leftlion.co.uk/issue165 1
Credits
Featured Contributor
A.I. 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)
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)
Partnerships Assistant Lottie Murray (lottie.murray@leftlion.co.uk)
Stage Co-Editor Ian C. Douglas (ian@leftlion.co.uk)
Stage Co-Editor Dom Henry (dom.henry@leftlion.co.uk)
Fashion Editor Addie Kenogbon (fashion@leftlion.co.uk)
Screen Co-Editor George White (george.white@leftlion.co.uk)
Beth first entered LeftLion HQ this summer for work experience, following the completion of her master’s in Magazine Journalism at Nottingham Trent University. During this time, she conducted some fascinating interviews which have appeared in our print magazine, including the one she did with Jah Digga for last month’s Black History Month issue. She is also interested in film, particularly the horror genre. A few weeks ago, she interviewed the organisers of the Mayhem Film Festival, Steven Shiel and Chris Cooke, as well as Film Programmer Melissa Gueneau, ahead of the festival. She also
went along to the event to review Paris Zarcilla’s debut, Raging Grace, which opened the festival. You can find both of these articles on our website now. While we miss having Beth in the offices alongside us now that her work experience is over, we’re so glad that she continues to contribute to the magazine each month, and hope she does so for a long time to come. This month, you will find her on page 23, as she chats with a Nottingham-based CBT therapist, alongside a gorgeous illustration by Zarina Teli. @brosey95
Supporters Screen Co-Editor Oliver Parker (oliver.parker@leftlion.co.uk)
Music Editor Maddie Dinnage (music@leftlion.co.uk)
Food Editor Julia Head (food@leftlion.co.uk)
Photography Co-Editor Fabrice Gagos (fabrice.gagos@leftlion.co.uk)
Photography Co-Editor Nathan Langman (nathan.langman@leftlion.co.uk)
Art Editor George Dunbar (art@leftlion.co.uk)
Literature Editor Andrew Tucker (literature@leftlion.co.uk)
Distribution Dom Martinovs
Environment Editor Eleanor Flowerday (environment@leftlion.co.uk)
Cover Ilinca Sivoglo Raphic Designer Raphael Achache Writers Akhila Thomas Ben Normington Beth Green CJ DeBarra Claire Jones Dan Haycock James Walker
Nadia Whittome Paul Cox Yasmin Turner Photographers Alex Blythe Ian Cumberland Laura Mitchell @misselizabethclaire @rachel.hop Ralph Barkham @rzbngn @squashbosh
Illustrators Christine Dilks Iulia Matei Milena Muszynska Tracey Meek Zarina Teli
These people #SupportLeftLion Alison Gove-Humphries, Alison Hedley, Alison Knox, Anamenti, Ant Haywood, Audrey & Lizzy & Margot, Barbara Morgan, Cat Sharpe, Cerys Gibson, Chloe Langley, Chris Jarvis, Chris Underwood, Claire Foss, Clare Foyle, Cyra Golijani-Moghaddam, Dan Hemmings, David Knight, Dick Watson, Donna Rowe-Merriman, Eden PR, Erika Diaz Petersen, Harry Sutcliffe, Hayley Howard, Hazel Allister, Heather Oliver, Holly's Merry Moggies, Harry Turner, Ian Carroll, Ian Phillips, Ian Storey, Ian Yanson, James Place, Janine Lees, John Haslam, John Hess, John Holmes, John Scruton, Jon Blyth, Joshua Heathcote, Julian Bower, Justyn Roberts, Kathleen Dunham, Kay Gilby, Kiki Dee the Cat, Lilian Greenwood, Livi & Jacob Nieri, Louise Duffield, Marc Weaver, Mark Barratt, Mark Gasson, Matt Turpin, Matthew Riches, Michael Mc, Mighty Lightweights, MinorOak Coworking, Miri Debah, Monica White, Nigel Cooke, Nigel King, NottingJam Orchestra, Paul Boast, Paul Wentworth, Pearl Quick, Peter Hamilton Family, Rach, Rachel Ayrton, Rachel Morton, Raphael Achache, Redbrick Communications, Richard Goodwin, Rob Arthur, Roy Manterfield, Russell Brown, Sam Hudson, Sam Stiling, Sarah Manton, Selectadisc, Simon Evans, Steve Benton, Steve Lyon, Steve Wallace, Sue Barsby, Sue Reader, Tracey Newton, Will Horton Fancy seeing your name (or the name of your band, small business, loved one, pet etc) in this mag every month? It only costs a fiver and the money supports this magazine. Plus you get all kinds of other treats too.
patreon.com/leftlion
ADVERTISE WITH US Would you like to advertise your business or event in LeftLion? Email partner@leftlion.co.uk to discuss available options.
leftlion
@leftlion
@leftlionmagazine
Contents 12
15
24
AI Up Mi Duck
Hanging Out with National Justice Museum
An interactive fiction game exploring transhumanism, poverty, and whether the Broadmarsh Centre will ever get finished
If you’ve ever visited the National Justice Museum, it’s likely that you’ve come across some costumed actors along the way
Effin Good Coffee After moving to a new premises in Hockley, Effy owner Mitch Farr discusses the aesthetics, ethos and essence behind good coffee and good business
13
Look Up! Nottingham Trent University’s Clifton Campus has been home to the Trent Astronomical Observatory since it was built in 2006
26
All Kriller No Filler Nottingham’s best party band Seas of Mirth have stormed back onto our record players a groovy fandango of deep sea disco tunes
16
The Letters Page Jon McGregor looks back at the beginnings of his journal and delves into how the evergreen tradition of letter writing weaves into the digital age
29
A Pig Deal Sharon Walia turns her attention to animal rights, in the form of The Keepers of the Pigs - a poignant exploration of an unlikely subject, guinea pigs
18
The Death of Disco There are many clubs that have had their last orders at the bar and closed the doors for good leaving nothing but memories
30
So You Think You Can Write? We caught up with Nicola Monaghan, author of The Killing Jar, Star ishing and The Okinawa Dragon, to discuss her new book Wish You Were Here
19
Artificial Stupidity? Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence (AI) has been a huge talking point in the past year
31
Choosing Children A new immersive theatre experience coming to Lakeside Arts later this month dips into the topical and troubling subject of genetic engineering
23
A Therapist in Notts We caught up with Nottingham CBT therapist, Laila, to learn more about tackling Seasonal Affective Disorder
32
Bean Streets Founder Paul Cox tells us all about Nottz Garden Project: a volunteer-led project building community resilience and food growing skills through creative, art-filled green spaces
Editorial
Leftlion in the wild Hello LeftLion readers! November has once again rolled around, and with it the crunchy leaves and chilly days are here. Whether you miss the warmer climates or adore getting cosy indoors, you can always count on us to bring a hodgepodge of Nottingham’s news and happenings, so settle down with a nice beverage and please enjoy our latest offering. We’ve had some brilliant issues recently (if I do say so myself) celebrating LeftLion’s twentieth anniversary and Black History Month. For this edition, we hadn’t planned a theme, but somehow found ourselves stepping into the future to explore the world of technology and science. There is much happening in the realms of A.I., genetic engineering and astronomy we’ve truly entered the futuristic era of sci-fi, whether we like it or not. The robots currently remain the polite and docile androids we hope they continue to be, and as we discovered in our interview with ChatGPT on page nineteen,
they currently have as much personality as a wet lettuce. In these early days we can only speculate on what the future may hold, but we do hope that they soon learn how to do the ironing and other mundane tasks, rather than steal jobs from our artists and writers. For balance, we’ve also dipped our toes into the past; you can discover some behind the scenes antics that happen at the historic Shire Hall, find out about the history of bears, and reflect on the art of letter writing. For anyone struggling with the change in the seasons, you can find our interview with a therapist on page 23, where we discuss CBT and seasonal affective disorder. And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, perhaps perk your spirits with a lovely piece on guinea pigs on page 29. Stay cosy, pet a dog and check in on your hermit friends. Until next time, Sophie Gargett
@hunts.emporia Are big cats scared of water too…? 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.
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 5
Nottingham’s most opinionated grocers on... The lost art of writing letters We wish we could write letters but we can't. We only went to a comprehensive school so we can't read or write. We know letters are important though and if they’re having a resurgence that’s good news. One of the worst things about internet-only communication is that everyone ends up using American English, rather than correct English. Old Nottingham nightclubs Oh the memories! Isabella’s, Pieces, Madisons, Sandpipers, Mortimer’s Cabin, New York New York and the club behind Woolworths. There was a time when Nottingham had 300 pubs and clubs within a square mile. Although the truth is we weren’t party animals or regulars on the dancefloor at any of these places, we mainly heard about them from other people. We were always more likely to have a few pints and an early night. Artificial Intelligence Isn’t this history repeating itself? People have always been sceptical about new technology even going back to the days of the luddites smashing up machines. You have to embrace modern technology rather than go around smashing up knitting machines. Having said that, the highest level of tech we have in the shop is the landline, so I doubt they’re going to take our jobs anytime soon.
I just want a ban Let's go Weth ging night out mate. erspoons, it's always banging in th ere.
st Fields. a big house, Fore Person 1: We did d? Lethal on, what’s it calle Down that way street yeah. Road "I'll ed to call Alfreton ick it Person 2: we us qu it ad" - if you say threaten you Ro sounds similar
I'd like to be a teacher, if being a teacher was different to how it is.
We asked comedian, writer and Creative Director of the Nottingham Poetry Festival Jay Sandhu to tell us about six of his favourite things…
I thought they’d died or gone missing, but they just lost weight.
ght I
I thou battered I was so ck fly. saw a du
Kid 1: You are su ch a cheeseburg er Kid 2: Well you're a pepperoni pizz a!!
h couldn’t run nort I thought rivers uphill. h, because north is I don't need Bluetoot . es ur nt I've got de How can you be a film crit ic, you can n remember an ever yone’s name. Yo something sa ying ‘thingym u can’t review agig, that was in wotsit’
Pick Six
ag my daughter Don’t you dare sl g to g. I’m never goin off. I’m not goin n. ai ever ag your playgroup
icken. Mind you, He runs like a ch icken. he looks like a ch You run like you're made entirely of el bows.
Book Serious Nonsense by Ben MacPherson (@ben.macpherson.1). What a hilarious poetry book, I read it with my little cousin and he loved it! Along with Ben’s words, the pages are beautifully illustrated, and I’m excited to see him bring some of the pieces to life live.
Holiday I love to see new places, so I very rarely stop at the same spot twice, but as long as there’s plenty of food and a beach, I’m happy. One of my favourite things to do on hot holidays is go swimming in the sea.
Song Pretty by Madeeha (@madeehauk). This punchy pop tune from Nottingham’s own Madeeha makes me get up and dance every time I hear it, the melodies are just incredible. She’s such a versatile musician who plays with most genres - but her latest releases are fun and proper earworms.
Meal Oh, it has got to be homemade Aloo Pranta. Those buttery, fried, potatoslices of heaven are the greatest thing in the world to eat, especially on a lazy Sunday morning! Both my Grandma and my mum have their own little twist on the recipe, but I could never pick a favourite!
Film Four Lions. I know it's an old one, but it’s still gold. Me and the boys rewatched it recently and didn’t stop creasing, I forgot how many laugh out loud scenes there were! Rubber Dingy Rapid bro!
Notts Spot It’s got to be Mimm Studios - which loads of people must say! Every time I go to an event there, it’s always such a vibe. The variety of different nights, genres and groups that use the space mean you can expect something different every time. Plus their merch is sick too.
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 7
If mammals have hair and produce milk, is a coconut a mammal?
Spotted Long Eaton Person 1: Whywas my post declined Person 2: Your not a scammer, your not moaning about dog sh*t or fireworks so it's no good to them Sherwood Sounds After the excitement of the Sherwood badger and Sherwood rabbits, residents are being asked to keep an eye out for the Sherwood walrus (apparently swam up the Daybrook). I hear they can be quite loud as well. Sherwood Community Group Is anywhere selling pumpkin Strelley, Beechdale, Bilborough, Aspley and Broxtowe Community group Nottm Does anybody have any books for an elderly lady at my mammas care home to gift please? Apparently she likes murder books
Spotted in Netherfield Has anyone's bin been emptied on Curzon Street? Mine and lots of other people's haven't . I know there's a dirty great hole on Curzon Street as it's a few doors away from me . Also has anyone actually seen any workman doing any work ?? Sneinton Who the hell is setting fireworks off yes I'll be the first to say it! it's October! Halloween hasn't even come yet ;!! My dogs are that scared they have hid under the Christmas tree. yes that was a joke I thought I'd beat you all to it with the moaning posts. It's just fireworks get a grip people Sneinton & St Ann’s Community Group I’m into the reggae scene but I don’t know where there is anywhere I can jam. Can anybody help me manners & respect
NG11 Community Page Anybody got any apple trees with fruits going to waste. And dint want them to?
words: Dani Bacon
UNDERCOVER ARTIST Tell us a bit about yourself… I’m Ilinca – I’m a graphic designer, illustrator and marketing specialist. My main interests are horror films, games and experimenting with second-hand fashion. What was the inspiration behind the cover? I looked at the Ghost in the Shell manga and Masamune Shirow’s general style, alongside other artworks representing the downfall of humankind through technology. The concept behind this cover was to have the main character crucified on a circuit board which represents the map of Nottingham. How does it compare with some other projects you’ve worked on? This is the first front cover of a magazine that I’ve worked on, so it was really fun to contribute with it being my favourite independent publication. I love that LeftLion always has artwork on the covers and I feel really special and grateful that I am one of the illustrators. What was the biggest challenge that you faced in creating the piece? Although the amount of creative freedom I had to illustrate this was a dream, it was a little scary not having specific guidelines, as that’s what I normally follow. Deciding between my concepts was also challenging because I had
a few ideas I really liked, but now I’ve turned my second option into more content for inside the magazine! Tell us about some projects you have worked on in the past… Aside from my graphic design work for Nupsala, I have previously illustrated a variety of topics for LeftLion like podcasts and short stories/films and have a background in commission work. What have you got planned for the future? I’d like to create more illustrations, in particular working for magazines and eventually combine this with my love for video games and explore the world of games art and design. Travelling as much as I can has also hugely inspired my fashion and art style – exploring and thrifting in South East Asia is my ultimate goal. Is there anything else you’d like to tell the LeftLion readers? I’d like to say that I’m incredibly grateful for your support and hope the cover design resonates with you as we explore the world through art and creativity. ilincasivoglo.cargo.site @ilinca.sivoglo
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 9
Nadia on... The Housing Crisis
words: Nadia Whittome photo: Fabrice Gagos
The housing crisis is hitting Nottingham hard. According to the homeless charity Framework, the number of rough sleepers in our city has increased by a shocking 51% over the past year. Hundreds of families are in temporary accommodation, or sleeping in hotels and bed and breakfasts, with nowhere else to go. My inbox is filling up with emails from constituents in desperate situations.
embarked on a mass programme of building council homes, they weren’t meant only for those in the most dire need, but for a broad cross-section of society, including the middle classes. In some places around the world, this ethos is still alive. For example in Vienna, around sixty per cent of residents live in cheap, stable and often quite beautiful social housing, and the city regularly ranks as one of the most liveable on the planet.
