The Beestonian Issue 60 by The Beestonian

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Issue No. 60

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WE WOULDN'T

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Beestonian The

town is made up of many things: people, businesses, physical space. One element that informs all of these is something historic, but forever changing; something sometimes solid, and sometimes merely in our minds; something priceless, but regularly sold. We call it heritage. What would Beeston be without a sense of something older than any of its current inhabitants? What would the town mean to us if the streets just sprang to existence as we walk them, rather than drip with history and narrative? We ask these questions frequently at The Beestonian. Our town has – as every town has – a unique story that shaped how it is today. There are institutions, individuals, traditions, buildings, names and events that contribute to the unique, ever-changing nature of place. Who can visit the Victoria Hotel and look it the same way after finding out it once housed a zoo? How much more alive does the Beeman look when you find out about his inception? What stories lie with some of our more distinct street names: Imperial Road, King Street and Queens Road

contact@beestonian.co.uk

Lord Beestonia; lead writer and founder...

forever locked in an A-Z civil war struggle with Ireton Avenue and Cromwell Road. From Acacia Walk to York Avenue, there are stories coded into the pavements. This issue takes a loose look at some of these stories. We have a swathe of fantastic articles inside that will make you see your local environment a little differently, and with a different, hopefully more favourable, sense of understanding. We like to think we’re a forward looking magazine, searching out the latest stuff that is making the town buzz, and biggingup new businesses and projects. We love the new, and love the fact that as a living thing, Beeston is constantly moving and constantly evolving.

But context is all, and provides an awareness of the towns heritage, and acknowledges that we are only part of a story that goes waaaaay back and (touch wood) will go waaaay forward long after we’ve all been trundled off to Bramcote Crem. The past enlightens the present, and informs the future. Celebrate Beeston’s heritage. It’s the soul of the town. LB

The Beestonian is... We're online you know! Find us at www.beestonian. co.uk or search for the beestonian on...

EDITORIAL

er • Lord Beestonia Lead Writer/Found nt Don • Prof J Co-Founder/Reside n Editor • Christia t • Dan Design & The Bees • Jade r ge Business Mana Earp e Jo • r ito History Ed

: utors this issueer, Top-notch contribMo op Co ore, John

Matt Turpin, Jade r Bennett, Christophe Jimmy Notts, Scott x, Tim Pollard, Frost, Christian Fo ed Freeman, Tim ldr Mi , cz ba Ur Debra Colin Tucker, Daisy s, ne Sexton, Matt Jo rcup and Deman Leverington, Jo No

Stockists:

e ge, The Hive, Rye, Th Berliner, Milk Loun n, Lio ite Wh e Th n, Hop Pole, The Crow und, Flying Goose, The Star, The Greyho The Malt Shovel, Mish Mash Gallery, dgate Laundrette, oa Br The Guitar Spot, an, Beeston Library, Bubba Tea, The Be ent on Chilwell ag Cafe ROYA, News Marina Bar and ton es Be , tro Road, Me ture Reserve, Na Cafe, Attenborough nhood, Beeston Pottle of Blues, Gree tle oks, L’Oliva, Two Lit Nursery, Oxfam Bo nn Fly hn Global, Jo Magpies, Local not s. ian Optic

I AM BEESTON Sue Millichap ‘Jackess’ of All Trades

lthough I was born in Leeds, I have lived in Birmingham, Derby and Manchester. I spent 17 years living and working in the ‘Cottonopolis’ after moving there for University back in the year 2000, aptly to study Embroidery. But last September, the draw of family and the desire to create my own little unit nearer to my loved ones brought me back to the East Midlands.” “I chose Beeston because I’d heard good things about it, and when I visited last summer on my hunt for a new abode, I instantly felt at home. The Mancunians were always intrigued by my use of ‘duck’ and no-one could ever place my accent. As I heard people chatting away here in Beeston I felt happy inside and was touched by the warmth of their smiles. I felt so lucky when the house I fell in love with was sold to me.

UNIVERSITY OF BEESTONIA Matt Jones

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arlier this month, at the baptism site on the former banks of the River Jordan, a couple of hundred meters from another country, I saw a quote from the late King Hussain, it said “Heritage Belongs to Humanity” Take Good Care Of It, Help Us Preserve It.

