaela Spencer Michaela ‘The Plentiful Poet’ Spencer, is a poet, spoken word artist and founder of peer support organisation, Truth Mental Health. She speaks about her journey as an artist and how art can be used as a tool for healing, as well as the impact of George Floyd’s murder on the black community from a mental health perspective.

Ramario Chevoy Model, stylist, choreographer and creative director, Ramario Chevoy discusses his influences and inspirations, and how issues like toxic masculinity and Windrush feature within his work.

Norma Gregory Norma Gregory is a historian, broadcaster, heritage consultant and art curator. Her work addresses historical misrepresentations, and rewrites a more diverse history that makes sense for everyone.

Nathaniel Wilson For the past decade, Mimm has combined the worlds of fashion, music and art. Nathaniel Wilson, founder of Mimm and Nottingham Street Food Club, talks about championing Black

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I’m a 42-year-old artist based in Liverpool where I live with my wife Hayley and our two kids. I became serious about my artwork in the mid-nineties when I began making fanzines of my drawings and also started painting graffiti. I’ve now been working as a professional artist/designer for over two decades.

What was the inspiration behind the cover?

When I was asked to design the cover for the ‘Love’ issue I instantly had the idea to base the design on traditional tattoo flash imagery of a swallow and love heart. I have always loved the simplicity and boldness of a good piece of tattoo flash.

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

There were no major challenges, I just enjoyed the process of starting with my initial rough concept and then seeing the artwork come to life as I completed the final design. The biggest reward to me is when I see my work out in the world whether it’s on a magazine cover, beer can, or whatever else I have been working on.

Find out more about the guests...

Jeremy Prince DJ, music enthusiast, and one of the main organisers for Nottingham Caribbean Carnival, Jeremy Prince speaks about his influences and inspirations. He also discusses making 2020 Nottingham Caribbean Carnival digital in response to the pandemic, and the coming together of the Caribbean community in times of adversity.

You might recognise his style if you’ve picked up a can from Notts brewery Black Iris, and now Kev Grey has turned his talented hands to create our cover art...

British culture, the importance of building each other up and working collaboratively, plus the challenges of being mixed-race.

MELONYX The Nottingham-based soul sisters, Georgia Copeland and Nadia Latoya Higgins, of MELONYX describe themselves as a harmonic force, embodying contrast and complement, ebb and flow and balance. They reflect on a turbulent 2020, and talk about neo-soul, shadeism in the music industry, the pressure to create vs the power of rest and yoga. city-arts.org.uk/get-involved/ community-conversations

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

Some of the more notable projects I’ve been involved with include designing the signature Schecter Guitar for Porl Thompson of The Cure. I also spent a few years travelling around Europe and going to Hong Kong with the shoe brand Vans to hand-paint shoes with custom artwork at their in-store events and music festivals. Since 2008 I have also run my own publishing company, Gamblers Grin, through which I regularly release books and fanzines of my work.

What have you got planned for the future?

I honestly feel more focused and motivated now when it comes to creating artwork than I ever have, so when it comes to my work I just plan to continue working hard and enjoy what I do. kevgrey.com @kev_grey

Film

interview: Roshan Chandy photo: Mathias Goldstein

an englishman in new york We talk to Nottingham-born, New York-based actor Tom Blyth about his journey from the TV Workshop to The Juilliard School, working with Terence Davies on Benediction, and his upcoming HBO series The Gilded Age...

Can you tell us a bit about your new film, Benediction, and the role you play in it?

It’s written and directed by Terence Davies. Set in the jazz era of England in the twenties and thirties, it represents a very ‘classic’ lens of Britain, but from a perspective we’ve not seen before. I play a character called Glen Byam Shaw who is credited for forming what we now know as the RSC Theatre and was known as one of the fathers of British theatre.

He is believed to be a lover of Siegfried Sassoon – both men were presented publicly as straight, but definitely had male lovers and were probably in a relationship. So the film is really about Siegfried Sassoon, who is played by Jack Lowden, and later by Peter Capaldi as the older Siegfried. I’m essentially Siegfried’s confidant and lover – it’s never been completely proven that they were romantically linked, but their personal letters suggest otherwise.

They had this really beautiful relationship that was very much based on mutual support and respect for each other’s art and craft.

How much research did you do for the role?

I reached out to this graduate student, Julian from the University of Warwick, who was incredibly helpful.

He’s written a thesis paper on Sassoon, and he pointed me in the direction of some incredible source material including the letters between him and Byam Shaw. But mainly, to be honest, Terence’s script was the most fuelling for me. He writes beautiful, poetic prose – his dialogue, while naturalistic, is slightly heightened, but his direction requires a lot of grit and truth. There’s a love triangle between Glen, Siegfried and Ivor Novello (played by Jeremy Irvine) and I came to my research for the part from that point – looking at the human relationship between the three of them, the envy and also the joy that fuelled them.

This is my first time playing a real person which is definitely a different kind of beast because you can easily get in your head and feel like you’ve got to do an impersonation of someone. But I think the beautiful thing about this is that there actually isn’t that much about Glen out in the world – there aren’t interviews out there with him. There’s one tape on YouTube of him delivering a speech to the theatre he was running and you can hear his voice – it’s a tape recording that has been uploaded on YouTube. I listened to that over and over again to try and infuse myself with his cadence and rhythm. I think you find out a lot about someone from how they speak.