But the most visible forms of homelessness are just the peak of the iceberg. Many more people are stuck in overcrowded homes, sleeping on friends’ sofas or putting up with poor conditions so they can keep a roof over their heads. For many, the prospect of owning their own home is growing increasingly distant, while renting often turns out to be a never-ending nightmare: because of unjust evictions, neglectful landlords, unexpected rent hikes, or having trouble finding somewhere to live in the first place.
In Britain, however, the golden age of public housing ended over four decades ago. Currently in England, despite a growing population, there are 1.4 million fewer households in social homes than there were in 1980. The Thatcher-era Right to Buy policy, combined with a failure to invest in building new ones, means that we’re losing an average of 24,000 social homes a year. Although the government would prefer us to blame migrants or local councils, the social housing shortage is one created in Westminster.
Soaring house prices have meant a growing number of people spending decades, even their entire lives, in the private rented sector. Meanwhile, the law is still designed as if this was a temporary arrangement that people can choose to opt out of. Unlike in much of Europe, short-term contracts are the norm. Rent increases are unregulated, forcing many families to uproot their lives and move somewhere cheaper, over and over again. No-fault evictions are on the increase, contributing to the homelessness crisis. In Nottinghamshire, they’re now at their highest level on record - higher even than during the financial crash. As I’m writing this, the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill is returning to Parliament. First promised four years ago, it’s meant to improve the situation of tenants among other measures, by banning no-fault evictions and fixed-term tenancies, and preventing landlords from discriminating against prospective tenants on the basis of having children or receiving benefits. While I hope they’re finally implemented, these proposals are too little, too late. The Bill leaves a number of major loopholes that bad landlords could exploit to force tenants onto the streets. Among them is the failure to regulate rent increases - a sudden, unaffordable rent hike can amount to a no-fault eviction by other means. Meanwhile, while rents are growing at the fastest rate on record, the Local Housing Allowance has been frozen since 2020, leaving many renters on low incomes struggling to find any properties they can afford. But reforms to private renting are only part of the answer. A real solution to the housing crisis must also include building many more good quality, affordable homes - in particular social housing. The waiting list for a council house in our city has hit 10,000 people. Nottingham is not unique here: the shortage of social homes is a nationwide problem, with over a million households on waiting lists across the UK. Getting a council house wasn’t always associated with endless waits and strict requirements. After the Second World War, when Clement Attlee’s government
A real solution to the housing crisis must also include building many more good quality, affordable homes - in particular social housing Without a decent and secure home, it’s hard to find stability in other areas of life. The housing crisis is forcing people to delay or give up on starting families, making people stay in relationships they would otherwise leave, causing endless stress and having a devastating impact on people’s mental and physical health. Like with most crises our society is facing, those worst affected include working class people, disabled people, communities of colour, women and young generations. The problem is serious, and so must be the response. Empty slogans and piecemeal reforms won’t do the job. That’s why I’m campaigning for the government to take real action: strengthen the Renters Reform Bill, introduce effective rent controls, raise the Local Housing Allowance, end Right to Buy and massively scale up building social homes. These policies would transform the lives of millions of renters - and with lower rents leaving more money in their pockets, more people would be able to start saving for a deposit to buy their own home. nadiawhittome.org
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 11
A.I. UP Mi DUCK
words: James Walker illustration: Illinca Sivoglo
It’s 2123 and life has got a bit rubbish. Humans are unemployed because AI does everything for them. This means there isn’t much to do other than sit inside and watch telly; Fortunately, there’s l-o-a-d-s of channels. This is the concept for AI Up Mi Duck, an interactive fiction game exploring transhumanism, poverty, and whether the Broadmarsh Centre will ever get finished… Lee Vitaht is a youth from Tip Valley, Nottingham, a slum area where the unemployed are forced to live until society can find a use for them. One day he enters a competition to appear on the Reality TV programme Live Island with the chance to win immortality. Lee Vitaht would love to live forever so he can finally witness Forest win the Prem and possibly see the Broadmarsh Centre flattened. But as Reality TV host Android Marr explains, “we work in immortality, not miracles.” AI Up Mi Duck is an interactive fiction game that can be downloaded from itch.io. It explores the impact of technology on our lives and issues of transhumanism - the idea that we can somehow become untethered from our flesh and live forever. Nobody is quite sure exactly what transhumanism means or how it will work, but it’s got a lot of people interested and generated a load of cults, with Ray Kurzweil, author of The Age of Spiritual Machines (2000), the alpha prophet. The hope is that emerging technologies such as genetic engineering, AI, cryonics, and nanotechnology can somehow help humans stop ageing and relegate death as a twentieth century inconvenience. One of the most extreme versions of this ideal is that our consciousness can be downloaded and rebooted into some kind of external mainframe computer. Let’s just hope the broadband connection is stronger than my GiffGaff connection. But consciousness is not a tangible thing like a foot or finger and so whether you can download something that is difficult to define or locate is a bit of a challenge. To help me research the game, I read Matt O’Connell’s To be a Machine (2017), and discovered that the idea of connecting ourselves to a wider network may not be that far fetched. The body, after all, is a series of electrical circuits. If this
could be emulated somehow, it would completely redefine what it means to be human. For those who can’t wait for such innovations, fear not. You can get your frozen corpse stored in a massive cryogenic warehouse in the hope that one day medicine and technology will be able to reanimate the brain, thereby providing a second chance at life. Then there’s the hubris of the ‘life hack’ brigade who think that a strict diet and exercise will help prolong life. If getting up at four o’clock in the morning every day to do 1,000 pressups while bingeing on raw food is the key to eternal life, it’s a no from me. It’s the quality rather than the quantity of life that matters.
Future generations will look back on us as digital illiterates, who *scoff* communicated via a phone In writing this game with animation students from Confetti, one thing became abundantly clear: I don’t want to live forever. It would be tedious. There’s only so many times you can get Homer Simpson socks for Christmas or watch fireworks over Trent Bridge before the novelty wears off. There’s something humbling about coming to terms with your mortality that helps you appreciate your allotted three score years and ten. We live in precarious times and doom and gloom is everywhere. But nothing depresses me more than a social media post warning ‘watch till the end’. This is the end of civilisation, at least as I know it. The immediate gratification of digital has eroded our attention spans so much that even a fifteen second TikTok is too long. If
you’re still reading this article, btw, well done. Your head must be absolutely throbbing. The reason I find this future so alarming is because I have become an alien in my own life – a fate that awaits us all. I’m an analogue kid who grew up in a world of three TV channels, where people talked to each other rather than ‘liked’ each other, and the closest thing to the internet was teletext. The world – as wonderful as it may be – is completely unrecognisable. Imagine that feeling for eternity. In some respects, we’ve entered a kind of Digital Dark Ages. We no longer know what ‘truth’ is, who is observing us, or what sophisticated algorithms are doing with our data. We now have two lives – a ‘real’ physical life and an online life. Is it any wonder so many people are anxious or suffering from mental health issues when our very being is split in two? We’re digital pioneers in a Brave New World where AI will radically transform every aspect of life as we know it. This change will be as profound as the invention of fire, the wheel, and the industrial revolution. But future generations will look back on us as digital illiterates, who *scoff* communicated via a phone. Lol. I may not want to live forever, but I do admire people who will do whatever they can to squeeze out a bit more juice. In this, the transhumanism movement is a symbol of optimism (or delusion) and may very well represent the next stage of evolution. Good luck to them. Ai Up Mi Duck is free to download but a donation would be nice – just so I can eat. thartamardarse.itch.io/ai-up-mi-duck
Look Up! interview: Yasmin Turner illustration: Milena Muszynska
Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) Clifton Campus has been home to the Trent Astronomical Observatory since it was built in 2006. We caught up with Daniel Brown, an associate professor of astronomy at NTU who runs the NTU Observatory, to find out about what events are coming up in the sky and how you can get involved in astronomy around Nottingham… What sparked the interest for you to study and teach astronomy? I’ve always been interested in the sky and how things in the sky change. I recall always noticing Venus as being one of the planets that was more visible from our living room. I always saw that, and then at some point I got a small telescope. It took off from there at a young age, having a small telescope and observing the sun. That carried through my final years at school and then shaped my interest in studying astronomy. When I came over to Nottingham to run the NTU Observatory, my main drive was to be able to work in and around astronomy and share that knowledge with others. Can you explain what equipment you have at the NTU Observatory? The observatory is an actual on-site observatory. The dome houses a fourteeninch reflecting telescope that uses mirrors to enhance the images, magnify and collect as much light as possible. We also have a slightly larger one that’s half a metre in diameter and collects more light.
If you have a look at our NTU Observatory Facebook page, there we announce a lot of events. The next Open Dome Event will take place on Thursday 23 November at 8pm on Clifton Campus LT4. This event will be on signs of life on exoplanets and will be delivered by Ian Whittaker (NTU). You can also have a look at what’s offered by local astronomy groups in the Nottinghamshire region. This could be the Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society that operates the Sherwood Observatory or the Bassetlaw Astronomical Society. The Nottingham Astronomical Society also holds talks once a month.
Jupiter is a brilliant planet to observe through the entire night. Also, just a pair of binoculars are enough to see the four brightest Galilean moons
These are just some of the examples of the large instruments we use for the general public and for community groups to come in and see. We also have a portable, digital planetarium that we can take out to different places like community centres and events, to share the joy of astronomy and the sky as well.
What events are coming up in the sky this November and where is best to watch them from? Jupiter is a brilliant planet to observe through the entire night as it’s in opposition on 3 November. Also, just a pair of binoculars are enough to see the four brightest Galilean moons.
What would you say is your favourite sky event that you have witnessed? There are two that I would pick out. One of which is when I was still in my final years of grammar school, there was a total eclipse of the sun that just skimmed the part of Germany where I come from. An equivalent we had here was a partial eclipse some years ago. We had a lot of people visiting as we streamed that event from our observatory. Highlights of astronomy events that we have held would be turning Robin Hood’s cave in Creswell Crags into an immersive space to read a skyscape poem and then turn it into a planetarium.
Saturn is out and about as well in November, having just been in opposition, and is visible throughout the night. Venus is also a brilliant morning star that rises around four hours before the Sun does.
What would your advice be for anyone in Nottingham who would like to get involved in astronomy? Once a month, we offer everyone in the general public to join us for a general astronomy talk. Afterwards, we offer a planetarium show overview of what’s up in the sky and then the opportunity to see our observatory and explore the night sky if the weather permits.