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I live on Derby Street, upon which a special row of Victorian terraces stand proudly. I met my partner not long after I moved in - he and his daughter are now Beestonians too!” “A self-proclaimed ‘Jackess’ of all trades, I have turned my hand to many a role, mostly working with children and young people. I returned to university to study for an MA in Youth and Community Work, and some years later found myself in academia again as I completed a PGCE. An artist turned youth worker turned primary school teacher. I have worked in mental health, youth offending and education. I currently have two part-time jobs that enable me to continue working with the youngest in our society.”

Whether ‘heritage’ is only something as tangible as an archaeological site is also something worth pondering. I spend a lot of time in my day job thinking about how environmental landscapes have changed through time, and when I think of my own heritage it is landscapes not buildings that come first to mind. A bit closer to home than southwest Asia, the southcoast in Devon and Dorset, the Jurassic Coast, is also a World Heritage Site. So why does it matter, collectively or individually, landscape or building, ancient or modern? Whatever it is, it clearly does matter. Wherever I find myself I find people proud of their heritage, and this should be, and usually is, a positive thing, an opportunity for sharing and learning. The world is an amazing place and collectively societies have plenty to be proud of. However there are also plenty of stories told by our ‘heritage’ that tell us what we should probably avoid doing again. Most of us know these stories and yet sometimes they seem to be forgotten or ignored.

“Whatev er is, it cle it a does ma rly tter...”

ody th esis!

The baptism site is a UNESCO World Heritage site – listed as somewhere important for everyone and worth preserving. It seemed as good a place as anywhere to take stock, and it was an apt quote for this issue.

Heritage is important in this part of the world, there was international outrage as archaeological sites were destroyed by IS in Syria, and there are important sites for many of the major religions split by modern day borders across the region. Heritage continues to be an opportunity for reconciliation and mutual understanding or an excuse for continued division.

Whatever our own heritage, we should take good care of it, it should be preserved, shared and learnt from, by all of us. MJ

I Am Beeston Recently, I joined Attenborough Nature Reserve as their Engagement Officer and I feel very privileged to work with children and the wider community in such a stunning and peaceful setting. I am also the Children and Young People’s Lead for the Derbyshire based charity OCD-UK. I support children and young people across the country, and in other parts of the world, to express their experiences of living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. We are currently recruiting for 13-18 year olds to become role models for others through our Young Ambassadors project. I’m very passionate about mental health and OCD in particular, as it is a much misunderstood condition that I myself live with on a daily basis. I recently completed a 100 mile bike ride from London to Surrey and back again in a day to help raise awareness and funds for our charity. On a ride alongside 30,000 cyclists, I was proud to represent the East Midlands and enjoyed shouting across to a couple of riders from the Ilkeston Cycling Club to celebrate our common homelands.”

“I’ve met, and continue to meet some wonderful people in Beeston and have made connections of which I’m proud. I sold some of my artwork in June at the Remarkable Recycling Gala at the Middle Street Resource Centre and I’m keen to start gigging again as I used to sing in a band back in ‘Mancland’. From the workerbee city of the north to the bee-monikered town of the East Midlands, my journey continues to be full of wonder, learning and creativity. Thank you Beeston for helping me to fly.” “If you would care to have a look at my artwork, and what else I do, then please check out my website: www.thatgirlsue. com Also if you would like to know more about the OCD charity that I work for, and maybe kindly donate, then please go to www. justgiving.com/sue-adam-mat-ocduk CDF

“I chose Beeston because I’d heard good things about it”

The Yorkshireman Speaks SCOTT BENNETT This month the Yorkshireman takes on anxiety...

Dolls aren’t just for kids

am a sufferer of anxiety, I have been for years. I’m hard wired to worry and pre-programmed to panic. If I was a Jedi Knight they’d call me panicking Skywalker. I’m a worrier, for me three hours thinking is as dangerous as three hours drinking and the worst thing is there is rarely a happy hour.