What was it like working with one of Britain’s greatest ever filmmakers in Terence Davies?

Terence is lovely. He’s a typical artist in that you can

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see his cogs working all the time. He’s very much in his world of creation when he’s directing. I found him to be really sensitive – if there’s anything you want to be on a film set, it’s sensitive to your environment and your surroundings. He’s a joy to work with and very tuned in to what is happening right in front of us.

Cinema is so immersive and I think, more than ever, we’re craving those tangible, communal, human experiences What was behind the decision to relocate to New York?

Well, everyone calls New York ‘The Nottingham of America’ (I’m kidding!). I actually came here to go to drama school. When I was 21, I decided that I needed to go and do some training – I did a play at the TV Workshop in Nottingham and it was very wordy, very verbose and I felt at the end of this one week run that my voice was short, my energy was low and I thought, if I had to do this professionally for however long if you were doing a West End or Broadway show, I didn’t have the ability to do that. So I looked around, applied to UK schools like RADA and all the usual ones. I got into a couple of those UK schools, but, while I was doing that, I also couldn’t get my mind off Juilliard which is the school I’d read about when I was a kid and I knew that some of my favourite actors like Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver went there.

I was turning 21 and I got a little bit of money for my birthday and I thought ‘you know what? I’m going to put it towards a flight and audition and go and try my luck.’ I went out in September 2016 and have been here since. I graduated from Julliard back in May. There’s no other reason I’d have been in New York if it wasn’t for Julliard, but I’m staying here for now because of ongoing work. But also the culture of the arts is very interesting to me, especially with the way the country has been recently with all the division.

There has been so much injustice and the politics here have been violent and fiery, but, out of that, comes really good art – really meaningful art.

How has COVID affected the filmmaking process?

To credit the producers and the team and the crew, they handled it really well. When you’re acting, you’re not always aware – sometimes you get lost in your subconscious and you’re not always thinking as much about the real world because you’re playing make-

believe – you’re being paid to show up and go into that child-like zone where everything is imaginary.

And that’s where you get the best work, but it’s not always the best place to be in terms of safety and surroundings.

The producers always had masks in place so, the minute we finished a scene, they would come throw a fresh mask on us because obviously you can’t be wearing a mask when you’re filming a scene. Every day we had to fill out a questionnaire with all the usual questions like “have you come into contact with people?”, “have you suffered any symptoms?”. We were lucky that no one got sick while shooting and there was a checkpoint at the set before you entered where there was a paramedic who would check your temperature with one of those foreboding, scary gun things.

How do you think cinema will survive in the age of streaming and downloads?

One of the reasons I became an actor is because I love going to the cinema. I think the experience of going to the cinema is always going to be a thing we want to do. Some cinemas are probably going to go under and there will probably be less of them which will be very sad. However, people have been saying theatre is going to die for years and that it’s a redundant art form and it hasn’t. It’s not gone anywhere. If anything, it just makes people double down and work really hard to make it relevant. For me, what cinemas have to do is to try to become more accessible because, for years, they’ve been getting more and more expensive and people haven’t been able to afford tickets. That’s why more people have been illegally pirating films. But cinema is so immersive and I think, more than ever, we’re craving those tangible, communal, human experiences.

What are your plans post-Benediction and what can we expect to see you in next?

I’m about to start on a HBO show called The Gilded Age which I begin shooting three weeks from now and will be coming out maybe the end of this year or next year. It’s a look at turn of the 19th century New York.

It’s another period piece – an examination of the rise of capitalism in America. I would also really love to do more independent films in the US and really want to do some theatre as I was due to do some this year, but that was put on hold. I would love to get back on a stage and do some live performances.

Benediction is scheduled for release later this year

@tomblyth

Dead Quiet

interview: Jamie Morris

Screen section co-editor Jamie Morris talks to filmmaker Alex Withers about how the pandemic has changed the way people will experience Dead Quiet, his new short film...

An unpredictable, microscopic threat is lurking our streets, and national lockdowns are now a regular occurrence. Life truly has become stranger than fiction. Our uncanny new reality becomes that much more unbelievable when you look at the almost prophetic pieces of popular culture that preceded the pandemic, such as 1995’s Outbreak and 2011’s Contagion.

Nottingham-based filmmaker Alex Withers is among the latest to contribute to the canon of unintentional Covid parallels, with a brand new short film that explores the consequences of a world where interpersonal communication has been taken away.

Alex Withers’ work on Dead Quiet dates back to 2015, when screenwriter Dan McGrath shared with the director a script about a world where even the slightest noise attracts an unseen predator that’s constantly listening out for new prey.

“Obviously, we could never have anticipated that something like this would ever be happening,” Alex says. “But now that we’re living under COVID-19 lockdowns, it’s interesting to see the film in a new light. It brings it a little bit closer to home, in a way.”

Dead Quiet’s story unfolds close to home in a literal sense, too.

Each scene in the film was shot in and around Nottingham, with familiar sights including Coco Tang, Radford’s Studio Factory and the disused Bennerley Viaduct, where the protagonist’s caravan is pitched. “Our location manager Dan Hodgett is another Nottingham guy and it’s really close to where he grew up,” Alex explains. "Originally, we were going to put the caravan on a bit of disused land in the city, but the viaduct was really cool and we had to go with it when we saw it.”