You don’t need to go to a dark sky site, just find a spot where you won’t suffer from direct lights such as streetlights. Wait for a bit for your eyes to adapt and you should be able to see at least a few stars. You will be able to find the constellation of Orion and Betelgeuse and you should be able to see the Moon. Taking your time and being aware of what’s around you, being aware of your surroundings, is essential to calming you down and supporting your wellness. So, observing and enjoying sky-watching and star-watching is definitely something that helps your wellness as well. facebook.com/trentobservatory
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 13
We’re not actually allowed to hang anyone, because that’s health and safety laws for you
words & p h
oto: Gem
ma Cockr ell
If you’ve ever visited the National Justice Museum, it’s likely that you’ve come across some costumed actors along the way. These characters, known as interpreters, can be found carrying out performances such as mock trials and hangings, giving tours of the museum and the caves below, helping you to navigate your way around, and starring in the museum’s murder mystery events. We catch up with Nino, who is most commonly seen dressed up as the museum’s jailer, to find out more about what this unique and wonderful role involves on a daily basis… When I make my way up the steps on High Pavement and enter the National Justice Museum, one of the first people I meet is dressed as a jailer. Turns out this is Nino, my interviewee. We head straight through to the museum’s old Victorian Criminal court: “We've had a court on this site going back to the Middle Ages - the 1300s. But the court you see around you is from the Victorian era, from 1877,” he tells me. “It operated as a court up until the 1980s. That clock at the back was stopped at the end of the final trial that was held here in 1986.” This is a room that Nino is clearly familiar with; it’s one that he spends much of his time in as an interpreter at the museum. “My general role is to play the jailer,” he says, which explains his interesting choice of outfit for the interview. “I come in at ten o’clock in the morning and then I go and dress up; my changing room is a prison cell! During the week, we have lots of school visits - we had ninety kids here today - and we also have the public in as well.” As part of their visit, they will witness a mock trial in the very courtroom that we are sitting in - Nino changes costume to play the judge for this performance - as well as a mock execution down in the men’s exercise yard (more on that later). Prior to his role at the museum, Nino worked for an organisation that arranged workshops and activities for elderly people with Alzheimer’s and degenerative conditions, and before that he was a youth worker, so you may be wondering how he ended up here, as an interpreter. It all begins to make a bit more sense when he says, “I've performed in various capacities throughout my life. I started performing on stage when I was very young, I was about nine, and my father was a stage magician.” After years of not performing, he saw an advertisement for his current role in a newspaper: “It said ‘Do you like dressing up and playing characters?’ and I thought ‘Yeah, I can do that!’” His long-standing interest in history has also helped him to approach the role with a passionate enthusiasm: “I've always been interested in history. All my books at home are about history. I think to do this job well, you need to both enjoy performing and be interested in history. I don't think you can do it with one or the
other.” As well as this, Nino credits his ability to engage people as a skill that makes him successful at the role. “You have to be able to just walk up to a person dressed like this” - he points down at his costume - “and feel comfortable and confident that you can tell them about the museum. You need to be able to read people.” The jailer is Nino’s favourite character to play, but he enjoys the variety that comes with being able to take on different personas: “The change is quite nice - if I was a jailer all day, every day, it would probably start to get a bit draining after a while! But I’ll always be the jailer.” A time when you may see Nino dressed in less unusual clothing is on one of his tours of the caves, when he shows up as his usual self: “I introduce myself as Nino, I talk in my own voice, and I get to be me!” As a preview of the caves for anyone who hasn’t been down to see them yet, without spoiling too much, Nino says, “You’ve got a thousand years of a history, and it all relates back to poo. The kids love that!” In the lead up to Christmas, the museum will be putting on their Elementary! murder mystery event. “We run the same murder mystery over the Christmas period for various nights, but generally speaking, the murder mysteries are one-off events. The public really gets into it. Last time, I was playing a barrister, and part of it was about a will that had been signed, and someone was saying there needed to be a witness - all this legal stuff - and I just had to say ‘I'm clearly very good at law!’ because that wasn’t actually part of solving the case at all. But people get really into it and that's great fun.” Nino has many fond memories at the museum, but I wanted to know if he had any spooky ones, since it is common knowledge that the Grade II listed building has been named one of England’s most haunted. This attracts people who want to carry out paranormal investigations; they have even been known to stay overnight in the dungeons in an attempt to witness the museum’s spirits and ghouls. Nino has no such tales of his own, however. “Generally speaking, any self-respecting ghosts give me a wide berth. I don't think any ghosts have come anywhere near me; they stay away!” This doesn’t mean
his colleagues haven’t experienced the paranormal: “I've got loads of colleagues who say they’ve seen things and felt things,” he says, but it seems that Nino is immune to their presence. The museum is like a labyrinth, making it very easy to get lost if you don’t know your way around. But Nino knows it better than most, meaning that he is privy to areas of the building that are beyond the small fraction of the site that the public are able to explore when they visit. So, what is Nino’s favourite secret spot? “There are nooks and crannies all over the place, but the governor's house is huge - five or six floors - and there's one floor we call the Alice in Wonderland floor because it's tiny. I'm six feet tall and I basically can't stand up in it, I feel like a giant.” It’s at that moment that Nino is suddenly ushered away from where we are sitting and taken down a flight of stairs, which lead into the men’s exercise yard. That can only mean one thing: it’s time for a hanging! Eager to see him in action, I hurry behind him to join the small crowd of people who are gathered around the gallows, complete with a noose (you’ll be pleased to know that this is not used at any point during the performance - they’re “not actually allowed to hang anyone, because that’s health and safety laws for you,” Nino tells me). The interview may have come to a somewhat abrupt end, but his duty as the jailer calls! And just like that, he immediately transforms into his favourite character, almost as if he hadn’t been speaking to me as his regular self no less than five minutes ago. After the display is over, he slinks effortlessly into the dungeons below the museum, and it’s hard to believe at that moment that he isn’t part of the building’s history himself. The only sign that we still remain firmly in the present is the eager visitors who tail after him, desperate to learn more about this fascinating piece of history. nationaljusticemuseum.org.uk
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 15
interview: Akhila Thomas photo: The Letters Page
The Letters Page
As The Letters Page journal turns ten, chief editor Jon McGregor looks back at the beginnings of his journal and delves into how the evergreen tradition of letter writing weaves into the digital age as he sheds light on what makes the appeal of finding a letter in your postbox forever greater than a ping on a screen… “Every time we sit down to read the letters, we never know what we are going to find.” Even ten years down the line, this is the same enthusiasm which Jon McGregor, the chief editor of The Letters Page, sits down with every time the team reads through the latest batch of letters sent to them. Run by the School of English at the University of Nottingham, this is a literary journal that publishes essays, stories, poetry, memoirs and criticism, all in the form of letters. Marking a decade of The Letters Page, the university’s Lakeside Arts gallery is hosting an exhibition, ‘Living Letters: Correspondence Then and Now’, which celebrates the enduring importance of letters as deeply vulnerable artefacts that capture the personal and the professional in a way that only letters can. The collection ranged from letters written by Lord William Bentinck to those written by children who were learning cursive by drawing ruled lines before writing the letters. The oldest letter displayed is one written in Anglo-Norman French expressing support for the future King Edward I, which dates back to 1259. Sipping coffee after looking through some of the most iconic handwritten letters seemed as good a time as any to have a conversation with Jon McGregor about The Letters Page, an idea he brought to life. Having been long-listed for the Booker Prize for his first novel in 2002, making him the youngest-ever contender, McGregor went on to earn a place in that list another two more times in 2006 and 2017. His writing has been described as quiet with a lyrical narrative, seeking out the beauty and mundane delights of the everyday. With such a background and literary style, it does not come as a surprise that the tradition of writing letters has always interested him. “I was always fascinated by writing letters because that is how I learned to write. Later on, as a teenager, I had a lot of pen pals and soon realised that writing a letter was also about drawing another person into a conversation and if I wrote a letter well enough, people actually wrote back. In hindsight, all this was really useful in learning how to tell a story well,” he says. “When I joined the university, I knew that I wanted to run a little journal with the students which was different from the generic periodical. After speaking with a couple of writers and students, I realised my interest in letters was shared by many. The nostalgia of letters not being part of our lives anymore and its appeal in the digital age also contributed to conceptualising this journal,” he explains. From being a platform for students to learn about publishing
to receiving letters from big names such as Kevin Barry, George Saunders, Naomi Alderman and many others, the journal has come a long way from where it started ten years ago. But what keeps its charm alive is its very format, where they only accept content as handwritten letters. “When one sits down to write a letter, they don’t really feel self-conscious the way they might feel if they were to sit down to write a poem or a story. So you get people who don’t think of themselves as writers coming up with really powerful and evocative writing. For us, that’s what makes our content special,” McGregor says.
Digital communication never eclipses the value and impact of written communication As he recalls some of the most memorable letters they have received over the years, he says, “Once, we received a letter stuffed inside a bottle and was posted to us which was very exciting. Another set of letters that always stood out to me was from a truck driver from Cambridgeshire. They were really simple letters, not trying to be flashy or poetic, but just capturing a slice of his life.” At the end of the day, McGregor hopes that the biggest impact of the journal would be on all the students who worked with them over the years, some of whom have gone on to pursue publishing careers. “Other than that, we feel that our biggest asset are the readers who have stuck with us from day one with whom we have developed a relationship over the years,” he adds. He also hopes that the journal will be able to do more live events such as the successful collaboration with Roddy Doyle. Another dream for The Letters Page in the coming years which he shared was to publish a collection of selected letters like an anthology. On a lighter note, when asked about the possibility of him writing a letter for the journal, he suggested a cheeky plan for the journal to finally receive a letter from Antarctica, after which they would have received a letter from every continent in the world. ”I have been to Antarctica on a writing residency and they have their own post office on this tiny island. If I were to write a letter, I would probably write it as if I am writing from Antarctica and arrange for it to be sent to us from there,” he added with a laugh.
McGregor also has an upcoming talk on 22 November in connection to the exhibition where he will be looking back at ten years of The Letters Page, getting into the details about some of the most striking letters they have received over the years and why he feels people have responded so warmly to the project. Sharing his thoughts on letter writing and its recent popularity, especially as an alternate form of communication as well as therapy and relaxation, he says, “I guess it would fall in the same territory as journaling, as writing a letter would allow you to momentarily step away, reflect and sit with your own thoughts. When you communicate digitally, there is no ambiguity about what you are doing at the moment. But with letters, it is common to describe where you are, what you are doing and the environment around you. This would probably add to the reflective and relaxing element of writing. “Aspects like people describing the birdsong they hear or spilling their coffee while writing their letter would make it like packaging a part of their day and sending it off to someone, including the smell of their house or their coffee,” he adds. Elaborating on the appeal of writing as a practice in the digital age, he explains how advancements like email and social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) have always got people worried about the death of writing and literacy while missing out that all these platforms were, at the end of the day, about writing. “Social media has people expressing themselves in languages, grammars, tones and registers that keep evolving and I personally feel that the social media generation has done a lot more writing than my generation did at their age,” he says. Digital communication never eclipses the value and impact of written communication according to him. He emphasises that The Letter Page has never been about bringing back letters as a means of communication. “I am not under any delusion that letters will make a comeback. I just hope we can continue to value and cherish the practice, like an occasional treat,” he adds. And as the journal celebrates its tenth birthday, it would be safe to say that this little project has led to a good handful of people across the world picking up a pen to start a conversation, seeing more than a screen and listening to more than a keyboard. ‘Living Letters: Correspondence Then and Now’ is exhibiting at Lakeside Arts’ Weston Gallery until Sunday 3 March
THOMPSON BROTHERS 83B Haydn Road, Sherwood, Nottingham, NG5 2LA 0115 9609209
NORDMAN FIRS
4FT - £25 5-6FT - £30 6-7FT - £35 7-8FT - £45 8-9FT - £55 9-10FT - £65 10-12FT - £85 12-14FT - £110
EACH
words: CJ DeBarra illustration: Iulia Matei
When it comes to nightclubs, Nottingham has more than its fair share of legendary venues from Rock City to NG One to Pryzm. There really is something for everyone. But there are many clubs that have had their last orders at the bar and closed the doors for good, leaving nothing but memories. Some have become legends such as Isis, Bopp, Mario’s, Part Two, Media, Skyy Club, Kool Kat, The Garage and more. Hidden behind their new lives as solicitor’s offices, student accommodation or studios, here are four venues we have loved and lost.
The Dungeon Club Stanford Street
Media Queen Street
The Garage St. Mary’s Gate
Deluxe St James's Street
While it might not look like the type of venue that once held all-night music sessions with some of rock’s biggest names, don’t be fooled by Nelson’s solicitors on Stanford Street. The unlicensed club which opened under Mick Parker played host to The Small Faces, Stevie Wonder and The Who among many others. In a further surreal twist, Peter Stringfellow was once a DJ at the club towards the end of its days.
The end of the hedonistic nineties ushered in a new era of venue: the super club. This was so much more than just providing a space to dance or meet your friends but clubs were now concerned with becoming a brand themselves. This meant cramming as much as you could into the space to entertain clubbers. God forbid people just enjoy the music.
The Garage is another club that has had many different names including Kool Kat and Lizard Lounge before settling down as a studio and offices. It was renovated into The Garage Studios as part of a £1.1 million investment.
It’s hard to imagine the Chemical Brothers once played on James Street but that’s exactly what happened in February 1996.
The Dungeon was the place to go if you were one of the city’s mods. Playing the latest records, it wasn’t allowed to serve alcohol so many clubgoers resorted to soft drinks, coffee and, ahem, other forms of staying awake. It was like the latter that led to a raid by 100 police officers in 1967 who burst into the club during a set from the Drifters going on to question and search over 600 teenagers. This resulted in the grand total of a forty pound fine for Mick and five people charged for drugs. The venues were able to stay open all night by closing for just one hour and then reopening again. Attempts were made post-raid to call a halt to this and while it's unclear if this had an effect or not, the club closed the following year. In its later years, it became The Eight Till Late Club briefly in the late sixties before a court case involving the bouncers caused licence issues. The next few decades saw incredibly swift name changes including Mario’s, Shades, Whispers, The Asylum, The Club and finally Venus.
18
The Elite Cinema on Queen’s Street has had many attempts to gain a licence since it shut in 1977 although many were unsuccessful. Glasgow nightclub operator, Big Beat made a play for the venue announcing a £1.5 million plan to revamp it into a super club for the Midlands. They were turned down repeatedly for four years before Media was opened in 1999. This was to be unlike anything the city had before. Plans included: six bars, a VIP lounge, a multimedia theatre which included internet suites (nope we don’t know either) and Playstations. It even had a seventy-seater restaurant called Magazine. The capacity for the club was huge at 1,250 and it inspired other club brands to take Nottingham into consideration such as Ministry of Sound who began eyeing the Lace Market near Bottle Lane. There was a catch: clubbers were beginning to reject big clubs and the arrival of the internet meant people didn’t have to go out to meet others. This only hastened with the arrival of online dating. As business slowed, it became Gatecrasher in 2007 before closing for good in 2016 with rumoured debts of £3.5 million.
The club began its life as the Beachcomber then the Ad-Lib before becoming The Garage in the eighties. The Garage had two floors where you could listen to indie downstairs before heading upstairs for more dance-orientated options. It was famed for its music and is credited with launching the career of DJ Graeme Park. Park is one of Nottingham’s most famous DJs, often referred to as one of the founders of the rave club scene. As the legend goes, he had been working at beloved music store Selectadisc, when someone called in sick and he stepped in to DJ, thus launching his career and he moved on to the Hacienda club in Manchester. The club fell into debt in its later years and was transformed into the Lizard Lounge operated by Andy Bentley. Bentley was also responsible for another beloved club, Beatroot in the Lace Market. Finally, the club became BZR which closed in 2015 after a doorman was violently stabbed inside the venue. Another clubber was stabbed outside - luckily both survived.
Deluxe had a long history in the city as Club ’69, Nero’s, and L’Amour before being taken over by club promoter James Baille in 1996. The club was known for its music and serious DJs. It did employ some quirky advertising strategies though as one for ‘Barbie goes to Deluxe’ allegedly irritated bosses at Mattel who ordered the organisers to withdraw thousands of the leaflets with the doll on them. Or so the legend has it. Deluxe was home to some of the biggest club nights in Nottingham including Candyland and it played host to Detonate club night in January 1999 before it morphed into a music festival. Sadly, the club didn’t last too long as it was replaced by the Cookie Club, which had previously been located on Pelham Street in 2001. While the Cookie Club welcomed a generation of the city’s goths and rockers, it too eventually closed, becoming the Retro Rooms. Despite a £10,000 revamp, this too has now closed.
ARTIFICIAL STUPIDITY?