“will there ever be world peace?” “is there a god?” you know, the big stuff. For the male dolls, they’re like your mates in the pub, keep it simple, the low-level stuff that blokes can handle, “Have I missed bin day?” “how many of those stickers on apples have I eaten by mistake?” probably hundreds, I’ve never seen them on the way out! “why can I not get a wet wipe out of the packet one at It often leads to insomnia, which a time” seriously, that’s impossible, was always frustrating. I’ve tried I’m sick of wiping my daughters so many things to get me off bottom with what is effectively “Why can I to sleep. I’ve listened to the house brick, it’s a baby not get a wet aI’mwetnot sounds of the ocean, but that sponging down a just made me need a wee. wipe out of the Range Rover. Inspired by Wayne Rooney I packet one at a I’d even worry about the dolls tried listening to the ambient white noise of a vacuum themselves. Who have they got time?” cleaner, but that didn’t work. to turn to after having to listen My wife said “of course it wouldn’t, to months of my problems. So, I you don’t know what the vacuum cleaner bought another set of dolls for the dolls. sounds like!” This seemed the right thing to do but that’s effectively more responsibility which just It doesn’t help that I’m a light sleeper, I’m added to my problems. often woken up by my own nostril hair. I’m nearly forty now and I’ve realised It’s not so stupid having these dolls, people that if I don’t keep up with my nasal hair swim with Dolphins for depression, stroking maintenance, the inside of my nostrils them is therapy. I did it on my honeymoon, starts to look like the draft excluder on my but I was already happy so I wouldn’t know letterbox and when I breathe it sounds like if that worked or not. a dog whistle. Swimming with Dolphins is expensive and I’ve tried many weird and wonderful difficult to arrange, but if you want to know methods to combat the symptoms of my what that’s like, just take an Aubergine into anxiety. At one point I even tried some worry the bath, close your eyes and rub it, it feels dolls. They are little knitted characters, exactly the same, it’s uncanny! It even has from Guatemala, you tell them your worries that squeak! And let’s face it who wouldn’t at night and pop them under your pillow cheer up after rubbing their aubergine in the and they take them away, along with your bath. dignity and self-respect. Two things to say about this, one, you’ll My wife has had a worry doll for years…..it’s all be trying it now, and two, it might be me. tempting but it’s a terrible trick to play on a partially sighted relative. The first set I had, I lost, which just added to my problems. @scottbcomedyuk You get six dolls, four females two male, scottbennettcomedy.co.uk which proves that women are the best Find The Scott Bennett Podcast on listeners. I give the female one’s the proper SoundCloud and iTunes worries to deal with, “Is there an afterlife?” SB

Beeston Lads Club Building And Institution

lthough not a place of worship as such, we conclude this chapter with the story of a building which was not only a familiar landmark in the Town but fulfilled the noble purpose for which it was created for almost 100 years. Known as the ‘Beeston Lads’ the building on Station Road was created by Stephen Hetley Pearson in 1909 as a purpose built HQ for the local Boys Brigade (BB). The devoutly Christian, William Alexander Smith, founded the BB in 1883, for “The advancement of Christ’s kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness.” These principles were held up and promoted by Pearson when the local ‘lads’ needed a new ‘club house’ in 1913. Stephen Hetley Pearson was born in Beeston on 30th June 1882, the son of Henry John Pearson and of Laura Kate Pearson. His father was a founder of the Beeston Foundry Company. Now we have the pieces of the puzzle we can tell the full story of the building and those who used it. The 1st Nottingham Company BB, was formed in 1888 in connection with St Andrews Church on Mansfield Road in Nottingham. Beeston was by this time, a fast growing community and during the summer of 1894 the music of a brass band could be heard in the streets, leading the 15th Nottingham (Lenton) Company to give a display at the Station Road (then Brown Lane) schools. This was the preliminary to a decision to form a Company in Beeston connected with the parish church. The Beeston Company was enrolled as the 1st Beeston on the 17th May 1895. The original officers were:- Captain: Samuel J Woodcock. Lieutenants: George P Mills, Arthur Atkinson, Henry A Brooks, Stephen Stragham Rogers and Ernest S Rogers. The Company met once a week for drill instruction, in the mess room of the Humber Cycle Company premises on Humber Road, Beeston. All members were required to attend the parish church, chapel or Sunday school as there was no bible class on Sundays.