Dead Quiet is already a success, having been screened at both Nottingham’s own Mayhem Film Festival in 2019, and later the online edition of the Sacramento Horror Film Festival in 2020. “We actually noticed a few of the same films that were at Mayhem screened alongside us at Sacramento as well,” Alex recalls. “It’s obviously different not having the audience reaction right in front of you, but it was really nice to have another opportunity to get it seen elsewhere.”

“There’s positives and negatives to the ways things are at the moment, in terms of there being a lot more of an online presence for films,” he continues. With sound being the crux of the film’s storytelling, the crew had their concerns about whether audiences watching at home would get the full experience, and Alex urges viewers to turn their volume up before watching. “Dead Quiet was certainly designed primarily for the cinema. Its sound design is created to be loud and to surround the audience to pull you into the world.”

Over lockdown, Alex has been looking towards the future and dedicating his time to developing ideas for a number of different upcoming short films: “There’s some that I’m writing myself and some that I’ve got an outline to work with other writers to develop, but just in general I’m trying to use the time that we’ve got at the moment to balance a bunch of projects that’ll be ready to go as soon as it’s possible.”

Dead Quiet is available to watch now on Vimeo vimeo.com/alexwdirector facebook.com/DeadQuietFilm

Short Reels

The film’s cast and crew are also mostly from the local area.

“A lot of us have worked together before,” said the director.

“It was a really great experience working with the local talent and I think it shows you can make good work without having to

leave the Midlands.” These local connections are important to Alex, who says that finding like-minded collaborators is the key to developing your own embryonic ideas into something more fully-formed.

To Watch Streaming at Broadway We’re all missing the excitement of dipping lights, the flicker of the projector and the sweet, sweet smell of popcorn, but Broadway Cinema has been keeping you cinephiles entertained while their doors have been closed for lockdown. The cinema hub’s specially curated selection of films to stream from the comfort of your own home have produced some crackers, including Maya Newell’s In My Blood it Runs and Rene van Pennevis’ Looted. The prices are reasonable, and you can feel content in knowing that a portion of the money goes directly to Broadway. broadway.org.uk

To Remember Goal! III Well, this is probably more one to forget. The final film in the Goal! trilogy, which follows fictional footballer Santiago Munez as he rises through the ranks to play at the World Cup, was released on video twelve years ago this month – and was battered by critics and film fans alike.

It received a shocking 18% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with one particularly damning review saying, “This movie is shieet.” Several scenes were shot in the Market Square and Derby Road, though, so at least it had that going for it.

To Follow Will J Carman Cinematographer, camera operator, editor, colourist – there isn’t much Will J Carman can’t do.

And that applies to social media, too. Featuring a steady stream of stunning shots, Will’s Instagram page is a must-follow for fans of the filmmaking process. @willjcarman

Want your film featured in LeftLion?

Email our Screen Editors at screen@leftlion.co.uk

Reel Love I’ve always loved romantic movies. Whether it’s the upbeat playfulness of an absolute classic like When Harry Met Sally or the passionate artistry of the more recent Portrait of a Lady On Fire, these films just have a unique way of giving me the feels.

Yet since the planet descended into chaos a year ago, romantic films have become an even more important form of relief than ever.

Where once they were perfect for escaping into a whole new story, now they provide a portal into a whole new world – one that feels almost dreamlike, its memory so distant it hardly feels real.

It might feel a lifetime ago, and a whole other universe away, but the settings of these romantic films will return I discovered Richard Linklater’s delightfully charming Before Sunrise during the first lockdown, and as much as I was engrossed in the charming chemistry of the film’s delectable leading duo, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, I also found myself becoming emotional at the mere setting and context of their adventure.

Seeing this young couple, swept up in a tidal wave of desire, walking through a packed Vienna devoid of face masks and social distancing, was almost romantic in itself. It was a reminder of just how joyous it was to be out in the world, trying new things and connecting with new people. To take a spontaneous trip to a cafe and order a pastry and a hot drink without worrying about people being sat a few feet away or whether the mugs or plates had been pressure-washed clean.

It might feel a lifetime ago, and a whole other universe away, but the settings of these romantic films will return. It will once again be possible to wander around without a care in the world, focusing on nothing but the person or people next to you, with you. But until then, let’s do our bit. Keep keeping your distance.

Keep washing your hands. Keep wearing masks. Only then can these dreamlike-movies feel somewhat real again.

words: George White leftlion.co.uk/issue133 39

Literature last night: an extract words: Mhairi McFarlane

International best-selling author of You Had Me At Hello and Here’s Looking At You (and, more importantly, former LeftLion contributor) Mhairi McFarlane gives us a sneak peak at her latest book, Last Night, ahead of its release in April...

I’m that level of boozed where I’m hovering slightly outside myself, listening to the sound of my feet stamping heavily on the ice-sparkled concrete as if they’re someone else’s.

La la la, lah la la lah

The road’s asphalt looks so magical when it’s white-speckled and has that translucent sheen, like a mirror ball, or mother of pearl. And yet it’s so treacherous. Is the pavement a metaphor for marrying Hester? Or am I just drunk?