I understand your concerns, but I'm just a tool
words: LeftLion image: Gencraft.com
Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence (A.I.) has been a huge talking point in the past year. There’s been murmurs that it’s going to ruin creative industries, take away our jobs, and lead to the demise of humanity as we know it. We hear your concerns, and it’s time to provide some much-needed answers. And who better to answer the tricky questions than ChatGPT itself? So, we sat down (sort of) with the world’s most famous AI-powered language model for a somewhat unconventional (and slightly creepy) ‘interview’... Hi ChatGPT, can I interview you today? Of course! I'm here to provide information and assist with your questions to the best of my abilities. Please feel free to ask me anything you'd like to know or discuss, and I'll do my best to provide you with informative and helpful responses. What is your purpose, then? My purpose is to assist you by providing information, answering questions, offering explanations, generating text based on the prompts you provide, and engaging in text-based conversations. My goal is to be a useful and informative resource for you. Can you tell me a random fact? Honey never spoils. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still perfectly edible. Honey's low moisture content and acidic pH create an inhospitable environment for bacteria and microorganisms, allowing it to remain preserved for an incredibly long time. Can you tell us a little known fact about Nottingham? Certainly! Nottingham is often associated with the legend of Robin Hood, but here's a lesser-known fact about the city: Nottingham is home to a network of man-made caves and tunnels that lie beneath the city. These caves have served various purposes throughout history, including use as a tannery, a brewery, and even air-raid shelters during World War II. Some of these caves can be explored on guided tours, offering a unique and fascinating underground perspective of Nottingham's history. These underground passages are a testament to the city's rich and hidden history. Thanks ChatGPT. Can you write a story under 300 words about Nottingham in the style of journalist Jon Ronson? In the shadow of Nottingham's industrial past, I found myself intrigued by a peculiar local legend. It was whispered in hushed tones by the elderly and passed down through generations, like a cherished secret. They called it "The Ghost of the Lace Mill." As I delved into this enigma, I discovered a curious mix of superstition and scepticism. The tale spoke of a spectral figure, a woman in Victorian attire, haunting the abandoned lace mills along the River Trent. She'd been a worker, they said, a skilled lacemaker who met a tragic end. Intriguingly, the apparition was often sighted during periods of economic hardship or political unrest, almost as if she were an omen, a guardian of the working class.
It was a chilly evening when I embarked on my investigation, creeping through the crumbling ruins of a once-thriving industry. The air was heavy with the scent of damp wood and decaying lace. My heart raced, not from fear of the paranormal, but from the anticipation of uncovering the human stories behind the myth. I met an elderly laceworker named Edna, who shared tales of her grandmother, a skilled artisan who had laboured in the mills. The stories painted a vivid picture of life in those times, of long hours, cramped conditions, and meagre wages. Edna spoke of the solidarity among the workers, their battles for fair pay and safe working conditions. As I explored further, the spectral figure seemed to fade into the background, becoming a symbol of resilience and solidarity. The legend of the Ghost of the Lace Mill was a manifestation of collective memory, a reminder of a city's history, of struggles fought and victories won. In Nottingham, the past still lingered, and in the silence of the abandoned mills, the ghostly figure served as a haunting, yet heartening, reminder of the human spirit's ability to endure and seek justice, even when lost to the annals of time. Jon Ronson would have revelled in the oddity of it all, the merging of history and legend, a story that transcended the supernatural to reflect the true spirit of Nottingham.
might be your favourite. Ultimately, the best Arnold Schwarzenegger film is a matter of personal taste. If you prefer action and sci-fi, "Terminator" might be your favourite. If you enjoy comedy and a different side of Schwarzenegger's acting, "Twins" could be your top pick.
Which is the best Arnold Schwarznegger film, Terminator or Twins? The choice between "Terminator" and "Twins" as the best Arnold Schwarzenegger film is highly subjective and depends on personal preferences. These two films represent very different genres and showcase different aspects of Schwarzenegger's acting career. "Terminator" (1984) is a classic in the science fiction and action genres. Directed by James Cameron, it launched Schwarzenegger to stardom with his iconic portrayal of the Terminator. The film is known for its action sequences, futuristic themes, and timetravel elements. If you enjoy action-packed sci-fi and thrilling storylines, "Terminator" is a top choice. "Twins" (1988) is a comedy film co-starring Danny DeVito. It showcases Schwarzenegger's comedic side as he plays a man who discovers he has a twin brother with contrasting traits. The film is light-hearted and humorous, focusing on the odd-couple dynamic between the two brothers. If you appreciate comedy and enjoy Schwarzenegger's comedic performances, "Twins"
Okay, let’s cut to the chase. Are you going to destroy the world as we know it? No, I am not capable of destroying the world or causing harm in any way. I am a text-based AI model, and I can only provide information and respond to questions based on the text data I've been trained on. I have no physical presence or abilities beyond processing and generating text. The responsible use of AI technology is in the hands of humans, and any potential negative outcomes would result from how AI is used or misused by individuals or organisations. My actions are determined by the input I receive, and I do not possess intentions, desires, or the ability to cause harm.
We thought Arnie would be your hero ChatGPT… Your abilities are a little unsettling. Are you going to take away our jobs? I understand your concerns, but I'm just a tool created to assist and augment human capabilities, not to replace people in their jobs. My purpose is to provide information, answer questions, and generate text based on the input I receive. While automation and AI are advancing in various fields, many tasks still require human creativity, critical thinking, empathy, and complex decision-making. The future of AI and automation depends on how society chooses to use these technologies. It's essential to consider ethical and societal implications, including job displacement. Many experts and policymakers are actively working on strategies to ensure that AI is used in a way that benefits society and complements human work rather than replacing it entirely. Ultimately, the role of AI, like mine, is to support and collaborate with humans, making our lives more efficient and productive rather than taking away jobs.
One more question: Do you have any final words for the readers of LeftLion? Of course! If you ever have more questions or need assistance in the future, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm here to provide information and help with a wide range of topics. Have a great day! chat.openai.com
NOTTS SHOTS Want to have your work featured in Notts Shots? Send your high-res photos from around the city (including your full name and best web link) to photography@leftlion.co.uk or tag #nottsshots on Instagram .
Hell of a ride
Ian Cumberland
nd
rou Watching the world go @rzbngn
lf?
What time is it Mr Wo @squashbosh
Hogg & Son @misselizabethclaire for @beestonorigins
On track for a fright Ian Cumberland
Oh deer! @rzbngn
Sky reflections @rachel.hop
Little ladybird @gemcockrell
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 21
We’ve been repping Nottingham culture since 2003, will you help keep us going?
TIP SERVICE
LIP SERVICE
POSTAL SERVICE
Exclusive content, early access
+ Your name printed in the magazine each month
+ An A4 print of the cover, the magazine delivered, and other treats
patreon.com/leftlion
words: Beth Green illustration: Zarina Teli
Do you find yourself slipping when the days turn colder, shorter and inevitably darker? If you do, you’re not alone, NHSInform reports that around two million people in the UK are affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD). So what is it, can we help it and how? We caught up with Nottingham CBT therapist, Laila, to decipher what it all means and how we can start working towards promoting a positive mental wellbeing in our lives… Let’s start with Laila’s job role. Officially, she’s a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner, or PWP for short. It means she’s fully trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), to offer and support people with a variety of mental health needs, including anxiety, depression, OCD and PTSD. Her story started when she was working in a GP practice. She was the first point of contact for people: “It gave me some insight into people’s struggles, and how many of them need help.” From here, she furthered her healthcare experience, taking a role as a support worker for cancer patients. An incredibly sensitive demeanour was needed for the work she did, but it was the depth of mental awareness that truly widened her knowledge in the field. Sometimes the focus can be on the physical when someone is suffering with an illness such as cancer, but Laila speaks of the mental toll she witnessed. “I got to help in a way that the GPs weren’t - they give you a ten minute slot and then you’re done. I was with them for longer. It wasn’t robotic, I gave them the space to feel like they were speaking to an actual human being.” This experience gave her the motivation to apply for a trainee PWP post. “I had nothing to lose, I knew I wanted to do it, and I had a lot of experience, which is what I think ultimately gave me the edge.” Turns out she was right. Laila’s now been qualified for a year, and working for two. If you’re not aware of CBT, it differs from a traditional talking therapy, where the patient takes on a more active role, openly speaking about their issues and hearing advice, coping methods or perhaps just using it as a space to vent. CBT focuses on changing patterns, all of which can be found in our “vicious circle” - the aim is to notice and stop the pattern developing. “CBT covers three main areas; thoughts, physical sensations and behaviours. All of these are linked, in order to change one, you must look to the other, once you do, you can start reducing the symptoms.” The patient can’t sit back and listen though; “we don’t spoonfeed our patients, there’s a lot of guided self-help.” In simple terms, this means homework. Patients can expect to be set a weekly task, such as writing down their thoughts. They would need to complete these over their six to twelve sessions, which is dependent on their individual needs. “It’s definitely not for everyone, some need to just talk. For those that do go down the CBT route, what is most apparent is the more you put in, then the more you’ll get back.” Accessing the service is fairly straightforward too, there’s a choice of going through your GP, who will refer you. Otherwise, patients should search Nottinghamshire IAPT, where you can self-refer and submit an online assessment. That way, once you’re assigned a therapist, they have as much information as possible, to ensure the time together is as thorough as possible. If we revert to the beginning, and bring the focus back to SAD, where does it fit in with CBT, and is this an area that Laila is
familiar with? Its commonality is scientifically understandable; in fact, it comes down to how human beings function, on the most basic level. If you’re a little lost, don’t worry - luckily, Laila knows her stuff. “It’s about the importance of the circadian rhythm. As humans, we rely on sunlight, it gives us a natural routine, to wake, sleep and eat. If we lose that, then it can send us completely out of balance.”
Self-care is a very individual experience - it could be the more obvious taking a bath, or doing a face mask, but it can be the basics: washing, eating and sleeping Some of us will go about our days, not seeing daylight during winter, depending on our work, or life commitments. The problem with this is that because it’s so common, paired with the inability to control the daylight, many people don’t pay enough attention to it. “The problem with SAD is that it’s very difficult to diagnose, despite so many of us experiencing symptoms. It’s very close to depression, so many professionals overlook the time of year.” This is actually a positive when it comes to CBT, though. “Although it’s frustrating that SAD is often misdiagnosed, it is treated the exact same way as depression, meaning I can still help.” When a person is struggling with the shift in seasons, their thought process may leave them feeling unmotivated. The combination of weather and darkness alongside your thoughts will have you opting for your bed, pyjamas and easy-watching TV. It’s clear how your thoughts affect your behaviour in this instance, which from here affects your physical sensations. You may start to beat yourself up for repeatedly cancelling plans, and so on; the cycle never ends until the patterns are broken, which is where Laila comes in. The next step is asking for help, although, unfortunately it isn’t as quick and easy as that. Endless waiting lists may put you off, but it shouldn’t. Taking the first step is important, and whilst you’re waiting to be seen, there are some life tips to start implementing, that may make a huge difference to your wellbeing. If we think about children, whether you have them or not, it’s common knowledge that having some sense of routine is beneficial. Adults are no different. “We thrive off of routine, whether that be going to work, waking up at the same time every day, or perhaps keeping on top of life admin. Sometimes people don’t consider the day-to-day upkeep; paying bills, attending appointments, servicing your car. They all contribute to keeping yourself in check.” It’s true - once you let one thing slip, you blink and you suddenly have an overflowing wash
basket and copious bill reminders. By this point, it can become too much. So what should we avoid? Relying on caffeine is a big one - not only does it affect your sleep, it also impacts your anxiety levels. “Caffeine increases your heartbeat, leaves you feeling jittery and on edge, which if you’re already struggling, can induce panic attacks.” Coffee lovers needn’t worry though, there’s plenty of decaf options, so you can still get that satisfying flavour. Similarly, avoiding alcohol is also recommended. “This one often shocks people, they always tell me how great they feel when intoxicated. This is true, but only up to a point, there’s a reason that you see so many people crying on a night out, or spend the next few days in bed - it’s not just the hangover.” Alcohol is a depressant, so if you’re regularly relying on it to mask your problems, chances are you’re actually doing the complete opposite. What about social media? How many of you have turned to endless doom-scrolling? Laila confirms what we already know we should do: “Avoid social media, and take breaks. It can be so detrimental, especially when you’re already feeling low. You will partake in unhealthy comparisons that are completely unrealistic; as we all know, it is merely a snapshot of life. People are often showing you the best version of themselves, their lives and successes.” Now we’ve covered that, let’s finish on the positives. When your mental health is taking a hit, it can seem impossible to have fun, but this is exactly when you need it the most. Laila stresses that seeking pleasure is key; “whatever that looks like for you; seeing friends, mindfulness, planning meals ahead to avoid trying to make a decision when you’re burnt out, and practising self-care regularly.” Self-care is a very individual experience - it could be the more obvious taking a bath, or doing a face mask, but it can be the basics: washing, eating and sleeping. If you can stay on top of these, you can start to break the depressive cycle. Ultimately, most of us will crave long summer nights and warmer weather, but that shouldn’t mean we ignore what the other half of the year brings us. There are still things we can be grateful for, perhaps we need to look a little harder. Laila talks about the benefits of having a gratitude diary, “if you can write down one thing everyday that you’re grateful for, it makes a huge difference. One thing that I’m grateful for when the seasons change is the beauty of it. I get to see the autumnal colours and the fallen leaves, which is very pretty to look at. “It’s about finding the beauty in things. Make the most of the day where you can, even if you can only sit outside for ten minutes, it all adds up. Your body will get a hit of melatonin and serotonin, which not only makes you feel good, will also help you sleep better.” It really does arc back to giving our bodies what they need, but above all, whether you access Laila’s service or not, please ensure that you are asking for help if you need it.
