LeftLion Magazine - October 2014 - Issue 61

#61 OCTOBER 2014

The Big Wheel is supported as part of the Nottingham Urban Area’s successful Local Sustainable Transport Fund programme helping to establish Nottingham as an exemplar for integrated sustainable transport.

For further details visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/lstfprojects

contents 17

Street Tales 07

Plus Advertising Sectioned

08

LeftEyeOn Aesthetically yours

In Focus: Kagoule 10

The loud youngsters got snappy

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Take Me To Your Leader Lead Councillor of Nottingham City Council Jon Collins answers yer queries

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They mostly goth at night.

Mostly...

Nightbreed owner, Trevor Bamford, on his gothic empire

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Hand in Glove Notts wicket keeper and captain talks balls and bails

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Back to Scratch We love a man who’s good with his hands

LeftLion Magazine Issue 61 October 2014

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of the Dart 18 State Stoke, your days as the UK darts

Works 31 Art With Barney Melton and Josie

the Flesh 21 In Playhouse is about to get meatier

‘n’ Word 32 Spoke We took a Citycard bike for a spin

capital are numbered...

with a season of women’s theatre

of Power 22 Will Festival of Words is coming, so we spoke to a man who knows many

The Game 24 Nottingham: Don’t moan about being bored, get on our board. Game

/ Truth Clothing 26 Ferox Threads from local makers who care about more than just profit

Tips 27 TG Moot’s Tom Godfrey is back in town and he’s opened a new gallery

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Paper Boy We love print, but not as much as Alex Smith of Ideas on Paper

McGilvray

to see what the fuss is all about

of the Month 34 Pick Bring it on October, we’re not afraid of your dark nights

35 Listings With Promoter Focus and Nusic Box 41

Write Lion They’re local, they’re literary, we’ve read ‘em

Reviews 43 Music Eight picks of the Notts pops, plus what’s getting our stereo pulsing

44 Noshingham Scran reviews to feast your eyes on End 46 The With Rocky Horrorscopes, Art Hole, Notts Trumps and LeftLion Abroad

credits

Editor-in-chief Jared Wilson (jared@leftlion.co.uk) Editor Alison Emm (ali@leftlion.co.uk) Lucky Bogger Alan Gilby (alan@leftlion.co.uk) Marketing and Sales Manager Ash Dilks (ash@leftlion.co.uk) Designer Raphael Achache (raphael@leftlion.co.uk) Sub Editors Shariff Ibrahim Dom Henry Art Editor Mark Patterson (mark.p@leftlion.co.uk) Community Editor Penny Reeve (penny@leftlion.co.uk) Literature Editor James Walker (books@leftlion.co.uk) Deputy Literature Editor Robin Lewis (robin@leftlion.co.uk) Music Editor Paul Klotschkow (paulk@leftlion.co.uk) Photography Editor David Parry (dave@leftlion.co.uk) Poetry Editor Aly Stoneman (poetry@leftlion.co.uk)

Screen Editor Harry Wilding (harry@leftlion.co.uk) Sport Editor Scott Oliver (scott@leftlion.co.uk) Stage Editor Hazel Ward (hazel@leftlion.co.uk)

Rich Fisher Helen Frear Emma Lowther Rob McCleary Hannah Parker Nick Parkhouse Tim Sorrell Mr Switch

editorial Oh my, we’re all more than a touch overwhelmed here at LeftLion - you guys have shown us a lot of love. You gorgeous boggers loved us hard, to the tune of £11,331 in fact.

I’m welling up... we now have twice as much ruddy work to do. That’ll teach us, eh?

So, what you have in your hands is the first ever monthly edition of the ‘Lion. Hang on to it, it might be worth something one day. But if not, it will be useful to protect your floor when you’re painting a chest of drawers or a chair in a few years time. But enough about furniture and the future, let’s live in the now. Don’t dilly dally getting stuck in to this issue because it won’t be long before we’re thrusting our next edition upon you.

Going monthly has been an excuse to have a bit of a spring clean, so you might spot a few changes in the mag. We’ve added a crossword and made it a smidgen smaller, which will hopefully be more manageable for any of you tiny-handed folk. Otherwise, it’s pretty much what you’ve come to expect from us - quality Nottingham content, no less.

We bloody love words here, so you won’t be surprised that we’ve gone big for the 2014 Festival of Words and not only given you a pick of the events, but collared the wordiest man we know for a chat, Will Self. He will be speaking at the festival, so if you want to hear a top orator, get booking.

On a musical note, we’ve got one of the fastest flickers in the land to tell us about how he managed to make a career doing what most would perceive as a cardinal sin, scratching records. Grunge rockers Kagoule are the latest band to get their cameras out for us, and Nightbreed’s Darklord smashes the myths and tells us about what it really means to be a goth.

But what you really want to do is get yourself to the middle of the mag and revel in the sheer joy you will experience playing the game that has been created with you, you, and you in mind. Nottingham Monopoly was a farce, if you’re going to chuck dice about like a local, it’s with Nottingham: The Game. Okay, we realise it’s not the most amazing title, but in our defence, board games are pretty hard to name.

Well, there you have it. There’s so much more awaiting you, but I won’t spoil it all for you.

Get stuck in.

Sales and Marketing Assistants Conor Kirk (conor@leftlion.co.uk) Nicola Stapleford (nicola@leftlion.co.uk)

Illustrators Christopher Paul Bradshaw Ian Carrington Mike Driver James Hemington Rikki Marr Angelos Muño Rob White

Cover Design Hedboy aka Jonathan Upton

Kickstarting our day Wired Café (wiredcafe.co.uk)

Martin Knox Business Development Guru

Photographers RJ Baddeley Ralph Barklam Louise Clutterbuck Joe Dixey Lamar Francois Barney Gibbons Raluca Moraru Dagomir Oniwenko Brian Sanderson Beth Shaw

Alan’s laptop broke last year. After throwing a paddy, he discovered that he had a girlfriend. Between ordering a new laptop and receiving it, he decided to make an honest woman of her and put a ring on it. They’re getting married this month and we’ve got our hankies at the ready, plus the office collection has meant we can gift them with £22.73 worth of Gooseh vouchers so they can honeymoon in style.

Here’s to them and the rest of their lives together.

Martin is the man who came up with the logo that Next used for two decades. He’s passionate about potential and getting to the spirit of an organisation, so has been helping us out by pointing us in as many decent directions as he can come up with.

Speaker of truths and challenger of crapness.

We hail you, Mr Knox!

Editorial Assistants Sam Nahirny (sam@leftlion.co.uk) Bridie Squires (bridie@leftlion.co.uk)

Contributors Mike Atkinson Wayne Burrows Beane Matt Clay Joe Earp

/leftlion

Ali Emm ali@leftlion.co.uk

mknox.co.uk

@leftlion @leftlionmagazine

LeftLion magazine has an estimated readership of 40,000 and is distributed to over 350 venues across the city of Nottingham. If your venue isn’t one of them, or you’d like to advertise, contact Ash on 0115 9240476, email ash@leftlion.co.uk or visit leftlion.co.uk/rates

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It’s been said that Nottingham’s Old Market Square is the largest public space in the UK after London’s Trafalgar Square. Even before the beach, the skaters or our dear namesake moved in, it already had a long history that was smack bang at the centre of Nottingham life.

What you probably didn’t know is that the square as it is now was not actually the site of the original weekday market for Saxon Nottingham. This was at Weekday Cross, but the Norman population from around Nottingham Castle had beef with having to drag themselves all the way over to the Saxon side of town to go to market. So to ease the tension, William Peveril, who built the castle, founded a new market on neutral ground for the two boroughs, which we now know as the Old Market Square. It was a large market of five and a half acres, and functioned from the eleventh century until 1928.

When the square was first created, a wall was built across the market from east to west, dividing the animal market from the grain and commercial market. It has long been speculated that the wall was built to separate the two peoples of the town, the English (Anglo-Saxons) and the French (Normans). The old positioning of this historic wall was reinstated when the square was redesigned in the noughties, with a stainless steel drainage channel running right down Slab Square’s centre.

Just off the square, we have what is now Market Street. This started out as a narrow alley called Sheep Lane but, due to its limited width, it was a bit of an accident black spot. Pedestrians going up and meeting carts coming down resulted in quite a few people being squashed against the sides, usually resulting in blood stains on the floor and wall. This led to the locals referring to it as Blood Lane.

When it was widened in 1866, the gentry decided to call it Theatre Street, because it led from the Market Square to the Theatre Royal. The market people had other ideas though and the night before the official unveiling some cheeky boggers unscrewed the sign and replaced it with one named Market Street.

The following day was market day and everyone, the gentry and the market people, congregated at the bottom of the freshly widened Sheep Lane for the opening ceremony. The mayor pulled on the cord to reveal the new sign and saying what he saw, proclaimed the new roadway to be “Market Street”. Even though a portion of the assembled crowd – mostly gentry – complained and tried to point out the mayor’s error, they were heavily outnumbered and it’s stayed to this day.

words: Joe Earp illustration: Mike Driver

ADVERTISING SECTIONED Player’s Please! (1935)

Whatever you think of the cigarette, it was always an icon of modernism, a case of light up and face the future. The Victorians chuffed away on massive cigars and pipes, basically smoking the equivalent of walnut sideboards, while Millennial types of all ages stand outside pubs sucking up the blue light of metal e-cigs, which look like tiny piccolos or digital downloads of actual fags.

The last century, on the other hand, was all about the packet of twenty, as churned out by Player’s in factories like the one in this advertising sketch from a 1935 issue of the Nottingham Journal – streamlined minimalist white paper tubes filled with tobacco, sold in packets decorated with hard-edged colour graphics that might as well have been designed at the Bauhaus.

“In this sunny modern factory thousands of Nottingham men and women take pride in making millions of smokers say PLAYER’S PLEASE every day”, runs the company tagline. The picture of the building with its clean design, tree-lined street and billowing cloud in a clear sky must have seemed like a vision of utopia in a city that, at the time it was printed, was still clogged with sootbelching chimneys and blackened brickwork.

Back then, even Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit was known to visit the pub for a smoke, so it’s impossible to imagine Arthur Seaton as a health fanatic, Humphrey Bogart sharing a puff on an e-cig with Lauren Bacall or bebop and Beat Poetry emerging from clubs that smelled of cheap aftershave and farts instead of fags and bourbon. Player’s products, like its customers, probably won’t last much longer – but before our own age of health scares and micro-management, the modernist aura of the humble Notts-made fag had cast its spell.

words: Wayne Burrows 6

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A Long Eaton lad recently got six years for setting his neighbour’s house ablaze. Hold yer bleeding ‘osses, people. It’s another month til Bonfire Night.

A Mapperley man was flummoxed to find that one of his chickens had laid an egg less than 25mm in length, beating a Calverton chicken’s 36mm beauty which was declared just a few days earlier. Mini eggs galore and not an Easter in sight.

An under-construction timber building in University of Nottingham (a GlaxoKlineSmith Carbon Neutral Laboratory for (not so) Sustainable Chemistry) joined the inferno party, covering most of Lenton in ash.

LEFTLION CROSSWORD

17,460 drivers have received a stonking collective £500,000 fine for turning onto Station Street. Even though an adjudicator said the high number of fines were “an indication of a problem with the [road] signing,” the council are attempting to bat off any appeals.

Oo-er! Cough up the unsuspecting boggers’ money, you big bullies.

Some sneaky scumbag pinched a sat nav from an ambulance while it was parked outside a patient’s house

After referring to a German resident as “Eva Braun” in an email to colleagues, Labour councillor Andy Cooper is to be sent for diversity training for being well racialist.

C’mon Andy, that was totalitarianly unacceptable.



Unable to handle the excitement of Forest’s first game of the season, a car burst into flames on London Road right before the match.

H®T NT

N E FU G PA

Thunder-nicking rapper Scorzayzee exceeded his Kickstarter goal too, meaning he has to finally pull his finger out and make his long-awaited debut LP.

in New Basford.

The scallywag was obviously having moral compass issues.



You kicked LeftLion in to being a monthly mag. Big up your bad selves.

Even after all the recent pyromania, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service are left with no choice but to scrap two fire engines due to funding slashes from central government. Give us a break, you tight gits.

YOUR MONTHLY DOSE OF ONE CROSSWORD,. LIKE A SUDOKU MADE OF LETTERS. 1

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Think you know your Notts trivia? Bit of a wordy so-and-so? Test your grey matter and Hoodtown knowledge here.

No dictionaries up for grabs – you’ve got a computer for that kind of thing – but we will be giving away a fine tea towel and a mystery prize from a local phand shop as a prize to one of you clever boggers who can be bothered to send in their completed crib. Mail it to 8 Stoney Street, NG1 1LH, or be well fanceh and scan and email it to editorial@leftlion.co.uk.

ACROSS

4 Not averse to dancing on her tod (7) 6 It’s creepy how quick he crawled to the top (4,4) ACROSS 12 Sausagefest (11) 13 You can count its pages on one hand (4,6) 4 Not to dancing on her tod 14 He stumped us in adverse this issue (5,4) 16 X marks6theIt’s film spot (6) how quick he crawled to the creepy 17 These chills, they’re multiplying. For charity (3,6,9) 12 Sausagefest 19 No booze. No fags. Puntastic. (9) 13robbed You from canan count its pages oninone hand(3,3) 20 What got ambulance in Basford September 14 He stumped in (7,5) this issue 21 A proper devilish Nottinghamus stone

DOWN

top

16 X marks the film spot 17 These chills, they’re multiplying. For charity 19 No booze. No fags. Puntastic.

20 What got robbed from an ambulance in Basford in September 21 A proper devilish Nottingham stone

1 Don’t be fooled by the name, it’s not that hard to leave (3,4) 2 All the fun of cocks on sticks (5,4) DOWN 3 Noise-loving Notts label who’ve signed noise-making Kagoule (7) 5 The White Lady’s gaff (8,5) 1 Don’t be(8)fooled by the name, it’s not that 7 Explosive night out 8 He travelled through time and space to see Sherwood Forest (6,3) hard to leave 9 This snazzy earned his stripes 2 Allgent thehas fun of cocks on (4,5) sticks 10 Literary shooting star (4,4) 3 Noise-loving Notts label who’ve signed 11 All-dayer for do-gooders and music fans (7,6) noise-making Kagoule 15 Magic yet (anag.) (8) 18 This5Notts TV White star gets Lady’s just aboutgaff everywhere (4,4) The

7 Explosive night out 8 He travelled through time and space to see Sherwood Forest 9 This snazzy gent has earned his stripes 10 Literary shooting star 11 All-dayer for do-gooders and music fans 15 Magic yet (anag.)

18 This Notts TV star gets just about everywhere

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YOU H A V E T OO M U C H T I M E O N YOU R H A N D S

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Nottingham Architecture

Probably the glow from something on fire.

Barney Gibbons flickr: Barney Gibbons

Tunnel Vision

The dark at the end of the tunnel.

Brian Sanderson flickr: killforkylie

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UoN GSK FIRE Carbon positive.

Lamar Francois lamarfrancoisphoto.co.uk

Untitled

This cat’s got whiskers.

Dagomir Oniwenko flickr: edis08 edis08

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Kagoule With their ear-busting post-grunge sounds, they’ve been winning over audiences and gaining new fans across the country this year. We asked them to answer some questions, and to make it snappy, while they were putting the finishing touches to their forthcoming album.

Kagoule’s new single It Knows It/Adjust The Way is out now on Earache Records. They will be playing at The Bodega on Wednesday 8 October, 7pm, £7; and at The Corner as part of Hockley Hustle on Sunday 19 October. kagoule.bandcamp.com

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No Talk, all Action. Launch A Startup in 54 Hours

#swnotts Get ready for...

BioCity, Nottingham

14-16 NOVEMBER 2014 For the creative tech, digital and design community

R R E E T T S S I I G G E www.up.co/communities/uk/nottingham/startup-weekend RE R

m.dixon@biocity.co.uk @SWNotts

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER Last month we were invited to speak to Jon Collins, the leader of Nottingham City Council. It was only fair that we put it out to you, our readers, on our social networks to ask anything you wanted since Nottingham is home to us all. Here’s what he said...

What’s been the high point of your time as leader of the Council? What are the best things you’ve achieved?

I feel awkward answering questions like this because I feel it’s for others to judge. I started as leader twelve years ago and I'm happy with the progress that myself and the cabinet have achieved. If I was to pick out a couple of things, I'd say that I really enjoy a walk down the now-pedestrianised Broad Street and I always have a smile when I go to Splendour. It’s really come on over the last few years since it started out as an idea in council chambers.

They’re small things, but they’re important. On a bigger scale, I’m glad that we’ve finally come to an agreement with INTU on the Broadmarsh Centre. Sequencing that and Victoria Centre has always been very important.

What are the worst things you have to deal with?

Our biggest challenge of the last few years has been finding extra money to replace the cuts in funding from central government. Last year we got £127m from central government, this year it’s £103m and next year it will be about £76m. In 2016 it will be £58m. That’s quite a lot of extra money for us to find. My suspicion is that eventually the government will try and pull that funding completely.

It was horrible having to impose bedroom tax, none of us agreed with that. I also wasn’t happy having to impose reductions in council tax and benefits. We don’t get any say in these matters as a local council when they become part of UK law...

What do you think to the current direction of the Labour party?

I find it wearying. I’m totally focused on my job, but I get disappointed by what I perceive as a lack of ambition by them – I think that public appetite is much higher than they pitch at. A lot of the proposals in themselves are good, but there’s no narrative or vision to draw them all together. People need a sense of hope for a better future and that’s not something being provided at the moment.

You’ve been in this job since 2003. How much longer do you expect to be leader? And do you have any idea who might follow you?

At the point that I don’t think I'm capable of doing a good job, I’ll go and do something else. I realise that people are often eager for a change in leadership, but I'm not planning to leave anytime soon as there’s still plenty of work I want to see through. The bits I don’t feel as comfortable with are the ceremonial and formal bits. There’s a sense that leaders must have big personalities and frankly, I can be pretty bad at those bits. But I like the challenge of trying to make a difference and being able to do things I can look back on and see positive changes. In terms of who might follow after me, there are several people who would be capable.

Have you ever thought about leaving it behind for an easier life?

It’s a difficult job at times, I'm not going to deny that. But I’ve been out with our binmen and street sweepers a couple of times and I wouldn’t swap it for their jobs. When I last went out with them it chucked it down. Right from the start you’re soaked and it was hot and sticky, with a lot of work to be done in a short space of time. You look at those guys and it puts my job into context.

True, but those people don’t get members of the public protesting outside of their house…

Luckily I wasn’t in when that happened. But I do understand that people have gripes with what we do and that I'm a very visible target for that. The reality is that most of the time I can understand where they are coming from. I still do casework in my ward a couple of times a week and meet people with legitimate concerns.

Can you tell us about the Icelandic banks scandal? The latest figures we could find were that £30m of the £41.6m reserves that NCC invested in them in 2009, just before those banks went under, had been clawed back. Is that the end of it?

No. It’s still ongoing. We’ve got over £40m back now. It comes in dribs and drabs, but there’s a chunk of it that we’ve left invested because it earns us an interest rate that we couldn’t get in this country. We’re within a couple of hundred thousand of the final total now.

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We’ve recently seen more cyclist deaths on roads in Nottingham. As a keen cyclist yourself, do you think we have a problem with our cycling facilities?

I don’t think they’re good enough or well-maintained enough. I don’t want to be unfair to a whole raft of good council officers, but too many of our cycle lanes have been designed by people who are good road engineers, but who don’t cycle regularly. We need to do something about this. The good news is that we’ve just got £6.1m through the Growth deal which is ring-fenced purely for cycling. I’m determined to make sure it is spent on providing some safe, secure and segregated routes for people to commute in and out of town. Then we need secondary routes, which can build on existing networks.

Lots of people seem to be opposed the tram extension. What would you say to them?

I understand that people get hacked off with the traffic coming in from Beeston, it’s not been great for them. However, I’m totally confident that when it’s done it will be a really good thing for the people of Nottingham. We just can’t really do anything about it other than try and get the work finished as soon as possible.

Does the council make its money back on events like the beach in the Market Square from the tourism it generates?

Yes. The beach costs us absolutely nothing from your public council tax. It’s a concession and the costs are covered by all the activities that are being put on in there. The same goes for other events we put on, like the Nottingham Wheel and the Christmas markets.

In the age of internet shopping, can Nottingham realistically sustain two shopping centres with Viccy Centre and Broadmarsh?

I think so, and clearly INTU, who are a large international retail company, think so too. The future of retail in Nottingham city centre is going to be really exciting. From north to south there’ll be Victoria Centre to Broadmarsh, a stretch which will house international brands and the kind of chain stores that appeal to the masses. Then from east to west – Sneinton Market to Canning Circus – there’s a lot more independent, local and niche businesses.

There are some really interesting shops already up at Canning Circus, but they’re probably a bit marooned right now. A revamp of the West End Arcade and Hurts Yard would really help them out and it’s something we’d like to see happen. Plus we already have a substantial pot of funding to develop Sneinton Market. Big plans are afoot.

Are you happy with the progress made so far in the Creative Quarter?

Yes. Ultimately, the important thing is that people in creative industries in that area can embrace the term and work together to mutual benefit. As politicians we can help, but it’s about the people in the area.

What are your thoughts on fracking?

I have my doubts about it, but it’s not an issue that affects my constituency so it’s not something I want to go into detail about. But yes, I would have some issues if people were drilling great big holes next door to my house.

Do you think widening our city boundary would be a good idea? Maybe going for something more like Greater Manchester?

I can see why people might think that, but it can create a lot of turbulence for a local government so it’s not something I'd like to see happen anytime soon. The main problem is the amount of work and reorganisation we would have to do and how much it would take away from the more important day-to-day work we have to do. What is clear is that residents who live within the city boundaries help to pay for the upkeep of important local amenities like theatres, and those who live just as far away but within a different boundary pay less because their council tax is not spent on them. It’s still a can of worms that would take a long time to work through.

In 2011 there was an investigation into the misallocation of council houses, which you were quoted as saying “appalled” you and that you would “not hesitate” to take action.

Why was that investigation then dropped without action being taken?

