Credits

Magic-al Alan Gilby (alan.gilby@leftlion.co.uk)

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

Editor Sophie Gargett (sophie.gargett@leftlion.co.uk)

These people #SupportLeftLion

Assistant Editor Gemma Cockrell (gemma.cockrell@leftlion. co.uk)

Head Designer Natalie Owen (natalie.owen@leftlion.co.uk)

Head of Video and Photography Curtis Powell (curtis.powell@leftlion.co.uk)

Partnerships Manager Adam Pickering (adam.pickering@leftlion. co.uk)

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

Fashion Editor Addie Kenogbon (addie.kenogbon@leftlion. co.uk)

Stage Co-Editor Ian C. Douglas (ian@leftlion.co.uk)

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

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

Al Draper, Alison Gove-Humphries, Alison Harrison, Alison Hedley, Anamenti, Andrene Alejandro, Anne Jennings, Ant Haywood, Audrey & Lizzy & Margot, Barbara Morgan, Ben Lester, Caroline Le Sueur, Catriona, Cerys Gibson, Chloe Langley, Chris Jarvis, Chris Mead, Chris Underwood, Claire Foss, Claire Henson, Claire Warren, Clare Foyle, Colin, Cyra Golijani-Moghaddam, D Lawson, Dan Lyons, Dan Hemmings, Darren Harvey, David Knight, Dick Watson, Donna RoweMerriman, Eden PR, Ellen O’Hara, Emma Lipinski, Erika Diaz Petersen, Felicity Whittle, Fred Glenister, Freddy Angell, Graye Wilde, Harry Sutcliffe, Hayley Howard, Heather Hodkinson, Heather Oliver, Helena Tyce, Holly's Merry Moggies, Ian Phillips, Ian Storey, Ian Yanson, In memory of Anna Novak (Bradford and Scoraig), In memory of Jenny Smith, James Place, James Wright, Janine Lees, Jayne Paul William & Pirate Jack, Jem Woolley, Joanna Furniss, John Haslam, John Hess, John Holmes, John Scruton, Jon Blyth, Jonathan Fenn, Jos Potts, Joshua Heathcote, Judy Gray, Julian Bower, Justyn Roberts, Kathryn Hewitt, Kathleen Dunham, Kay Gilby, Kiki Dee the Cat, Koprowskit, Lawrence Poole, Les Hayes, Lilian Greenwood, Livi & Jacob Nieri, Liz Knott, Lizzy Colyer, Louise Duffield, Mark Barratt, Mark Gasson, Matt Cliffe, Matt Turpin, Matthew Riches, Michael Mc, Mighty Lightweights, MinorOak Coworking, Miri Debah, Moira Scothern, Monica White, Nick Donovan, Nick Waine, Nigel Cooke, Nigel Hudson, Nigel King, Nina Faresin, NottingJam Orchestra, Paul Boast, Paul Wentworth, Paul Woodall, Pearl Quick, Pete Barker, Peter Coghill, Philip Miller, Rach, Rachel Ayrton, Rachel Hancorn, Rachel Morton, Raphael Achache, Rebecca Freeman, Redbrick Communications, Rich Fisher, Richard Barclay, Richard Goodwin, Rob Arthur, Roger Hughes, Ron Mure, Ross Balzaretti, Roy Manterfield, Russell Brown, Sam Hudson, Sam Nahirny, Sam Rose, Samantha Culshaw-Robinson, Sarah Manton, Sarah Moore, Sarah Scriver, Simon Evans, Siobhan, Spicer, Steve Benton, Steve Lyon, Steve Riordan, Steve Stickley Storyteller, Steve Wallace, Stewart Berry, Stuart Wilson, Sue Barsby, Sue Reader, Tom Justice, Tom Patterson, Tracey Newton, Will Horton

Screen Co-Editor Oliver Parker (oliver.parker@leftlion.co.uk)

Music Editor Amrit Virdi (amrit.virdi@leftlion.co.uk)

Food Editor Julia Head (julia.head@leftlion.co.uk) patreon.com/leftlion

Fancy seeing your name (or the name of your band, small business, loved one, pet etc) in this mag every month? It only costs a fiver and the money supports this magazine. Plus you get all kinds of other treats too.