leftlion.co.uk/issue165 23
words & photo: Sophie Gargett
If we can make our own little pockets of change that works for everyone in the system, maybe we can inspire others to do the same
Nottingham certainly has a comprehensive selection of coffee shops to choose from, but without a doubt it is the independents that each bring their own individual flavour to the industry. After moving to a new premises in Hockley, we sat down with Effy owner Mitch Farr to discuss the aesthetics, ethos and essence behind good coffee and good business… After five years as Nottingham’s most Instagrammable coffee shop, Effy is all grown up. Now located in Hockley’s Heathcoat Street, their style has matured but the values remain the same: exceptional coffee, progressive working conditions, happy customers. It’s a formula that has worked so far, with some remarkable results all round. With no formal training in business or hospitality, owner Mitch learned his way into coffee through what he confesses to be ‘a bit of a weird story…’: “I was eighteen and gambling to make money - which is really bad - so my parents made me get a job in a random cafe in Newark,” he explains. “Somehow they made me manager within about a month, and I basically had the shop given to me when the owners got into debt.” After three years, Mitch decided to move on and start his own coffee shop in Nottingham along with his partner at the time. Originally tucked away on Hounds Gate, the striking bright pink design which became synonymous with the brand was a hit with customers. “Everyone came for the pink, even though the coffee was great. But now we've got a whole fresh start we can be more sophisticated, make it more classy,” he says. The new premises definitely bring out a different, more grown up character from the previous site, with high ceilings, cosy seating and some exquisite original features. The rich burgundy walls are complemented by 200 year old stained glass panels, which project cubes of colour around the room on a sunny day, while at night a more intimate vibe is created. “When it's dark and candles are lit it literally drips atmosphere,” says Mitch. “The old shop just wasn’t an evening venue and eventually we want to open in the evenings, so we wanted to make the space quite dynamic and cosy.” The building’s history also quickly piqued Mitch’s interest: “It was originally owned by John Heathcoat who invented the lace machine that makes bobbinet, which is a type of lace with mini circles.” To pay homage to this industrial past and incorporate
24 leftlion.co.uk/issue165
a little modern style into the decor, Mitch hired Awn Studios in Sneinton Market to design the countertops, which feature funky pigmented blue waves in the shape of threads to give a colour pop against the classy walls. But along with aesthetics and customer experience, Mitch has designed the business to work for the staff too, considering their experience of everything - from layout and productivity to pay and personal job satisfaction. “I love thinking about barflow and efficiency,” he explains. “Rather than putting it on the staff to be more efficient, there’s just less steps involved, which makes people work better without really having to think about it.” This thoughtful ethos runs deep within the business, and is based on the simple (yet still rare) premise that happy staff will stick around, expand their knowledge and develop a passion for the job. Paying a wage of over fifteen pound per hour higher than any other UK coffee shop - and providing a four day work week as standard means Effy staff have time and energy to work on their creative side hustles, study, spend time with family, or even just have space in their week to relax. “I think my staff are invaluable and I don’t want them to ever think about struggling financially. I don’t earn much more than them but I feel comfortable in knowing me and my staff have a pretty wicked work life, which resonates with our customer base and product,” says Mitch. “As most people know, things in this country don’t really change, they just tick along. So if we can make our own little pockets of change that works for everyone in the system, maybe we can inspire others to do the same.” But how can an independent coffee shop provide wages that allow staff to thrive rather than survive, we hear you ask? Well, it all comes down to what Mitch modestly refers to as “a little bit of science” - infused with some good business acumen and a plentiful dose of generosity we might add.
“During lockdown I bought a load of equipment and just went down a rabbit hole,” he explains. “I started experimenting with coffee ratios and types of water, and ended up developing a system where I’m making a drink that tastes the same strength and dissolves the same amount of caffeine into your veins, with almost fifty percent less product. This adds up, and you’ve quickly got a couple of people’s salaries. I distribute this to the staff, and to the quality of coffee we use.” It is clear that the drink is just as important to Mitch as the shop, staff and clientele. While he apologises for getting nerdy about coffee, it’s fun to hear someone talk about their product with such passion and knowledge. “The coffee we make isn’t going to taste like the preconceived taste of coffee, it's basically the most wildly sourced and meticulously processed coffees we can get our hands on from the world's best roasters. Sometimes weird is wonderful and that’s what we serve, even if it tastes like synthetic grapes!” he explains. “A lot of people would expect after hearing that we pay our staff £15 per hour and buy more expensive coffee, truth is we’re the exact same price and that’s what makes what we’re trying to do here so much better.” With a selection of coffee based events already happening in the new shop, from tasting takeovers to latte art throwdowns, there’s a lot of things to look forward to as Effy looks ahead into the new year. The basement downstairs is being fitted out as an in-house bakery to provide more of the delicious pastries and cakes they serve, and Mitch is eventually looking to incorporate late night openings and a wine menu. For now, make sure you take a wander just slightly off the beaten path in Hockley to sample some of Nottingham’s best coffee from one of our most conscientious local businesses. @effystores
Music
All Kriller No Filler interview: Sophie Gargett photo: Laura Mitchell
Almost four years since their last album, Nottingham’s best party band Seas of Mirth have stormed back onto our record players with Kriller, a groovy fandango of deep sea disco tunes. We caught up with members Al Juddy and Paul Lynch to find out their recent highlights and hijinks... Big congratulations on Kriller - it’s a fantastically fun record! How's the reception been so far? Al: It’s been great! We’ve just done a few small shows in Carlisle and Edinburgh, then also London and Kent. We’ve had lots of good feedback, sold lots of merch and hopefully gained some fans for life. Your sound has moved on a little with this album, a little less sea shanty and more of a funky underthe-ocean party. What has inspired this evolution? Al: It's really come from what music we’ve been listening to, what kind of people we are and what makes us tick. There’s always been a bit of a theme to our stuff, but you can do a lot with it - the deep trenches of the ocean lend themselves to lots of wild and wacky music. The transition has been more noticeable on the last couple of albums as the instrumentation has changed - there’s no accordion on the new one for example. Paul: We’ve had a completely different lineup for every album, which naturally lends itself to change. I don’t think I started playing electric guitar until album three. We’re such a big band and people’s lives change, or there’s geographical factors involved, so we’ve always had a bit of an open door policy with who’s playing live and on the records. Al: There’s bound to be some fans from years gone by when we were playing the more piratey shanty stuff who don’t really like the new stuff, and that’s fine, we totally expected that, but most people just like us for being Mirth, rather than a style or genre.
GOOD VIBRATIONS
I feel like Kriller has a bit of a disco-cabin-fever vibe to it. It reminds me of some of those strange isolated living room parties we all had during lockdown. Did the pandemic have an effect on putting the album together? Al: We were quite full of juice at the start of the pandemic - we’d just put an album out at the end of 2019 and obviously couldn’t tour it, so we were all just trying to get on with things. I was doing up my boat and it was during those repetitive tasks when ideas would come. It was also great weather in that first lockdown, which is probably why the middle of the album sounds a bit sundrenched. Paul: When we were all in lockdown we started playing with our toys and pedals at home. Going from that time when you could practise together to using a multi-track recorder and getting loads of sketches down. I ended up making a different album
26
to go AL KENT Million Dollar Disco Calling all ravers… don’t miss this very special event, bringing together some of our region's finest underground house crews – as well as disco don Al Kent, hailing all the way from Glasgow. Featuring acclaimed local artists from Gallery Sounds, Ultrasound, Kinky Movement and more, this event WILL sell out – get ya tickets now! Friday 24 November
effectively from Seas of Mirth offcuts, which is a dream pop electronic thing called Pale Stranger. But if you take a song from the new album like Little Dreamworld, which has Yay Maria featured on it, it's basically lots of songs stitched together.
The deep trenches of the ocean lend themselves to lots of wild and wacky music
Lyrically, Seas of Mirth are great at telling a story. What kind of tales can people expect on the new album? Al: The album in general is like a neon paradise, and about trying to coax your more reclusive friends to come out. You’ve got the recent single Dig Out The Moves, which is obviously about encouraging people to get on the dancefloor. Tiki Tak is a fictional tale of some divers getting trapped underwater not being able to communicate. Then there’s songs like Bobbit, which might sound like a silly tune, but it's quite a personal one. When you get into the verse it's about an artist’s creativity and what you’re expected to do, then thinking no - stop that, I just want to do what I want. Paul: Back when we began in about 2006, I had been trying to make some electronic stuff and you [Al] were just completely indifferent to it, but you liked the sea shanties with modern pop culture references. In the early days, none of the time stuff made sense - it was riddled with historical inconsistencies, like what’s Carol Vorderman doing being mentioned in 1555?! …There were definitely two strong categories: either character-based songs, which were about debauched pirate types and lusty sailors, or songs about an unbranded type of booze that would make sailors go mad or blind. You have had a pretty full on summer on the festival circuit, can you tell us some of your favourite highlights or hijinks? Paul: Definitely Glastonbury. We last played in Shangri La in 2014 and there was a monumental
to listen How Did I Get Here by Dusty 4 Track Following their debut single Metronome, make sure you check out Dusty 4 Track’s new release How Did I Get Here when it’s released this month ahead of their upcoming EP, which promises to feature fan-favourite fire-themed tracks Oh Tomino and Ritual Mean. Releases 24 November
storm. We’d hyped ourselves up so much so we felt slightly underwhelmed. We’d also brought a massive sixties organ with us which wasn’t fun to carry through the mud. Al: I had to give the giant tug-of-war rope we use about an hour’s bath afterwards… But this year we played two gigs, one at The Bandstand and another at The Rabbit Hole and we got a lovely reception. We got offered it a week before the festival - they said Saturday night, 1am - you’re the perfect band to do it. And we were like yes - it’s happening! By the time our readers get their hands on the mag you’ll have already played Hockley Hustle, but what else do you have coming up for us to look forward to? Al: We’re going on tour, hitting Birmingham, Hull, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool - all the northern powerhouses, then finishing off the tour in Cardiff and Bristol. At the moment it's all about the present, getting Kriller to as many human ears as possible, and encouraging as much movement as possible as well. We’re just really proud of it and want to share it with the world. Kriller is available to buy now in Rough Trade Nottingham and via Bandcamp, or listen online via all major streaming platforms @seasofmirth
to follow Window Kid Previously described as the “new big boy on the UK MC scene”, if you’re a fan of his Crucast pals Darkzy and Bru C, then you need to get on board with Window Kid. Plus, he’s just supported Dizzee Rascal on his stadium tour, including a date at Notts’ Motorpoint Arena - if Dizzee is a fan then you should be, too. @thewindowkid
Come Home (Single) Come Home is a touching song about finding your way back to the place where you belong, reflecting on the plight of millions affected by the Russo-Ukrainian War. It powerfully weaves traditional and contemporary folk styles with the poignant lyrics of Ukrainian poet Voloshka, with the ethereal hurdy-gurdy perfectly capturing the atmosphere created by the single’s artwork, which features a figure standing in a hazy grey landscape. Proceeds from the single will be donated to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Gemma Cockrell
Katie Keddie
Alaska Sadness (EP) Singer-songwriter Katie Keddie’s latest EP Alaska Sadness showcases five tracks equally-charged with earnest emotion. The solitary soul at the heart of it all becomes suspended within Keddie’s painfully wistful lyricism, placed against a backdrop of threadbare acoustics and emotionallycharged percussion. Alaska Sadness is a testament to Keddie’s lyrical mastery; an essential listen for lovers of Clairo and Lizzy McAlpine, and the perfect soundtrack for all your sad girl autumn needs. Maddie Dinnage
Music Reviews
MuHa
Marvin’s Revenge
VR Porn (EP) Ready to arouse insanity from start to finish, Marvin’s Revenge’s new EP teleports listeners to a lucid dream on a wave of reality through gnarlier, darker and experimental sounds. The EP feels like a dive down a rabbit hole that creates hundreds and thousands of scenarios; exploring themes of drugs and virtual reality dystopia, it finds a way of releasing not only the members’ inner anger and dark emotions, but also the listeners’. Marta Tavares
Ben McElroy
Beacons Of The Wilderness (Album) Ben McElroy's latest release is the album Beacons Of The Wilderness and the fifteen tracks are available on download, cd or luuuverly vinyl, with support performances from Lizzie Benzie, Chris Smith and Tom Manning. Ben's continued use of the drone only gets better with each release and this is experimental lo-fi folk music at its very best, the sounds of acoustic guitar, mandolin and percussion cry out for a live performance and by coincidence you can see him perform the album on 11 November at Sneinton Market. A perfect album for the coming cold months and for your 2023 record collection. Bassey
Yay Maria
Superbia (EP) Yay Maria has crafted her own realm within which her new EP, Superbia, exists. A key figure in the Notts LGBTQ+ scene, she will be a familiar face if you attended any pride celebrations in the city this summer, and the empowering and affirming lyric “you should be proud of who you are, you’ve come so far” from WHO WE R is bound to resonate with many within the community, portraying a message that is particularly crucial to be heard right now. Plus, the animated musical film that accompanies L’APPEL DU VIDE is well worth checking out, too. Gemma Cockrell If you’re from Nottingham and want to get added to our list of music writers, or get your tunes reviewed, hit us up at music@ leftlion.co.uk
27
SCREEN
A Pig Deal interview: George White
Nottingham-based filmmaker Sharon Walia uses her camera to tell important stories, having already tackled the poor treatment of refugees through The Movement and spotlighted the powerful tales of the UK’s first Windrush generation through Parallel Histories. Now, the documentarian turns her attention to animal rights, in the form of The Keepers of the Pigs - a poignant exploration of an unlikely subject, guinea pigs heading across the globe to witness their unique cultural impact, and meet those trying to protect one of man’s closest friends… In your own words, where did the inspiration come from for this project? Why guinea pigs? The idea was actually born right here in Nottingham! A few years ago, I was sent by Notts TV to cover a story about a guinea pig sanctuary in Notts, which was overrun with neglected and unwanted pets. I filmed the report with the rescue owner, Shaz Kelly, and she told me how she had been inundated with piggies for many months. The news report went out that day and we mentioned it on social media - the next day, when I came into the newsroom, my editor said the report had gone viral. People were viewing the online version internationally, in countries like India and the Philippines! I knew right there and then that there was so much more to uncover about these fascinating creatures. I am also a guinea pig enthusiast, and have kept them most of my life. After a bit of research, I saw that there hadn't been a major documentary on the guinea pig and their devoted keepers, so I wanted to make this my next feature documentary. You're a vegan and an animal lover. How did you make sure your passion didn't interfere with the filmmaking process, especially in difficult moments - like when you're filming things you may not agree with? It’s important for a documentary maker to be as neutral as possible and capture events from an observational and educational perspective. I learned this from making my first documentary, The Movement, where I filmed refugees out at sea and the coastguard effectively disregarding us. Even though it was tough, I also had to interview border control for their view and for balance. A lot of this is putting your personal feelings aside.