We did take action, it was just largely unreported by local media who were very quick to report the early facts, but less interested in covering the action points after that. A number of people were prosecuted and lost their jobs, others had formal warnings and several of the houses in question were re-allocated. The issue illustrates why we don’t want to work on projects like reconfiguring city boundaries and why it’s better to do our core jobs to the best of our ability, as transparently as possible.

Local council arts and culture budgets seem to be being slashed all over the country, some by as much as 100%. What reassurance can you give us that Nottingham’s won’t be cut drastically?

We won’t be cutting that budget by 100% ever. It’s easy to see culture as dispensable, but as well as services like health and education, people need to be inspired and have creativity around them. Community arts are a big part of what makes Nottingham great. The councils cutting those things wholesale will spend more money down the line trying to reverse the trend they’ve started.

Do you think, as a council, you could canvas the opinions of local businesses and residents better?

There’s always room for improvement in what we do. But people often make the mistake of thinking that because we listen to what they think, we’re going to go and do it. Lots of different people have lots of different opinions – it’s impossible to please everyone.

Sometimes we have to make decisions that people don’t like in the short-term, but it’s because we know that’s what will be better for the city and its people in the long-term.

interview: Jared Wilson illustration: Angeles Muño

They mostly goth at night.

Mostly... interview: Paul Klotschkow photo: Ralph Barklam

Trevor Bamford, the self-styled Darklord, has been a lynchpin of the UK goth scene for thirty years. As the founder of Nightbreed, he created an all-encompassing community that supports and promotes the gothic subculture. We met up with him in a suitably dank, dark corner of a pub on Mansfield Road...

What is Nightbreed?

It’s is a way of doing things. A platform for gothic and gothic-involved music, and for people who want to be involved with that.

The radio station is the most active wing of Nightbreed – we broadcast across the world.

How did Nightbreed start?

Back in 1991, I was in a gothic post-punk band called Every New Ghost. I picked up loads of contacts in the global gothic underground because I toured Germany and Europe regularly. After a record label agreed to fund it, I put out the compilation New Alternatives. I was young and didn’t realise that you had to oil the wheels of industry and pay for promotion. I couldn’t afford to buy the reviews that were necessary to launch it so the album died. What happened next was interesting; the people who had bought it were all over the world and they wrote to me asking if they could buy something by a band on the compilation, and I told them to contact the band directly. The penny finally dropped and I thought, why don’t I sell their merchandise and make some money? That’s how Nightbreed started, by selling demo tapes, cassette-released albums and records.

In the mid-nineties, we had premises on Wollaton Street that had a recording studio, a shop and an office, and we had a unit in Sneinton Market. Towards the end of the nineties, the advent of mp3s and CD-R burning wiped out our niche market. I couldn’t afford to run Nightbreed anymore, so I sold everything off but kept the rights to the label, which has released fifty-odd albums so far. After that, we had a social networking site, Church of Nightbreed – years before Facebook – that worked for some time, but went into decline because I didn’t have the technical skills.

Nightbreed effectively became a name for a particular paradigm that is prevalent within the gothic subculture. To be a Nightbreed person was to have certain values and views. Nightbreed has always been there as a support network. What the gothic scene and Nightbreed sussed out early on was – if you are truly underground, then you have to embrace that complete countercultural stance. We can’t access the mainstream press because we can’t afford to, we have to do it other ways. The gothic scene was the first scene to do this and it’s continued.

It comes down to a love of the music, the culture, the literature, the fashion, and an open mind to things of that ilk.

GOTH OR NOT Siouxsie Sioux - GOTH Marilyn Manson - NOT Lorde - NOT Robert Smith - GOTH Edward Scissorhands - NOT Edgar Allan Poe - GOTH Grotbags - NOT Trent Reznor - NOT The kids who hang in the Market Square - NOT H.P. Lovecraft - GOTH

What are Nightbreed’s values and views?

To move on, promote, help and keep the fire burning. It can be encapsulated by an aggressive moving-on stance – don’t forget your past, but move on. There are people in the gothic scene who only want to know about the eighties, The Cure and bands of their ilk.

Equally, there are people who do not want to know about those bands because they are old-fashioned. The gothic scene is like a tree with loads of sub‑branches, and all of it is countercultural.

What does being a goth mean?

There are lots of personal interpretations.

There are people who might say that I have to wear black and make-up all the time. I don’t wear make-up anymore, but I did for a number of years. It comes down to a love of the music, the culture, the literature, the fashion, and an open mind to things of that ilk. You get people who’re just into the literature; people who love the clothes and dress a particular way; people who don’t look anything like that but know the music from A to Z.

There are lots of parallels with heavy metal.

Rob Zombie said that he didn’t choose to be the weird kid in the class, it just happened to him. There are lots of people who didn’t fit into normal society in varying degrees and were attracted to alternative views that were prevalent within the gothic scene.

What’s the goth scene like in Nottingham?

There’s Dirty Filthy Sexy who put on regular nights and bands, as well as their annual Darkwaters Festival. You have the Nightmare nights, which is the more electronic side of things. The Cookie Club has Spellbound.

The Greyhound in Beeston. There are also intermittent other nights. Nightbreed don’t put on nights here anymore. We still do the odd digital and physical release, but the radio station is our main focus as it is global and bands can get listened to by a large audience.

There are also the different shops – Deviant Angel, Void, and the mail order services. The Nottingham scene has lots of different factions, there are lots of disparate things.

What was the scene like back when you started Nightbreed?

There were several bands: Every New Dead Ghost, Die Laughing, The Blood Relatives, Broken Faith, Tabitha Zoo. By the mid-nineties it was a different set of bands. We played Rock City whenever they had a gothic night, the Garage that later became the Kool Kat, The Rig. We played most of the venues in Nottingham including the International Community Centre, Russell’s (now The Orange Tree), and The Yorker (now The Rose of England).

Is goth marginalised in Nottingham?

It always has been marginalised. The term ‘goth’ was originally meant as an insult. Back in the mid-eighties, punk rock was still the dominant countercultural force. Punk as a way of life was exemplified by The Exploited, Discharge, GBH. Then the other side had Crass, Poison Girls, Amebix, Flux of Pink Indians. Anything that fell outside of that was termed ‘alternative’ and that scene evolved into what we now term the gothic scene.

In 1988, the tide changed and the general consensus is that there was a concerted effort by mainstream media to demonise the gothic culture in order to sell young people a new culture. In other words, they had sold enough winklepickers and black clothes and wanted to sell other items. The scene dropped from view, literally overnight. Suddenly these bands weren’t mentioned, reviewed or featured in the mainstream press, or played on the radio. Through its marginalisation and selfrealisation it became a genuine underground scene, but it has survived and will continue to.

What would you do to me to goth me up?

Nothing. Everyone has their own views on it.

I don’t want to start bitching, but Tim Burton and his take on the gothic is very Halloweeny and twee. That’s great, and it has its place, but I don’t relate to that. For me, it’s more about the music you like and the attitudes you have, you tend to find that your images and clothes will follow from what is inside. I don’t believe in a makeover, that is fake. I’ve looked like this for thirty years and I’m happy with that. I take Aleister Crowley’s point of view, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”. I also take Ayn Rand’s view that the ultimate maxim in life should be the pursuit of your own happiness but not at the expense of others.

Listen to Nightbreed radio: nightbreedradio.com nightbreedrecordings.org

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HAND IN GLOVE

One of Notts’ best loved servants and county cricket’s most respected performers, Chris Read arrived at Trent Bridge seventeen years ago and has been club captain for the last seven of those. We caught up with the Outlaws’ talisman to reflect on his time here…

You’re part of the Notts furniture now. What’s kept you here all this time?

First and foremost, moving’s never really crossed my mind. My career’s been one of two halves: in the early part I was heavily involved around the England set-up and it was always an absolute pleasure to come back and settle back into the Notts dressing room. Aside from the fact it’s a fantastic ground and, for me, the best place to play in the country, I think we’ve always been, after the first few years of my time here, in contention for trophies - that’s a massive incentive for all cricketers. One thing that Mick [Newell, Director of Cricket] has done exceptionally well over the years is to plan for the future, to make sure we are in contention for all three competitions.

What is it about your relationship with Mick that works so well?

I think it’s because we’re different. We cover a lot of bases between us. He thinks about the game 24/7. He wakes up at 4am and reads the day’s press because he can’t sleep. I’m the opposite, I’m more relaxed and less emotional about the game and results. We gel together quite nicely.

Is it taxing to captain and keep wicket at the same time?

Yeah. Although, again, I think the longer I’ve done the job, the easier that side of things has become. In my first couple of years, my standards behind the stumps slipped a little because I was often concentrating on what I was going to do next, wondering, “How are we gonna get this bloke out?” rather than watching the ball. Over the years I’ve worked out a system; when the bowler starts his run-up, it’s all about the ball. In between is thinking time.

close of play, but he was also given out when he was lying face down in the dirt. He was quite fiery and he went absolutely wild at himself as he was walking off.

How long do you envisage yourself playing?

I’m not sure. I’ll see out my contract for next year and I’d like to play a year past that, but it really depends on fitness and form. Last year my form with the bat wasn’t good and it got me thinking: is this just a blip or is it me reaching the end? Fitness-wise, I’m pretty good, but you get more niggles as you get older – more in the winter with all the training you do. It just kills me.

Muscle tears. Although I probably play too much hockey.

What about fractures - an occupational hazard for a keeper’s digits?

I’ve dislocated my thumbs a couple of times, but I’ve never had a broken finger, touch wood. When I was younger, keeping wicket before it was mandatory to wear helmets, I had a few where I was head-butting balls, and I’d get home and my mum would despair.

There was one in a T20 semi-final when the ball nicked a bad and bounced straight into my tooth.

Fortunately it was a crown, so it popped out, and I was scrabbling around in the dirt trying to find it.

It’s been over seven years since you played international cricket. How do you reflect on your England career?

Really mixed emotions. It was quite a long passage, from 1999 to the beginning of 2007, on-off, on-off.

I’m exceptionally proud of the way I kept wicket for England. Batting-wise, it wasn’t good enough, and stats will back that up, but I always felt it was very much a case of, “You’ve got a Test Match or two and if you don’t get runs, you’re out again.” And that was always a hard situation. I always like to think that, given my career record in first-class cricket, I’d have been able to succeed at international level had I been given a slightly longer run or been backed a little bit stronger.

You followed on as skipper from Stephen Fleming, rated one of the best international captains of recent times. What did you learn from him?

It was brilliant. I didn’t know I was going into a captaincy role until the last season, when Stephen said he wasn’t going to come back. That year I had about six months of just being a sponge to him, “Why’ve you done that? What are your key thought processes?”

The overriding memory of him is that he planned meticulously. When he believed in a plan, he stuck with it. And he made everyone buy into that plan. He was calm so when he spoke he made people believe in what we were doing. That was one of his great strengths.

The West Indies tour in 2004 would be a good example…

That was another bittersweet moment. It was England’s first series win there for thirty-odd years. Great to be part of that, and I was exceptionally proud of the way I kept in the first three games – I didn’t score many runs, but no one did, really – only then to be dropped for the last one, a flat pitch, and your career’s on hold again. Like I say, bittersweet memories.

So what gives you more pleasure: a hunch that works, or a plan that works?

Ooh, good question… I think they’re equal. You love it when a plan comes together, when it’s well thoughtout and delivered perfectly. With a hunch, you have more of a laugh about it among your teammates.

Do you follow any of the other Notts’ sports teams?

In terms of supporting, it’s not really in my nature to get overly excited about watching other teams. My parents-in-law are Forest supporters, and they’ve already got my son wearing full kit, so I like to see them doing well, but it’s not a passion of mine.

*(“because I haven’t played enough with Broady”)

Do you have a favourite stumping down the years?

We played against Somerset in the Championship, and there was a bowler called Gareth Clough who didn’t play a lot of red-ball cricket. Justin Langer [Australian great] – who was always, erm, a very strong competitor – was batting in the second innings, and it was coming towards the close of play. Cloughie was bowling and he slipped an inswinger down the legside. I’ve taken it and, as I whipped off the bails, Langer got a spike caught in the wicket, tripped, and fell forward. So not only was he stumped down the legside right at the

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interview: Scott Oliver photo: Joe Dixey

Lastly, I’m led to believe that you’re renowned for your stamina at Notts’s end-of-season social…

Erm… well, it’s certainly not something I’d like to boast about. For years I used to organise the socials with Wayne Noon [first team coach]. But it gets harder to recover, and since I turned thirty, I’m the guy who has a good time and goes home by ten o’clock because I can’t hack it. trentbridge.co.uk

Ready picks a Best Four-Day XI he’s played with at Notts (two overseas player limit)

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1. Darren Bicknell 2. Alex Hales 3. Stephen Fleming (c) 4. Kevin Pietersen 5. David Hussey 6. Mark Ealham 7. Chris Read (wk) 8. Graeme Swann 9. Andre Adams 10. Ryan Sidebottom 11. Darren Pattinson*

Over the years I’ve worked out a system; when the bowler starts his run-up, it’s all about the ball.

In between is thinking time.

Back to Scratch words: Mr Switch photo: RJ Baddeley

Mr Switch is a scratch DJ from Nottingham with three World DMC titles under his belt. We‘ve booked him for the closing set of the LeftLion stage at Hockley Hustle, and got him to tell us why he’s going to be competing for a fourth world title...

The DMC world championships celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year, marking it as the longest-running - and the first established - DJ competition. It holds a significant position in the world of DJing, and is one of the biggest platforms for the art form known as 'scratching'.

The competition has helped nurture this strange form of music, seeing it refined from an anarchic series of visual stunts on vinyl turntables in the eighties, to a level of technical precision where any song can be taken apart and transformed into a new composition live in front of you, by a flick of the wrist - and a very fast flick at that.

Some of the best DJs in the world have come of age through the competition – MixMaster Mike (of the Beastie Boys), A-Trak, C2C, Scratch Perverts - the list goes on.

It is the most prestigious event of its kind. And this year I'm planning to win it. Again.

I started DJing when I was eleven. I was intrigued by glimpses of record rubbers that came from the pop charts (particularly The Avalanches' Frontier Psychiatrist, one of the best songs ever created by a DJ – and a DMC veteran, no less). Then my dad got me a video tape of one of these battles and my mind was instantly blown. From seeing the first competitor, who scratched up the The Muppet Show theme tune, I knew straight away what I wanted to do.

I didn't start playing records for money, fame, girls or parties. I wanted to learn how to do that weird thing where you moved a record backwards and forwards, because it looked and sounded amazing. I took every chance I got – youth clubs, local radio stations, community workshops – and managed to impress, despite my rather low ability at the time. I got into my first club when I was thirteen, but only because the competition I wanted to enter was being held there. I'd bartered my way in on the condition that my dad came in with me – what a pro that man is.

Fast forward to 2010, and somehow I've won three consecutive UK titles, followed by three consecutive world champion titles. I'm on the front cover of the DVDs I used to watch, although sadly I was too late to make it on to a VHS cover. Even better is the fact that I'm competing – and after-partying – with the DJs I used to watch on those videos, plenty of whom I'm life-long mates with. Eat your heart out Beliebers, I get to meet my idols and jam with them. And guess what? They turn out to be nice, normal people.

I’m a full-time DJ. Hand on heart, I have never in my life earned money through anything that wasn't DJ-related (except for one bar stint I did as a favour to a friend for one day). I'm pretty happy about that. Especially as I get to do interesting stuff through having the rep of being a turntablist. I play tons of different styles of music – hip hop, funk, garage, electronica, electro swing, bass music (a rather naff term). And I've worked with singers, beatboxers, rappers, drummers, bands (a few of the Notts crew might know Hey Zeus, the hodge podge let's-make-it-up-on-the-day freestyle jam band I'm a part of) and orchestras.

One of my biggest achievements is becoming the first DJ ever to appear on the BBC Proms - yep, the real one, in the Royal Albert Hall - back in 2011. I was scratching up classical sounds as soloist alongside a full-size orchestra. With each performance of Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra, more requests to perform it appeared, with increasingly bigger and younger orchestras, until I ended up on the Proms and the National Youth Orchestra. The moral of the story: take every opportunity you're given; you never know where they might take you.

So far this year, I've been preoccupied with performing classical music – at the time of writing I'm in Armenia, about to premier a new composition called Breakbeat Concerto. Performing music written by someone else is par for the course for a lot of musicians, but never for a DJ, who chooses every song and decides everything about the timing and structure of their performance. Having a DJ led by a conductor makes the whole scratching thing feel more legitimate.

So you may be thinking, “Ok, I get the point – he's good at what he does.” So why enter the DMCs again? Why battle again having already won three times? There are two reasons. One is that I'm changing my name from DJ Switch to Mr Switch.

Quite a small detail, but there are a lot of DJ Switches around – the former half of production duo Major Lazer for one, the winner of 2013's Nigerian X Factor for another.

I didn't start playing records for money, fame, girls or parties. I wanted to learn how to do that weird thing where you moved a record backwards and forwards, because it looked and sounded amazing.

The other is a more patriotic reason. There are three categories of world competition in the DMC: the 'supremacy', a head-to-head knockout format (the category I won from 2008 to 2010); the 'team' battle, where up to four DJs are allowed on as many as six turntables and, the longest standing category, the 'individual' (more simply known as the World DJ Championship) where each competitor gets six minutes to prove themselves the best. This is the category that has been around for thirty years, the one that all the legends have won, and the one I'm now going for.

The last person to win the big one for the UK was Plus One (formerly of Scratch Perverts), way back in 2001. That's twelve years Great Britain has gone without winning. Before him, the only other UK winner was Cutmaster Swift in 1989, the year I was born. We're one of the top countries in the battle scene, winning plenty of other titles and securing very consistent top three podium positions, but seem to just miss out on the number one spot. As a vaguely patriotic person, I felt a certain responsibility to represent my country and do it some justice. Plus Sally, who organises the DMC, kept nudging me to do it, as she reckons I'm the only UK DJ with the ability to win it. Just imagine the “you're my only hope” scene from the first Star Wars.

I predict my strongest competition this year to be the USA's I-Dee (just recently crowned the DMC Online World Champion) and Hi-C from Japan. But then I'm going into the world finals as high favourite, with the most number of world titles behind me.

The six minute competition is the DJ equivalent of the 100m sprint. Fingers crossed for the win.

Mr Switch is representing at the DMC World DJ Finals, The Forum, Kentish Town, London, Sunday 5 October 2014. He will be playing the LeftLion stage at Broadway as part of Hockley Hustle on Sunday 19 October. dj-mr-switch.com leftlion.co.uk/issue61

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State of interview: Rich Fisher

Football, cricket and ice hockey have all brought significant success to Nottingham over the years – but another sport that's increasingly putting our city on the map is darts. We met a couple of players based in the city who are starting to make a name for themselves in the world of arrows; Kyle Anderson, who has relocated here from his native Australia, and Aden Kirk, who is a 100% homegrown talent…

Nottingham has long had a strong connection with arrows – and we don't mean the sort associated with Robin Hood. Back in the eighties, the legendary Bullseye was filmed here at Carlton Studios; while Capital FM Arena has been one of the various venues around the country used by Sky Sports' Premier League Darts, pulling in crowds of 8,000 each year to see big names like Phil 'The Power' Taylor and Raymond 'Barney' Van Barneveld.

One thing that has stopped Nottingham from ever being able to challenge Stoke-onTrent for the title of darts capital of the UK is the fact that we've never had a bona fide tungsten-lobbing star of our own. However, that could be about to change. At the beginning of 2014, Australian dart player Kyle Anderson took the plunge and relocated halfway across the world in a bid to further enhance a flourishing reputation within the game – and he decided to base himself in the best city around, Nottingham.

A softly-spoken 26-year-old, Kyle grew up in Perth, and is Australia's first ever Aboriginal professional darts player. He first began making a name for himself in the UK back in December 2013 at the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace, when he threw a nine-dart finish on live television – the dart world’s equivalent of a 147 break in snooker. This earned Kyle £15,000 in prize money, which made it financially possible for him, his partner and three-year-old son to move to the UK – which is very much darts’ land of opportunity.

But why Nottingham? Kyle's decision to choose our city was admittedly a practicality more than anything else – it was largely because his manager, Chris Clegg, is based here. Nevertheless, Kyle has very much taken to life in Hoodtown – having settled in digs in The Park. Surprisingly, as a man used to blazing sunshine in his home country, he's not been too fazed by the generally rammell weather here in the UK. "Everyone calls me crazy for coming across here, weather-wise," he says. "But I've lived in thirty plus degree heat the majority of my life. It's good to have a change. As for Nottingham, I felt settled within the first two weeks of being here. And I've had mushy peas! They didn't seem too bad... I'm still getting to know the place, though. I've not managed to get to any football matches either – most of the games fall on weekends when I'm playing in darts events. But I would love to go to one."

In sacrificing the opportunity to go and watch Forest or County, Kyle has been putting in some solid work on the UK darts circuit. He recently achieved a high-point for 2014 with a tournament victory against five-time World Champion Raymond Van Barneveld – and at mid-September, he was sitting at 90th in the PDC world rankings. He is however setting his sights much higher – and has given himself two years to make a success of his move to the UK. "Ideally I'd like it to work in this first year," he says, "but darts is a tough sport, and the rewards sometimes don't come straight away. You've really got to work at it. I might do really well and go up the rankings. Or I might get smashed in the first game."

Kyle certainly has the ability to go up the rankings - something evidenced by that majestic nine-dart finish back in December 2013, against Ian White. This was made all the more special by the fact that his brother Beau – also a darts player – was there to share the moment with him. "The first two 180s, to be honest, I don't remember at all," he recalls. "The 141 is the main thing I remember. The treble 20 went in, the 57 went in, and then I knew I had to hit 24 to make sure of it. I took my time on it and it went in.

"As soon as it went in my first thoughts were to my brother in the crowd. At any sport, the thing you dream of is to do something with your sibling by your side. So to have Beau there was special. I remember dropping to my knees and the crowd going insane.

I watch a lot of football and when someone scores the crowd goes mad – and that's what it felt like for me. It was amazing knowing that you've made history and done something on TV that no-one from Australia has ever done at the World Championship."