I pull my phone out and scroll to WhatsApp, until I find his name, Zack. Susie calls him Baby Yoda. (‘He should be with his people, his own kind!’ she hisses after he and I chat, and I shush her).

Everyone in the group is taxi-ing distance from The Gladstone, Susie in one suburb, Ed and Hester in another, Justin in town. I live in the same postcode as the pub, Carrington, a tiny suburb with winding streets, and red-brick, quirky Victorian houses, some with turrets that look like Correctional Institutions for Wayward Boys, or as if they’re made from gingerbread by fairytale witches. Suitably, Fairytale Witch is my look. There are lots of overhanging, mature trees that scatter blossom like confetti once a year.

Zack works in a neighbourhood bar nearby, the kind of place no bigger than a galley kitchen, festooned with fairy lights and ironic art.

Pretend Warhols of Ena Sharples in her hairnet, surrounded by illuminated plastic chilli peppers, that kind of thing. Flamingo umbrella-holder stands. The place that you always end up in for the very ill-advised fifth and sixth drinks on an unplanned session.

And cats. It’s lousy with cats. Roger is engaged in a bitter ongoing territory battle with the local feral unneutered tom, Dirk. (No, I don’t know how a stray has a name either – notoriety on the local community message boards, I assume.

Dirk is a rugged individualist, a white-whiskered super villain, and no one’s going to take his liberty, or his bollocks.)

My phone pings with a text message from Susie.

It’s not been sent to myself and Justin, only to me, which is intriguing. This suggests deepdive Girl Talk, and there’s very little Girl Talk between us that Justin isn’t privy to. He asked Susie to copy him out of her graphic account of her Mirena coil removal, but that’s about it.

MAN DOWN. I have opinions on tonight’s atrocity, much to discuss. Speak soon. Xx

God almighty, Eve, you’re swimming in drink already and it’s midnight.

Go home and have a strong coffee and two paracetamol and realise you’re an idiot Zack’s got a man bun, a taut stomach, and the level of circulation where he’s in a t-shirt with rolled-up sleeves, year round. Whenever we are in, he’s always pulling up a chair, twirling it back to front, and ‘explaining’ our cocktails to us. Insisting I sip a bit while he talks me through the vital acidic effect of the lemon zest on my olfactory experience. I never have the heart to say, Zack, I’ve had a litre of cheap gin already, it could be wheel cleaner to be honest.

Maybe it’s because we’re the cursed bridesmaids. I am not looking forward to remembering that dismaying fact when I wake up with a shitty head. Is it possible to decline being a bridesmaid to one of your best friend’s brides, without mortally offending them? Could I fake an injury? There’s no way Hester would let someone with an orthopaedic support boot hop down the aisle, spoiling the vision. Even as I think it, I remember that I’d have been to the fittings by then and be wasting their money. Sigh.

After he finally left us to drink them last time, Susie whispered: ‘Please have sex with him before I have to get another Ted Talk on the invention of the Tom Collins, I can’t fucking take it.’

As Justin says, a conscience weighs too much.

I’m not a hook-ups person, usually. Well, ever, apart from a Canadian guy who looked like a Mountie who I met on a training weekend when I was twenty-three. Straight after-wards he made a joke about zipping me into a North Face holdall on his floor, which I started to realise wasn’t a joke, and left. It was as if God knew I was acting out of character and decided to prank me.

I’d reply to Susie, but her message sounds very much like she’s about to go to sleep, so I’ll leave it for when we’re nursing our sore heads tomorrow.

Even though I know this isn’t observing safety protocols when female and out late inebriated, in the dark, I turn my music on to the last thing I played. Kylie’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ pounds in my ears, which feels like Kylie knows what’s what.

La la la, lah la la lah It interacts with the alcohol in my bloodstream and makes me feel defiant, and I have an idea.

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A probably really bad, and yet suddenly irresistible, idea.

leftlion.co.uk/issue133

I laughed this off – me? Him? – but as we left last time, Zack said, with the insouciance of being male and twenty-four and having a taut stomach: ‘Hey, Eva. Give me your number and I’ll let you know when we have that hazelnut liqueur in I was telling you about.’

I know this is weak, but, I’m thirty-four, and on the horizon I can see ‘not being blatantly hit on by twenty-something barmen any more’. Like the Next sale on Boxing Day, I am suddenly interested in grabbing something that doesn’t suit me and I will soon regret, just because I can.

I need validation tonight. I want to do something that says I’m still desirable.

That I’m out here on the cool-single-withoptions frontier, getting up to spontaneous things. Not still hoping.

A voice says: you are doing this to tell Ed, to make him jealous. You are doing something just so you can tell him about it and make him feel something back, and I silence the voice. I don’t want to be that person and it can’t be allowed to be true, and if I don’t think it, it isn’t true.

Hi! I don’t know if you’re working tonight but wondered if you fancied a drink after your shift finishes? E x God almighty, Eve, you’re swimming in drink already and it’s midnight. Go home and have a strong coffee and two paracetamol and realise you’re an idiot.

The reply is near immediate, so my fate is written.

Yeah! I am just finishing up actually. Want to hang here? Master mixologist at your service I’m right outside my house and it’d be a lot easier to hang here, but cynically, I’d quite like this to take place off premises, so I don’t have to wake up with Zack and kick him out tomorrow.