How do you want audiences to feel when they watch the film? What messages are you trying to deliver with the piece? During the three-plus years I spent filming, I Iearned that, overall, guinea pigs mean so much to people, and I really want the viewers to see this. It is quite hard to put into words just how life-changing these lovely creatures can be to people. For example, one of the judges at the festival, Jme Edlington, spoke candidly about how guinea pigs got him through his divorce - and that without them, he wouldn't have coped. I also met another judge, Janet, who sadly lost her mother and husband weeks apart earlier in the year. Janet explained how guinea pigs were her rock through the lowest of times. It's these stories that make the film so special. I also hope the film will help audiences appreciate how much work goes into saving animals from cruelty and neglect - and that no matter how small a pet is, they should all be treated with kindness. Lastly, the documentary showcases the hidden history of guinea pigs, where viewers will hear from Peruvian archaeologists, as well as Inca business women supporting their families from producing guinea pigs. I really think these parts will be eye-opening.
Filming the guinea pig song contest was truly once in a lifetime - so much so that some of the Inca songs feature in the film
This doesn’t mean that I can’t show the viewer how difficult some of the filming process was, especially capturing guinea pigs on the dinner plate in Peru - in fact, I explain this in a voice-over.
The film received the backing of Showcase Cinemas - how did that come about? Showcase and their event cinema team has been extremely supportive. It’s immensely difficult to get broadcasters to view your work - luckily National Amusements, which owns Showcase, has its HQ in Nottingham. This, above all, made it accessible, especially for a regional filmmaker like me - as I’m so used to everything being so London-centric.
However, I had to appreciate and comprehend that guinea pigs are an ancestral food in Peru, and mean so much to indigenous people. I also feature a section with the Blue Cross charity, which rescued a large number of piggies from a hoarder home. The guinea pigs were kept in a very bad state, but the charity explained that hoarding is also a mental illness - so, again, a level of understanding and compassion was implemented during filming.
Showcase supported my first documentary, which then went on to an independent cinema tour - so getting that early exposure was crucial. The team loved the trailer for The Keepers of the Pigs and commented on its originality. Showcase is dedicated to supporting fledgling filmmakers, and especially during the strikes, the cinema can cease the opportunity to be more diverse with its programming. I’m very excited to be working with Showcase again.
The film also covers the breeding and rescue worlds, which are often at loggerheads with each other. For me, it was about capturing the unique stories and showing audiences how pets can change people’s lives.
What's your plan for the film going forward? Much like with my other film, The Movement, my goal is to focus on hybrid distribution. So, once the theatrical screenings are over, we intend to get the film placed on television and then VOD. I’m working with an amazing distributor called Limonero Films, which is currently pitching the film to broadcasters worldwide. As an independent filmmaker, I want the doc to be accessible and reach as many people as possible. We are also submitting to a small number of film festivals.
Is there one particular moment from the shoot that stands out most in your memory? A lot of Peru was a standout, as it was a total culture shock. Filming the guinea pig song contest was truly once in a lifetime - so much so that some of the Inca songs feature in the film (the winning song is chosen to represent the festival). It was also surprising to deal with the fact that guinea pigs are loved and celebrated in Peru, but are also a centrepiece on the dinner table. Filming in France was also extremely memorable - I went to a very remote village called Tremont, near Nantes, where the largest guinea pig show occurs. Tremont has a tiny population, but people travelled from all over France to attend the festival and exhibit their pigs! The audience will also meet France’s biggest guinea pig breeder.
You can catch The Keepers of the Pigs in Showcase cinemas from 9 November - book your tickets via showcasecinemas.co.uk @thekeepersofthepigs moveoverproductions.com
29
LITERATURE
On Ageing Benjamin Franklin said that a man can die at 25 and not be buried until he is 75. Funeral companies have really come on leaps and bounds since then.
So you Think you can write? interview: Andrew Tucker
We caught up with Nicola Monaghan, author of The Killing Jar, Star ishing and The Okinawa Dragon, to discuss becoming a writer, crafting detective novels and her new book Wish You Were Here… Once upon a time you were on course for a career in finance. Was there a specific moment where you decided ‘right, that’s enough I’m going to be a writer’, or did it dawn on you slowly? It was kind of both, in a weird way. I was just kind of plodding away. I went to the States and I was working in Chicago and New York. And I remember looking online at the different writing courses that were available and making lots of lists about where I'd apply. I'd narrowed it down three or four. And I thought, right, I'll do this maybe next year, maybe the year after… And then - these were very strange times - the company I worked for had an office in the Twin Towers, which was obviously destroyed. We were very fortunate that nobody died. But at the same time, there was loads of political stuff going on in my company, and I asked to take voluntary redundancy. So all of these things happened at the same time. And I thought, what I need to do is get those applications in and get this going now. So I did it, I went back to England after all that had happened and took voluntary redundancy. I was living in London at the time and then I was offered a place at Nottingham Trent quite quickly. And then I was like, OK, yeah, I'll go home. Obviously, home's calling. Locations that feature in the Wish You Were Here, like Mansfield Road and Forest Fields, will be familiar to LeftLion readers. Do you think that being from Notts informs Dr Sian Love’s character? Yeah, I think so. She's a lot like me in many ways. She's a local girl, she's from a working class background, but actually, she's lived away, she went to university, she's done lots of different things and returned home. That really informs how I write her, the fact that that's a similar experience to mine. Sian Love exists in a long tradition of detectives who have some vulnerability - but she seems particularly modern in that a big part of her story is addressing her demons through therapy. Is she a particularly modern crime protagonist? I think she probably is particularly modern for all sorts of reasons; being a female working in the field that she works in, empowered enough to set up on her own - I think she's very independent. She's almost dysfunctionally independent, actually. But I do think that it would be difficult to imagine her twenty, thirty years ago. Family and heritage are big parts of the novel - Dr Love uses the help of DNA to unravel some mysterious questions of parentage. Do you find it interesting to observe family dynamics and relationships? It was a big theme in the first book in this series as well. I'm interested in family dynamics, I'm interested in family dysfunction - which is interesting in a sense because I came from a very kind of well-ordered, really quite a good family, had a really easy childhood, but I am interested in people who don't have that kind of childhood and especially those who feel doubt about who they are.
30
What does the average writing day look like for you? I'm not sure there's such a thing as an average writing day… Once I'm deep into it, then typically I’d write say 1,000, maybe 2,000 words on a really good day, and then edit them the next. That tends to accelerate towards the end, when all of a sudden I'm writing chunks of 5,000 words in a day…
When you feel like you're going downhill towards that final moment that you've had in your head, you're rolling down towards the exciting ending, the twist or reveal. That's my favourite bit, I think That must be an exciting part of the process, when you feel that momentum… Oh, definitely. The beginning and the end are always the most exciting bits to write. Often the middle feels really sticky and really tricky and you're trying to puzzle things out that you haven't quite worked out yet… But the beginning is always really exciting because you're just starting something new and you've got that energy for it. And then the end is too, when you feel like you're going downhill towards that final moment that you've had in your head, you're rolling down towards the exciting ending, the twist or reveal. That's my favourite bit, I think. And do you have a favourite place to write? No, I have to move around…coffee shop, coffee shop, library, home for a bit, you know, take the dogs out for a walk and then I'll maybe go somewhere else again…I tend to be a bit nomadic, with my rucksack on my back! Nicola, it’s been lovely to chat to you. Have you been reading anything recently that you’d recommend? There’s one that I haven't finished yet, but I'm absolutely sure I'm going to, that I'm absolutely loving, called Strange Sally Diamond. It's by a writer called Liz Nugent, and it's amazing. The opening is the best opening I've ever come across in fiction! Basically this middle-aged woman’s father dies and he's always said ‘put me out with the bins’ and she's autistic so she takes it literally and just…puts him out with the bins. And that's how this book starts. I'm very optimistic about this one. Wish You Were Here by Nicola Monaghan is out now nicolamonaghan.com
But I also think that he was trying to say that a lot of people become adults, like what they see, and stay there forever. They live their lives like a football team that goes up by two goals in the first twenty minutes and proceeds to have eleven men squat behind the ball, or hog possession near the corner flag, until the final whistle. Life’s a victory in that case, but it’s not much of a game. Every single one of us is ageing, and when we’re doing something particularly boring, like circumnavigating Nuthall roundabout, taking our stepmother to be drycleaned or trying to stay awake while reading this column, we can feel that sense of getting older with a particularly stinging remorse. Should we mature, or should we keep our puppy fat? Ageing is no guarantee of maturity. We’ve all met seventeen year olds who could be arms inspectors for the UN, and sixty year olds who’d need eagleeyed supervision to be allowed to operate a small whoopee cushion. In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche reckoned that we should try to fuse the impulses of two ancient Greek gods within us: Apollo, who was sort of a Head Boy figure, and Dionysos, who is more like the guy who tries to sell you Buckfast behind the sports hall. Apollo or Dionysos, settling down, or living it up? Slippers or skinnydipping? We can have it all, thought Nietzche, but then he did end up with quite a lot of syphilis. @andrewtucker.creative
Stage
Choosing Children interview: Gemma Cockrell photo: Grace Elkin
A new immersive theatre experience coming to Lakeside Arts later this month dips into the topical and troubling subject of genetic engineering. Ahead of the show we spoke to Producer Laura Wilkinson and Co-Creator Ben Fredericks to find out how VR, audience participation and ethical implications integrate into this unique performance… Immersive theatre has definitely gained popularity in recent years - how will the audience be involved in the performance? Laura: The audience are posed questions throughout the performance, asking them specific questions about genetic engineering and whether they would consider using this technology on their unborn child. There is a mobile device with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers to these questions. The performance uses avatars and VR to bring the topic to life - what is it like working with this kind of technology during production? Laura: We both come from filmmaking backgrounds. Ben's speciality is using this technology in previous works, so for us it was one of the easiest parts of production using our expertise. For us, the most challenging part was the casting process as we had such a high number of actors applying, which is great but that makes it much harder to choose. Diverse casting was also very important to us; we wanted characters from all different backgrounds and a well-represented cast.
Is it morally acceptable to change the destiny of our unborn child? Whether that be to remove disabilities, or make a child more intelligent or a supreme athlete? With such a hefty topic, it must take a fair bit of research to put together a show like this? Laura: Yes! Choosing Children has been in development for around five years, it was written by three writers. Ben's passionate about ethics within his work and using current technology, and is always looking for new ways to explore.
The answers that the audience gives to these dilemmas will affect the nature of the environment they are in through interactive digital technology, that is intuitively linked to set design. Could you explain a bit more about how this works? Laura: The technology is a mobile phone and headphone set through which audiences respond with yes/no answers. The live actor and avatars will discuss the topics during the show, the live actor will then address the audience with these ideas. The questions appear on the phones through captions and audio. You provide an offboarding area for the audience to discuss the impact of the performance after the show. I imagine this encourages a bit of debate! Have you found the show to have changed people’s perception of genetic engineering? Laura: The off boarding is a visual representation of people's initial thoughts. Audiences are presented with two questions about genetic engineering, its impact and their concerns and they are invited to write them down on a board. This is to ensure that everyone has a voice, without fear of having to speak in a group situation. Again, these thoughts will be shared with audiences after the show. Developed specifically for black box spaces, Choosing Children uniquely integrates BSL, captioning, and audio description into every performance, making it a highly accessible show. How important was this to you, given the strong themes of accessibility, ethics and disability within your productions? Laura: This is highly important to us. As the show deals with issues about disability we wanted to ensure people could access it with a range of access needs. So, using the technology we had in the show, we built a system to allow BSL, audio description and captions into everyshow, rather than maybe the one show in a typical theatre run. This is a customised, unique system, which could be used across the sector as best practice. Catch Choosing Children for yourself at Lakeside Arts on Saturday 25 November @lakesidearts
In 2021 Choosing Children was lucky to have been awarded Arts Council funding during the Research and Development stage. This enabled the team to benefit from research and advice given by experts in the field of genetic engineering; plus, the technology was tested during this phase (although this has adapted much more in production stages!), and advice also came from people living with disabilities. What inspired you to explore this topic in the first place? Where did the idea initially originate from? Ben: My interest in the subject came from resurfacing of neo eugenics ideology. The idea came when having a scan for our child, I just accepted they do whatever prenatal scans they wanted. On reflection it got me thinking about the idea of what if these scans came positive and what if they scanned for more things I would want that would change my child. What is it about this topic that you think lends itself well to the immersive theatre experience? I imagine the moral dilemma element of it gets a lot of people thinking, engaging and actively participating! Laura: The feedback we have received so far is thought-provoking, which is exactly what we intended to achieve. The idea is to get people thinking and having new conversations about how far would you go? Is it morally acceptable to change the destiny of our unborn child? Whether that be to remove disabilities, or make a child more intelligent or a supreme athlete? Although the answers are not shared within the audience at the time of the performance, to keep anonymity to hard-hitting questions, we believe friends and families will discuss their thoughts afterwards. We will also share the anonymised data and statistics with audiences once the current tour is finished.
31
ART
NEED some space? interview: Dan Haycock photo: Candice Jacobs
Since last November, OTOKA has been taking over empty spaces in the city of Nottingham to launch pop-up art exhibitions, artist residencies and other temporary creative events. We caught up with Artistic Director Candice Jacobs to find out more… Hello, Candice. What have you been doing since we last spoke to you back in February? So, in February, I was working out of the Broadway Gallery. And I used that space to curate exhibitions and to develop new work for a solo exhibition. That solo exhibition was called All That is Fluid Melts into Air, and was the first time that I had made a large scale video work in collaboration with collectives of new mothers and women’s groups around the city, to explore my new role as a mother and how that is affecting and can be responded to through my practice. So the work that I made for that show, I’m continuing to develop into a much longer and larger video installation that will hopefully be shown at Quad in Derby in 2025.
I’ll be looking for collaborators on the production of the video, actually - so any producers, editors, colourists, sound designers and VFX artists interested in working with me, please do get in touch
BRUSH sTROKES
When my time at Broadway ended, I had been working for some time with a couple of different organisations who focus on taking on empty spaces and giving them to artists’ groups. One of them is called East Street Arts and it’s a charity based in Leeds. The old Clarks shoe shop on Wheeler Gate came up as an opportunity. But it was too big for me to just use by myself, so I decided to take it on in partnership with East Street Arts, and I also invited six other artists from the city to share the studio space, to share the building with me.