Kyle is by no means the only player who is starting to put Nottingham on the darting map. Also based in the city is Kirk Shepherd – a player originally from Kent, who rose to prominence back in 2008 when he entered the PDC World Championship as an unknown and defied the odds to finish runner-up.

Kirk hasn't managed to hit those heights since, but is hoping a fresh start in Nottingham under Kyle's manager Chris Clegg will help him rediscover the magic.

Unfortunately Kirk wasn't available to chat to LeftLion – however, we were able to grab a word with another of Chris Clegg's growing stable of darting talent... and a homegrown one to boot. Born and bred in Notts, 22-year-old Aden Kirk grew up in Eastwood – and announced himself to the darting world earlier in 2014 when he entered the UK Open and caused one of the biggest shocks darts has seen in ages with a televised victory against the man widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.

Naturally, beating Phil 'The Power' Taylor was a proud moment for Aden – and he went on to prove it was no fluke either, by dumping Peter Wright out in the next round.

Aden's feet however remain very much on the ground – for after eventually getting eliminated from the tournament himself, he returned home to where he still lives with his mum and dad... and was back in work on the Monday morning at his job in the Giorgio's Continental factory in Eastwood.

Aden does have his sights set on jacking in the day job to turn full-time professional, as Kyle has done – and already, since his success in the UK Open, he’s cut his hours at the factory, which means he has more time to perfect his craft. He says, "I've gone down from forty hours a week to thirty – I finish at one o'clock now, which means I have more time for practising. Before I was getting home at half past four, and then by the time I'd had my dinner and had a bath it'd be half past six – and so there wasn't really much time left to practise, only a couple of hours a night. Now though I can practise for five or six hours. Every day I'm straight into that spare bedroom – the darts room. I don't get out much."

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the Dart illustrations: Rikki Marr

So what does Aden remember of that victory against Phil Taylor? "Not much to be honest," he says. "Before the game I just wanted to go up there and win one leg. It was my first time on telly – and leading up to the game, at that point where they tell you you're on in five minutes, I was really nervous. But then when the music started playing and the fans started cheering, I just felt really relaxed and took it all in my stride. And luckily enough for me, Taylor didn't turn up and all my doubles seemed to go in.

"A few people have stopped me in the street since. The biggest thing for me though from beating Taylor is not people recognising me, but the self-belief it gave me… I never used to believe in myself. But now I know I've got the game." Aden's success in the UK Open has seen him join Kyle in the PDC's world top 100 rankings – as of mid-September he was sitting four places below his Australian counterpart at 94th. It seems then that Nottingham is wellplaced to kick on and rise to the very forefront of the world of darts. We may even see a bit of a Nottingham darts-music crossover too at some point in the future, as Chris Clegg has been talking to The Swiines – a local band, featuring Jake Bugg's cousin – about the possibility of them recording some walk-on music for his stable of players.

So go on Aden, stick your neck on the line. Can Nottingham eclipse Stoke-on-Trent and become the darts capital of the UK? "I think we can, yeah!" he says. "I really do. There's me, there's Kyle, and hopefully there'll be some more players come through from Nottingham. The quality that Kyle's got, in my opinion, he'll be a top sixteen player in the next few years. He's really good, and hopefully I'll be the same.

Fingers crossed!"

Thanks to Matt Rankin at Unicorn for letting us use their premises in Nottingham as a venue for our interviews and photographs with Kyle and Aden.

As well as having some up and coming darts players, one of the foremost voices of the sport is also from these here parts. We spoke to Dan Dawson, the man who does live commentary on the arrows for various media outlets including ITV….

So how does a bloke from Kirkby-in-Ashfield end up commentating on the darts?

My day job is as a journalist at a radio station in Birmingham. About seven years ago I got made redundant from a previous job and was freelancing around, and this darts gig came up. I just fell in love with the thing, and have managed to carry it on as much as possible. I do a few darts gigs on the radio each year, then in March I got my first gig on telly doing the UK Open for ITV. Eventually, I hope to get on Sky Sports as well.

So what is it about darts that appeals?

In my career I’ve covered big football games; you’re in press conferences afterwards speaking to Ashley Cole or whoever, and that’s fine but they’re completely detached from the bloke on the street. With darts there’s more connection between the fan and the player. You end up seeing Adrian Lewis, a two-time champion of the world, just basically going, “Anybody fancy a game of Call of Duty this evening?” That’s quite refreshing, from a journalist’s perspective.

What have been the highlights of your time covering darts? Ever commentated on a nine-dart finish?

Yeah, a guy called Ross Smith who did it in Gibraltar. That felt like a big moment. But in terms of highlights, it’s generally just really weird things.

Like when Aidy Lewis won his second world title at Ally Pally, the dopey sod got back to his hotel and realised he’d forgotten his trophy. I was still at Ally Pally and staying in the same hotel, so I brought it back for him.

I walked into the hotel bar carrying his World Championship trophy and he’s like, “I think that belongs to me, duck!”

Kyle Anderson and Aden Kirk are two Nottingham-based players who have made their mark this year. Would you like to see them kick on and enable our city to challenge Stoke as the UK’s darts capital?

I’d love it, I’d absolutely love it. I’m all for Nottingham sport – even as a Notts County fan I still like Forest to do well. I know Kyle isn’t from Notts, but we’re going to claim him.

Have you seen much of Kyle and Aden in action?

I saw Aden in the UK Open this year. I don’t think anybody was expecting him to go and beat Phil Taylor, but then to follow it up and beat Peter Wright as well was an incredible display. From what we’ve seen from him, he’s got bottle and that’s half of this game. I’ve got high hopes for Kyle. I think he could be the real deal. But it’s a very big ask, because the standard in darts has never been tougher.

Given that you commentate on darts, you must get asked about the late Sid Waddell a lot. What were your thoughts on him?

Sid was not just the god of darts commentary – he was the god of commentary full stop. There was stuff that Sid said that will be remembered for decades, probably centuries.

The man was brilliant. When I started out doing darts stuff he was still around and you’d see him in the press room, but I was always a bit timid – it was like going to work every day and seeing one of your heroes there. I mean, what was I going to say to him?! That’s a big regret really, that I never really had a great deal to do with Sid.

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Flesh Season is coming to Nottingham Playhouse this month, but don’t be fooled by the title: the flesh is more symbolic than salacious. We talked to its curator, Bea Udeh, about diversity on the stage.

words: Hazel Ward

Theatre has a reputation for being mired in tradition: any change is met with resistance. That’s why projects like Nottingham Playhouse’s upcoming Flesh season, helmed

by Bea Udeh, play an important part in bringing in different artistic points of view to the world of theatre. As Creative Director of Diversity, Bea has commissioned a series of three plays by three different women that are designed to explore women’s voices, particularly those that are often marginalised. Although early press described the season as a look at the relationships between the sexes, Bea explains that the themes are much more complex than that, “Flesh season is about meatiness, dissecting what we as a female sex are about and laying it open, to bare for us to have a real good look at, have a laugh at, have a cry at, and have a moan about. But it’s not a season that’s just about women coming to have a good moan. It is about everybody saying, ‘Oh, I see women in a different light’.”

The unusual title was chosen to signal to audiences that this season won’t be, as Bea succinctly put it, “a Carry On kind of season,” in the usual tradition of comedies of the sexes, but a deeper look. It delves in to what’s underneath the skin and, in a way, the title refers not only to the physicality of womens’ bodies, but also the ‘fleshing’ out of women’s places and roles in current culture.

Of the three plays, Holy & Horny and Pretty/Ugly combine humour with grittiness, while Bird is a more poignant and frank piece. “The season will raise questions and conversation,” Bea promises, and she herself is eager to hear audience reaction, “I’d love to be in the bar afterwards to see what people are saying!”

Bea has worked at Nottingham Playhouse for around eleven years. Of her role, she says, “I’m responding to the Artistic Director’s need to make sure that we have different ways of supporting the artists and different ways of responding to the work that we make here.” With a self-aware laugh, she continues, “In English, it means that I enjoy finding the new voices – not even the new voices, I’m looking for voices that wouldn’t necessarily come into this building by performing artists.“

At the Playhouse, the aim is to create dialogue between cultures so that the theatre fully reflects Nottingham’s culture, including its myriad races, nationalities, sexes and sexualities. Too often, the gatekeepers of traditional theatre try to keep the status quo going. “Sometimes theatres get caught up in themselves and people who are running those buildings believe that they own it, it is their property, and that’s a mistake,” explains Bea. “It’s only by listening to people who come from outside the traditional theatre structure, and bringing them in, that the medium can grow and evolve beyond its limitations.”

The big question is whether the Nottingham Playhouse will be building on Flesh Season to bring more diverse voices to Nottingham. Bea’s answer is a definitive, “Yes!” She notes that in the past they’ve tried to bring a wide range of perspectives to the city, but rarely as a themed season.

Bea Udeh gives us the lowdown on the three Flesh Season plays...

Holy and Horny A one-woman show performed and written by Tonya Joy Bolton. Initially developed with Eclipse theatre in Nottingham, the play looks at race, religion and sex from the point of view of a Christian woman.

“I think there is this dichotomy for a lot of woman to say, ‘Do I have a sexuality? Where is my G-spot?’ What goes on in the bedroom stays in the bedroom, as opposed to sharing it in conversation with other women. And also, when you come to the church, you’re thinking what do you share with your fellow church-goers? And how Christian are you? And is that a barrier? Is that a barrier to being open about your body, your sexuality, your needs and desires?”

Bird Laura Loma, a Derby-based writer, brings an introspective piece about a young girl reflecting on life as she awaits her boyfriend.

She’s hopeful that by bringing these three plays together that there’ll be more focus, which will encourage audiences intrigued by the name and concept to investigate. “Here at Nottingham Playhouse there’s still work to be done,” Bea notes, before adding that she and the rest of the team are always striving to break down the stiff, old ways of theatre.

“Some people are holding on. And it’s fine, you can hold on as long as you like but change will happen. Just like water falling into the nooks and crannies.”

Flesh Season, Nottingham Playhouse, Wednesday 22 Saturday 25 October, £8 - £11 nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk

“For her work to come here is really exciting. Bird itself is a one-woman play looking at child exploitation and looking at this fourteen-year-old, and the control that her boyfriend has. I’m really intrigued to hear this piece. When it was originally devised it was a site-specific piece so it went to a visual space, Nottingham Contemporary. I’m hoping that different types of people will come and enjoy or learn about the themes of the piece and understand it.”

Pretty/Ugly Louise Orwin asked people a simple question: is she ugly, or is she pretty? The results inform this experimental performance that includes interactive YouTube elements: “It’s like a live art piece. It’s a piece of research that’s been dramatised and turned into a performance for us. It’s looking at how weird and wonderful the internet is, and how we as women, young girls especially, are using the internet and social media networking, and new media, to find out whether the world loves us. I don’t know where the world is going or how bad it’s going to get, but it’s like OMG. Pretty/ Ugly, for that piece, I’ll say OMG!”

Asked if there are ongoing issues with diversity in theatre, Bea answers with a resounding “Yes, there is and there always will be. It’s one of the last bastions of the arts where people seem to find it difficult to demonstrate that the arts is for everyone in a way that crosses words, that crosses performance, that crosses the art form.” It contrasts with music and visual arts, where Bea has found a better representation of diverse voices.

“When you go out in to big cities, there’s a big onus on us to be able to make sure that we are reflective of society, and of the voices who are talking about what’s going on politically, socially, through gender, through race,” Bea says. leftlion.co.uk/issue61

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Will to Power interview: James Walker illustration: James Hemington

He’s got a brain the size of a large planet and he’s in Nottingham for the Festival of Words. Get yer dictionaries out, people.

It’s Mr Will Self.

What’s it like being that clever?

What a bizarre question – how could I possibly know? After all, I have no direct experience of any other given level of intellect, expertise or talent. What I can tell you is that I know what it’s like to be stupid – Dr Johnson said that to be unable to work with your hands is a form of stupidity, and I’m so cack-handed that it once took me a fortnight to put up a toilet roll holder. I had to draw diagrams before I dared use the drill, inserting the Rawlplugs took me about a week, and when the job was done my wife returned from abroad and told me I’d got it the wrong way round. I felt powerless, nervous, and ultimately humiliated. I suppose I should take a course in being handy, but somehow this pesky writing business keeps getting in the way.

People may be surprised to learn that you graduated with a third class degree from Oxford. What went wrong? Or right?

I sat my finals while on bail for drugs charges (including possession of marijuana), which was a bit of a distraction. I was then given an open viva (an oral exam because they couldn’t decide what degree to award me). I could’ve been awarded a first, but unfortunately the first question completely stumped me, “What was the influence of Montesquieu on eighteenth century political thought?” From there on it was downhill.

In 1997 you were caught taking heroin on the Prime Minister’s jet and dismissed this as, “I’m a hack who gets hired because I do drugs”. What do you think people employ you for now?

As a writer because I’m well-established enough to have name-recognition, and because I’m completely professional: I deliver readable copy, to the right length, on time. They employ me as a teacher because I love teaching, and I try very hard to make my sessions engaging for my students.

They employ me as a public speaker because I also know how to engage, amuse and inform an audience.

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leftlion.co.uk/issue61

Having started smoking marijuana at twelve, do you think it should be legalised?

I think most intoxicants should be legalised.

Independent bookshops dropped below 1,000 for the first time in February. Is this a sign of the death of the physical book or can digital and print live together?

It is indeed a sign of the death of the physical book. The physical book will live on as a luxury item – beaux livres – or as picture books of various kinds. No superior form of technology (and the digital text is undoubtedly a superior form of technology to the printed codex) leaves an inferior form unchanged – and usually it destroys it altogether. The really interesting thing is what the changes in human neurology/psychology will be once we’ve moved fully from the Gutenberg mind to the bi-directional digital mind. I suspect that people will no longer read long-form prose texts apart from genre fiction which supplies its readers with motivation in the form of suspense, sex and violence, or all three.

Similarly, libraries have faced severe cuts and closures. Could libraries become a focal point of the community again?

No. It’s over for libraries – without physical codices there is no rationale for a physical location.

Communities should look for a focus that enables them to enact true autonomy and exercise political power over their own jurisdiction.

You were one of the first commissioned artists for experimental BBC/Arts Council multimedia platform The Space. How did you find the experience and do you think it achieved its aims?

I wrote an ordinary literary essay and added some other content – images, videos, music etc... As the possessor of a Gutenberg mind, I’m not particularly interested in bidirectional media (I write fiction on a manual typewriter, for Christ’s sake!), but I think the web offers a possible rubric

festival of words The Nottingham Festival of Words enjoys its second outing this October, offering up bloggers from war-torn countries, Booker-shortlisted authors and a game of zombie Mastermind. Here’s a few highlights to get in the diary.

Telling Tales: Nottingham kids’ festival of imagination Pack the kids off to their own literary festival where they can join in animation sessions, drama workshops, or create their own cartoons. If none of this interests them, they can overdose on Ribena and just run around screaming.

Saturday 11 October, 10am-5pm, free, Lady Bay nottinghamtellingtales.org.uk Writing from China When a Starbucks gets changed into a noodle bar and a pub becomes a karaoke bar, you know the city centre is changing. Will Buckingham is joined in conversation by Beijing author Karen Ma (Excess Baggage) and Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang (The Woman Who Lost China) for a discussion about life with the dragon.

Monday 13 October, 7.30-9pm, £4/£3, Nottingham Writers’ Studio, Hockley Faultlines The world’s in a right shitstorm at the moment, which means a lot of writers are in exile. Belfast playwright Gary Mitchell was forced into hiding following his depictions of life in Loyalist communities. Poet Suhrab Sirat is unable to return to war-torn Afghanistan and blogger Lina Ben Mhenni joins us from Tunisia where she continues to document the Arab Spring despite intimidation. They will read and discuss their work with Jo Glanville, Director of

for a new form of collaboration. I wanted to submit a draft of the essay, have people respond to it, and then incorporate their responses into it in a sort of ‘rolling collaboration’.

Unfortunately, time constraints meant we were unable to put this rubric in place, but I certainly think someone else should investigate its potential.

You also wrote a digital essay called Kafka’s Wound for them - why is Kafka such an important writer.

He’s one of the most studied of twentieth century writers; his work, which is often gnomic, provides secondrate literary critics and scholars with almost limitless opportunities for ‘analysis’ and ‘scholarship’. Usually their efforts are still more impenetrable than the original. I wanted to burst this bubble of piffle by writing about a story – A Country Doctor – that I felt was a response on Kafka’s part not to some universal and metaphysical question, but to an immediate and proximate circumstance: the impact of the First World War on him, his family, and Prague. As to why Kafka is an important writer… just read him.

Your short story Flytopia was turned into a film by directors Karni and Saul. Any plans on future collaborations in this medium?

They did all the work, so it was hardly collaboration. I don’t tend to collaborate much, which is why I haven’t really troubled with film. The thought of labouring for months on a script, only to have it rejected by someone whose principal qualification is in accountancy, is too heart-shrinking to be borne.

You were a voracious reader from an early age. What kind of books got you interested in reading?

Children’s books, duh.

You drew cartoons for the New Statesman for a while. Is this something you would return to and what function did it play in your development as a writer?

I did it because I wanted to write but felt too intimidated to actually do it. I liked cartooning, but I’m not a great draftsman and it took me ages to express my ideas in that way: the captions got longer, the drawings grew more schematic, and eventually I just concentrated on the writing.

I don’t think I’d ever return to it – it’s biblical, really: ‘When I came to be a man I put away childish things…’

English PEN. Tuesday 14 October, 7.30-9.30pm, £5/£4, Sillitoe Room, Waterstones Lyric Lounge The East Midlands’ travelling spoken word festival offers some gobby goodness from Shonaleigh Cumbers, Joel Stickley MC, Sophie Snell and Mark Gwynne-Jones, the poet once described as ‘Quentin Tarantino on milk’.

There’s also a chance to give it some flannel in the Storytelling Open Mic. Thursday 16 October, 6pm, £5, Nottingham Contemporary Ali Smith in conversation with Jon McGregor The author of The Accidental, Girl Meet Boy and Artful, her most recent novel, How To Be Both, is shortlisted for this year’s Booker. Joining her for a natter is Jon McGregor, author of If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things. There is a book signing afterwards for anyone hoping to make a few bob on eBay. Friday 17 October, 7.30pm, £12/£10, Lakeside Arts Centre Jennifer Makumbi Having grown up in Uganda, home of Joseph Kony and some atrocious human rights issues, her writing is largely based on oral traditions. Her debut novel, Kintu, explores the ancestry of a family and the history of her country, as heirs survive the loss of their land, the denigration of their culture and the ravages of war. Her short story Let’s Tell This Story Properly won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2014.

Saturday 18 October, 1.30pm-2pm, free, Lecture Theatre 5, Newton Building, Nottingham Trent University

In December 2006 you trotted 26 miles from your home in south London to Heathrow Airport and then, on arrival at Kennedy Airport, walked twenty miles to Manhattan.

What was the rationale behind this?

I’d been doing a column for the British Airways in-flight magazine where I flew in the morning to a part of Britain, took a long walk, then flew back to London in the evening and wrote about the experience. After a year of this I decided to ring the changes and simply walk to Heathrow. I found it entrancing – especially the epiphany I had when I realised I was probably the first person to have undertaken such a walk since the Industrial Revolution, and that therefore this was a meaningful form of exploration. The walk-flight-walk was a logical extension of this idea, but what I was amazed to discover was that when I finally reached Manhattan, it felt as if I’d walked the whole way, and that New York and London must be part of the same landmass. I’ve repeated the walk-flight-walk numerous times since then, and it works every time, making our globalised world a sort of psychological Pangaea.

As a psychogeographer and flâneur, what are your impressions of Nottingham?

To my shame, Nottingham is a city I really don’t know – I shall have to rectify this ignorance.

Tell us about your new book Shark.

There’s a marvellous scene in Martin Amis’s The Information where Richard Tull, a writer of torturously difficult modernist novels is asked on a US radio show to summarise his latest book in a few words. He points out that since the novel is 150,000 words long, and none of them are superfluous, it would take him that many words to summarise it. I hope this answers your question.

You once described book tours as, “I’ve been trundling to Bristol, Bath, Brighton and Birmingham year in, year out for almost two decades now, so that these journeys have the quality of an annual progress by some cut-rate monarch viewing his papery pop-up dominions.” Give us a tale from life on the road.

Oh, there have been many strange experiences along the way. In Seattle in 1993 I visited the apartment of a man who came to one of my readings, and discovered that he was a fugitive from the FBI with a closet full of automatic firearms.

At the time I thought I should probably get out less…

Kavya Rang: Ghazal International star of Indian music, Dev Dutt Joshi, will take you through musical genres including Bollywood, Ghazal, Bhajan, Qawalli, folk and fusion. He will be strutting his stuff with Sunil Gossai (tabla) and Siddharth Singh (guitar). Ghazal is an ancient form of Arabic verse, around central themes of loss and love.

Sunday 19 October, 3.30pm-5.30pm, £10/£7, Council House Dawn of the Unread presents: MasterBrainzzzs!

In the tents on Slab Square there’ll be a Mastermind with a difference as four dead writers are brought back to life and quizzed on their literary relevance. Lydia ‘Magnus’ Towsey will be asking the questions, arranging a bwain eating competition, and our former editor Al Needham will be made up as a zombie.

Sunday 19 October, 3pm-4pm, £3/£2, Word Tent 2, Market Square Tickets can be purchased from the Nottingham Playhouse Box Office (Tel: 0115 941 9419) or on the Festival of Words website. nottwords.org.uk

Umbrella is an uncompromising read with a complex narrative structure - no chapters, few paragraph breaks, and different timelines - yet it’s so very much in the present you can feel it breathing down your neck as you read. Why did you chose this approach, and was it more difficult than using a more traditional narrative?

The approach chose me! I could no longer believe in the impersonal omniscient narrator used in most prose fiction – who is he or she, surely only a stand-in for the absent deity?

Nor could I believe any longer in the simple he-said, she-said past – my life takes place in a continuous present; nor is my life divided into chapters. Although it’s essentially an illusory goal, I adopted these techniques in search of a more convincing naturalism.

If Nick Clegg “is the verruca of British Politics”, what’s Nigel Farage?