Not a one-night stand, a half-night stand. Eesh.

The feminist in me always reacts badly to my mum saying: ‘Honestly, women are the new men!’ but I’m slightly ashamed of my brute calculations.

Zack is impressed by himself, and I’m going to pretend to be impressed by him too for as long as I need to get what I want from the deal. Then we’ll be done. That’s manipulation, surely. The fact I know he’s not remotely interesting to me for anything more is exactly why he’s so right for this. I mean, maybe he feels exactly the same way. But it’s not like I’m going to check.

I hear Susie in my head: Eve, offering a man a no-strings hook-up is not exploiting him, fucks sake. This is your whole problem, imagining you’re emotionally responsible for some random dude who’s into bouldering and brewing his own kombucha and posts stuff on Facebook like ‘The new Tame Impala is a vibe.’

I can imagine replying: ‘It’s ambitious to call that my whole problem,’ and Susie snorting: ‘Yes, true.’

On my way!

Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane is released in April 2021 mhairimcfarlane.com

St Ann’s: Fifty Years After The Demolition

photos: Peter Richardson

In the late 1960s and early 1970s much of St Ann’s was demolished. Most of the buildings had originally been built in the mid-1800s and were of very poor quality, with no internal toilets or bathrooms. It was easier to knock them all down and rebuild them than to keep up repairs. There was a wholesale clearance of houses, shops, pubs, churches and businesses and upwards of 30,000 people were re-housed in other parts of the city.

During this time Peter Richardson was studying photojournalism at Derby College of Art and decided to try and capture the demise of this community and the end of a way of life that was about to disappear forever. Fifty years later his photos have resurfaced in a new book from Five Leaves Publications.

St Ann’s, The End of an Era is available to buy for £20 (paperback) and £30 (hardback) from

fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk leftlion.co.uk/issue133 41

Back in the Day

We delve through the archives of LeftLion to let you know what was happening in Nottingham on this month many years ago…

Sixteen years ago...

words: Jared Wilson

From the pages of LeftLion #3 Scorzayzee In the days when grime was something you’d need Ajax cream to shift, the Daily Telegraph were getting worked up about local rapper Scorzayzee. His Great Britain track took a swipe at every establishment figure it could, including the police, freemasons and the monarchy (“The Queen wears stolen diamonds, Great Britain”). He made national headlines, did an interview with us where he bowed out of music and then became an actor. We’re happy to know you’re still around after all these years, Scorzilla.

Toby Kebbell If you’re not familiar with the name, Google him – and the chances are you’ve seen something this former Television Workshop actor has starred in: RocknRolla, Black Mirror, Planet of the Apes, Fantastic Four, Alexander etc. When we interviewed him he told us about how he got his breakthrough part as Anthony in Shane Meadows’ Dead Mans Shoes a few days before filming began. Oh, and about murdering Val Kilmer… on screen, you understand.

A Drop In The Ocean The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami happened on Boxing Day 2004 and took the lives of a quarter of a million people. Nottingham responded by setting up a music festival: A Drop In The Ocean, and raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity. Acts performing included: Old Basford, The Hellset Orchestra, Rapunzel MAP, Hexadecimal, Cappo (still going!) and Joe Buhdha (also still going!). It set the template for future multi-venue festivals in the city like Dot To Dot, Hockley Hustle and Beat The Streets.

twelve years ago...

From the pages of LeftLion #27 Gunn Crime The early noughties saw Nottingham branded as “Shottingham” by much of the national press, chiefly down to a spate of murders committed by Colin Gunn’s ‘Bestwood Cartel’. We spoke to crime journalist Carl Fellstrom, who’d just released a book about it all, Hoods, after years of trawling through police files and investigating the gang. He talked to us about police corruption, the drug trade and the mysterious figure of ‘The Taxman’.

MistaJam The DJ formerly known as Peter Dalton has recently moved over to the new Capital Dance station after fifteen years of DJing for the Beeb on both Radio1 and 1Xtra. However, when we spoke to him back in 2009, he was reminiscing about working at Capital One (the credit card place), DJing at The Bomb (nightclub), cutting his teeth at the Television Workshop (acting) and those legendary UK Takeover hiphop nights.

Alexei Sayle A central figure in British alternative comedy throughout the eighties and nineties, Alexei Sayle was all over TV as a regular in The Young Ones and with his own shows (Alexei Sayle's Stuff, Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round etc). However, like many comics of his generation, by the time we spoke to him he’d turned his hand to writing and was visiting Broadway Cinema to tour his biog Stalin Ate My Homework.

Paul Kaye Remember actor and comedian Paul Kaye? No, not the bloke who made Phoenix Nights and went on and on about garlic bread. We mean Paul, the bloke who created Dennis Pennis and Mike Strutter – and more recently has starred in Game of Thrones and After Life (the psychiatrist). Anyway, he wrote for LeftLion briefly and in this issue he penned a lovely ode for us about his Sex Pistols idol Sid Vicious on the 35th anniversary of his death.

Ba-ba-barbershop In a world away from the cool of BBoys, punk and the rest of the issue’s contents, I answered a challenge to join Nottingham’s all-male barbershop choir The Major Oak Chorus. I originally agreed to do a short course of singing lessons and write an article about it. But I ended up staying on with them for the best part of a year just because singing in a room with loads of other people was really good fun! I highly recommend it.

seven years ago...