The Company lost the use of the mess for drill in 1901, when the Humber Cycle Company moved to Coventry and Captain Rogers, started looking for new premises. He finally decided to move the HQ to a ‘seed warehouse’ at Chilwell, a building close to where Barton’s Garage now stands. A year later the Company suffered a setback when Captain Rogers resigned the Captaincy upon leaving the district. The Company declined and by 1905, to all intents and purposes, it ceased to exist. The 25th September 1909 saw the formation of the 17th Nottingham (Beeston) Company with Stephen Hetley Pearson as its Captain. It was on that date he opened a club room on the third floor of the Anglo-Scotian Mills at the top of Villa Street. On the first night 120 boys joined the company. The first annual inspection was held in the Scotian Mills premises on Saturday 17th May 1910 was attended by 180 boys. By early 1911, membership exceeded the 200 mark. In 1913, the ‘boys’ of Beeston through the generosity of their ‘captain’ and patron, received the gift of a new ‘club house’. When a factory on Station Road came up for sale, Pearson purchased the building and after some alterations and addition, gave it “for the use of the ‘Boys of Beeston’ for all time”. Two year later, in 1915 members raised funds, to build “considerable additions”. When it was opened the premises boasted large rooms for the use of officers and for ‘old boys’, games, a gym, drill, a library and two baths. There were also upstairs rooms for A class, noncommissioned officers, and the band. When the World War II broke out in 1914, the Lads Club did its bit, thirty old boys joined up at once. In April 1916, Captain Hetley Pearson was commissioned into the Northumberland Fusiliers at Gosforth

JIMMY NOTTS Beeston’s secret history... Park, Newcastle-on-Tyne and was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards. In December 1917, the sad news was received that 2nd Lieutenant Pearson had fallen while leading his men at the battle of Cambrai. To mark the 25th anniversary of the Beeston Lads Club a memorial tablet was unveiled in the building in memory of the founder: This Tablet Is Erected To The Memory Of Stephen Hetley Pearson Of Bramcote, Notts. The Founder Of The Beeston Lads Club Who Caused To Be Built These Premises For The Use Of The Boys Of Beeston For All Time TO Mark The 25th Anniversary Of The Foundation Of This Club December 1933. On the same principles as the Boys’ Brigade, the Girls’ Brigade was founded In Ireland in 1893 and the Girls’ Life Brigade in England, - both organisations amalgamated in 1965. On 7th February 1974 the 30th Nottingham Girls’ Brigade was formed, - initially for girls aged 5 – 11, later 11+. Very quickly the boys and young men of the Lads Club found themselves sharing the premises with their female counter parts. In 2000, it was felt necessary to recognise the work that the Club undertook with both genders, and the name was changed to ‘The Pearson Centre for Young People’. JM

DAISY LEVERINGTON Chapter 8. Community...

motherh

- hat’s that old saying, ‘don’t let the Village People raise your child’? ‘It takes 3 of the Village People to purchase a child’? Something about letting the child raise the village?? Anyway, it doesn’t matter, I’ve come here today to talk to you about how it takes an entire community for me to function as an adult with a child. Yep, an army. My army. And they are GLORIOUS and ESSENTIAL and UNPAID. I work full time, combining a day job with performing at festivals and events at weekends and during the holidays, so time off is just not a thing which exists. Days where I don’t work are taken up with an energetic daughter and planning childcare for the next week. In order for my husband and I to do stuff like pay the rent and buy food, we need the help of our friends and family. For a long time when our kid was tiny, work was scarce and we often didn’t have money for even the essentials, so we are keenly aware of how tough it is to scrape enough money together for a hot meal or how easy it is to fall into arrears on council tax and have to see off burly bailiffs at the door. This is why we work like demons and have enlisted our troops to play endless hours of ‘the floor is lava’ with our child while we do silly stuff for money.

Charlie Foggs Shoe repairs key cutting engraving trophies 0115 9224466 charliefoggs.com 135 High Road, Beeston NG9 2LL charliefoggs@btconnect.com

Our parents are our chief babysitters. On average we will call them 3 times a week, often with little notice and ask if they can cover the 2 hours between me starting work and my husband finishing. Most of the times I feel a crushing sense of guilt for asking. Then there are the full days where from 8am until whoever finishes work earliest they will have a moody kid following them around demanding food every 5 minutes and pretty much scuppering their retirement plans. The guilt is easier to live with than not having food, however, so while I get to lark about in daft costumes and make other kids laugh, mine is left behind to wonder when she will see us next. Them’s the breaks, kiddo. You need school shoes and Mummy needs tequila. Our friends and neighbours are no stranger to last minute calls and hurried drop-offs either. Thank heavens we have lived in one place long enough to put down roots and learn people’s first names. They are our saviours and the reason why our kid is a sociable and confident young girl who has little to no loyalty to her parents any more. We don’t live in a village but our little extended network of trusted friends and family are the unsung heroes of our daughter’s childhood. This column is for you, unnamed warriors. This is your payment. Soz. DL

TIM POLLARD

his issue’s theme is ‘Heritage’, apparently. I’m really not sure what heritage means though, despite having access to the world’s greatest dictionaries and (at least according to some people) working in the ‘heritage industry’ myself. In the interests of fairness there are also those who say I just arse about in dressing up clothes and sometimes it would be hard to disagree with that view.