An angry red carbuncle swelling out from between the fat buttocks of the supine British electorate.

Other than asking a man on a train to bare his breasts for £35, what other ways do you cope with “a deep, gnawing, existential kind of boredom”?

If that’s a quote from me I don’t recognise it – as far as I’m concerned the greatest thing about getting older is that I no longer experience any kind of boredom at all, gnawing, existential, or otherwise. There simply isn’t enough time left to waste on being bored.

Tell us about a recent dream…

No, you’re not my lover.

You can invite any four literary figures to dinner, past or present. Who would you invite and why?

Well, I’ll only invite one – my friend and mentor, the late JG Ballard. He hasn’t been dead for that long, so it wouldn’t be too shocking for either him or me. After people have been dead for a while they become anachronistic and irrelevant – resurrecting them in that state would be cruel, surely?

Will Self in conversation with Georgina Lock, Newton Building, Lecture Theatre 2, Nottingham Trent University, Saturday 18 October, 7.30pm, £7/£10, or free for NTU students. will-self.com leftlion.co.uk/issue61

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Cookie Shake Lowdown: Traditionally, the university students and locals of cities avoid each other like the plague, but it doesn’t have to be this way. We can all work in harmony, y’know.

Here in Nottingham, there are loads of places where we cross paths and we aim to celebrate that with this board game. Whether you’re a newbie to the ends or a Hoodtown veteran, grab a dice, a partner, summat to use as a counter, and get stuck in.

Decide who’s gonna be the local and who’s gonna be the student. Start at either end and then race to the centre where ultimate integration is achieved, but mind out along the way… there may be some obstacles to overcome.

1-3 - Sugar rush!

Double roll

Savoy Cinema

Catch a film, drink a beer, get a numb bum, all for next to nowt

Freshers' Week

Buy an SU Hoodie Practical and unique…

4-6 - Inferno shot, you hurl. Miss a turn

4-6 - You survive, move forward 1 space

Glasshouse Street Sexual Health Clinic.

You've got the clap, but no-one's applauding.

Miss a turn making awkward calls

Whycliffe sings you a song. Roll a 6 to get to Rock City and don’t move until you do

1-3 - It all goes wrong, get back to yer mam's

Ocean

You meet your new BFF in the inexplicably long queue

Arboretum

You join a circle of red-eyed youths. Wait half an hour, then go back to Maryland

The Forum

Throw up all over yourself. Have you no decorum?

Alea Casino

You blaze your student loan, get back to yer mam's house

Yates's

Life's a learning curve...

Pit and Pendulum Miss a turn looking for the loos

Start at yer Mam’s house Oceana

Cop off with a chatty minger. Go back 4 spaces.

Maryland

Mmm, chicken. Wait.

Is it chicken?

Miss a turn hugging the porcelain throne

Rock City

A dodgy paving slab.

You fall off your bike. Go back to the QMC and get some compo while you're at it

Five Leaves' Bookshop

You ain't gonna find a d-list celeb biog here.

Book your ideas up

The Maze

The Thurland

No mate. Miss 2 turns

Xylophone Man's

spot. You see a busker and dob ‘em a nugget, move forward 4 spaces Jump on a

Citycard bike.

Cycle forward 3 spaces

1-3 - Gaz catches you graffing the bogs, get to The Thurland 4-6 - Skank the night away

Rob's Records Get lost in the piles of vinyl.

Miss a turn

Dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner …

Wollo Park!

Viccy Market

Naff phone case, Jesus Rocks belt, polyester lingerie, bag of carrots, hug the bear.

A good day's shopping

Broadway

You can't get in the café because you don't have a MacBook Air. Watch a mint film instead

1-3 - Your shoes get stuck to the floor. Miss a turn.

Goose Fair

Mushy peas, mint sauce, waltzers, cocks on sticks. Nuff said.

4-6 - Don't succumb to the burger van and move forward one space.

Market Square

Roll a 6 to get past the emos and win!

Primarni

1-3 - It's Saturday, what were you thinking?!

Miss a turn 4-6 - A whole outfit for £2.50. Advance to Hockley Hustle

Caves

Ooh, it's a right maze down here.

Emerge at the Malt Cross

Buy some cockles. Move forward two spaces

Start at QMC Rules: Follow the crazy path of the arrows.

If you hit a space with ‘double roll,’ wait for your next turn, roll the dice, double the score and get moving.

If you hit a space with 1-3 or 4-6, follow the instructions according to what you roll on the dice. If there are no instructions, go ahead and move forward the number your dice reads.

You get decked out and become a fully fledged hipster. Go to Wired café for a chai latte

Canning Circus

Hockley Hustle

Donate to charity to impress missus, see 40 bands for your own goodwill. Move forward one space

1-3 - Your phone goes off mid-show. Shame on you. Get to Yates's 4-6 - Find a parking space even though you turn up late t'panto. Oh no you didn't

and she drags you to The Thurland. Go forth.

Beer Pong

1-3 - Cack-handed fool.

4-6 - Go back 2 spaces, you're on the steamboat.

Game City

Space Invaders are attacking the city, your spod senses are tingling. Miss a turn getting stuck in

Lose at pool to someone from the rival uni in The Ropewalk. Hang your head in shame and miss a turn

of uni but are too scared to tell yer mam. Go and hide in Rob's Records

The Chameleon

Drink from 'the cask' and lose your hearing brilliant night.

Roll a 6 to get to Rock City and don’t move until you do

Just The Tonic 1-3 - Piss yersen laughing 4-6 - Stay past 11pm and end up in The Forum

Broado

Where's the monkey gone?

Hang on, where have all the bleedin' shops gone?

City Ground

1-3 Hooligans! Back to QMC 4-6 Oh Nottingham is full of fun! Move forward 3 spaces

Wild

You fall in love with

Shelleh from Strelleh

You drop out

Playhouse

Fish Man

Music Exchange

Discover a Notts band, become a superfan. Go to The Chameleon

Tempreh

You go to an opening event, neck your free drink and sod off asap.

Move forward 2 spaces

Meadow Lane

Come on you Pies…

For the love of God, come on!

Wired

Triple espresso double roll

Malt Cross

Nice cup of tea and a cake. Lovleh

concept: Ali Emm, Bridie Squires and Sam Nahirny illustrations: Raphael Achache

interview: Mark Patterson illustration: Mick Peter

As one of the founders of Moot, Tom Godfrey waved goodbye to Nottingham four years ago to do his MA. He couldn’t stay away though and has come back and opened a new gallery, TG, in Primary. We spoke to him about his return and what the future holds...

Nottingham’s art scene has changed since 2010 when Tom Godfrey moved to Glasgow to pursue an MA. The first reforming event was the closure of Moot, the art group that Godfrey founded with three fellow Nottingham Trent fine art graduates in 2005. Dissatisfied with the limited scope of Nottingham’s art galleries at the time, the four graduates started their own gallery in Sneinton that was big on ambition and low on budget. After five years, the project had run its natural course and dispersed. Yet into the breach came other young art groups who, inspired by Moot’s DIY approach, started up their own galleries and studios: Bohunk, Backlit, Trade, Tether and others. Elsewhere, existing galleries evolved. And, in 2012, Primary studios and exhibition space opened in a former school on Ilkeston Road, providing space for some of the artists who had left the redeveloped Oldknows studios.

Godfrey never thought he would return to work in Nottingham, but he was wrong. This year he opened his own modest gallery in the former caretaker’s flat at Primary, which is already on its fourth exhibition. He has also become the new manager of Nottingham Trent University’s Bonington Gallery, taking over from painter Geoff Diego Litherland. And, just a few months ago, Godfrey’s talents as an artist and curator were recognised by the Arts Council when it purchased his poster project titled Keep Floors and Passages Clear. Taking the name from an ‘elf and safety poster by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents that was originally shown in One Thoresby Street, Godfrey commissioned twenty artists over two years to produce their own identically sized and mounted poster images.

The complete portfolio of images - some photographic, some cartoonish, some abstract - was shown at One Thoresby Street and then at White Columns gallery in New York.

The Arts Council’s purchase this summer means that the artwork is included in a database of art available for exhibition anywhere. “It came out of the blue,” he says. “I just got a message saying that the Arts Council wanted to see some people, including me and the gallery. They didn’t give away a lot at the time, but they got in touch again to say they really wanted to buy it. That single sale benefited 21 individuals, or 25 if you count collaborations. It was an incredibly brilliant moment.”

Marbled Reams is Godfrey’s other collaborative project in which multiple artists were asked to produce an A4-sized image to be photocopied into a ream where one edge

is marbled like a Victorian book. This exploration of the expressive potential of blank paper is partly motivated by a play on words since Godfrey was interested in how easily the words can be misread as Marble Dreams. Like Keep Floors and Passages Clear, Marbled Reams is a clean, compact artwork; aesthetic values which also extend to Godfrey’s well-lit and thoughtfully designed little gallery, TG. Unlike Moot, TG is a commercial gallery, although this aspect is discreet to the point of invisibility. “That’s often the way with commercial galleries these days,” says Godfrey.

“You ask for a list and you understand from the way in which the gallery presents itself that this stuff is for sale.” Like Moot, TG is being run on a shoestring (Godfrey is some way from generating a salary, and is hoping to stretch an initial Arts Council grant from eighteen months to two years).

And, like Moot, TG is mostly dedicated to showing artworks by people from outside Nottingham. But, says Godfrey, in general TG is “a model that moves on from where Moot left off in terms of commerciality.”

With Moot and Nottingham behind him, why did Tom Godfrey come back here? “Necessity. It was first because we [him, his wife and daughter] had to move out of Glasgow since the landlord sold the flat we were in. And then I got offered a job with Nottingham Contemporary as a technician on the regular team so I knew that was four three-week stints every year, which covered my rent. I pieced together other stuff and suddenly we could move here again. It was a surprise, but I quickly realised it was a good thing; Primary had opened when I was away and enough had changed so that Nottingham felt unfamiliar. I suddenly felt like an outsider. Thoresby Street was run by different people and all these new groups had started.”

Yet, for little independent galleries, audiences can remain small. Godfrey remarks that it is not worth staying open more than three days a week at present since so few casual visitors come during the week. TG, like many other independents, can’t afford to be open all the time and even when it is open, access can only be gained via that annoying portal accessory, the buzzer. Godfrey says he isn’t bothered by small visitor numbers since he knows the gallery’s name is already known “far and wide.”

But wouldn’t he still rather have lots of people coming into his gallery? “Of course, but I don’t get paid and Josh [his assistant] doesn’t get paid, it’s just the artists who do. We run this on nothing so we do as much as we can using social media. But there’s no exclusivity against the general public whatsoever. At the same time, I’m based in a building where there’s no passing trade, you have to come into the building to find our room, and you have to ring a bell.” He adds, “I understand that that’s really infuriating and I have a friend who doesn’t go into any gallery with a buzzer. He hates that.

And I do. I bet loads of art spaces would love to have a city centre shop front. Primary’s intention in the future is to be open all the time and be more accessible. But they have to spend a lot of money on a system to do that.”

TG’s latest exhibition, Grains, by Alison Lloyd, can be seen until Saturday 1 November. weareprimary.org/people/tg-gallery

Godfrey feels that Nottingham has changed so much in the past decade that he wouldn’t have been able to open a gallery like TG when he first left NTU. To some extent, the changes in the art-seeing landscape, with Nottingham now supporting galleries of all sizes, was arguably made possible partly by the example of Godfrey and his peers at Moot Candice Jacobs, Matt Jamieson, Tristan Hessing.

Godfrey won’t take credit for this but he does say, “We made it look achievable and not such a scary thing; that you could say, ‘can we have this building?’ and negotiate something.”

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Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 November 10am - 5pm Admission ÂŁ5 Under 16s go free Ceramics, fine jewellery, bags and hats, glass, textiles, tableware and more.

One of the highest quality selling craft events in the UK, Lustre is a must for the style and design conscious and provides an early opportunity to buy unique Christmas gifts unavailable anywhere on the high street.

DH Lawrence Pavilion & Djanogly Art Gallery Nottingham Lakeside Arts, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD Box Office: 0115 846 7777 lakesidearts.org.uk

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PAPER BOY

interview: Sam Nahirny photo: Joe Dixey

Despite the digital revolution, reading a magazine on a device is never quite as good as the real thing. It’s not all nostalgia although yes, there is something wonderful about flicking through pages at leisure while getting a hit of the distinctive smell of ink and paper - physical print is actually easier to read. We spoke to Alex Smith, the man behind the independent magazine shop Ideas On Paper, about why print is here to stay...

Tell us a bit about yourself, and what made you want to start a magazine shop?

As a kid I always enjoyed coming into town and looking around shops. I was excited by the independent scene there was at the time. I was conscious of the fact that I needed experience, so I went off to London when I was eighteen and did a management training course at Harrod’s. Then I worked at Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Mulberry, always with the plan that I’d come back to Nottingham and open my own shop. I moved back in summer 2012 and started to formulate my plan. One of the main stumbling blocks was being able to afford the rent, but the Cobden Chambers project created the possibility to have a retail presence in the city centre.

I was going to ask about Cobden Chambers…

The great thing about it is that it’s in town, but has the independent vibe of Hockley.

It’s going to be even more exciting as the rest of it opens up, including the independent department store. I believe there is talk of a micro-brewery across the way in the building at the back of The Bodega. I like to describe it as a hippy commune of capitalism because it’s got that collective vibe to it, but at the end of the day, we’re all businesses trying to make a living.

I suppose something like this wouldn’t feel as special in London…

Yeah, to have something like this in Nottingham is a bit more unique. It’s an exciting and creative place; I do think of Nottingham as being a bit like the Berlin of the UK. People here are quite independent minded and quirky - there are parallels. Berlin’s got a fantastic magazine shop called Do You Read Me, and I hope that one day Ideas On Paper will be as big and wonderful as them.

Why now with the perception that ‘print is dying’?

There’s a renaissance in independent print. Producing a magazine isn’t a great way to get rich quick, but it’s never been easier with desktop publishing software and various printing methods. There’s lots of magazines, partly because people want to escape from the digital world. People really do value being able to hold a physical object. People thought that with the advent of the iPad, we’d all stop looking at stuff on paper. Who wants to do that? It’s not a sensory experience, it’s not exciting.

Do you think digital has actually given life to print again then?

I believe in the right platform for the right kind of content. When you go shopping for your groceries, you do it online and have it delivered because it’s boring, but if you want to go clothes shopping, you might want to go into a shop and try stuff on because it’s a more enjoyable experience. I don’t like using the phrase consuming content, but let’s say reading stuff, or looking at images; if it’s something you’re doing as a choice, as a leisure activity, then it’s much nicer to sit down with a book or a magazine, than it is to continue to look at a computer screen.

The thing a lot of people love about magazines is the smell of paper...

When you open a magazine and you smell the ink, you just kind of get a hit. It’s about feeling the paper, the weight of the thing, the way that it’s constructed, and some of the magazines have got particularly interesting bindings. I’m leading people through a journey; from delivering ideas to them, to then giving them the stationary and the raw materials to put their own ideas onto paper. Then they can begin projects of their own.

You stock so many niche magazines, how do you find out about them?

Ideas On Paper came about because with the books and magazines that I sell, you can’t normally find these sort of titles in many places. I get my information from a number of websites and blogs that celebrate independent print. A great one is Stack. You subscribe to Stack just like you would a magazine, and you get a different magazine every month.

You have no idea what it’s going to be, but you just trust that they’re going to send you something that is really great, whether it’s great photography, writing or illustration. It’s an interesting concept because in a world of almost infinite choice, we really value the role of the curator. There are a couple of other great websites, MagCulture, which does what is says on the tin, and Cover Junkie - the guy who runs it says, “I know a cover is good when I want to lick it.”

A lot of your magazines are so well made, but they’re no more expensive than your standard magazines. Why is that?

A term that people use a lot is “book-like.” These magazines aren’t something that you would read once and then throw away. They’re something that you would read and treasure it in the same way that you would a book. You’d put it up on your shelf and then you’d buy the next one, and you’d put that next to it and build up a nice little collection.

Where do you see print in, say, five or ten years time?

It still has a place and will do for the foreseeable future. You have to remember what makes us tick as human beings. We’ve got five senses, anything that can stimulate those is going to be something that appeals to us. When you hold a magazine it’s feeling the paper, smelling the ink, holding it in your hand, looking at the design, in a way that it just pops out at you.

On a computer screen images don’t look as strong as they do on paper. We’re not going to stop finding those kind of things exciting - just because contact lenses were invented people didn’t stop wearing glasses. There’s always been a love of books in our consciousness. I can’t see a time when we just look at everything on screen.

You’re often seen on your bike, do you do deliveries?

I go out to see customers simply to deliver, and also do pop-up events as well. At the moment I’m using a City Card bike but my plan is to buy a tricycle from Denmark. Danish postmen use these tricycles that have a big box on the front. Getting one would mean that I can deliver more than I can currently. ideasonpapernottingham.co.uk

People thought that with the advent of the iPad, we’d all stop looking at stuff on paper. Who wants to do that? It’s not a sensory experience, it’s not exciting.

We twisted Alex’s arm and got him to tell us his top three magazines at the moment...

Delayed Gratification is a magazine that believes that slow journalism matters; they deliberately reject today’s ultra-fast news cycle which rates being first above being right.

They like to let the dust settle on a story and cover it with the benefit of hindsight, thus giving a greater sense of perspective and a more well rounded approach.

Ernest Journal, for the curious and adventurous, is a guide for those who appreciate true craftsmanship and love to build fires and embark on road trips camping under the stars.

The magazine is an inspiring mix of breathtaking photography, inspiring stories and beautiful illustrations that make the reader want to pack a rucksack and head off in search of mythical characters – dressed in a fine tweed jacket, of course.

Monocle magazine is a combination of design journal, current affairs briefing, and guide on how to live well;. Describing itself as a briefing on global affairs, business, culture and design it has grown to be one of the most influential publications of the past ten years, contributing to the debate on how to build a more creative and welcoming city, but also which loafers one might wish to wear while strolling around it.

Receive a 10% discount when you subscribe to Stack by using the the voucher code IDEAS.

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proud to present

Nottingham Goose Fair 1 - 5 October Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival 8 - 11 October Family Arts Festival 17 October - 2 November GameCity9 October - 1 November Register to25play Hood Pageant 25 - 26 October ...and many more atRobin gamecity.org To find out more please visit: www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/bigoctober Spread the word #BigOctober

The Sheriff's Gauntlet

3pm, November 1st, Old Market Square Register to play at gamecity.org

Melton Original Portraits

by Barney Melton

My dad was a commercial photographer and I was always at his studio in Battersea, so naturally I got into the photography game. I work full-time as a fashion and product photographer and when my dad got a couple of tintypes off eBay for a few quid, I wanted to have a go. We’re a portrait company, but not the usual digital outfit you’re familiar with. We use an analogue, large format, 5x4 technical camera once used by the RAF in the sixties.

With decent cameras in most pockets, everyone is a “photographer” now, but these images rarely leave the digital world. I wanted to do these portraits so people could see, smell and hold a one-of-a-kind photograph of themselves. I also love using large format cameras; there is no digital screen, it’s not guess work, it’s all planned. The skill lies in mastering the chemistry, lighting and timing to create the pictures; they must be exposed and developed within a few minutes or they are ruined. There isn’t the chance to knock a few out and pick the best. What you see is what you get.

We shoot two types of portraits, the first is a ‘paper positive’ which uses a special photographic paper yielding a direct positive image in rich tones of black and white, combining traditional darkroom practice with modern materials. The second is the ‘tintype’ which the Englishman Frederick Scott Archer first invented the precursor to with his Wet Plate Collodion process in 1851. The tintype is a variation of his original process; rather than a glass plate, a sheet of metal coated with black paint is placed inside the camera. This process revolutionised photographic portraiture as it made it affordable to most people, releasing photography from a formal studio setting onto fairgrounds, beaches and street corners.

The entire process takes about fifteen minutes and is done on location with a portable darkroom. The tonal variations in the finished images reflect their handcrafted character. The photographs are a unique blending of subject matter and photographic technique. Part craft and part theatre.

After launching the portraits in May at the Malt Cross Gallery, I have photographed around 300 people so far. 295 of them thought they were amazing while the other five hated it, but it’s their face they don’t like rather than the photography! Between the day job and sleeping, I don't have a lot of time but I’d love to shoot these portraits on a huge scale - there’s a bloke in the states who converted a van into a camera.

Melton Original Portraits will be taking portraits at the Malt Cross on Saturday 1 Sunday 2 November, and Saturday 13 - Sunday 14 December. meltonoriginalportraits.com

Art works Cogs of Autumn

by Josie McGilvray All the time pieces I start with are completely different to one another, so I take my time deciding what I’ll turn each wrist and pocket watch into using inspiration from the original design.

Before I start the embellishment process, each mechanism is prepared by grinding away any sharp edges and cleaning the visual area of the movement. Sometimes the majority of the watch will have to be dismantled to clean and repair it. I collect the elements for my designs over a period of weeks and months, visiting vintage stores and fairs all over the UK looking for the perfect charms.

It’s great when I show someone a final piece and see them feel the weight in their hand, looking closely at the intricacy and detail, sensing its age and history. People enjoy that my jewellery isn’t stereotypically steampunk. I’d like to bring steampunk-inspired jewellery to the high street without the clique or use of cheap materials.

Cogs of Autumn is a handmade pendant I created using an antique pocket watch mechanism from the late eighteenth century. The mixed metals used in this piece are detailed with warm orange and pale green glass crystals representing the progression towards the autumn. All the original cogs and movements remain on display, although no longer working it is continuing its life as a unique, wearable, piece of art.

I create all the jewellery and accessories at Hackspace in Sneinton. It’s great sharing a studio my work is very different to other people’s there, most are sawing wood and making electronics.

They’re normally quite intrigued when they realise I’m not actually fixing the watches I’m working on.

Art and design has always been a huge part of my life and is something that defines me. Fine art, sculpture and jewellery making are just a few of the medias I regularly use. I have been artistic ever since I can remember and it was something I took very seriously at school and college. I have a full time job while I get Clockwork Lobster up and running, but it is a priority that I have sufficient time to spend creating during the evening and weekends.