From the pages of LeftLion #57 NG83 Back in 2014 we’d heard rumblings of a forthcoming documentary about Nottingham’s 1980s BBoy breakdancing scene, which centred around Rock City. Then we spoke to Claude Knight, had a proper delve through all his old photos and got very, very excited about it. The film eventually came out a year later and is an absolute smasher! We think you should rent it out now online and then delve through our archives to find this article.

To read these issues and more from our archives visit overallmag.com and leftlion.co.uk/magazine

entries open for young creative awards 2021 Are you a creative aged between 11-24 that lives, works or studies in Notts? You might just be in with a shot of bagging yourself a Young Creative Award...

The awards are the annual celebration of the talented young people living, studying and working in our beautiful city – and they’re back open again for another year. There are an array of categories young creatives can enter themselves into, including Animation & Digital Media, Creative Writing, Dance, Design & Architecture, Fashion & Textiles, Film, Graphic Design, Music, Photography, Theatre and Visual Arts.

There’s no theme – it’s just a great way for young people to show off their talents, develop contacts, and perhaps even to launch their own creative career. They can conjure up something new to submit, or even show off existing work.

Each category is split into three age bands, 11-15, 16-18 and

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19-24, which is then judged by a panel of industry experts.

Previous winners include former LeftLion Editor Bridie Squires, illustrator Kate Sharp and embroiderer Liss Cooke, who after her win went onto help design a dress for Beyoncé.

More previous YCA winners have gone on to creative heights including performing at Glastonbury, having a book published, taking part in international festivals, and even having a top ten record. Winners also get opportunities to take part in exhibitions and showcase events, and to take up work placements and mentoring opportunities with creative businesses in the city.

With cash prizes and a whole load of opportunities up for grabs, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain by entering. Participants have until Wednesday 21 April 2021 to submit their entry, and shortlisted finalists will be announced in early June, with the overall list of winners announced a few weeks later.

For more information, or to submit your entry, visit: youngcreativeawards.org @nottinghamyca

#savetheangel

Due to the COVID 19 Tier 3 restriction, The Angel is facing potential closure, like so many amazing establishments within the hospitality industry, this one is slightly different...

Our GoFundMe campaign is just one way we are working tirelessly to raise essential funds to keep the ship sailing.

Without your support, we could risk the possibility of losing this treasure forever and seeing our hard work disappear to nothing...

- THE ANGEL TEAM

WWW.GOFUNDME.COM/SAVE-THE-ANGEL-MICROBREWERY 7 STONEY STREET, NOTTINGHAM, NG1 1LG WWW.THEANGELMICROBREWERY.COM

BEST OF FEB/MARCH LGBTQIA+ History Month When: Thursday 25 February, 6pm Where: Online (New Art Exchange) How much? Free To celebrate LGBTQIA+ History Month, New Art Exchange is hosting an online panel discussion focussing on creativity and queerness, inviting you to join the discussion with special guest speakers and chaired

by Dr Hannah Robbins, Director of Black Studies at the University of Nottingham. Although this is a free event, you will need to book a ticket in order to receive the link to join the event live via YouTube.

Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity When: Monday 8 – Wednesday 17 February Where: Online (FoSaC) How much? Various After a wildly successful 2020 event, The Festival of Science and Curiosity is back for a week jam-packed with events, talks and activities all aimed at increasing our love and understanding of the world around us. Despite being exclusively online this year, FoSaC hasn’t rested on its laurels and, in a time when science has been in the mainstream more than ever, promises to be an incredible week.

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The History of Computers - The Ada Lovelace Connection When: Tuesday 9 February, 10.30am Where: Online (Inspire Learning) How much? Free Despite being the daughter of one of Britain’s greatest ever writers, Notts’ own Ada Lovelace certainly carved her own place out in the world as a mathematician and writer, as well as one of the first people to recognise that machines had purpose beyond simple calculation. In this free short course from Inspire Learning, you can learn about the inventions, characters and circumstances that led to modern computers, including the enormous contribution made by Lovelace.

Virtual Tour of the Arboretum When: Saturday 13 February, 10.30am Where: Online (Gold Star Guides) How much? £6 If you’re unable to break the lockdown monotony with a trip to one of Notts’ most beautiful green spots in person, this virtual tour might just be the dose of the outdoors you need. Taking you on a thirty-minute stroll through the public park, you can learn more about the lake, bell tower, statues, wildlife and park itself, all without leaving your house. All you’ll need is internet access, a Zoom account and a nice cup of something warm.

Salad Fingers Episodes 1-11 + Q+A with creator David Firth When: Tuesday 23 February, 7pm Where: Online (The Glee Club) How much? £12 (plus £1.80 booking fee) The Glee Club Nottingham and creator David Firth invite you to travel back to the comparatively simple time of 2005, and into the warped world of Salad Fingers for an evening of mind-bending animation. As well as viewing the original eleven episodes of the iconic flash animation web series, which the San Francisco Chronicle named one of the “Top 10 Pop Culture Phenomena”, you’ll also get the opportunity to hit Firth up with any questions you may have. We’ve certainly got a few…

The Art of Oppression: Film Screening and Talk When: Thursday 11 March, 6pm Where: Online (New Art Exchange) How much? Free

The Jerwood Collection: A Curator’s Choice Talk When: Friday 26 March, 12pm Where: Online (The Harley Gallery) How much? Free

Live Streamed Concert Series When: Thursday 28 January, Monday 15 February and Thursday 11 March Where: Online (Lakeside Arts) How much? £10 but can donate more

At the intersection of art, social injustice, and womanhood, The Art of Oppression – the latest project from Notts filmmaker Patricia Francis – is a documentary about resilience and hope. Set within the context of populism, patriarchy, and the debilitating legacy of colonialism, this online premiere will be followed by a discussion with Francis, the artists featured in the film, and special guests.