32
I got approached by Broadway and an organisation called Platform Asia to host a multimedia video art exhibition of South Asian artists. We launched the space with that exhibition, which was called Sudden Beams. I continued to work with a collaborative duo called Framework for Practice. We also had a partnership with Liquid Light brewery, because one of the performances that was happening was using liquid light projection. And we had performances from Chooc Ly Tan, who’s a French artist, based in London, and a couple of other performances, one from Tom [Harris], and another Nottingham DJ called M75, who’s part of the Mimm collective. We had a really great launch for that exhibition and it was open for three weekends.
We then did a big event for Nottingham Pride, which was a large screen printing exhibition with an artist called Leomi Sadler, who had collaborated with, or is part of, a collective called Stitch EnBytch. In the evening, we worked in collaboration with DirtyFilthySexy, which is Nottingham’s longest running drag night. It’s their fifteen year anniversary. And so we hosted their performance night, their drag performance night here, as well. That sold out and we had our largest event to date, which had about 120 people here. It had a really great energy… and that takes us up to today. Since we found out that we would lose our space at Wheeler Gate, we’ve been trying to secure our next space. What do you have coming up for November? For November I’ll be developing the next chapter of All That is Fluid Melts Into Air, the three screen video work and solo show that I created for Broadway to include recent footage that I captured under the Adriatic sea. I’ll be looking for collaborators on the production of the video, actually - so any producers, editors, colourists, sound designers and VFX artists interested in working with me, please do get in touch! I’m also working on a series of new editioned art works – a gallery recently returned some of the 3D-printed nine carat gold plated cigarette sculptures I made a while back called Fortuna, which I am redesigning into candles and miniature Zen gardens. I’ll be selling these through the OTOKA online shop just in time for Christmas, and also through the #artistsupportpledge - a fantastic support strategy established by artist Matthew Burrows - so please keep an eye out on my social media @otokapresents and the hashtag #artistsupportpledge for updates on these! I’m also having some very positive conversations with East Street Arts and Nottingham BID about taking on future spaces on Lister Gate, so hopefully something will come through soon and I can get started with developing my next programme of activity, which will hopefully include an event with the State Funded Lesbian Disco, hosted in collaboration with Nottingham Contemporary at the end of November/beginning of December, and a collaborative group exhibition with Chaos Magic, where I’ll be showing Ideal Vague or Hazy, a VR installation that transports you to the centre of the UK’s largest stone circle, using headsets situated inside large UV steel pyramids filled with dry ice and white Quartz sand. This was originally commissioned for ArtNight 2020 by Nikki Agency (AKA artist Leila Arenou), Canan Batur (Curator at Nottingham Contemporary) and Estelle Marois (Curator at Nicoletti Contemporary, London). @otokapresents
to see
to visit
to do
The Power of Printed Matter at Beam Editions Drawing upon the Beam archive, with contributions from their family of collaborators, including artists, academics and writers, the exhibition demonstrates how art book publishing remains a highly inventive and alternative form of expression. beameditions.uk/exhibitions
Make It Easy lab Providing an environment where people of any background can learn, share and practice analog photography, Make it Easy Lab offers equipment and facilities which are increasingly becoming rare, expensive and sought after, to all types of photographers. makeiteasylab.com
Collage N’ Cocktails at The Carousel Enjoy a Collage n’ Cocktails evening at The Carousel, every other Wednesday at 7pm. Cut, stick and craft your own collages with a truckload of inspiring materials while enjoying some tasty drinks - both mocktails and cocktails are available. thecarousel.uk
ART
Bears! Nature, Culture and Beyond
interview: Ben Normington
Local archaeologist Ben Normington interviewed the co-curators of the current exhibition in the archaeology museum at Lakeside Arts - Prof. Hannah O’Regan and Dr. Liam Lewis, both from the Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Nottingham. The exhibition is called Bears! Nature, Culture and Beyond and gives an insight into the cultural history of bears… So could you tell us about the current display in the Archaeology Museum at Lakeside Arts? The exhibition is called ‘Bears! Nature, Culture and Beyond’, and tells a long story about how humans and bears lived alongside each other in the past, and how they are still part of our cultural heritage today. We’ve been lucky enough to loan artefacts from museums across the Midlands, where bears seem to be especially important in culture and heritage. So this is a rare chance to see items like a Roman jet bear or badges that feature Warwickshire’s famous bear and ragged staff. Usually, you’d have to travel to Sheffield, Buxton or Coventry to see these objects. And it’s free!
We hope it makes people think about an animal we might take for granted, and next time they see Paddington Bear on TV, they will know a little bit more about the complex histories of bears What drew you to study bears? Hannah: As an archaeologist I’ve been studying the bones of large carnivores for years. I’ve also worked on remains from the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London, and in cave archaeology. Bears link all of these topics. Most recently I’ve been leading a research project at the University of Nottingham called Box Office Bears, which is looking into the lives of bears and dogs in early modern (Shakespeare’s) England. Liam: I first became interested in bears through my research as a medievalist. I wrote a book about animals in mediaeval texts like the illustrated bestiaries that record stories of bears alongside lions and unicorns. I was fascinated by the idea that, even though bears were extinct from the British Isles by the Middle Ages, we still find them in the pages of manuscripts in stories like Reynard the Fox. And there’s even a bear on the Bayeux tapestry! I wanted to explore this history in more detail, so I joined the Box Office Bears project in 2022, and I was excited to be able to co-curate this exhibition. How have perceptions of bears changed over time? In Britain it’s hard to say how bears were perceived a long time ago as they have been extinct for so long there are very few references to them in ancient legends. But in other places around the world, they were highly respected and, in some cases, worshipped. In the Middle Ages they were often considered to be lowly animals compared to other animals like eagles or lions, and were used for human entertainment – in bear-baiting, as dancing bears and in zoos. Now bears pop up everywhere in culture and heritage, such as on bear pots
produced by Nottinghamshire potters, or in the teddy-bear trade, in music (The Teddy Bears’ Picnic), and more recently, on TV. We tell this long story in the exhibition through the wide range of objects on display. What cultural impacts have bears had on UK culture? Once you start looking, bears are everywhere! In advertising, on T-shirts, and as children’s toys. The exhibition features ancient wild bear bones, as well as showing their role in human culture. We have a Roman figurine of a bear, a bear's grease pot lid for curing baldness, and the story of Goldilocks on magic lantern slides, just for starters! When we were curating the exhibition, we realised that there are lots of links with local companies, so the exhibition also features bear-themed products from Players, Fox’s, and Boots. What happened to wild bears in the UK? Hannah: At some point bears became extinct, but we don’t yet know when. This is the subject of some of my current research with colleagues from AixMarseille University. We hope to have some answers for you soon. My guess is that bears became extinct quite early, as unlike beavers and wolves, we have very few bear place-names, which perhaps suggests they were extinct before many of the villages and towns we know now had developed. What impacts do you want this display to have on modern viewers? We hope the exhibition interests and surprises people who come to see it. We hope it makes people think about an animal we might take for granted, and next time they see Paddington Bear on TV, they will know a little bit more about the complex history of bears. In broad strokes, what is the conclusion of your research? We’re currently drawing together the conclusions of our Box Office Bears project. There will be lots of results coming out in the next year or so, which will show that bears were just as important for early modern entertainment as Shakespeare’s plays. Now, that’s a story worth following! Keep an eye out for updates on our website, and for bear-related events around Nottingham too – we have quite a few in the pipeline! Bears! Nature, Culture, and Beyond is on display at the Archaeology Museum at Lakeside Arts until 31 December 2023, with various related events happening throughout November @lakesidearts
33
words: Paul Cox
Founder Paul Cox tells us all about Nottz Garden Project: a volunteer-led project building community resilience and food growing skills through creative, art-filled green spaces. Welcoming all to stop by and pick ripe veg at their Gamble Street Corner plot, whilst distributing it through Himmah food bank with instructions on how to use it, they’ve started a little fresh food revolution in Radford… I grew up around Hyson Green, Forest Fields & Radford in the eighties. It’s always been a multicultural and rapidly changing area, sometimes it feels like you could be anywhere in the world. I think of it as the welcoming face of Nottz. The area does have its challenges: 33% of kids live in poverty, 46% of elderly residents get pension credit and male life expectancy is 73 years versus the national average of eighty. Rewind to the middle of the pandemic, the exploding food bank use since the arrival of Tory austerity in 2010 was brought into sharp focus as ‘normal’ people started relying on foodbanks too. I contacted Himmah, Nottingham’s biggest independent foodbank, to see if they were interested in having a supply of fresh vegetables from our allotment. They were up for it - they weren’t really getting much fresh food at the time. It all started there really, delivering veg each week. Being around the foodbank, talking to the people collecting food parcels, seeing their survival stories first hand really made the poverty in the community a reality. The proper love and kindness coming out of Himmah was a real inspiration too. I started digging deeper into subjects like food justice, food swamps and food deserts, fresh food provision, the dominance of big food corps in local areas, and I realised there was a much deeper issue going on than just giving people enough calories to get by. Even though 33% of kids in Radford are living in poverty, 38% of them are obese, what the hell?! A diet of cheap and convenient easy options, like chips and burgers, chocolate, fizzy pop and crisps are causing an epidemic. YouGov research found that almost 116,000 kids in the UK have zero fresh vegetables in their daily diet and more get nothing like the right amount. People in deep poverty look to food that fills them up and is cheap - long term health is secondary. Fresh veg is a total luxury, but it shouldn’t be like that. Having grown up on my dad’s allotment eating all kinds of veg and then going on to grow veg wherever I’ve been, it feels like fresh vegetables are a human right. Nottz Garden Project started to seem like a necessity, so the veg growing and donating to Himmah ramped up, the format changed to a veg bag selection that could be easily distributed with the other food parcels, a veg guide was attached, explaining what the veg is and how to use it. Veg was supplied to some local cooking classes to improve cooking skills and encourage healthy eating. I’d been reading about free food growers like Project Eats and Urban Tilth in the States and Edible Bristol
in the UK, then discovering places like the Hope Garden set up by Grenfell Survivors and The Garden of Earthly Delights set up on a vacant lot in London. The penny dropped – why not just grow veg and flowers right in the middle of the area that needs help? In October 2022 I noticed a small plot of land I’d walked past hundreds of times on the junction of Forest Road West and Gamble Street, near Alfreton Road. A quick measure told me it was seventeen metres by three metres, pretty big but in a mess, full of rubbish and weeds… This was to become Gamble Street Corner.
Gamble Street Corner is growing community resilience, providing fresh healthy food, empowering people to grow their own food, and just being a nice nature filled, colourful, clean space where people bring their kids to look at the flowers, pick the veg or just sit on the wall and take it all in.
Community event days have been key in letting people know what we’re up to and creating engagement with the garden: Tomato Day in June (where we gave away 200 tomato plants for the community to grow their own), Tacos on the Corner in July (free tacos using veg grown on the corner), a Flowers and Bees Day in September (making seed bombs, a themed mural and pollinator plant giveaway). In August a ‘Little Free Library’ was installed on the corner in partnership with Nottingham Writers Studio. The impact has been amazing with regular refills needed to keep the library stocked. In its own way Gamble Street Corner is growing community resilience, providing fresh healthy food, empowering people to grow their own food, and just being a nice nature filled, colourful, clean space where people bring their kids to look at the flowers, pick the veg or just sit on the wall and take it all in. At this point it’s worth a shoutout to everyone who makes Nottz Garden Project work; a small group of cool people who really share the vision, give their time, make it friendly, welcoming and communityfocused. They know who they are - big love gang. So, what’s next? Well, year two on Gamble Street Corner is going to be bigger and better. More community events, more giveaways, more growing, more free food.
Due to its location a stone’s throw from the foodbank, Gamble Street Corner would be a joint project with Himmah and in February 2023 a motley crew of five we started the clear-up. We found syringes and all sorts amongst the rubbish, but five skip bags later we had ground to work with.
I’ve just agreed to start up a second garden on Raleigh Street in Radford in All Saints Churchyard. The veggies and flowers grown will be free to the community, and our local charity partners SFiCE are also on the same site, with their social café for the homeless and projects for refugees and other vulnerable adults in our city.
As we started clearing the ground and painting the mural ‘Veggies for Radford’ on the back wall, the community started to wonder what we were up to. On telling people that we were going to grow veggies and flowers for people to harvest, the vast majority thought it was a great idea but that it probably wouldn’t work. People told us that it would get wrecked, that kids would ruin it, that we ought to put a fence up and that we must be mad…
In the immediate future there’s a Community Meal going on at Primary in Radford (sharing the Gamble Street Corner project and talking about food systems), the launch of NG Seedz (a seed saving and growing project) an idea for a food book, and also a fundraiser! Making Nottz Garden Project an even more impactful resource and growing community resilience is where it’s at, and who knows where it will lead.
Undaunted (well, a little bit daunted) we carried on, and by May we were planting out the first seedlings (courgettes!). That felt like a massive step on the journey, the community was going to get the garden and access to fresh food they deserved.
Go to crowdfunder.co.uk/p/nottz-garden-project to donate to Nottz Garden Project @nottz_garden_project
Barring a few incidents in the early days (stolen hose pipes and lifted tomato plants) Gamble Street Corner has been really respected and valued by the community… and the best bit? Veg is harvested on a regular basis, local favourites being salad leaves, French beans, courgettes and callaloo.