I’ve had several commissions, which involved turning broken pocket watch heirlooms into a modern, wearable piece of jewellery with a twist. I love doing those pieces and would love to do more. I’ve been experimenting with pearls recently, and I'm thinking about making a whole collection of steampunk-inspired jewellery using my favorite grey Tahitian pearls.

Clockwork Lobster will be exhibiting at Lee Rosy’s, Broad Street, until the end of October. clockwork-lobster.com

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words: Mark Patterson illustration: Christopher Paul Bradshaw

Have you ridden a Nottingham ‘Borisbike’? Hundreds of people have, and whether you think that rent-a-bikes are a step forward for cycling in Nottingham, or just an expensive PR exercise, the scheme is expanding.

A few months after Citycard Cycles were launched in October 2012, local media obtained figures that showed an average of one person a day was using them. With £350,000 start-up funding from central government, and £50,000 annual running costs, the scheme was costing the taxpayer nearly £110 per day - you can see why folks were cynical. Whizz the clock forward and the city council tells LeftLion that the bikes have had ‘10,000 days hire’ in a little over a year. Sounds impressive, but it doesn’t translate into a specific figure for the number of users since the bikes can be hired daily, weekly and yearly. What the figure does suggest is that they’ve generated at least £10,000 for the city council since the bikes can be ridden for £1 per day. Still a long way from breaking even.

Regardless, there are plans to increase the number of bike hire locations from 22 to 34. Increasing bike visibility with Borisbikes and police capture bikes is great for ‘normalising’ cycling - surely one of the main targets of the scheme. Bike hire is an essential marketing tool for any modern European city these days, isn’t it? A contemporary art gallery. Trams. Bike hire. Tick! Although one can argue that £400,000 would have been better spent; surely cycle paths with a strategical, safe infrastructure trump lime rent-a-bikes.

But are they any good? I found out by nabbing one from Market Square and riding up to Lakeside Arts Centre. Day hire is a hassle; you have to ring up to register, pay by card and then send a text to get a code to unlock the bike. All this was done on my hands and knees as the details were on a sign next to the ground. However, when bike 405 was finally mine I was soon pedalling merrily along Nottingham’s equivalent of a bicycle superhighway - Castle Boulevard. I can report that bike 405 felt safe and stable with three responsive gears. The ‘Fabrique en France’ words gave a continental feel although the basket wouldn’t fit a baguette. Other cyclists smiled at me indulgently as if I deserved a pat on the head. However, most notably, the bike was heavy and tiring to ride, making it suitable for short rides only. How tiring? Perhaps the person best qualified to answer that is the bloke who, for a lark and some good photos, took a rent-a-bike and tried to cycle it to Germany earlier this year.

John (not his real name) hired the bike from the Nottingham Contemporary stand, fitted some panniers and took off along the Grantham Canal. At Grantham, he put it on the train to Newcastle, cycled to the ferry port and sailed to Amsterdam. His plan was to cycle it across nice flat Holland to Germany. Alas, after sixty miles he was so knackered that he called it a day and continued his journey by train.

“It was hard and slow-going,” he tells LeftLion. “At the end of those sixty miles I felt pretty dead.” Although John cycled quite a few miles in Germany, his return journey to England was also mostly on the train. Back in Nottingham he locked the bike up at its stand and nobody was any the wiser.

John has mixed feelings about the impact of the bikes in Nottingham. “They’re a step in the right direction because they do increase the visibility of cycling,” he says. “People see them or use them and think, ‘ah now I’ll get myself a real bike.’ But you have to wonder: how many cycle paths would the money spent on the bikes have built?”

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What Does the Ferox Say?

interview: Emma Lowther photo: Louise Clutterbuck

Ferox is a one-woman cottage industry run from founder and maker Jade Paterson’s gaff in West Bridgford. We chatted about her love of cute animal-inspired prints, furs and hoods... model: Emma Lowther

How long has Ferox been around?

I started taking myself seriously as a business around a year and a half ago when I realised I could earn a living from it, but I’ve been sewing for three years. It all fell into place when I came up with the name. Ferox means fierce in Latin and I wanted to do something animal-themed.

It sounds lame, but when I was younger I wanted to be a vet or marine biologist. That was never going to happen so I wanted Ferox to help support animal charities as well.

You don’t have a shop, how do you sell to the public?

I take orders through Facebook, but I am getting a website sorted very soon. I also do a lot of stalls at festivals, as well as events around Nottingham.

The company has a strong ethical stance, tell us about that...

I’m an animal lover; growing up in Cornwall and being around farms helped a lot. I’ve always hated the fur industry and when I started

sewing I realised how much amazing faux fur there is. There’s no point in harming animals. I want to push that message with what I do.

Do you ever worry that selling faux fur further encourages the real fur industry?

Next to all of the photos of my products, I state that it’s 100% faux fur. I think that enlightens people to realise that it can look so real. Like Quorn, but fabric.

Who do you have in mind when you’re creating pieces?

I guess festival goers, but a lot of older people order my stuff as well. I definitely go for an alternative crowd.

The hoods are your big seller, what do you think their appeal is?

When you go to a festival you can reinvent yourself because you don’t know anyone and you don’t get much chance to dress up in everyday life. With my hoods, you can get away with wearing them every day.

What else inspires the designs?

I listen to my friends, they give me lots of suggestions, but I get inspired by animals and nature as well. When I’m designing hoods I’ll think of an animal and look at photos of them to find the closest fake fur to them.

Are all of your pieces custom-made?

I made my basic designs and then all of my custom orders have spun off the original designs. I love to listen to what my customers are looking for; if I get the same suggestion from a few people, I tend to move in that direction.

Anything else you’d like to say to LeftLion readers?

There’s a really great independent designer scene here people should have a look and take note.

model: Joey Shiakallis

facebook.com/feroxclothing

Threads of Truth

Truth Clothing Co are your friendly local brand for the conscious thinker and dresser.

We found out why they’re cut from a different cloth...

Describe Truth’s ethos...

Gregg: We do positive stuff and try to make people think.

Holly: It’s about local sources, it’s independent, it’s not done in a sweatshop, it’s had a lot of heart and time put into it. We hand print because we want to have as much contact with our clothes as we can. We’re just hippies undercover, really.

What are your main ethical considerations?

Holly: No animal products - we don’t use wool or animal tested products. Our inks are waterbased so we don’t pollute rivers, and all the dyes we use are eco-friendly. We really want to find bamboo and hemp shirts, but we can’t keep it affordable.

We could import it but with the air miles and pollution, we’d be going against what we stand for.

interview: Sam Nahirny photo: Louise Clutterbuck

Who do you have in mind when you’re designing your clothes?

Holly: Originally, 18 to 24 year olds, but we’ve had everyone from 16 to 40 wearing our stuff - the message is so universal.

Have you had any help in growing your business?

Holly: I asked Nathaniel at Mimm, “You’re a Prince’s Trust company, how did you do that?” He went, “You just ring them.” So we did a week long course with the Prince’s Trust, met loads of creative people, and learned how to do our tax and all that. They liked our pitch so we got a bit of funding. Mimm probably don’t know this, but they were a big part in getting us started.

Gregg: So yeah, props to Nathaniel.

Are there any other independents in Notts you’d like to work with?

Holly: THC in Canning Circus. One of our designs is a big hemp leaf, which says all the different uses for it. With them being a head shop, the right customers are in there.

It’s probably my favourite design - Youthoracle’s got one, so we’re working with musicians as well. I’d gladly work with a tattooist too.

Gregg: I’m into BMXing, so we’ve got Non-Stop. We met up with Ben Basford - a pro BMXer from Arnold - he’s sponsored by numerous American and UK teams, so it’s nice for him to support a local company.

Holly: I want to work with Brinsley Animal Rescue Centre. They are completely non-profit and volunteer run and we’re considering donating 10% of each t-shirt sale to them.

You were at Dot to Dot and Splendour this year...

Holly: Splendour is brilliant, it’s proper Nottingham.

Gregg: Someone bought a load of our t-shirts at Dot to Dot. Holly: Billy JD Porter. We got tagged on Instagram, and my friend said, “You do know who that is, don’t you?”

She works for Channel 4 or T4 apparently…

Anything else you want to say?

Holly: If you want to help independent things, you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is.

Gregg: Shout out to Ben Basford, Youthoracle, Ferox, Mimm and LeftLion. truthclothingco.co.uk

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October

pick of the month Get winding your clocks back and dig out your scarf and gloves...

Hockley Hustle

The most pimpin’ music and arts festival of the year is back, and this time it’s serious. Well, as serious as dancing your tootsies off can get. Almost every promoter in Nottingham has been working tirelessly to deliver the biggest and best collaboration of the year, including Sounddhism, Unplugged, I’m Not From London, Phlexx, Under the Tree, and yours truly.

More than 400 local acts will be performing in over forty Hockley venues, with all the money raised going straight to charity. That’s right, the cost of your ticket will not only get you entry to a ton of amazing parties, but it will line the pockets of organisations pumping hope into our community. There’s Framework, who help Nottingham’s most vulnerable people escape homelessness, John Van Geest’s Cancer Research Centre at NTU’s Clifton Campus, Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum, who aid anyone in need of help and advice when seeking refuge or asylum, and the NG7 Food Bank, who provide vital supplies to people on the breadline. All this do-gooding wraps a pretty bulky musical parcel. Catch the cheeky Rob Green at Broadway, dip a tab in Mouthy Poetry at Wired, go mental to Jimmy the Squirrel in The Vintage Warehouse, sink into Can B’s deep lyricism in Pepper Rocks, bounce along to Origin One’s funky vibrations in Cape, catch open mic stalwart Adam Peter Smith in Boiler Maker, and that ain’t even the half of it. There really is something for every bleeder and if you don’t believe us, get to the Hockley Hustle website so we can cackle hysterically together over how wrong you were. It’s an explosion of all things musically massive, born and bred in our city. Who said you can’t have both quality and quantity? Fools. That’s who.

Sunday 19 October, 2pm onwards, £10, All over Hockleh

Goose Fair

If there’s one annual event that pretty much everyone in Hoodtown has a special place in their hearts for, it’s Gooseh.

Nothing else fills us with quite as much nostalgia as mushy pea and mint sauce-topped guts... and the regret as we stumble off the waltzers. Everyone’s got their favourite thing about the fair, whether it’s the rides, the food, naff little stalls, or that look you give your mate when they try and drag you on a ride that charges fifteen bleddy quid a pop. Mardyin’ aside, we love the place and there’s no way you’re proper Notts if you’ve not been at least once. It’s the law. So come on, scream if you want to go faster.

Wednesday 1 – Sunday 5 October, various times, Forest Recreation Ground

Haiku Salut Lamp Show

As much as we love gigs, they are, fundamentally, pretty much the same: band on stage, audience in front of the stage, band plays music, crowd goes wild after every song. Nowt wrong with that, but every now and again you’d like something extra but without having to tolerate a big stage show from Katy Perry or Pink. Something quirky but not try hard. Swimming did it with their binaural shows a couple of years ago and now Haiku Salut are having a go. They haven’t reinvented the wheel, but they have added some rather cool spokies. The instrumental trio have got a bunch of vintage lamps and rigged them up to flash, flick, fade along to the music, like an extra member of the band. It’s going to look lovely, and with the darkening evenings, dare we say, magical.

Wednesday 8 October, 7.30pm, £7/£8, Nottingham Contemporary

Kagoule and God Damn

Nottingham grunge masters Kagoule have been making a colossal racket in Notts for a few years now, earning rave reviews with each release and show they play. As part of their tour, they’re back in Notts. In between hiding vinyls all over the city centre and recording their debut album, they’re co-headlining a show with fellow noisemakers God Damn. We’re expecting big things. Rumours are flying about a signing, and it won’t be long until this weatherproof lot are on their way to alternative superstardom, so catch them at an intimately humble gig while you can.

Wednesday 8 October, 7pm, £7, The Bodega

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People’s Assembly Public Meeting

High Focus Records presents…

This UK hip-hop label are taking the land by storm with earthquake beats and galactic lyricism. Luckily for us, a tour of theirs is hitting up Nottingham in a showcase of some of the best rhythms and poetry you’ll have heard. It ain’t for nothing either – stalwart emcee Fliptrix is launching his new album Polyhymnia with a bucket full of tunes and a few of his mates to back it. Verb T, Jam Baxter, Leaf Dog, BVA, Molotov, DJ Madnice and a surprise support act pack out a line up that’s got many a hand trembling in anticipation. This one’s sure to be a sellout, so move fast if you wanna see the cream of the hiphop crop on the British scene today.

Tuesday 7 October, 10.30pm, £6–£10, Rescue Rooms

Mayhem X

“What is the real cost of austerity?” With a general election looming in less than a year, we are invited to look at real issues in a time when new taxes are appearing while cuts are made to benefits, the NHS and the ILF. It’s easy to feel hopeless when it comes to discussing issues like these, but the speakers at this meeting aim to change that. Chipping in his two bob’s worth is author of Harry’s Last Stand, Harry Smith, a man who grew up in an NHS-less Britain in the thirties with quite a story to tell. Joining him is Daily Mirror journalist Ros Wynne Jones, child poverty campaigner Ruth Lister, co-founder of People’s Assembly Against Austerity Lindsey German, and Tom Crawford, who was served with eviction from his home by a state-owned bank. Don’t fall silent.

Thursday 9 October, 7pm, free, Nottingham Mechanics Institute

The pantaloon-destroying film festival is back for its tenth year, with all the usual bloodcurdling activities and then some. Mayhem will celebrate over ten days with a pre-festival, including screenings, master classes and workshops exploring the horror genre in all its gory glory. Pre-festival events include Teen Mayhem (stuff for the youths) and Mayhem Certificate X (an exploration of the X rating.) On the night before Halloween, cult film collective Astron-6 will open the main festival, gracing the screen with short film favourites Bio-Cop, Manborg, and their latest piece, The Editor, as well as doing a Q&A. There’ll also be a fortieth anniversary screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dr Brendan Dare will be bringing his Thrill Laboratory, 8mm Orchestra will be live soundtracking a silent film before your eyes, plus celluloid gore and thrills. Bloody awesome.

Saturday 25 October – Sunday 2 November, various times and prices, Broadway

Festival of Words

GameCity

Innit amazing how these lines, curves and shapes fluidly communicate sounds, rhythms and ideas? We think so. And so do the literary fetishists pulling together Nottingham Festival of Words. A horde of authors, poets and scribble enthusiasts are collaborating to celebrate and explore our letter-laden world, with everyone in the city invited to join. Guest readers include the wonderful Will Self, Ali Smith, Judith Allnatt, Bernadine Evaristo, Jon McGregor and Sujata Bhatt.

There’s also a crime writing evening at Galleries of Justice, run by three of the UK’s best-selling crime writers, and a celebration of words in Market Square, with storytelling, public speaking and drop-in activities to be getting on with.

Check out the website at nottwords.org.uk for the finer details, then pens and party hats at the ready muckers, it’s time for some wordy goodness.

Monday 13 October – Sunday 19 October, various times, prices and locations

The Five and the Prophecy of Prana

We have plenty of exciting theatre shows going off all the time, but none have sounded quite as nuts as this. Dance Touring Partnership present Boy Blue Entertainment in The Five and the Prophecy of Prana, where five young, Tokyoite troublemakers fuse hip-hop and martial arts to present a story of honour, peace, and warrior fall-outs. As a tribute to the popular Japanese graphic novel form, manga, be sure to expect overblown violence and incredible visuals. Considering they’ve worked Shaolin Temple Warrior School monks, manga artist Akio Tanaka, video animation studio Yeast Culture and choreographers behind Streetdance 3D, this will be epic. Think Afro Samurai mixed with a b-boy battle and some mental scraps, right in front of you. Now we're talking.

Friday 24 – Saturday 25 October, 7pm, £12.50–£19, Nottingham Playhouse

Ever since humans have been around, we’ve played silly boggers to keep ourselves amused.

From hoops and sticks to MMORPGs, we love being big in the game, and it’s time to celebrate that with a week of getting one over on each other. Video games galore, stuff for the kiddywinks, the chance to create your own games, the list goes on. In previous years, GameCity broke the world record for the largest zombie gathering and held the world’s largest science experiment. This year, the Sheriff of Nottingham will be issuing her challenge, and GameCity asks: Dare you run her gauntlet? We can also look forward to some larger-than-life games in the Market Square, an Open Arcade with game developers from around the world, the annual GameCity Prize, a Sports Time Machine and loads more. Knock on for your mates and get stuck in.

Saturday 25 October – Saturday 1 November, various times, places and locations

Hallow Gore: Monsters and Mischief

There are loads of ghoulish gigs going down this Halloween, so stick that warty snout into the full set of listings and find out what’ll light yer pumpkin. We’ve had a gander and found summat looking as sweet as a couple of tuffy-stuffed pockets. Hello Thor and The Kneel Before Zod Video Club have linked up to present an evening of live bands and DJs, art installations, film screenings, decorations and loads more freaky fun. This year’s party celebrates British folklore, so prepare to get a little bit dark and very, very odd. Fancy dress is compulsory. Well, nobody’s gonna kick you out, but you’ll look a right boring muggle when all the werewolves, demons, witches and forest people are performing their ritualistic sacrifice boogy and you’re stood at the back repping your Hi-Tec trainers. Join the spinechilling madness. Muahaha!

Friday 31 October, 7.30pm, free, Nottingham Contemporary

event listings...for more: leftlion.co.uk/listings WEDNESDAY 1 OCT

THURSDAY 2 OCT

FRIDAY 3 OCT

SATURDAY 4 OCT

SUNDAY 5 OCT

MONDAY 6 OCT

Open Mic Night The Bell Inn (M) Free, 8pm

Joy Mumford, Beth Frisby and Jamie Moon The Bodega (M) £5, 7pm

Hawkwind Rock City (M) £22, 6:30pm

Shiver Nottingham Contemporary (M) Free, 8pm

Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition 2014 Final Nottingham Albert Hall (M) £7.50 / £10, 4pm - 6:30pm

Robert Wolfe Bonington Theatre (M) £4-£6.50, 7:30pm - 9:45pm

Open Mic Night The Maze (M) Free, 7:30pm Camera (Berlin)/I Am Lono/Apalusa The Chameleon Cafe Bar (M) £5/£6, 8pm - 11pm SBTRKT Live Rock City (M) £19.25, 6:30pm Disney Horror Party Sugar Ape (M) £2, 11pm Look! The Moon!

The Orange Tree (M) Free, 8pm Open Mic Night JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm Simon Spillett The Star Inn (M) £6, 8:30pm Mary Gauthier The Glee Club (M) £14, 7pm Doc Brown The Glee Club (C) £14, 6:45pm

“Don’t Panic” Comedy Cub Bunkers Hill (C) FRIDAY 3 OCT The Pop Confessional The Bodega (M) Free/£3, 11pm Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition 2014 Semi-Final No1 The Newton Building, NTU (M) £5/£7.50, 6pm - 8:30pm Live Music The Lion at Basford (M) Cool Beans Spanky Van Dykes (M) Free, 9pm Tyrannosaurus Dead, Sonic the Comic and Debris Slide The Chameleon Arts Cafe Nottingham (M) £5, 8pm Buster and Good Times DJ The Approach (M)

THURSDAY 2 OCT

La Bete Blooms, Landladies Gong and Ghostletters JamCafé (M) Free, 8pm

Open Mic Night The Lion at Basford (M) Free, 8pm

Dollop Stealth (M) £12, 10pm

Roughneck Riot, The Reverends, Brad Dear & The Half Truth and ASBO Peepshow The Maze (M) £5, 7:30pm

Perdition #003 The Market Bar (M) £4/£5, 11pm

Nine Below Zero The Glee Club (M) Lewis Watson, Amber Run, Andreas and more The Rescue Rooms (M) £11, 6:30pm Acoustic Sessions The Golden Fleece (M) Free, 7pm On The Verge The Hand and Heart (M) Free, 7pm Farmyard Records present...

JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm David Newton Bonington Theatre (M) £5/£10/£12, 8pm Szymanowski Quartet Djanogly Recital Hall (M) £14/£16, 7:30pm George Holroyd Sir John Borlase Warren (M) Free, 8:30pm Good Times... Fun Times...

Karaoke The Old Angel (M) Buzzcocks - The Way Rock City (M) £22, 6:30pm

The Dirty Youth The Rescue Rooms (M) £8, 6:30pm Unplugged Showcase Bunkers Hill (M) Free, 8pm Nanci and Phoebe (Congo Natty) Spanky Van Dykes (M) £7.50, 9pm - 2am The Phantom Band The Bodega (M) £9.90, 7pm Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition Nottingham Albert Hall (M) Ends Sunday 5 Oct. Rhodri Rhys, Joe Bromehead, Dave Twentyman & Patrick Monahan Jongleurs Comedy Club (c) £15, 6:30pm Ends Saturday 4 Oct. Gnod, Space Witch, Cernunnos and Nadir Stuck On A Name Recording Studio (M) £6/£7, 8pm Everything’s Alright The Rescue Rooms (M)

Blitz Kids Rock City (M) £8, 6:30pm Alison Balsom Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £19.50 - £32.50, 7:30pm Northern Ballet - Three Little Pigs Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (T) £7, 11:30am Pendulum’s Bargain Emporium Djanogly Theatre (T) £11/£13/£15, 8am Joel Dommett, Carl Donnelly, Rob Deering and Eric Lampaert The Glee Club (C) £10, 7:30pm SATURDAY 4 OCT Aces High 2014 (Saturday) The Doghouse (M) £8/£10, 2pm JD’s Ska and Soul Show The Barge at Long Eaton (M) Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition 2014 Semi-Final No.2 The Newton Building, NTU (M) £5/£7.50, 6pm - 8:30pm

Kold Chillin’ The Old Angel (M) Limehouse Lizzy Rock City (M) £14.30, 6:30pm

Jimmy Lafave and The Night Tribe The Maze (M) £16, 7:30pm

Red Sky July The Maze (M) £11, 7:30pm Battle of the Bands 2014 The Old Angel (M)

Swing Gitan Nottingham Contemporary (M) Free, 1pm

Nottingham Hackspace Photographers Nottingham Hackspace (A) Free, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Crazy for Gershwin Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £23.5, 3pm

TUESDAY 7 OCT

Saturday Night Comedy Just The Tonic (C) £6/£10, 7:30pm Comedy Club: Gary Delaney Plus Guests Bartons (C) £9, 7:30pm

dollop present... Cyril Hahn Stealth (M) £9, 10pm

Joel Dommett, Carl Donnelly, Rob Deering and Eric Lampaert The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm

Lustre: Texture and Print on Clay Lakeside Arts Centre (A) £50/£60, 10am - 4pm

Hey Beatles Nottingham Arts Theatre (T) £10/£12/£14, 8pm

Just The Tonic 20th Big Birthday Bash Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (C) £15/£17, 7:30pm SUNDAY 5 OCT Aces High Sunday The Doghouse (M) £8/£10, 3pm

Holly Black and Cassandra Clare Nottingham Playhouse (T) £8, 2:30pm MONDAY 6 OCT Open Mic Night The Golden Fleece (M)

The Racing Room The Dragon (M) Phlebas Bar Eleven (M) £2, 10pm Open Mic Night Pepper Rocks (M) Sunshine Underground The Rescue Rooms (M) £14.85, 6:30pm Friend Within Stealth (M) £10, 10pm High Focus Records present...