The delightfully exquisite Jerwood Collection is coming all the way from London to the Welbeck estate’s Harley Gallery. The purpose of this private collection is to give people a greater understanding of the enjoyment of 20th and 21st century British art.

While they hope to open their doors in April for the public to view it, in the meantime you can learn all about the collection in this fascinating talk hosted by its director Lara Wardle, and hear her talk about the artwork, as well as her favourite pieces from the show.

Lakeside Arts and the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall invite you to an online concert series streamed live from the Djanogly Recital Hall. Joyful and uplifting music from Mozart and Dvorak by the Navarra Quartet, followed by one of the world's finest violinists, Rachel Podger performing Bach, the Manchester Collective with soprano Ruby Hughes and wrapped up by virtuosic cellist Abel Selaocoe combining Western nonWestern musical traditions through improvisation, body percussion and singing. Beautiful live music from the comfort of your own home? Brilliant.

words: Emily Thursfield ilustration: Natalie Owen

Love can take many forms: romance, familial, lasting friendships, or the undying commitment you feel towards your passions or vocation. This is a story which includes all of that – teenage make-outs, lavish trips to every corner of the globe and decades of dedication. Plus, in the midst of it all, two young ice dancers from Nottingham, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, make global history...

For decades, rumours surrounding the supposed relationship between Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have plagued the couple’s lives. Despite multiple marriages, children and years of denial, the press and public alike are still seemingly awaiting the day the pair announce they’ve been smitten all along. Whether it’s the secret squeezes of the hands, the constant singing of praises or the twinkle in Chris’ eye when he finally confessed that they had “dabbled” in a teenage romance, we’re all desperate for this fairytale to have a happy ever after.

Jayne Torvill’s story begins in 1957. Born and raised in a Clifton estate, she discovered her passion for dancing from a fairly early age. Her parents – a Raleigh worker and Lace Market machinist – recall that anything with a slight rhythm would have the toddler up on her feet and trying to twirl. But it wasn’t until primary school that Jayne stepped on the cool surface that would define the trajectory of her future. Organised by her teacher, Mrs Fitzhugh, Jayne and her classmates were taken for a day at Nottingham’s Ice Centre. As most of the children clung desperately to a long rope held taut by the skating instructor, Jayne took to the ice like a duck to water. As soon as she’d experienced that feeling of flying, she never wanted to walk again.

First weekly, then daily, skating sessions became a staple in her life, and early success saw Jayne and her first partner, Michael, crowned British Junior Champions while she was in her mid-teens. When Michael turned eighteen, he broke up the partnership to continue with his steady day job, and as Jayne approached sixteen herself, she too turned her attention to work, taking on a position as an insurance clerk for Norwich Union – but still saving every spare moment for a ring around the ice.

Many would like to believe there was an instant connection – that as soon as they entwined fingers there were fireworks Unfortunately, Christopher Dean’s upbringing wasn’t quite as picture-perfect. Born the son of a miner in Calverton in 1958, Chris and his parents lived a relatively quiet life in the village, bathing once a week to save money and wearing out pairs of shoes until tape could no longer spare them. Every minute he didn’t spend hiding in the local Co-op storage room while his mother worked on the meat counter, Chris would be found climbing,

now and then

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His relationship with his stepmother would always be complicated, but it was Betty who convinced Chris’ father to buy him his first set of skates, as a seemingly random Christmas gift at the age of ten. Straight away, he was charmed by the great arched roof and yellow walls of the Belward Street rink, and soon enough he was making the eight-mile journey daily to practise skating. Things quickly took off for Chris’ career too; partnered with a fiery girl named Sandra, over four years they clashed and argued their way to taking sixth place in the British Championships in 1970. Soon after they parted ways, and word soon spread through Nottingham’s skating community that this rising star needed a new partner.

It was around this time that Jayne became aware of Chris – or rather the “white-blond haired boy” who whizzed

photo: Chris Middleton

Market Square

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swimming, playing football or winning a hundred-metre dash. They may have had their struggles, but the Dean family still had each other – until one evening, Chris descended the stairs of his home to find his mother standing by the door with a suitcase. As he watched her disappear down the driveway, he was blissfully unaware that this would be the last time he’d see her for over three decades, and that a family friend named Betty would arrive to take her place in the house just two hours later.

around the place, as she later described. With both parties now looking for new partners, but both as shy as the other, teaming up never crossed their mind – even after they were paired up for a competition at their dance club and blew every other couple out the water.