ENVIRONMENT
Bean Streets
35 leftlion.co.uk/issue165 35
fashion
A Breath of New Life interview: Addie Kenogbon photo: Paguro Upcycle
In recent years, sustainability in the fashion world has been a hot topic, but for Nottingham contemporary upcycled fashion and home accessories brand Paguro Upcycle, it’s been the bedrock of the brand since it first launched a decade ago. Paguro Upcycle has made a name for itself with its eye-catching pieces, made out of discarded items such as bike inner tube and wood off-cuts, which have been given a second life as jewellery, homewear, clothing and more. Many people may remember the Paguro Upcycle shop from when it had a physical store in the Broadmarsh before the shopping centre was demolished a few years ago. Now available online and at various museum shops as well as small boutiques across the country, this month marks the brand’s ten-year anniversary. We caught up with owner Yen W Goo to look back on where it all began and to find out more about what she’s been up to since closing the doors to the Broadmarsh store… Can you tell us about how Paguro Upcycle began? I'm actually a qualified chartered tax accountant, which is very different from what I do now. I’m originally from Malaysia and it's just really by chance that when I had my sabbatical, I went back to Malaysia. I was starting to rethink what I was going to do with my life and whether I wanted to continue in my profession. I came across a brand that was using recycled materials to make really beautiful products, pieces I would use myself and be proud of using. Not only that, but they were creating a social enterprise, and that’s what gave me thea business idea. I met up with this group of artisans that made things using inner tube. They had started an environmental project because they kept seeing people burning rubber as it’s often the easiest way of getting rid of rubber. Through their project, they taught the locals in Central Java how to recycle, as well as about the craftsmanship of creating the upcycled products which at the time were very basic bags, jewellery and wallets. So, I started working with them, and ten years on, we’ve expanded into different products and designs. They’ve also introduced me to some of their friends or the artists that they know who share the same passion. Do you make the pieces yourself? No, I don’t. All the makers and artists that I work with are either sole makers or social enterprises who all share the same passion that they want to create quality products by using recycled materials or using waste materials rather than new materials. We just all share that same passion, really. I used to work with the artisans in Malaysia as well, but unfortunately due to Covid, they had to shut their businesses because a lot of these small makers had been badly impacted. So, now my makers are mainly in Indonesia, but I also work with makers in Nottingham as well. The black bike chain accessories, for example, are actually made in Nottingham using salvaged recycled bike chains from bike shops. These are then cleaned and made into something new.
What’s the inspiration behind the designs? For each creative, the inspiration's slightly different but it’s mainly just inspired by creating art out of recycled pieces. I personally like nature and culture and also geometric styles, so you’ll see a lot of this being reflected in the design itself. It’s all about what's inspired daily life. For example, one of the bestsellers that we stock is our Oceans range, which is made of off-cuts of wood and hand-painted in different shades of blue to reflect the waves. It’s supposed to bring back memories of people going on holiday. In fact, I had one of my customers tell me that it reminded her of when she was younger and her parents took her to the beach. So it triggered a lot of those embedded memories of good times for a lot of people. That's what I'm trying to achieve really, and especially on the cultural side of things, we're trying to achieve the culture of sustainability. Being from Malaysia as well, I'm trying to combine the East meets West culture in the designs, but of course we have to make those designs match the Western designs and market. Now that you no longer have your Broadmarsh shop, where can people buy your pieces? I mainly sell online now through Etsy and our website, but we also sell wholesale to several small boutiques around the country, as well as abroad to places such as the USA and Germany. You can also find our products stocked in museum shops and galleries including the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. We have also recently sold our pieces in Edinburgh at the National Museum of Scotland for their Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition. Over the course of the ten years since you first launched onto the market, what have been your key highlights? For me, one of the main highlights has been seeing how the market has changed, really. I think now seeing that sustainability is part of people's lives now, especially with the younger generations, is so great. It’s also been brilliant to be able to support the makers we work with, especially after Covid which left many of them struggling as many of them sell their pieces in their local market so they depend on tourists to make money. However, due to Covid, many of them had to shut down completely, and became heavily reliant on us. So we just try to be helpful where we can like loaning them money that they can pay back over the years, for example. We just go above and beyond to help as it’s not just about a makers to sellers relationship. And then maybe I should be proud, at least little, of myself that from a very small business that was
trying to find a space in the market without any retail experience, I’m still here today. At one point I was doubting myself whether this was the right thing to do, especially when first starting out. There was a lot of self-doubt, but we’ve come a long way and I now believe I've been doing something right. I've been helping the environment, helping the makers and introducing something unique to the market. So that’s certainly something to be really proud of. How are your pieces made? if you’re using anything that's not natural, for example, and you put it in a washing machine, it will still create waste and pollution. So that's why I always insist that we use the most original form of recycled material. We're using inner tube, bike chains, army fabric and off-cuts of wood to make something really special. We don’t have any added processes that spend more energy to reprocess too. We stock quite a lot of statement jewellery which are pretty arty and edgy, and our jewellery made from inner tube is hand cut using just one piece rather than using laser cutting machines, as then it gets too hot and creates smoke which is just as bad for the environment as burning rubber. Cutting by hand also requires technique which means we’re still preserving someone’s job and preserving the craftsmanship. So what have you got in store for the next ten years? I’m hoping to work with more artisans and be the marketplace that people would think of if they’re looking for top quality upcycled products. I’d also like to expand the business especially in this difficult retail market as well. So hopefully, I’d like to do more pop-up shops in Nottingham and around the UK, as well as open another retail shop at some point. We have more Christmas decorations launching this year as well as more jewellery, a new backpack and we’ve also recently collaborated with an artist based in Birmingham called Batik Ying. She’s originally from Malaysia and usie the Batik process to create art. We’ll be shifting over more into different cultures and more sustainability, as that’s my own purpose. I really believe true art is the best way to express culture, so I guess that's our next direction. To find out more about Paguro Upcycle, visit paguroupcycle.com @paguroupcycle
Out Of Time GEORGE GREEN - SUM WORSHIPPER
words: Claire Jones illustration: Christine Dilks
Those who came across George Green’s self-published paper in 1828 largely dismissed him as an amateur whose ideas were not worth trifling with, leaving his discoveries overlooked for some time. However, fortune would have it that one copy made it into the hands of Sir Edward Bromhead, a wealthy mathematician and student of Cambridge University… As children, unburdened by the all too often harsh realities of getting by, we are free to dream up outlandish visions of our future glory. We privately pursue our passions, dedicating our time to the marvel and mastery of our chosen obsession. Yet as we grow into the rhythms, routines and responsibilities of adulthood so many dreams are consigned to hobbies, which themselves often fall by the wayside: beloved guitars gather dust, novels lurk unfinished in notebooks, desires to roam the globe are re-formed into holiday plans. It is all too easy to settle into a life which oneself has not truly chosen. Yet, while we are said to be products of our society, upbringing or economic circumstances, those who deviate from the expected and persevere with their passions prove another path is indeed possible. Revered mathematician George Green, a self-taught genius from Sneinton, was one such example, who through his own interest, carved his own path from the humdrum of a prescribed life to achieve greatness, largely without even realising he was doing so. A non-too-extraordinary start, George was born into a reasonably comfortable lower-middle class family in 1793. Fortunate enough to receive a formal education, albeit for only eighteen months, he studied at a local school fairing strongly in the fields of science until the age of nine, when his predestined career called and he entered the world of work at his father’s business. George Green Senior was an established entrepreneur who owned a bakery near the city and went on to build a small mill in Sneinton, paving the way for young George’s inevitable career. Indeed, at the age of fourteen, George moved on from the bakery to become a miller, where it was assumed he would continue the family trade for the rest of his years and settle into an ordinary life. Romance blossomed with Jane Smith, the daughter of the head miller who lived in the cottage built by the windmill, and together they had seven children, although controversially for the time, the couple were never married. George Green Senior did not think marriage to a miller’s daughter befitting for the son of a prosperous tradesman and landowner, and threatened to disinherit his son should the pair wed. There was much more to the young miller, and the demands of daily working life and domesticity were not enough to deter his fascination with science and learning which school had instilled in him. His intellectual adventures began in 1823 when he joined the Nottingham Subscription Library located in Bromley House, the hub of studious activity within the city. The library reintroduced George to the world of mathematics and physics, providing encouragement and support in addition to access to the scientific journals which would fuel his academic enthrallment.
Over the following five years, alongside his duties at the mill, George studied intently. For no other obvious reason than an insatiable thirst for knowledge and immense interest in understanding the world around him, George immersed himself in journals on mathematical theory, physics and science whenever he had the chance. Evidence suggests he was largely self-taught – certainly his social circles would not have included those educated in scientific realms with whom he could have discussed such subjects and become influenced by, and this isolation from the scientific establishment pervaded George’s intellectual life. He shied away from submitting his papers to established scientific journals of the day, whose submissions came largely from those who were born and bred for academia themselves. Yet, as his passion for mathematics grew, so did his desire to connect with the mathematical community, and in 1828 he self-published his first paper – at his own expense. Arguably his greatest work, the seventypager detailed a new way of using mathematics to analyse and understand electricity and magnetism. Just fiftyone copies of the publication were sold, most of which to friends and fellow members of the subscription library, who presumably would have fallen short of a full understanding of it. Indeed, it would seem the same could be said of George’s academic contemporaries, for the publication made no great waves within the mathematical community. Those who came across the paper largely dismissed George as an amateur whose ideas were not worth trifling with, leaving his discoveries overlooked for some time. However, fortune would have it that one copy made it into the hands of Sir Edward Bromhead, a wealthy mathematician and student of Cambridge University who, upon realising the great potential of this unlikely and unrecognised genius, swiftly wrote to urge George to continue his studies and develop his theorems. Yet it would be a long time before this bond would inaugurate George into the mathematical community, for his insecurities over his considerable intellectual talents prevented him from contacting Bromhead for two years, refusing to believe his interest and offers of help were sincere. Despite this presumed lack of interest in his theories, George did not retire from his studies and he continued his double life as a secluded mathematician and local miller. In 1829, a year after publishing his paper and following his father’s death, he inherited the mill and became head of the business, but not for long. By 1833, at forty years old, George finally entered the revered halls of academia and became an undergraduate at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. His astute observations and unceasing intellectual interest saw him become a fellow of the college, where he continued his research on subjects such as wave motion, the behaviour of light, crystal structure and the elasticity of materials, publishing a variety of papers, this time in recognised scientific journals.
Alas, health problems led Green to leave Cambridge and return to his family with Jane in Nottingham where he died aged 47 years. He is buried at St Stephen’s Church, Sneinton, almost within the shadow of his modest windmill. Like most great thinkers, it was not until after his death that true acclaim was shone on his work. Indeed, when Einstein visited the University of Nottingham in 1930, he stated that Green’s work was very much ahead of its time. Today, his legacy and contribution to our understanding of the world is undisputed. His mathematics are still widely used under the title Green’s Theorem and Green’s Function by scientists and engineers all over the world working with computers, lasers and satellite communications. Green’s genius is now recognised and his contribution to mathematics honoured with a plaque in the scientist corner at Westminster Abbey. The Green Windmill has stood high up on Sneinton hillside for over 200 years as an anomaly of Nottingham’s landscape. Now in full working order, complete with an adjoining science centre dedicated to the Greens, it serves as a kind of symbol to both preservation and deviation of tradition. The expectations that our start in life can prescribe to us are not concrete, and it is never too late to excel at something that at first appears unbefitting to you. So next time you’re feeling curious, inspired or even perhaps overly content with the life you have chosen, nip down to the library and get your head in a book. You may find yourself to be a genius too.
BEST OF THE MONTH Dellu by Enam Gbewonyo When: 7 October - 13 January Where: New Art Exchange How much: Free New Art Exchange is pleased to present this showcase of textural works and performances on film from Enam Gbewonyo, winner of the NAE Open 2022 Exhibition Prize. Enam is a British-Ghanaian textile and performance artist, curator, and founder of the Black British Female Artist collective. Her art practice investigates identity – womanhood in particular, while advocating the healing benefits of craft.
Alabaster DePlume When: Thursday 9 November Where: Metronome How much: £16.50 Manchester-born, Londonbased songwriter, saxophonist, poet and orator Alabaster DePlume has announced a new album Come With Fierce Grace, a collection of tracks drawn from the same sessions as Alabaster’s much-lauded double LP GOLD, as well as the album’s lead single Did You Know, which features the hauntingly beautiful vocals of Momoko Gill (aka MettaShiba). Following a run of European shows opening for Bon Iver, Alabaster’s tour dates continue to expand, including a show at Nottingham’s Metronome.
Being Human Festival When: 9 - 19 November 2023 Where: Various venues How much: Free This festival, dedicated to the humanities, will bring a mix of food tastings, discussions, hands-on activities, walks and performances to the city. Spotlighting past and present local stories which celebrate Nottingham – including the 257th anniversary of the Nottingham Cheese Riots, local Suffragette protests, the lace industry in the Middle Ages - head to their website to find an event to pique your interest.
Kokedama Workshop When: Saturday 11 November Where: The Watered Garden How much: £40 Head to The Watered Garden and immerse yourself in the captivating world of Japanese gardening with this Kokedama Workshop. Kokedama, or 'moss ball', is a traditional Japanese art form that involves wrapping the root ball of a plant in moss with the option to suspend in the air or display as a decorative centrepiece. With the provision of all the necessary tools and materials, upon completion of the two hour workshop, you'll be taking home your very own Kokedama masterpiece, a testament to your newly acquired skills.
1525 Slow Craft Social When: Saturday 19 November Where: Nottingham Contemporary How much: Free Drawing ideas from Craftivism and Mindfulness, this dropin slow craft workshop will explore relaxing techniques such as embroidery, collage and printing in the session. Take time to approach making in a contemplative space to resist the pressures of productivity, focusing on enjoying the process of making as opposed to producing a finished piece. There’s no need to have previous craft experience. Drop-in at any time - but booking in advance is required. Materials will be provided!
Elementary! A Christmas Murder Mystery When: 24 November - 16 December Where: National Justice Museum How much: £52.99 It’s the late nineteenth century, and snow is silently falling outside Nottingham’s Shire Hall as the annual Festive Soiree is in full flow. As the guests arrive, a dreadful discovery is made - the worldfamous consulting detective Sherwood Flats is missing in action! Is he embroiled in a case, or is there foul play afoot? Do you have the wits to discover who the murderer is... or will they walk free?
Christmas Wreath Making When: Saturday 25 November Where: St Ann’s Allotments How much: Free This workshop will be a relaxing and creative session using natural materials to make your own Christmas wreath using fresh and dried foliage gathered from the gardens and hedgerows of this Grade II Listed allotment. This session takes place in the beautiful setting of the Community Orchard at St Ann's Allotments, in the Strawbale building. Materials and festive refreshments are provided.
The Woman in Black When: 27 November - 2 December Where: Theatre Royal How much: £14.50 - £39.50 The legendary production of Susan Hill’s chilling ghost story The Woman In Black returns to the Theatre Royal direct from London’s West End, after an incredible 33 year run at the Fortune Theatre. The Woman in Black brilliantly delivers atmosphere, illusion and horror! Experience the thrill and excitement of this critically-acclaimed international theatre event that has been seen by over seven million people worldwide, and continues to delight and terrify audiences of all generations.