The Rescue Rooms (M) £6/£8/£10, 10:30pm

The Ukulele Orchestra of Hackspace Nottingham Hackspace (M) Free, 7pm

Back To Mine The Market Bar (M) High Power Society Spanky Van Dykes (M) NOMAD Launch event Sneinton Market (M) Free, 2pm - 8pm Ram1, Blessing Magore, Monique Henry, Nu – Projeks Dance, QMX Jnr Dance, Robyn HughesJones, The Hargreaves, IAmStarz, Emily Franklin, Joanna Lovatt, Kriptik & Eljay, Mizz Reds, Marita Metelia & Pegefo and Pete (Satnams Tash).

Stealth v Rescued The Rescue Rooms (M) Sexy Saturdays The Golden Fleece (M) Free, 7pm Shake and Bake with Leygo JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm Nottingham Pop All-Dayer The Maze (M) £15, 1pm Dreadzone The Rescue Rooms (M) £15, 6:30pm Gaps The Rescue Rooms (M) £5, 10pm The Fabulous Hoochie Coochie Club Spanky Van Dykes (M) £8/£10, 9pm

Calling all sport obsessives, photography enthusiasts, Photoshop fanatics.

We want you…

PA Images, the leading national news agency for the UK and Ireland, are looking for a number of picture editors on a casual basis. We’ve been providing a fast, accurate feed of news and images for over 145 years and this is your chance to hone in on all this experience.

The role, to assist a dedicated team of editors to crop, caption and send out images from the Champions League, Premier League and Championship football games to all our multi-media customers.

Can you handle it? If you’re eager for experience in the media industry and spend your free time consumed by sport or photography then this is the role for you. A set of basic skills in Adobe Photoshop is preferable but we will provide full training.

Interested?

Send your CV and Covering letter to tom.miller@pressassociation.com

leftlion.co.uk/issue61 leftlion.co.uk/issue61

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event listings...for more: leftlion.co.uk/listings

John Smalley gears up for getting Nottingham rocking out in the new academic year…

Genre: Rock, metal, punk Venue: Nottingham Trent Students' Union Who else helps you run the nights: We started as members of NTU RockSoc and still run in association with them. The Students' Union staff are all super helpful and wonderful. We love them an awful lot.

Words that sum up the events you put on: Alternative, cheap, rocking, varied, silly, party, drunken.

Describe the average punter at your nights: Mostly students, although there’s a large handful of alumni and increasingly more locals coming down to party with us.

Which local act has gone down best with your crowd?

Undoubtedly, Evil Scarecrow. We put them on a couple of times a few years ago before they were international rock superstar divas playing to 11,000 people at major festivals.

We love those guys heaps.

Which non-local act would you bring back?

Post-punk laptop rapper MC Lars played for us earlier this year – I'd have him back in a heartbeat. A guy with a laptop rapping Shakespeare and Poe over grunge and emo guitar riffs. Sounds stupid but somehow it works, just like us.

If you could get a celebrity compere who would you choose and why?

I hear Kristian Nairn – Hodor in Game of Thrones – DJs. Getting him in, in character, would be pretty awesome.

Which booze sells best at your events?

Aside from the usual lager and cider, Jägermeister have recently dedicated a plaque to us, and we're singlehandedly responsible for keeping the Jack Daniel's distillery afloat for the last ten years.

Tell us a crazy story that has happened at your event…

I put this to the Facebook group, and got a lot of responses that can't be printed. Those aside, there was the time we had the snowball fight outside the club one winter’s night; the guys dressed as Tetris blocks dancing to the Tetris theme, the dreaded 'Shirtless O'Clock', the fullychoreographed dance routine that breaks out whenever we play Full Moon, and on a personal note, the time I got my venerable and bewhiskered father to come down and do a DJ set for us. He went down a storm.

If you weren’t a promoter what would you have ended up doing?

Probably the other stuff I do anyway, just more of it. DJing, photography, freelance Corinthian.

What other events in Nottingham do you love?

I'm biased to say Perdition at The Maze because I DJ there.

Otherwise I can be found at gigs, or in cocktail bars.

What have you got coming up in October?

We start up again on the Friday 3 October with our tenth birthday party. We then run fortnightly on a Friday, during university term times. facebook.com/assaultnotts

TUESDAY 7 OCT

THURSDAY 9 OCT

FRIDAY 10 OCT

SATURDAY 11 OCT

Fuck Hip Hop The Market Bar (M) Free guestlist, 9:30pm

Larry Bartley’s Just Us Bonington Theatre (M) £5/£10/£12, 8pm

Everything’s Alright The Rescue Rooms (M)

#TNMC Bunkers Hill (M) Free, 8pm

Notts In A Nutshell The Maze (M) £3, 7:30pm

Sam Avery, Philberto, Junior Simpson and Nathan Caton Jongleurs Comedy Club (M) £15, 6:30pm

Douglas Francis The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) John Wheeler, Ryan Thomas and Ali Bonsai The Maze (M) £10, 7:30pm Pressure The Rescue Rooms (M) £1, 10pm Friend Within - No Friends Within Tour Stealth (M) £10, 10pm The Twighlight Sad The Bodega (M) £12.65, 7pm WEDNESDAY 8 OCT Open Mic Night The Bell Inn (M) Haiku Salut Lamp Show, We Show Up On Radar and Grawlix The Space, Nottingham Contemporary (M) £7/8, 8pm Jazz and Poetry The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) Open Mic Night JamCafé (M) HUSH #6 The Maze (M) £3, 7:30pm Dragonforce The Rescue Rooms (M) £16, 6:30pm Black Veil Brides Rock City (M) £22, 6:30pm God Damn and Kagoule The Bodega (M) £7, 7pm Ross Noble Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (C) £25, 8pm THURSDAY 9 OCT Open Mic Night The Lion at Basford (M) Free, 8pm Larry Bartley’s “Just Us” Bonington Theatre (M) £12/£10 concs./£5 students, 8pm The Tuts and Wolf Girl JT Soar (M) £5, 8pm Cygne The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M)

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Kids In Glass Houses The Rescue Rooms (M) Like Well Good Karaoke The Old Angel (M) Free, 8pm Jettblack Rock City (M) £11, 6:30pm The Magic of Motown Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £20, 7:30pm James Yorkston The Bodega (M) £11, 7pm Sinfonia Viva and Tom Dale Djanogly Recital Hall (T) £13/£16, 7:30pm Tom Stade The Glee Club (C) £15, 6:45pm FRIDAY 10 OCT Eric Taylor The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) The Pop Confessional The Bodega (M) Free/£3, 11pm Good Times DJ The Approach (M) Memphis Tones The Lion at Basford (M) Cool Beans Spanky Van Dykes (M) Rachael Dadd, Rozi Plain and Emma Gatrill The Running Horse (M) The Money and Good Times DJ The Approach (M) Unplugged Showcase Bunkers Hill (M) Stand Up For Education feat. Substitute Nottingham Contemporary (M) Free, 7:30pm - 12pm Popes of Chill Town, Alex Blood and The Diggers and Great Imitation JamCafé (M) Bane Bonington Theatre (M) £5-£10, 7:30pm - 9:30pm Sam Avery, Philberto and Junior Simpson Jongleurs Comedy Club (M) £15, 6:30pm

Rich and Famous The Hand and Heart (M)

Mark Morriss, The Sights, Lois and Hotbox The Maze (M) £13, 8pm

Farmyard Records present...

JamCafé (M)

Quadrophenia Night The Rescue Rooms (M) £12, 8pm

Def Goldblum The Old Angel (M) £3, 7:30pm DJs Todd Terry and Sy Sez Pop Up Party Riverbank Bar & Kitchen (M) £10, 7pm The Treatment Rock City (M) £11, 6:30pm John Legend Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £32.50+, 7:45pm Dollop Present Stealth (M) Laura Veirs The Bodega (M) £16.50, 7pm LICK The Southbank Bar (M) Plates Records Launch Nottingham Irish Centre (M) Free, 12pm Luke Toulson, Sean Meo, Ola and Rory O’Hanlon The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm SATURDAY 11 OCT Rory McLeod The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) Back To Mine The Market Bar (M) High Power Society Spanky Van Dykes (M) Andy Tash Birthday Bash The Golden Fleece (M) Free, 7:30pm Mansfield and District Male Voice Choir Sherwood United Reformed Church (M) £5, 7pm - 9:30pm That Fucking Tank and IEPI The Chameleon Cafe Bar (M) £5, 8:30pm Urban Intro and Good Times DJ The Approach (M) Smokescreen Soundsystem The Maze (M) £5, 9pm

The 8123 Tour featuring The Maine The Rescue Rooms (M) £12, 6:30pm Ujahm Nottingham Contemporary (M) X-Rays and Sick Livers The Old Angel (M) Funkified Riverbank Bar & Kitchen (M) The Big Cheese UK Tour Rock City (M) £11, 6:30pm Ghouls Rock City (M) £3.75, 10pm The Money The Southbank Bar (M) Quill Nottingham Arts Theatre (M) £16, 7:30pm Dr Sketchy’s Anti Art School The Glee Club (A) £8, 12pm British Sign Language Gallery Tour The New Art Exchange (A) Free, 12pm Confetti Fabric Collages The New Art Exchange (A) Free, 1pm - 4pm Pocket Dream Bonington Theatre (T) £5, 3pm - 9:30pm Past Lives Djanogly Theatre (T) £10, 2:30pm Saturday Night Comedy Just The Tonic (C) £6/£10, 7:30pm Luke Toulson, Sean Meo, Ola and Rory O’Hanlon The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm SUNDAY 12 OCT Maze in Motion Film Night The Maze (M) Free, 6pm Losers The Bodega (M) £8, 7pm

Bartons Unplugged Bartons (M) £8/£10, 7:30pm

Finest Kid The Poppy and Pint (M)

Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra The Albert Hall (M) £5-£11, 7:30pm

Binns Organ Recital Lionel Rogg The Albert Hall (M) £5, 2:45pm

Sexy Saturdays The Golden Fleece (M)

John Hardy The Johnson Arms (M) Free, 8pm

Sounds of the Unexpected JamCafé (M)

The Lawrence Arms The Rescue Rooms (M) £14, 7pm

Job vacancies in Nottingham’s creative industries Sponsored by Real Creative Futures

A transformational programme of FREE support for Nottingham's creative businesses and practitioners. Our aim is simple - we want to see Nottingham's local creative community thrive.

Add you jobs at leftlion.co.uk/addjob DANCE TEACHER/CHOREOGRAPHER Starlight Dance Salary: varied (part-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-16

RESCUE ROOMS AND STEALTH PROMOTIONS MANAGER The Rescue Rooms (full-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-21

CLIENT LEADER/SENIOR PLANNER The Creative Movement (Agency) Salary: £negotiable depending on experience (full time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-23

We are excited to offer an amazing opportunity for anyone aspiring to run their very own dance school. For more information on how to apply for a position within our company please email or call our Head of New School Development, Craig Fellows at craig@starlightdance.net, 07766707347

• To work with DHP Family promoters and local promoters alike to promote and develop brands and clubnights.

• To manage a team of promotional staff.

• To take a lead on the venue’s social media and online activities .

An excellent opportunity for a senior marketing professional with exceptional client skills, to join a leading retail design agency. Our client is a large, wellestablished agency based in Nottinghamshire. The collaborative team of creative’s, strategists and writers work with an impressive client base and pride themselves in understanding their clients, brands and consumers. As Client Leader you would work with the Client Director in leading and managing the relationship between the agency and its client or group of clients.

APPRENTICE GRAPHIC DESIGNER Diamond Press (full-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-22 An apprentice print and graphic designer is required to join an ambitious team.

Diamond design is a company that specialises in creative digital design, both in small and large format. Producing anything from brochures, leaflets, banners, posters and sign boards.

MEDIA APPRENTICE LeftLion Salary: £8,000 - £10,140 (full-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-13 You must: • Be aged between 18-24 • Live in and love Nottingham – (you need to be a Nottingham City resident to be eligible) • Be looking to build a career in digital media.

• Display an eagerness to work hard and learn quickly.

The successful applicant will work 30 hours per week for LeftLion and study part-time for the Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media at Confetti Institute of Creative Technology.

Closing date: Sunday 9 November 2014 PICTURE EDITOR PA Images (full-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-18 To assist a dedicated team of editors to crop, caption and send out images from the Champions League, Premier League and Championship football games to all our multi-media customers.

Interested? Send your CV and covering letter to tom.miller@pressassociation.com VENUE ASSISTANT MANAGER The Bodega (part-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-20 • To deliver efficient customer service through supervision of retail staff and maximisation of bar profits through management of stock, bar service and EPOS system.

• To provide support to venue manager through duty shift management and other duties.

Please send your covering letter (including salary expectations) and CV to careers@dhpfamily.com

Please send your covering letter (including salary expectations) and CV to careers@dhpfamily.com SALES APPRENTICE LeftLion Salary: £8,000 - £10,140 (full-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-14 You must: • Be aged 18-24 • Live in and love Nottingham – (you need to be a Nottingham City resident to be eligible) • Be looking to build a career in media sales • Display confidence and build relationships with clients

FREELANCE DIGITAL DESIGNER The Creative Movement (Agency) Salary: £22.50/hr maximum (full time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-24 Our client is a leading creative and digital agency, providing training and e-learning solutions and software to an impressive, global client base.

The successful applicant will work 30 hours per week and study part-time for sales and marketing qualifications at New College Nottingham.

Closing date: Sunday 9 November 2014

To be considered you will need to have a minimum of four years industry experience and a portfolio demonstrating exceptional design skills for digital. Working as part of a busy team, you will need to be hands-on and comfortable taking direction from others.

SOCIAL MEDIA EXECUTIVE AF Selection (agency) Salary: £15,000 - £20,000 (full-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-17

JUNIOR INTERACTIVE / UI DESIGNER The Creative Movement (Agency) Salary: £17-20k depending on experience (full time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-26

You will be instrumental in growing and developing all aspects of social media engagement and extending the reach of this rapidly growing, international business.

Working closely with the Design and Marketing Team helping to achieve the company’s social media strategy you will be responsible for creating social media plans and maximising social media opportunities.

Our client is a progressive digital design company working in partnership with some of the best names in retail.

To be considered for this role you will need to have a minimum of a years’ commercial experience and a really strong portfolio both creatively and conceptually with a focus on UI design and UX. You will be highly motivated and demonstrate the potential to develop your career in a dynamic, creative environment.

TRAINEE MANAGER Rock City (full-time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-19 Rock City is the UK’s best independent live music venue and club. We are currently looking for a motivated individual to assist our Management team as a Manager in Training. This is a full-time permanent role.

Please send your covering letter (including salary expectations) and CV to careers@dhpfamily.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER / ILLUSTRATOR The Creative Movement (Agency) Salary: £18-25k depending on experience (full time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-28

MID-SENIOR DIGITAL DESIGNER The Creative Movement (Agency) Salary: £20-28k depending on experience (full time) Application: leftlion.co.uk/LL-Job-25 Our client is a progressive digital design company working in partnership with some of thebest names in retail.

To be considered for this role you will have a minimum of three years’ commercial experience, a highly creative portfolio and have sound experience of HTML and CSS. You will be passionate about all things digital and this will be clearly evident in your portfolio.

A rare opportunity for an experienced, creative, graphic designer, (ideally with illustration skills) to join a highly respected publishing company. Our client is an independent publisher specialising in the children’s market.

UPCOMING REAL CREATIVE FUTURES EVENTS

UPCOMING NBV EVENTS

GETTING PROGRAMMED AND COMMISSIONED Sat 1st November, 11am at Curve, Leicester

WRITING ABOUT YOURSELF Fri 28th November, 4pm – 8pm At New Art Exchange

BUSINESS START-UP SEMINAR Self-employment training 16th/23rd/30th October at different locations

Explore approaches to getting your work programmed, curated and commissioned.

Discuss how to create work that transcends borders to become internationally renowned.

Including a workshop by physical theatre company Frantic Assembly and a ticket to their highly acclaimed new performance of Othello. In collaboration with and hosted at Curve, Leicester with their Breakthrough Companies programme.

Join a host of poets, writers and performers to learn how to apply the tools of creative writing to professional writing, explore how narrative, characterisation and poetics can Logo lock up improve your funding applications, project proposals and CVs.

Specifically tailored for anyone setting up or running a creative enterprise. We aim to help you do what you love and make a living. Just pick one and sign up, subject to availability and eligibility. Call 0844 887 2568 or visit www.nbv.co.uk/real-creative-futures

leftlion.co.uk/issue61

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event listings...for more: leftlion.co.uk/listings SUNDAY 12 OCT

TUESDAY 14 OCT

WEDNESDAY 15 OCT

THURSDAY 16 OCT

FRIDAY 17 OCT

SATURDAY 18 OCT

Opeth Rock City (M) £23.65, 6pm

The Racing Room The Dragon (M)

Tony Hadley Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £22.50 - £65, 7:30pm

Lux Lisbon and Careless Sons The Bodega (M) £4.75, 7pm

The Money The Southbank Bar (M)

Keep It CASH and The Most Ugly Child The Maze (M) £10, 8pm

Wille & The Bandits The Bodega (M) £8.80, 7pm

Gallery Tours The Djanogly Art Gallery (A) Free, 1pm - 2pm

Flagship Rock City (M) £5.75, 7pm Quintessentially British Autumnal Afternoon Teas Wollaton Park (M) £15, 7:30pm The Falcon’s Malteser by Anthony Horowitz Djanogly Theatre (T) £8, 1:30pm Richard Blackwood, Slim, Rudi Lickwood and John Simmit The Glee Club (C) £15, 7pm MONDAY 13 OCT Open Mic Night The Golden Fleece (M) Live Jazz The Bell Inn (M) Man Made The Bodega (M) £5.75, 7pm Music Competition Winner The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M)

Phlebas Bar Eleven (M) £2, 10pm Open Mic Night Pepper Rocks (M) Shipstone Street Jazz Orchestra The Worksop Library (M) £10, 7:30pm Open Mic Night The Maze (M) Fuck Hip Hop The Market Bar (M) Free guest list, 9:30pm Pressure The Rescue Rooms (M) £1, 10pm The Halle Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £10 - £27.50, 7:30pm Tom Vek The Bodega (M) £12.10, 7pm Antigone Djanogly Theatre (T) £11/£13/£15, 1:30pm WEDNESDAY 15 OCT

The Ukulele Orchestra of Hackspace Nottingham Hackspace (M)

Open Mic Night The Bell Inn (M)

Notts In A Nutshell The Maze (M) £3, 7:30pm

Woman’s Hour The Rescue Rooms (M) £10, 7pm

Acoustic Rooms The Rescue Rooms (M) Free, 8pm

Open Mic Night The Maze (M) Free, 8pm

Battle of the Bands 2014 Heat 2 The Old Angel (M) Free, 7pm

Open Mic Night JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm

Antigone Djanogly Theatre (T) £11/£13/£15, 7:30pm Our Friends The Enemy Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (T) £6, 7:30pm Dawn French Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (T) £35/£39.50, 7:30pm

Shipstone Street Jazz Orchestra Southwell Library (M) £10, 7:30pm Withered Hand, The Sweet Nothings, Oh Peas! & Lost Pets The Maze (M) £8, 7:30pm Dan Croll The Rescue Rooms (M) £10, 7pm Bourbon & Blues The Orange Tree (M) Free, 8pm

Let your ideas take flight

Pack Up Your Troubles: An Evening of Music and Words Bulwell Riverside Centre (M) £3, 7pm Robert Smythson Celebration: Evening Tour Wollaton Park (M) £15, 7pm The 170th Anniversary Debates - The Critical Art School Bonington Gallery (A) Free, 6pm - 8:30pm David O’Doherty The Glee Club (C) £15, 7pm THURSDAY 16 OCT Jimmy Livingstone The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) Green String Theory The Hand and Heart (M) Free, 7pm Ambiance ft. Jo Lewis JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm Shipstone Street Jazz Orchestra The West Bridgford Library Gallery (M) £10, 7:30pm Sarah Borges & Girls and Guns & Glory The Maze (M) £13, 7:30pm Miranda Hart Capital Fm Arena (M) £30 - £76, 8pm We Are The Ocean The Rescue Rooms (M) £10, 7pm Nashville Pussy Stealth (M) £13, 7pm Like Well Good Karaoke The Old Angel (M) Brawlers & Woah Nows Rock City (M)

FRIDAY 17 OCT Detonate presents Wilkinson - Lazers Not Included The Brickworks £12, 10pm – 5am The Pop Confessional The Bodega (M) Free/£3, 11pm Sam Brookes and Alexa Hawksworth The Running Horse (M) £8 . £10, 8pm Cool Beans Spanky Van Dykes (M) Can’t Stop Won’t Stop The Market Bar (M) £5, 10pm - 3am Simon Faulkner Band and Good Times DJ The Approach (M) Free, 10pm

By The Rivers, Blessing Magore, Bud and Jackpot DJs The Maze (M) £10, 8pm Unplugged Showcase Bunkers Hill (M) Free, 8pm Detonate presents Wilkinson - Lazers Not Included Brickworks (M) £12, 10pm Gaz Brookfield The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) Dick Venom presents...

JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm Janey Godley, The Lost Voice Guy, Sean G and Wayne Deakin Jongleurs Comedy Club (C) £15, 6:30pm Everything’s Alright The Rescue Rooms (M) Broken Bones The Old Angel (M)

Urban Expression The New Art Exchange (A) £1/£2, 6:30pm - 11pm Bobby Mair, Dave Fulton, Andy Robinson & Tiffany Stevenson The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm SATURDAY 18 OCT Highness Sound System Bodega £5/£6, 9pm The JD’s Ska, Soul, Salsa & Rock Show The Punch Bowl (M) Free, 9:15pm - 12pm Toys in the Attic The Chameleon Cafe (M) £3, 8pm - 12am Oxjam Beeston Takeover Bartons (M) £3, various times 60 bands, 12 hours of live music, all for charity Back To Mine The Market Bar (M) High Power Society Spanky Van Dykes (M) Good Times DJ The Approach (M) Farmyard and The Royal Concert Hall present...

St Mary’s Church (M) £15, 7pm Harpist Catrin Finch and Kora player Seckou Keita collaborate

Deja Groove Riverbank Bar & Kitchen (M) Free, 7pm Patent Pending Rock City (M) 6:30pm Structure with Delta Heavy (Ram Records) Stealth (M) Wild Wood The Southbank Bar (M) Free, 11pm Notts Festival of Words: Pendant Debbie Bryan Studio & Shop (A) £38, 10am - 1pm Saturday Night Comedy Just The Tonic (C) £6/£10, 7:30pm Bobby Mair, Dave Fulton, Andy Robinson & Tiffany Stevenson The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm SUNDAY 19 OCT

Disco Prophets live dance music The Approach (M) Sexy Saturdays The Golden Fleece (M) DJ Matt Brown brings the chart and cheese

Cosmic American presents…Nell Bryden The Maze (M) £12, 7:30pm

Tropical Beats JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm

The Big Reunion Boy Band Tour Nottingham Arena (M) £30 - £95, 7:30pm Seven boy bands: Five, Blue, 911, A1, Damage. 3T and 5th Story

Janey Godley, The Lost Voice Guy, Sean G & Wayne Deakin Jongleurs Comedy Club (M) £15, 6:30pm University Philharmonia Djanogly Recital Hall (M) £5/£9/£11, 7:30pm

The Nottingham Creative Intellectual Property Project

Workshop and legal advice clinic

Monday 13 October 2014, 9 am – 4.30 pm Nottingham Trent University, City site

This fully-funded workshop is aimed at those interested in performance, including music, theatre, dance and comedy.

Book your free place at: www.ntu.ac.uk/creativeip leftlion.co.uk/issue61

MuHa Nottingham Contemporary (M)

Hockley Hustle Nottingham City Centre (M) £10, 1pm 400 acts, 40 venues, all for charity

Do you know how to protect your intellectual property? Find out from experienced lawyers and industry experts including Mark Tughan, founder of the Glee comedy venues.

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The Lancashire Hotpots ‘Golden Crates Tour 2014 The Rescue Rooms (M) £12, 6:30pm

Hollow, Collow, Cult of Whores and Dogs The Doghouse (M) £3/£4, 7pm

event listings...for more: leftlion.co.uk/listings SUNDAY 19 OCT

TUESDAY 21 OCT

THURSDAY 23 OCT

FRIDAY 24 OCT

Jess Glynne The Rescue Rooms (M) £8, 7pm

The Pop Group The Bodega (M) £19.25, 7pm

Dave McPherson The Bodega (M) £7.75, 7pm

Katy B Rock City (M) £17.60, 7pm

Bright Lights Lakeside Arts Centre (A) £6.50, 10am - 12:30pm

Tony Law The Glee Club (C) £12, 7pm

Mickey Sharma, Paul McCaffrey, John Moloney & Matt Price The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm

Sunday Morning Piano Series: Anna Fedorova Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £10, 11am

Lights On! Lakeside Arts Centre (A) £6.50, 1:30pm - 4pm A workshop for families with artist Kate Webborn

FRIDAY 24 OCT Il Divo Capital Fm Arena (M) 6:30pm

Dave Gorman Gets Straight to the Point* (*The PowerPoint) Nottingham Playhouse (T) £21, 7:30pm

Robin Ince is (in and) out of his mind Djanogly Theatre (C) £10.50/£13/£15, 8pm

NOT the Montreux Jazz Festival Bartons (M) £11, 7:30pm

WEDNESDAY 22 OCT

Cool Beans Spanky Van Dykes (M) Free, 9pm

MONDAY 20 OCT Rhiannon Mair and Anna Pancaldi The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) The Ukulele Orchestra of Hackspace Nottingham Hackspace (M) TrojanHorse and Knife Cutter The Maze (M) £4, 7:30pm The Word Alive The Rescue Rooms (M) £10, 6pm Battle of the Bands 2014 Heat 3 The Old Angel (M) Tour of the Universe Nottingham Playhouse (T) £15-£18, 7:30pm Join Rocket Scientist Neil Phillipson for a comedy show where the Universe provides the inspiration.

TUESDAY 21 OCT The Racing Room The Dragon (M) Phlebas Bar Eleven (M) £2, 10pm Open Mic Night Pepper Rocks (M) #TNMC Bunkers Hill (M) Isla Brooke Foundation charity gig The Maze (M) £5, 7pm Fuck Hip Hop The Market Bar (M) Free guest list, 9:30pm Pressure The Rescue Rooms (M) £1, 10pm Clean Bandit Rock City (M) £16.50, 7:30pm Rambert: Rooster Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £15 - £22.50, 7:30pm Ends Thursday 23 Oct. An Evening with Caro Emerald Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £22.50 - £45, 7:30pm

The Fall of the House of Usher Djanogly Theatre (M) £12/£14, 8pm - 2pm Charlie Barber’s specially composed score comprises an ensemble of wind, strings and percussion Ed Sheeran Capital Fm Arena (M) 6:30pm Ends Thursday 23 Oct. With support from Saint Raymond Legendary Shack Shakers Rock City (M) £13.20, 6:30pm Only When I Laugh: An Evening with Paul Merton Nottingham Playhouse (C) £17, 7:45pm THURSDAY 23 OCT Open Mic Night The Lion at Basford (M) Ollie Howell Quintet Bonington Theatre (M) £12/ £10 concs/£5 student, 8pm - 10:30pm Damo Suzuki JamCafé (M) £15, 7pm The Church of Sound Lee Rosy’s Tea Shop (M) Acoustic Sessions The Golden Fleece (M) Swing Gitan The Hand and Heart (M) Free, 7pm Notts In A Nutshell The Maze (M) £3, 7:30pm Purson The Rescue Rooms (M) £6.50, 6:30pm Like Well Good Karaoke The Old Angel (M) Asking Alexandria Rock City (M) £18.15, 6:30pm Rival State Rock City (M) £3.75, 10pm Peter Andre Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £26.50 - £75, 7:30pm

SATURDAY 25 OCT Back To Mine The Market Bar (M) Detroit Soul Riverbank Bar & Kitchen (M) High Power Society Spanky Van Dykes (M)

NOT The Montreux Jazz Festival Bartons (M) £14/£16, 2:30pm

Bass Daze The Cookie Club (M) £3, 10:30pm

Genre Clash JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm

Unplugged Showcase Bunkers Hill (M) Free, 8pm

Janey Godley, Brennan Reece, John Moloney & Tucker Jongleurs Comedy Club (M) £15, 6:30pm

Farmyard Records present...

JamCafé (M) Free, 7pm Janey Godley, Brennan Reece, John Moloney & Tucker Jongleurs Comedy Club (M) £15, 6:30pm Perdition Vs Violated The Maze (M) £4, 7:30pm

With Cliff... As If! Bonington Theatre (M) £10/£12, 7:30pm - 10pm B-Movie Madness The Maze (M) £10, 7pm Hyde and Beast The Rescue Rooms (M) £7, 7pm 4Mation Spanky Van Dykes (M) £2/£3, 9pm

Il Divo & Lea Salonga Capital Fm Arena (M) £40 - £140, 6:30pm

Matt Henshaw Nottingham Contemporary (M) Free, 8pm

Plague Vendor The Rescue Rooms (M) £6, 6:30pm

A!M! Promotions presents...

The Old Angel (M) £3, 7:30pm

Everything’s Alright The Rescue Rooms (M)

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £10 - £32.50, 7:30pm

Donuts Spanky Van Dykes (M) Free, 9pm - 2am Luke Daniels Nottingham Contemporary (M) £12, 7:30pm

After Hours: Canada’s National Arts Centre Wind Quintet Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £3, 9:45pm

Steve Hackett Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (M) £27.50/£29.50, 7:30pm

Samuel The Southbank Bar (M)

TI Funk The Southbank Bar (M) 11pm Josh Kemp The Bodega (M) £3.75, 7pm Emily Brown and The Thing Djanogly Theatre (T) £7.50, 3pm Pretty/Ugly Nottingham Playhouse (T) £8/£10, 8pm

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

Monki and Friends Stealth (M) £5, 10pm

Bad and Good Times DJ The Approach (M) Free, 9:30pm

Brass and Voices The Albert Hall (M) £10, 7:30pm

NUSIC BOX

Annie Eve The Bodega (M) £8.80, 7pm Emily Brown and The Thing Djanogly Theatre (T) £7.50, 1:30pm Holy and Horny Nottingham Playhouse (T) £8/£10, 8pm Saturday Night Comedy Just The Tonic (C) £6/£10, 7:30pm

Beth Frisby

You’ve probably seen this bright-haired lass knocking about the local scene, as she’s got herself involved with plenty of Notts’ finest live acts such as Harleighblu and One Bomb. Well, now it’s her turn to take the limelight. Having been working with local label Acoustic Roots, she’s just released her debut EP Wandering Eyes. It’s a delectable little slab of dark pop, full of subtle bass lines and beautiful melodies. Her live performances are something quite special. Whereas a lot of pop artists can get lost in the production, Beth powers through and maintains stage presence that promises there won’t be any wandering eyes… sorry. What with another Nottingham lass, Indiana, currently hitting the big time with her haunting dark-pop, we reckon it’s just a matter of time before this lady sees the same success. If you want to see what she’s all about, make sure to catch her on the LeftLion stage at Broadway during this year’s Hockley Hustle. facebook.com/bethemilyfrisby

Mannequin

There’s a bit of a stereotype attached to heavier bands – that they’re all about melting your face off and going crazy, and not particularly about the composition.

While Mannequin will indeed melt your face off with their intense riffage, there is something definitely artistic about the composition of their songs. From the fierce, angsty vocals that come from the depths of Sid’s soul, to the way the guitar and percussion all blend together into enjoyable chaos. Despite the fact there’s only three of ‘em, this lot have the power of a mini-metal orchestra, something that you definitely feel during their live sets. Put it this way, if you’re the kind of person that likes to stay still (say, like a mannequin), make sure you don’t end up at one of their gigs or you’ll wish you couldn’t feel anything (like a mannequin). I’m starting to understand their name now... facebook.com/mannequinfo

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event listings...for more: leftlion.co.uk/listings SATURDAY 25 OCT

TUESDAY 28 OCT

THURSDAY 30 OCT

FRIDAY 31 OCT

FRIDAY 31 OCT

Mickey Sharma, Paul McCaffrey, John Moloney & Matt Price The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm

Pressure The Rescue Rooms (M) £1, 10pm

Club Tropicana The Rescue Rooms (M)

Q-Art Crit Bonington Gallery (A) Free, 3pm - 6pm

Blessing Magore Nottingham Playhouse (C) £7/£9, 8pm

Halloween Mask Making Green’s Windmill (A) £3, 11am

Jon Richardson: Nidiot Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (C) £19.50, 8pm

SUNDAY 26 OCT Scream Baby Scream The Doghouse (M) £5, 7:30pm The Soil and Community Choirs Lakeside Arts Centre (M) Free, 3pm Red Molly The Maze (M) £13, 7:30pm

Nice and Sleazy!

Spanky Van Dykes (M) £3/£5, 8pm - 11pm Whisky Stain, Dusty Bible & Nice N Sleazy DJs Rhodes The Bodega (M) £7.75, 7pm Malcolm X In Britain The New Art Exchange (A) Free, 6pm - 7:30pm Biko’s Quest Djanogly Theatre (T) £11/£14/£16, 3pm

The South The Rescue Rooms (M) £20, 7:30pm

WEDNESDAY 29 OCT

MONDAY 27 OCT

Open Mic Night The Bell Inn (M) Free, 8pm

Open Mic Night The Golden Fleece (M) Live Jazz The Bell Inn (M) The Ukulele Orchestra of Hackspace Nottingham Hackspace (M) Dave & Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones The Maze (M) £16, 7:30pm We Are Wolves The Doghouse (M) 7:30pm Hollywood Ending The Bodega (M) £11, 7pm Afrovibes The New Art Exchange (T) Free, 7:30pm - 9pm Brothers in Blood Lakeside Arts Centre (T) Free, 3pm Elusive Spring Lakeside Arts Centre (T) Free, 7:30pm TUESDAY 28 OCT The Racing Room The Dragon (M) Phlebas Bar Eleven (M) £2, 10pm Open Mic Night Pepper Rocks (M) Free, 9pm Kenneth J Nash The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) The Soil Djanogly Theatre (M) £11/£13/£15, 10pm Notts In A Nutshell The Maze (M) £3, 7:30pm Fuck Hip Hop The Market Bar (M) Free guest list, 9:30pm Rixton The Rescue Rooms (M) £13.50/£27, 7pm

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leftlion.co.uk/issue61

Flat Back Four, The Vermin Suicides, Dead Intentions + Asbo Peepshow The Doghouse (M) £3/£4, 7pm - 1am

Good Times... Fun Times...

Karaoke The Old Angel (M) Art Gallery Tour The Djanogly Art Gallery (A) Free, 1pm - 2pm Jack-O-Lanterns Lakeside Arts Centre (A) £2, 2pm - 4:30pm Rainbow Scars Djanogly Theatre (T) £11/£13/£15, 7:30pm Andy Zaltzman The Glee Club (C) £12, 7pm FRIDAY 31 OCT Cool Beans Spanky Van Dykes (M)

Mark Olver, Paul Thorne, Richard Morton & Philberto The Glee Club (C) £10, 7pm Paul Foot Just The Tonic (C) £20, 7:30pm

Multi date events BONINGTON THEATRE

SATURDAY 18 OCT

Blackadder Goes Forth £7.50, 7:30pm - 10pm Ends Saturday 18 Oct. HOPKINSON GALLERY

Dealmaker presents: EMC Rock City (M) £13.75, 6:30pm Masta Ace, Stricklin, Wordsworth and Punchline.

Wigflex 8th Birthday Halloween Special Brickworks (M) £8/£15, 11pm Martyn, Shed, Luke Abbott, Spam Chop, Hizatron and Morris Cowan.

Eagulls The Bodega (M) £7.75, 7pm Lo-fi, punk-inspired indie rock music

Hallow Gore presents...

Monsters and Mischief Nottingham Contemporary (M) Free, 7:30pm

Big Draw: Shadow Monsters Lakeside Arts Centre (A) Free, 10am - 4pm Workshop for families with artist Kate Edwards

Unplugged Showcase Bunkers Hill (M) Free, 8pm

Evening Gallery Tour The Djanogly Art Gallery (A) Free, 7pm - 9pm Skierlik Nottingham Playhouse (T) £13/£15, 8pm - 2:30pm A Doll’s House Bonington Theatre (T) £7.50 - £12, 7:30pm - 10pm Sheryl Crow Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall (T) £29.50/£39.50, 7:30pm THURSDAY 30 OCT Open Mic Night The Lion at Basford (M) Ben Bowden The Guitar Bar, Hotel Deux (M) Live music, sixties New York show Salmagundi The Hand and Heart (M) Smetana Trio Djanogly Recital Hall (M) Wakey! Wakey!

The Rescue Rooms (M) £10, 6:30pm

Township Comets Djanogly Theatre (M) £11/£14/£16, 8pm Erich McElroy, Chris Turner, Barry Castagnola & John Scott Jongleurs Comedy Club (M) £15, 6:30pm Frightfest The Doghouse (M) £7.50, 7pm - 3am Nick Mulvey The Rescue Rooms (M) Everything’s Alright The Rescue Rooms (M) Joe Spooky Strange Band Riverbank Bar & Kitchen (M) The Specials, Sleaford Mods, The Tones and The Scene Rock City (M) Three Tenors Ireland Nottingham Arts Theatre (M) Jack-O-Lanterns Lakeside Arts Centre (A) £2 (must book), 2pm 4:30pm Workshop for families: carve a silly face into a fresh pumpkin.

NOTTINGHAM CONTEMPORARY

WEDNESDAY 15 OCT

Ram One and The Ites Band The New Art Exchange (M)

Balkan Express The Hand and Heart (M)

Rangoli For Everyone Lakeside Arts Centre (A) Free, 10am - 4pm

SATURDAY 25 OCT

Raphael Hefti Free, 10am - 5pm Ends Sunday 4 Jan. Agnieszka Polska Free, 10am - 5pm Ends Sunday 4 Jan.

Phil Harisson Exhibition Free, 10am - 4pm Ends Sunday 2 Nov.

NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE

LACE MARKET THEATRE

THURSDAY 2 OCT

MONDAY 6 OCT

Mrs Green £7/£9, 8pm Ends Saturday 4 Oct.

“For Services Rendered” W. Somerset Maugham £7 - £11, 7:30pm - 10:30pm Ends Saturday 11 Oct. LAKESIDE ARTS CENTRE

FRIDAY 3 OCT

Propaganda Swing £9.50 - £28.50 Ends Saturday 18 Oct.

FRIDAY 24 OCT WEDNESDAY 22 OCT

Floating Lights Free, 1pm - 4pm Ends Saturday 25 Oct. Afrovibes Festival 2014 Lakeside Arts Centre (M) Ends Friday 31 Oct. Marking twenty years of the new South Africa: twenty years since the ending of apartheid and the beginnings of democracy Workshops with Jazzart Lakeside Arts Centre (M) Free, 4pm - 7pm Ends Friday 31 Oct. NOTTINGHAM ARTS THEATRE THURSDAY 23 OCT

Sweeney Todd £8/£10.50 / £12, 7:30pm Ends Saturday 25 Oct. NOTTINGHAM CASTLE WEDNESDAY 1 OCT

Riot 1831 Exhibition Free, 10am Ends Monday 1 Dec.

Bird £8/£10, 8pm Ends Thursday 23 Oct. FRIDAY 24 OCT

The Five and the Prophecy of Prana £11 / £19, 7pm - 9:30pm Ends Saturday 25 Oct.

REACTOR HALLS WEDNESDAY 1 OCT

Edwin Burdis ‘UIB’ Free, 6pm Ends Saturday 1 Nov. SURFACE GALLERY FRIDAY 19 SEP

Call for Submissions: East Midlands Graduate Project 2014 Ends Saturday 8 Nov. THEATRE ROYAL & ROYAL CONCERT HALL TUESDAY 7 OCT

Calamity Jane £18+, 7:30pm Ends Saturday 11 Oct. SATURDAY 11 OCT

UKBFF £25/£45, 10am Ends Sunday 12 Oct. TUESDAY 14 OCT

Regeneration £15 - £27.50, 7:30pm Ends Saturday 18 Oct. SATURDAY 25 OCT

Arcadia Nottingham Playhouse (C) £9.50 - £28.50 Ends Saturday 15 Nov.

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash £13.50/£15.50, 10am - 4pm Ends Sunday 26 Oct.

PRIMARY

MONDAY 27 OCT

WEDNESDAY 1 OCT

The Flying Machine £7, 11am Ends Tuesday 28 Oct.

Intersections, Commission #1 Richard Houguez & Rachael Young Ends Wednesday 31 Dec. TG: Grains - Alison Lloyd Free, 12pm - 6pm Ends Saturday 1 Nov. Multiple points in this crude landscape, Commission #2 Edwin Burdis Ends Saturday 1 Nov.

WEDNESDAY 29 OCT

Annie: Nottingham Operatic Society £10 - £20, 2:30pm - 7:30pm Ends Saturday 1 Nov. THURSDAY 30 OCT

The Halle £15 - £35, 2:30pm - 7:30pm Ends Saturday 1 Nov.

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Tooth Fa

Write Lion

“Actually I know what the dragonfly said. It whispered: I have inhabited this earth for three hundred million years and I can’t answer these mysteries; just cherish it all. And in turn the Heron asks, with shocking clarity as it flies from right to left and left to right: why can’t our job here on earth be simply to inspire each other?”

Graham Joyce (22 October 1954 – 9 September 2014)

Hunted by Hawks Obianuju C Amamgbo £11.95 (S-P)

Set in Eastern Nigeria, this is a tale of circumstance, moral choices, and familial values. When his youngest son becomes involved in a criminal gang while away at university, Ikenna, the novel’s protagonist, finds himself brought face ­to­face with his own troubled past. Knowing that his family’s lives are in danger, he’s forced to confide in his wife and children at the risk of losing them, and so must re­live the past he has tried so hard to conceal. Published some years after her debut novel, Hunted by Hawks explores the inner­workings of Nigerian gang culture, of blackmail, fear-­mongering, and revenge.