No, the decision to train together came in 1975, spurred on by coach and renowned ice dancer Janet Sawbridge, who saw potential in their union. Janet was determined not to let their timid natures get in the way of what she thought would be great success, so summoned them both to the rink at 6am to train together for the first time, where she encouraged them to hold hands and stand pelvis to pelvis for the entire session to break down any barriers.

Many would like to believe there was an instant connection – that as soon as they entwined fingers there were fireworks. But truthfully, it was a slow burner – for months they were badgered after every session to make their partnership official, but both of them would always reply ‘Ask us again next week.’ Eventually, as their trust in each other grew and success started coming their way, it became almost a superstition not to confirm the coupling, in case it all suddenly fell apart. For what had happened during that time was that they’d started to stack up awards: in 1978, they were crowned British Champions, and in 1980 they ranked 5th place at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics and 4th in the World Championships.

Something about their partnership, and the way they flew around the ice in perfect harmony, just worked – coaches could see it, Nottingham’s skating community could see it and the British public were starting to see it too. Up until now, both Chris and Jayne had been holding down full-time careers – as a policeman and insurance clerk respectively – using any spare moment they had in the day to train at Nottingham’s Ice Centre.

But all they wanted to do was skate, with a gold medal at the Olympics on their wishlist. After encouragement from Jayne’s mother, the pair wrote to Nottingham City Council asking for their assistance in funding their training. Six months later, in 1980, the Council awarded them £42,000 – money which had been set aside, but

unused, to fund local athletes for the Moscow Olympics that had taken place earlier that year.

Chris finally confessed that they’d “dabbled” in romance as teens, before they were partners, but the extent of the relationship was a little peck on the back seat of the bus Over the next four years, they won and retained the titles of European and World Champions, and worked tirelessly towards the routine that changed their lives – Boléro. In the amateur world, Torvill and Dean were known for their persistent reshaping of the rules that had governed ice dancing for their predecessors – changing lifts, outlandish costumes – and their routine for the 1984 Olympics would be no different. Dancing to one song in its entirety had never been done before, but winning gold in Sarajevo would complete Torvill and Dean’s three-jewelled crown; it was their ultimate ambition, and they knew that to win, they needed to push some boundaries.

The events of Tuesday 14 February are ones that were watched by 24 million people. Hopes of medals had been pinned on the pair by the population, as they tuned in at 9.50pm with baited breath – still one of the most watched television events ever in the UK. The routine – which told the tale of two star-crossed lovers not too dissimilar to Romeo and Juliet, and culminates in their eventual demise in a volcano – stunned viewers and judges alike, earning the duo twelve perfect 6.0s and six 5.9s, the highest score that had ever been recorded for figure skating for a single performance. The pair’s success dominated the news the following day, and upon their return to Nottingham, were greeted by thousands of fans as they toured the city in an open-top Land Rover.

After turning professional the following year, the pair went on to tour the UK and Australia, choreograph routines for up-and-coming duos and coach on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. There was even an album recorded in 1989, Here We Stand, featuring their shaky vocals which was panned by the public and critics alike. But despite all their success, which at this point in their career charts up to twenty championship titles, plus bronze and gold Olympic medals, the main commentary in the media still surrounds their relationship. Since the beginning, they have fiercely denied any chance of romance, but it wasn’t until an appearance on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2013 that the public truly understood the reality of their feelings towards one another.

Sat next to each other in those black leather armchairs, Chris finally confessed that they’d “dabbled”’ in romance as teens, before they were partners, but the extent of the relationship was a little peck on the back seat of the bus. This is where their lust started and ended, and in the years following they’ve grown to feel unconditional love in the most platonic of fashion. The media circus put pressure on them to conform to a certain narrative – to the point where Jayne was unable to announce her engagement to sound engineer Phil Christensen as tour promoters were desperate to keep the mystery of this fairytale alive. Jayne has now been happily married for thirty years, and while Chris has experienced a more turbulent journey in his personal life, he’s always had his friend Jayne to lean on. During the breakdown of his second marriage in Canada, he’d call Jayne multiple times a day to soothe his crippling loneliness. “Of course we love each other,” he told Piers. “We wouldn’t be able to do what we did if we didn’t.” And to this day, before any performance, the pair give each other’s hand a little squeeze.

The story of Torvill and Dean has many elements of a fairytale – stepmothers, chance encounters and world glory – so it’s not surprising that the public are still hanging on to hopes of a happy ending. But what the duo been telling us all along is that there is one. It just might not be the happily ever after that we’re used to.

Object walk Usually, Object Walk involves teaming up with the National Justice Museum to put objects from the past into the hands of people of the present. But necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention, so we’ve decided to do something a little bit different during lockdown.

With our chosen object – a wooden heart encased in a black wooden cage, unprovenanced and carved by someone in prison – we invited artist Emily Catherine to join us for a Zoom chat where she was tasked with drawing the object based on our description. After that, we showed Emily the object to hear her thoughts...

To have something that physically represents what we would call a prison – literal bars – is powerful

The size of the heart is the thing that gets to me. It’s absolutely massive, and only just fits inside

You could easily have made the decision to stay quite small and encapsulated inside the box

You’re seeing the expression of someone who feels they’re spilling out

It reminds me of the work of Ala Bashir, an artist who was formerly the personal physician of Sadam Hussein

It’s someone who is very passionate and full of life, but is obviously restricted by being incarcerated leftlion.co.uk/issue133 47