Appleby’s, the Boer war memorial in Broadgate and the long-gone stylised face painted on the side of one of the houses on Park Street. It’s older stuff too, like buildings we have lost and some of the ones we still have – one of my neighbours lives in what is allegedly the second-oldest house in Beeston, for instance. And then there’s Bendigo (the man, not the bar) who until a few years ago I knew nothing about but is now firmly part of Beeston’s heritage.

“What will Beeston’s heritage be...?”

But what is heritage really? Presumably something to do with history, things we inherit from those that come before us (like receding hairlines and the habit of listening to ‘The Archers’) but it’s not historical. I tell Robin Hood stories when I do my tours and events and they contain elements that certainly aren’t historical in any way – for instance the line ‘Look out, a badger with a machine gun!’ certainly never appeared in any previous telling of the tales, but I still get people thanking me for keeping the Robin Hood legend alive and relevant as it’s ‘our heritage’.

And my heritage quite possibly isn’t yours – if your family roots hail from Poland or Kashmir you have an equally proud heritage I’m ashamed to say I know nothing about, but it may be as amorphous a concept in your homelands as it is here as heritage is (by definition) inherited and thus tends to be the nice stuff we can live with, the stories we want to tell each other - or cautionary tales to stop us making the same fateful decisions as our forebears. So this relatively cosy word ‘heritage’ can in fact be a political minefield, meaning something different to almost everyone but with a resonance and sense of cultural and historical importance that’s very difficult to pin down, even with those dictionaries. Beeston’s heritage to me is a mix of what I knew growing up – Plessey, the Rylands flooding, the old High Road with Fords,

And of course, the canal, as we now have our own heritage museum which seems to be going from strength to strength and becoming a real part of the community (although ‘community’ is another word that’s as equally fluffy yet loaded as ‘heritage’). I’ve undoubtedly missed a lot of examples, things you’ll be railing about even as you read but as i said, your idea of heritage may well be very different to mine. So here’s the question – what will Beeston’s heritage be to the next generation? And is it what you want it to be? What are we leaving behind us that people will be proud of? Some things that were once very important slip away – the Boer War Memorial, moved from its prominent position was moved into the park because other things were deemed more important. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing that they weren’t more important to the present residents for any number of reasons, but I imagine when it was erected the then Beestonians thought it was an immovable and permanent legacy to the future; to us. I hope Beeston’s heritage, our gift to the future is us. An inclusive, friendly and caring place that cares about all of our residents, young and old. Even a middle-aged man with a dressing up box. TP

Nottingham’s official Robin Hood...

DEBRA URBACZ The Marvellous Milly Fry...

Creative Y

ou may have heard about the recent, and incredibly abrupt, closure of the charity run pub Malt Cross last month. The city of Nottingham appeared to have lost one of its great pubs, but for many Malt Cross is so much more than just a local hostelry, it is a beautiful building steeped in history with many a tale to tell. Oh, if walls had tongues what tales those walls would tell! Luckily for the team of dedicated staff, the YMCA have since stepped in and they should all be back in business before too long.

One such member of the Malt Cross team, the rather marvellous Milly Fry was employed in keeping that history alive with a series of heritage tours and talks. The cost of potentially losing her job to her was so much more that the loss of her livelihood, as well as the shock it was deeply upsetting to be losing the opportunity of sharing her passion for history with the wider community. I met with Milly, rather aptly at The Bendigo Lounge, for a cold draft of lemonade on a rather pleasant afternoon shortly after the news broke to discuss her plans for the future - before we knew of the imminent re-opening. Milly’s love for period drama began with reading classics in her early teens. She worked as a professional cellist touring Europe with string quartets, working in orchestras and recording as a session musician. Whilst undertaking her degree in Classical Music, Milly specialised in authentic performance where she learned about the origins of the instruments themselves, as well as the music of the time, and it was this that fired her passion for historical reading. Around three years ago, when Milly was seeking few extra hours work to supplement her income as a Specialist Support Mentor at Nottingham Trent University, she happened upon a vacancy at Malt Cross for taking short tours around the Malt Cross building. This tickled her fancy in many ways, not least because the role required her to get into character and deliver juicy tales of scandal and intrigue as well as historic facts about the building. Milly’s creativity and thirst for all things historical turned the dry pack of information she was handed as research into a full-on performance, with a touch of musical flair. She originally shared the role with another equally passionate storyteller, who she had a ‘most jovial’ relationship with, until he left to take up a similar post elsewhere. Now the main attraction, Milly gave it her all, and when the Heritage and Education Co-ordinator also left she became a one woman show!