The novel unfolds like a cautionary tale, passed down through generations, with Igbo proverbs to boot. The book is dedicated to ‘all struggling to make a new start in life’ and, as with all good fiction, the narrative contains themes and dilemmas that everyone can relate to. Helen Frear ochiamaka.wordpress.com

DH Lawrence Zombie Hunter

Hunt Emerson/Kevin Jackson Free download (Dawn of the Unread) The seventh instalment of the Nottingham-based graphic novel tells the story of our favourite potty mouth, the man who made swearing an art form after Penguin’s victory in the 1960 Lady Chatterley Trial. Lawrence was known as the High Priest of Love but according to Kevin Jackson, he was really the High Priest of Loathe, a proper Mr Angry who threw a hissy at everything and anyone, making him ‘the Basil Fawlty of literary modernism’. Lawrence often described his enemies as half dead and Britain as a giant graveyard, a vast coffin sinking into the seas, so the zombie metaphor is more than apt. It’s a hilarious tale, superbly drawn by underground comix icon Hunt Emerson, with a range of embedded essays from the likes of Billy Ivory, Catherine Brown and the DH Lawrence Society. The penis is definitely mightier than the sword for Eastwood’s favourite son. Matt Clay dawnoftheunread.com

Influence

Chris Parker £6.99 (Urbane Publications) Most British crime novels adhere to a formula. The cop protagonist is a lone wolf, has a drink problem, is divorced or just unlucky with women, and is generally defined by his taste in music. Detective Inspector Peter Jones is none of these things. And he’s aided in his investigation not by a stalwart Lewis-style sergeant but by ‘communications guru’ Marcus Kline. Fast friends, though different in their outlook, their relationship is at the heart of the story. Set in an instantly recognisable Nottingham, Parker’s evocation of the city is fond if sardonic.

A priceless scene has Jones and his girlfriend, stuck in city centre traffic, imagining Nottingham as the wellspring of a zombie apocalypse. Parker’s wry humour keeps the darker elements of the plot from overwhelming the book. Persevere through a backstory-heavy opening (it’s sixty pages before the first murder) and Influence develops into something taut, intelligent and effortlessly readable. Neil Fulwood urbanepublications.com

A Brief History of Whistling John Lucas and Allan Chatburn £9.99 (Five Leaves)

If ever a book should be turned into a Radio 4 documentary, it’s this delightful lament for a lost art form. Lucas gives a comprehensive analysis that takes us to the Jarrow Crusades of 1699, the music halls of the late nineteenth century, its role in the workplace and as a form of self-expression and communication. When describing the mechanics of whistling, he inadvertently does a Nigella, “The tongue is all-important... place the tip just behind the front teeth, raise and lower, push, withdraw, and by such means you… make trills, warbles, pure notes.” Mmm. It’s littered with literary references, lobs in some jazz and cricket, and then is presented as a form of resistance that will inevitably sound twee to the ‘YouTube generation’. Rey Chow put forward similar arguments for the Walkman in eighties China, claiming it was used to resist communist propaganda.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t equate to meaningful change.

James Walker fiveleaves.co.uk

Nottingham’s orangest reviewer got well bored reading all the time so we sent her daahn pub instead…

No.4 Cape, Pelham Street, NG1 Cape is that pub yer go ta if it’s boiling hot and yer want ta smoke outside and stare at twats spilling aht ‘a Lloyds opposite. It does a good deal on pizzas and pints, burrit’s miles ta get ta the bogs so bring a plaggy bag wi’ yer for wazzing under table. But if yer cast yer noggin up 45 degrees outside your’ll see one on them blue plaques on wall that sez swine green. Now fer years I thought swine green wor a reference to all the stags that trundle dahn inta Hockleh in search ‘a fanneh burrit turns aht this were the first poem Lord Byron ever wrote. His lickle ditteh guz like this: “In

Nottingham county there lives at Swine Green, As curst an old lady as ever was seen; And when she does die, which I hope will be soon, She firmly believes she will go the moon.”

It’s bobbins really, but he wor only ten when he wrote it and it just goes ta show yer that biddies have always been a bit mental and annoying. Byron wor famous for having a big chopper, nobbin’ his half-sister and fighting abroad. Oh yeah, and some poems.

Ale: Mixed (he liked cock and fanneh) Tale: Swine Green, Lord Byron

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Your Local Independent Music Stall Victoria Centre Indoor Market

200 + Vinyl Titles 100’s of CD’s Rock n Roll, Reggae, Motown, Dance, Pop, Blues, Country, Irish, Current

Competitive Prices 2

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Find local releases in The Music Exchange. You can also the mu hear a tune from each review sic exc han on our Sound of the Lion podcast at ge. org .uk leftlion.co.uk/sotl.

Indiana

No Romeo Album (Sony Music Entertainment) “These may appear to be love songs but look closer, chip away their exterior beauty and reveal an inner darkness. I am No Romeo.” With these words, Indiana defines the central theme of her debut album, which folds twisted takes on love, loss, betrayal, revenge and regret into sinister, icy, leftfield electronic pop. Unlike Shakespeare’s Romeo, who finds true love but is ultimately destroyed by it, Indiana finds only tainted love, and yet she survives. Even at her most vengeful - “all your sons and daughters will be broken, from now on and ever more”, she pledges on Never Born – you sense an underlying vulnerability, and even in her most vulnerable moments, her power never fully fades. On the cavernous, gothic Play Dead, she could be Juliet, feigning death as a coping strategy. On Bound, she traces a journey from submission to dominance in a way that hints at sado-masochism,“this isn’t love, this is dangerous”; while on the title track, she spurns the whole idea of romantic love, “I don’t need no Romeo… it’s not enough, but it’s alright, I’m sleeping on my own tonight”. Only The Lonely buries an uplifting dance anthem under six feet of soil; Heart On Fire subverts the headrush of falling in love, casting it as a perilous act, like jumping off a tall building. Finally, Mess Around ends the journey with a ghoulish resurrection and a deadly re-embrace, “Your suffering completes me, I’ll take no more, I want no less.” Mike Atkinson indianathegirl.com

Can B

Don’t Sleep Album (NG64) If Can B’s last release, the Octopus EP, had a distinctly cephalopod vibe, his latest outing sees him in full-on vampire squid mode.

The Nottingham rapper has fused precise bars, killer beats and catchy hooks for an impressive collection of heavy-hitting hip hop. He’s backed up ably by a talented roster of guest emcees, among them, local favourite Cappo, Ill Citizen teammates A-Double, K-Deuce and Tom G, Motormouf and Delo the Nomad, as well as Bru-C joining on one of the album’s highlights, Home Truth. Can B’s had a hand in the production too, and those beats are some of the standout tracks on the album. The imposing drums on Tell it to the Birds are nicely countered with a birdsong sample, while Piratejam makes deft use of a salty vocal for a piratethemed banger. Free to download, it’s definitely not one to sleep on. Shariff Ibrahim ng64.bandcamp.com/album/dont-sleep

Cappo

Electric Baths

Achilles EP EP (Self-released) There’s no doubt Hymnn man Simon Ritchie is talented, but this solo EP really proves just how much talent is oozing out of him and his musical collaborators. With a knack for an everyman melody along the lines of Oasis and Arctic Monkeys, it was inevitable that every track would be enjoyable, but the hint of uniqueness within the songs themselves is what catches your ear. This is especially evident in Stand Up and Ghost Town, with hints of humour and a laid-back attitude presenting a twist in the music. Not only this, but the flair shown in the production and creating the EP is just as impressive as the musicianship, with a sound of professionalism running through all four songs. With the EP sounding as full as it does, Achilles is about as addictive as music can get. Hannah Parker soundcloud.com/electricbaths-1

Gold Codes

The Boot EP EP (Boot Productions) A stalwart of the local scene for a while, he’s been rather prolific of late but, as this EP shows, quality control is as high as ever, with the rapper currently releasing some of his best work. The production by Dr Zygote and Jazz T brings to mind the work of Madlib and J Dilla for Stones Throw Records and is pure seventies, gritty cop show stuff. Tense horns, laid back beats, warm funky bass that struts around like it owns the place; it throws you straight into a world of topdrawer moustaches, drug deals down alleyways, and police corruption. It works perfectly to frame Cappo’s fluid, crisp delivery. It must be said that Cappo has brought his A-game to this release; he’s sounding clear and on-point, flowing over the top of the tracks with the confidence of someone who has hit a rich vein of creativity. Paul Klotschkow bootrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-boot-ep

Gold Codes Album (Self-released) The beautifully melodic and fullsounding music from Gold Codes is something that’s difficult to dislike. With seven tracks sounding just as strange and wonderful as each other, there’s a lot to enjoy and discover in this debut release from four local lads. Distance and Rewired have a lightly melancholic mood, yet Reborn creates a laid-back mood which is then balanced out with the excitement and intensity of None Swimmers and Melancholia Moves. Adding to this already sonically and emotionally jam-packed album is the texture of standout track Blood Run; its catchy beat seems to last forever, hanging around in your head for hours long after the song has finished. All in all, it’s impossible to fault Gold Codes with this incredibly varied and impressive array of music that quite simply has something for everyone. Hannah Parker goldcodes.bandcamp.com

Ronika - World Is Turning A track that somehow didn’t make the cut for her recent Selectadisc LP, it’s fresher sounding than the rest of the current Top Forty put together.

Saint Raymond - I Want You Another chirpy widescreen anthem manufactured specifically with summer festival season in mind.

Garton - Corrupt The rapper takes a couple of minutes out of his no-doubt hectic schedule to call out some haters. We’re sure they know who they are...

Scorzayzee - 2 is 8 Two Notts legends collide as our Kickstarterowning Scorz raps over one of the many aural delights found on Lone’s latest album.

The Hip Priests

Black Denim Blitz Album (No-Balls Records/Ghost Highway Records) With song titles like Motherfucker Superior, Evil Sweat and Zero Fucks Given, The Hip Priests make their intentions pretty clear before the needle even hits the groove. Things get even better when the music does start, with an air-raid siren giving way to a barrage of frantic, screaming guitars as Vodkacoma Casanova explodes into life. Think Raw Power by the Stooges, think Overkill by Motorhead, and maybe even think of Prime Mover by Zodiac Mindwarp: it’s all here. The NME review complained of “imagery that runs the gamut from boorish to potty-mouthed to sexist”, as if that was a bad thing in a punk record. Well, their ears must be painted on because this is as good a fullon, down-the-line punk record as you will hear this year. As Lemmy himself almost said, if The Hip Priests moved in next door to you, your lawn would die. Tim Sorrell thehippriests1.bandcamp.com

Neil Ward

Drift Album (Self-released) There’s been a lot of superb pop music to come out of Nottingham in the last couple of years, but it’s also worth remembering the city’s amazing instrumentalists.

One of the best examples is Neil Ward, whose second album Drift is a stunning collection of eight instrumental piano pieces. Whether you would call this ‘classical chillout’ or whether it’s simply pop and rock-infused piano, it's an absolutely breathtaking album of songs. Stylistically it’s probably closest to the Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, but could easily be the score to a Hollywood blockbuster or the backing music in an Ibiza bar at 3am. The Butterflies boasts a stunningly beautiful melody while Sky has a sparser and more dramatic sound but is equally as impressive. Drift may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s one of the best records I’ve heard from a Nottingham artist. Simply fantastic. Nick Parkhouse neilwarduk.bandcamp.com

White Finger

Waste City Records EP (Self-released) White Finger are a breath of fresh air if you like your air covered in sweat, blood and spit. Waste City Records is a relentless attack on your eardrums. The opening track sounds like Eagulls’ dysfunctional sociopathic neighbours. Black Ritual gives frontman Joey Bell the chance to vent his frustration over a bass smothered in fuzz. “Give me your monnnnnnneeeey” he bellows as the drums batter you in to submission, leaving you in a heap on the floor. And this is only two tracks in. If Wall Street sounds like a night out with The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, then Milk Teeth is the after-party with the Sex Pistols. Based on these sixteen minutes of glorious garage rock fuzz, prepare for White Finger to be pointing out to the pretenders what a real rock and roll band should sound like. Rob McCleary whitefinger.bandcamp.com

Leygo - Pick Up A #TOTALPARTY of a track squeezed in to three minutes from the self-proclaimed “cut and paste fiend.”

Revenge of Calculon - Particle Destroyer The synth-wielding space invaders crashlanded in our favourite record store and wreaked havoc.

The Gorgeous Chans - By The Highway Jangly, breezy late summer vibes aplenty from the Graceland fetishists.

One Bomb - The Wickedest (feat. Acer, $pyda, Eyez & Wreh-Asha) We’re not sure so many vocalists need to feature on one song (too many cooks and all that), but they all seem to be having such a good time that we can’t hold it against them.

Shelter Point - Cut Me Loose Don’t cut me loose, hold me closer, closer to the bosom of this beautiful song.

Lyka - Whole Meal Grimey, dubsteppy brain-imploding beats that just about justify the pun title.

Neon Jung - Tremors We like to think it’s a tribute to the giant worm-infested B-movie, and if we find out it isn’t, we’ll be mightily upset.

Morrt - Want U Like listening to The Essential Mix back in the nineties, except the nineties were never this good. leftlion.co.uk/llstereo leftlion.co.uk/issue61

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For more Nottingham foodie goodness check noshingham.co.uk

Mem Saab

Pilot

The Ruddington Arms

People who work in PR describe the short strip of Maid Marian Way that hosts several Indian restaurants as “Nottingham's curry mile”, mimicking the famous equivalent in Manchester. A touch of poetic licence, presumably because “Nottingham's curry 300 yards” is less zingy.

Remember that furniture shop in Hockley you never dared go in cos it was nuff expensive? Y’know, with the sheep in the window? It’s been replaced with a restaurant prioritising three things: pizza, poultry and prosecco. Much better.

Its uber-minimalist decor and menu draws all attention to the food, and the massive windows are handy for people watching, if that’s your jam.

Venture five miles south of Nottingham and you stumble upon the village of Ruddington, ehome to the recently reopened Ruddington Arms. Once your run-of-the-mill local drinking hole, it’s been transformed by owner and Head Chef Mark Anderson into an assured and stylish gastropub.

Miles ahead

Flying High

Mem Saab has been a stalwart of the ‘mile’ for many years, positioning itself as fine dining that focuses on elevating the humble curry to a more refined and gourmet experience.

The restaurant is open and light with a generous amount of space between tables. There are plenty of touches of excellence, including the paper the menus are printed on – it shimmers.

They’re also recent winners of the It’s In Nottingham Independent Awards 2014. The award, organised by the Nottingham BID, recognises and celebrates Nottingham’s thriving independent businesses, and is judged by both public vote and a panel of experts.

I started with the amritsari machli (£7.25). Four pieces of perfectly cooked cod coated with a light, crispy, carom flavoured batter. The dipping sauce was vivid green with coriander and a hit of mint. My dining partner went for the tandoori ostrich fillet (£8.50), which is a Mem Saab speciality and certainly doesn’t appear on many menus. Dark crimson in colour from the marinade and supremely tender.

I fancied something traditional to see how Mem Saab interpreted it. I chose lamb rogan josh (£10.95), a typically Kashmiri dish of lamb cooked slowly in a tomato-based sauce. The heat is fragrant rather than intensely hot, with the flavour coming from the aromatics: cloves, bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon. The dum pukht lamb loin main (£17.50) was impressive. Slowly roasted lamb fillet formed around spiced spinach and paneer to create perfect rounds, presented on a wooden board, with lashings of bright orange curry sauce. The coriander and chilli naan (£3.25) was thin and somehow fluffy and crispy at the same time.

It’s been said before that it is a little pricier than you may be used to, but this isn’t your usual curry. If you frequently enjoy Indian cuisine then you should strongly consider skipping a visit to your regular joint, saving the cash and treating yourself to Mem Saab because it is on another level.

Ash Dilks 12-14 Maid Marian Way, NG1 6HS mem-saab.co.uk

Ruddy good grub

We started off, naturally, with a couple of proseccos at a fiver each. A bit steep, but if you catch them when they’re on twofor-one, you’re laughing. There are two types on tap. Yes, on tap. A fresh Frizzenti and a tangy Frizzenti Rosato were our poisons. I’ll be going back for one of their prosecco cocktails as there were some interesting concoctions.

Food-wise, we started the meal with one of the ‘social boards’. My crony and I chose the meat option (£9) with rolled up slices of salami, chorizo and prosciutto, accompanied by capers, beetroot and melon. Some of the beetroot slices were yellow, which confused the hell out of us, but were very tasty.

Unable to decide on mains, we concluded this was a share-y kind of place. We went for a lahmacun sourdough pizza with lamb mince, ras el hanout (a fancy name for a Moroccan spice mix), pomegranate, Greek yogurt and parsley (£12).

The lovely, juicy centre did, however, ease off a bit towards the outside – a bit more yogurt would have done the trick.

We also had a quarter rotisserie chicken (£5), flavoured with lemon, fennel, rosemary, honey and balsamic. Thick, succulent, and complemented by the summertime salad (£5), which was a combination of halloumi, mint, peas, strawberries, mange tout and pea shoots. Bloody gorgeous.

I began by quenching my thirst with the pub’s very own Ruddy Good Ale – a light, amber beer from the Caledonian Brewery – while my friend sipped a New Zealand sauvignon blanc, having perused the extensive wine list.

The restaurant area, like the bar, is a fine example of stylishly sleek design, while keeping the relaxed and comfortable air of a village pub. However, we relocated outside to make the most of a warm evening in the smartly laid-out patio area.

To start, my dining companion chose from the specials: a mozzarella, tomato and basil salad (£7). I was assured, in between her mouthfuls, that it was fresh and delicious. I went for the Shetland mussels (£6) in a creamy cider and leek broth, speckled with salty bacon. It was wholesome and yet delicately balanced, allowing the mussels to remain the central flavour. Although simple, both were delivered with a culinary confidence influenced by working under Gordon Ramsay and Michel Roux Jr. There was no doubt we were in good hands, so we eagerly welcomed our mains. I gorged on slow-cooked pork shoulder (£13.25) with black pudding croquettes and a tart rhubarb compote. The depth of flavours from the tender pork and black pudding was countered by the sweet-sour compote which elevated the dish to something both accomplished and comforting. My companion had the spiced bean cake (£11.25), served with asparagus, halloumi and tomato jam.

We’d overlooked the dessert menu on the website, so we were delighted to order an ice-cream sandwich (£5) to share after a nudge from our lovely waitress. The best kind of sandwich, peanut butter smeared the sides of dense and gooey brownie slices that held vanilla ice cream, plus a scattering of dried banana slices. Orgasm-worthy.

We ended by treating ourselves to a sticky toffee pudding (£5.95) and a coffee. Luxuriantly sweet, spongy and moreish, balanced by the salted caramel sauce, it was a suitably indulgent end to an evening of gourmet delights.

It’s a shame that summer’s ended because this is the sort of place made for a light lunch and a few bubbly drinks on a sunny Saturday afternoon. That being said, their huge, wood-fired oven will balance that out nicely over winter.

Bridie Squires

What sets The Ruddington Arms apart is the high-end food and service, but without the stuffy formalities of a high-end restaurant. Its relaxed atmosphere and decor translates into familiar yet deliciously decadent cuisine. It’s early days, but if this standard continues, then Ruddingtonians may have to get used to the hordes coming to sample one of Nottingham’s best new eateries. Dylan Abbott

17-19 Carlton Street, Hockley NG1 1NL pilotnottingham.co.uk

56 Wilford Road, Ruddington NG11 6EQ theruddingtonarms.com

Beane continues his takeaway quest…

Noshingham Reviews

BOMBAY, HUCKNALL ROAD Bombay (now Mumbai) has always been a top tourist destination in India, but any folk thinking of going for their hols, hold your horses – we've got three Bombays right here. That's right, three of the boggers. While they may or may not resemble the goings-on thousands of miles away, you can’t argue with the nosh. The Mapperley and Bridgford restaurants belong to the same chain, but it's the 'takeaway only' gaff on Hucknall Road that deserves your attention. As far as I know, it’s unconnected to the two aforementioned eateries and, while its decor’s not as flash, it more than holds its own when it comes to a bad boy curry. Excited at the prospect of a brand new curry house - where all dishes come with free rice - we got a massive order to share: onion bhajis, veg samosas, chicken and lamb tikka starters, tandoori mixed grill, butter kahari, a mixed balti, saag aloo paneer and chicken massala. A fantastic feast for a hungry gaggle of slightly merry punters. And reasonably cheap to boot. We may have an abundance of 'Bombay' takeaways in this city but when they are as good as this, that's no bad thing.

165 Hucknall Road, NG5 1FD, 0115 9691112 bombaytakeaway.com

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St Mary’s Church, Lace Market, Nottingham | 18 Oct 7.30pm tickets: £15 (plus fees) | www.trch.co.uk | 0115 989 5555

Krautlöunge is pleased to present

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Apalusa

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facebook.com/krautlounge

Gemini (May 22 - June 22) The sudden spike in the UK salmon population is no surprise to anyone who knows the real reason you like freshwater swimming so much.

Sagittarius (Nov 23 - Dec 22) Former Forest defender Darren Wassall will appear to you in a dream and explain at embarrassing length why you're not quite good enough to get Des Walker.

Cancer (June 23 - July 23) You'll be disheartened this week when it turns out that all those people who only like you for your money turn out to be really crap friends.

Capricorn (Dec 23 - Jan 19) The constellation Libra has seen you gazing at her in silent supplication, and she has this message for you: Her face is up here.

Leo (July 24 - Aug 23) You're not the kind of person who can wear those stylish strappy heels, mostly because you're too much of an idiot to understand how shoes actually work.

Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 19) Your fear of change means that spending the next few centuries in a block of ice will be extremely soothing. Stay cool.

Virgo (Aug 24 - Sept 23) Next week will be a whirlwind of magic, laughter, and romance, so it's a real shame that you'll be unconscious during the whole thing.

Libra (Sept 24 - Oct 23) Being dressed by birds was a strong look for Cinderella, but your experiments with it this month will just end in you being covered in feathers and guano.

Scorpio (Oct 24 - Nov 22) Remember, a bend in the road isn't the end of the road. While we're on the subject, the circular device on the dashboard of your vehicle can be used to steer.

Pisces (Feb 20 - Mar 20) You'll never again hear a negative word spoken of you, thanks to your sweet nature and an unfortunate incident with an exploding PA system.

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 20) When all's said and done, it's our experiences that make us who we are.

However, that doesn't explain why you're still doing data entry.

Taurus (Apr 21 - May 21) Although roughly 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water, it's still no explanation of why you have to be rescued from drowning all the time.

Six degrees of Strelley(ation) Susan Janet Ballion Became punk singer Siouxsie Sioux Sioux Center is city in Iowa

In 2000 its population was 6,002

If you travel along the A6002 you get to

Strelley

American Hustle

Hockley Hustle

my, Will

Hustlers: Adam, Tom

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Workin

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