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

Photography Co-Editor Nathan Langman (nathan.langman@leftlion. co.uk)

Environment Editor Eleanor Flowerday

Cover Sarah Manton

Raphic Designer Raphael Achache

Editorial Interns

Lottie Murray

Krishita Kandoi

Beth Green

Writers

Claude Money

Grace Quinn

Izzy Morris

Michael Krawec

Michael Prince

Nadia Whittome

Phil Taylor

Art Co-Editor George Dunbar (george.dunbar@leftlion.co.uk)

Distribution Dom Martinovs

Photographers

Amber Swarbrick

Dani Bacon

Danielle Boaler

Cal McNab

Elouise Oldfield

Evie Partridge

Gerry Molumby

Lisa Cooper

Martin Makowski

Nic Chapman

Rhys Naden

Tamara Clarke

Toby Clark

Illustrators

Alice Peake

Ciaran Burrows

Pete Gray

Rikki Marr

Zarina Teli

Featured Contributor

Hailing from Kolkata in India, Krishita found herself in Nottingham when she began studying a masters in Magazine Journalism at Nottingham Trent University in September of 2022. Throughout the year, while navigating life in a new country, she has developed her writing style and found her own unique flair - as well as her passion for both food and travel journalism, which are areas that she hopes to pursue a career in. While she wraps up her final few deadlines and exams over the summer, she has joined us for work experience here at LeftLion HQ, and it has been a pleasure having her here with us!

You can find Krishita’s Sneinton Market trail on page 16

Golden Era

Over the years Nottingham has played a part in shaping Hip-Hop’s popularity in the UK. Claude Money goes through a brief history

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14

16 19

Odds Are Good

By Our Hands We Make Our Way

Decked with greenery, art and beautiful wooden textures, By Our Hands We Make Our Way is a space for woodworking, community, creativity and more

The racing driver who has tested a McLaren Formula 1 car and raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans tells us all about what it’s like living life in the fast lane

Sister Act

We returned to Boulangerie de Saigon to have a chat with sisters Aivi and Milly, both from St Ann’s, who opened the boulangerie (bakery) in April

That’s Sneintertainment

Sneinton Market has been home to businesses for nearly 150 years. We take a wander around the area to catch the vibe of this Nottingham gem

A Medical Marijuana User in Notts

We hear from someone in Nottingham who uses medical marijuana to manage their neurological condition and mental health problems

Greetings and happy August LeftLion readers - Sophie, your new editor here.

This is my first editorial letter and to be quite honest it’s an odd one to write. I’ve never had to address all you good people of Nottingham before (I suppose not many people tend to) but hello and here we go.

It’s been very exciting putting together this first issue. I first began writing for LeftLion back in 2015, covering Nottingham’s most weird and wonderful historical characters, from the Wise Men of Gotham (who feigned madness to avoid taxes), to Byron’s dodgy uncle (‘The Wicked Lord’ William Byron). I was making a free local zine called The Dilettante Gazette at the time, so contributing to LeftLion was an excellent first foray into writing for a ‘proper publication’ - not to mention one I’d been reading since I was a young thing in the mid noughties. Fast forward eight years and it's evidently been one of those stick at it and see things. (Lesson is, don’t give up your daydream folks!)

Friend Analysis

We hear all about Jeanie Finlay’s ninth feature, Your Fat Friend, which tells the story of anonymous blogger turned best-selling author Aubrey Gordon

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That’s All, Folks

We caught up with native New Yorker comic book illustrator and cult sensation Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage ahead of the Foolhardy Folk Festival

Noises After Dark: A Humanitarian Memoir

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LeftLion has always been a staunch pillar of Nottingham culture, bringing together the creativity, humour and talent that rises in our streets. It has fought off the so-called ‘death of print’, interviewed legends from Jon Ronson to Neighbours’ Toadfish, and hosted festivals of beer and music.