Shortly after this Milly had to go into her confinement as she discovered that she was expecting a happy event. She never stopped reading and researching though, spending many hours of her pregnancy and the early days as a new mum, in Beeston Library’s heritage section. She claims the environment is just as fabulous as the research material they have in their archives and they enabled her carriage to times past. She returned to Malt Cross this April and threw herself into the exciting new projects that were still in the development stages and working on a new exhibition ‘Music Hall of Fame’ which focused specifically on performers and performances. It is the characters she loves more than anything. She mentions Barnum & Bailey, renowned for parading elephants and zebras down Loughborough Road, bringing the ‘Greatest Show in Earth’ to Nottingham twice in May and June of 1899. Her own character Mildred Freeman is a variation of her own name Milly Fry – the latter meaning ‘free man’ in Hebrew. Milly tells me, “Mildred needs to have a certain freedom about her to be able to move around in general society and recount these tales.” It would seem she also needs the ability to cross over periods in history and classes too, with stories about Billy Blowitt of Narrow Marsh, Chang Woo How the Chinese Giant, the arrest of Pierre and his bear, and Miss Jenny Hill’s punch up at the Flying Horse Hotel. Determined not to lose her own freedom, the escape that Mildred Freeman gives her from the present back to the rich tapestry of the past, Milly had already made the decision to build on her labours and introduce Mildred to the people of Beeston when we met. Drawing on what she has learned about the blurring of lines, cross dressing and rife criminal activity Mildred has three Nottingham tours on offer, Victorian Vice and Villainy (which speaks for itself really), a Victorian Entertainment Tour which covers the music halls, boxing and public hangings (obviously great entertainment in the days before telly) and a Nottingham Architects Tour which identifies the symbolism in buildings around Nottingham. She is now working on adding to these, with heritage tours around Beeston, as she has been fascinated by its history since she arrived last year. You can find Mildred on Facebook @Mildredladyhistorian

Beeston The

TROUBLE AT MILL A Beeston tale by Mildred Freeman...

Great fire of

Beeston

e’ve all heard of the Great Fire of London, but are you aware that we Beestonians had our very own great fire? No? Let me regale you with the sorry tale. On Thursday 29th April 1886 Anglo Scotian Mills (Wollaton Road) was devastated by the fiery licks of bad luck and 600-1000 Beestonians were left unemployed. Luckily the owner, Mr Wilkinson, was insured as the loss and damage was estimated to be £200,000 - £250,000. “That factory” said an elderly woman in the gathered crowd, “employed nearly all of Beeston.” Wilkinson had been steadily adding to the small lace workshop he had inherited from his brother 12 years prior to the fire. Over the years all spare land was built upon; three five story buildings housed his growing lace empire and workers from around the city came to settle in Beeston to work at the prosperous Anglo Scotian Mills. Building work was completed just a week before the blaze ravished the mill which contained lace machines, winding and finishing rooms and vast warehouses full of lace curtains and woollen shawls. The last shift finished at midnight. Mr Burstall (night watchman) checked the premises and locked the doors for the night. All was well, he thought. What started the flames no one knows. William Slack first spotted the fire at 2.40 am. Mr Slack worked through the night

and rather strangely it was agreed that Mr Burstall was to lock him into the workroom each night. He glanced out of the window and saw an ominous orange glow reflecting in the cottage windows below. With a crowbar he won his freedom and went about raising the alarm. Around the same time John Marshall, the night engine man, also saw the flickering light of flames dancing menacingly in the upper floors of the factory. He quickly set the boiler whistles tooting to raise the alarm. Slack awakened Mr Jones, mill manager, and together Jones and Marshall set to fighting the flames. Alas their efforts were futile and on the third floor they beat a hasty retreat to safety. A smart breeze was blowing that fateful night and the buildings, full of lace kindling set alight with a fearful speed. Beeston’s firemen arrived soon after, but with the fire so well established, they fought to save the surrounding cottages and not the mill. Neighbours could be seen rushing to remove their best furniture into nearby fields, knowing full well their homes were next to enter the inferno. After much delay further help arrived from Nottingham Central Fire Station. The blaze slowly subsided and by 9am all that was left was a smoking heap of mangled and contorted lace making machines. By 1892 Wilkinson had rebuilt his mill. Eerily on the 29th of April the second Anglo Scotian Mills was ravaged by flames again. It was speculated a twisthand dropped his light into lacework. The building we know today is Anglo Scotian Mills’ third reincarnation. MF