It is a rare and wonderful thing for a city to have, and coming in as editor feels a bit like being the protector of a weird relic.

This is the first issue myself and Gemma, our new assistant editor, have put together and we’ve (somewhat accidentally) honed in on our neighbours in Sneinton Market. I’ve only been working in this little corner of the city for a few weeks, and yet I’ve quickly caught on to the passion of the people who have set up businesses here. You can read the story behind the delightful Boulangerie de Saigon cafe on page 14, hear about a communal creative space rooted in woodwork on page 18, or enjoy a psychogeographic wander by our intern Krishita on page 16. I am a firm believer in supporting the local independent

We chat to author John Tomlinson, who journeyed to Somalia to volunteer for the Save the Children fund during the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia in the 1980s

A Cornucopia of Curiosity

We sat down with the co-owners of the Happy Sunday vintage shop on Derby Road to find out more about their new venture

Nature Calling

We spoke to the founder of Wellbeing in Nature, an Earth-centred therapy form that connects individuals to nature to provide a calming environment businesses that keep the streets vibrant and unique - so if you fancy having a different kind of city centre stroll, take an amble through Sneinton Market one day and see what you might find.

We’ve also been talking to local filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, delving into days past of the Nottingham Hip-Hop scene, exploring a new vintage emporium on Derby Road, and learning about the Victorian Herbarium of Bromley House Library. There’s lots more too, so if you’ve diligently kept reading until now, may I give you permission to go find yourself a lovely beverage and sit back and relax while you peruse these pages.

See you in September,

Sophie Editor

Just a pier-fect day

Sebastian Garvey

Tag us on Instagram @leftlionmagazine to feature in a future issue.

LeftLion Ltd is a carbon neutral company, having reduced our direct emissions by 99% since 2018. We offset the rest via direct air capture from Climeworks. LeftLion Magazine is fully recyclable and compostable, made from recycled or FSC® certified (C015932) sources, and printed using renewable energy. The emissions of this paper are offset via the World Land Trust.

I used to think Tyrone was so leng, then he tried to play Rock Paper Scissors with me over the phone. I ended it there. Your face smells mouldy.

I’ve seen that kid before he’s like a… man. Like a man baby, adult face.

You haven’t seen Toast? Now I don't normally get violent but you need a slap in the jaw.

Riddle me that Jesus.

Schoolboy speaking to other schoolboy at traffic crossing: “Oi mate shut up or I’ll wipe you on the kerb”

Nottingham’s most opinionated grocers on...

Favourite Pub Names

In terms of people from Nottingham who should have pubs named after themselves, then we think there should be one for Albert Ball (WW1 fighter pilot), Torvill and Dean (Olympic ice skaters), Emily Campbell (Olympic weightlifter) and John Player (tobacco manufacturer). Once we went to Grantham and there were two pubs near each other called ‘Stagger Inn’ and ‘Nobody Inn’. We thought they were both rather amusing.

Vintage and Antiques

A van just passed by that said 'Student Storage', and I wondered how many of them they could fit in...

I mean I like B&M but it's mainly just a load of rammel innit? Mate have you been christened? Not that it matters, there’s defo things you’ve done that can never be forgiven.

Well I stand corrected in my orthopaedic shoes.

We have a few curious ‘items’ at home we’re proud of. We have an original book of 78 RPM records by The Ink Spots, an American vocal group from the 1930s. We’ve got some old hot water bottles and bedpan from Boots - which we don’t use much anymore for obvious reasons. We’ve also got an old till from a butcher’s and the old clocking in and out machine from Redmayne and Todd sports shop, which was our first job back in 1978.

Hip-Hop

We don’t know anything about Hip-Hop. Is that the same thing as drum and beat? We watched Glastonbury on TV and saw Debbie Harry and Blondie. She did a rap back in the day, didn’t she? We also saw Candi Staton, but neither of them were anywhere near as good as when we saw her live back in the day. I don’t know why they let all these older people play at Glastonbury. It’s not really for them, is it?

[At Splendour in the rain] Have you got sea legs? I’ve got sea legs. Reminds me of a P&O cruise.