Creative

Beeston

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Ideal investment oportunity. Large area of derelict land which has remained empty since tramworks. Ripe for developing into much demanded shoe shop and/or public conveniences. Sold with planning permission for multi-screen cinema and adjoining retail units/restaurants, plus grazing land for golden unicorns and fertile ground for planting magic beans.

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P a st , P r e s e n t

aving got the opportunity to chat to Marion Wallwork, the founder of the Civic Society at her home, I began with asking her why she started the group. “I was a member of the Nottingham Civic Society at the time, and I asked if the group could cover Beeston. They said no, as they decided that Nottingham was big enough to cover. So I thought I had better start one up myself. I found a group of likeminded people, and we talked over ideas at this very table that we are sitting at.”

Beeston Library holds most, if not all, of the societies’ newsletters and minutes, so I obtained a copy of their first newsletter, dated November 1973, a two page typed document. The inaugural meeting took place on November 27th at the Psychiatric Day Centre. Topics discussed were town planning, traffic, open spaces and developments at East Midlands Airport, themes that still continue today. I showed it to Marion. “Our first meeting was held at what is now the Middle Street Resource Centre. I remember it well.” Marion has a quick look at the paper. “Arthur Percival from the Civic Trust had walked around Beeston quickly, but found nothing of interest. Ah Moppet, the council’s engineer. He wasn’t very good. We used to call his decisions ‘Moppet’s Mistakes’. One of which was the design of the end building on Willoughby Street. Terrible.” The building in question is now CEX, the secondhand games and DVD store. “One of the reasons for setting up the society was to comment on planning applications. We suggested introducing bottle banks in the 1970s. I started off as the secretary, and then became Chair for 12 years. We’ve always had a very good committee.” I asked Marion about any successes that the society had in the past. “We stopped the council allowing a three story office block to be built next to the vicarage. Instead we got the Manor Surgery. “One of our best successes was stopping the widening of Town Street in Bramcote. A ridiculous idea, which fortunately didn’t happen. The council’s planning department were furious.”

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Beeston

“Planning controls seems so lax these days, with building developments appearing without any regulation. One failure I suppose we had was with the replacement trees in Elm Avenue, from when the original ones died. Of course we wanted more elms, but got hornbeams instead. I suppose the council did their best. But the road just doesn’t look the same. I hear Marion’s husband Stephen doing the washing up in the kitchen. Dr Wallwork is an expert on crystallography and still works at the university. “Although he’s now 93, Stephen wrote about agriculture in Beeston during the 1600s. It’s been published in the Nottingham Historian.” The Civic Society meet monthly between September and April at the Pearson Centre on Nuart Road, Beeston. Preceding the creation of the Civic Society by over a year, the Beeston and District Local History Society began in the summer of 1972, when an advert appeared inviting anyone who was interested in local history to come along to Beeston College. A committee was formed, and the first formal meeting was held on September 20th 1972 These days the society now holds monthly meetings, where topics on both local and more general history are presented by a variety of speakers. Talks for the remainder of 2018 are on September 19, when Geoff Ashton talks about tracing Bingham’s history, followed by the AGM on 17th October, followed by Margaret Jennings discussing Victorian funerals. Then finally on November 21st, Richard Gaunt will talk about Emma Wilmott: a forgotten Victorian artist of the Dukeries. Besides arranging talks, the society has an ever-expanding archive, which provides material for research and for displays at local events and has also published several books about Beeston, Rylands and Toton. New members are always welcomed to the meetings which take place on the third Wednesday of each month, at The Chilwell Memorial Institute, 129 High Road, Chilwell, Nottingham. CDF

CHRISTOPHER FROST

JADE MOORE

An interview with Henry Normal

BEESTON POETRY

his poetry section, and indeed the increased focus on poetry and Beeston, was inspired somewhat by Henry Normal’s visit to Beeston during the Nottingham Poetry Festival. And now we’ve got an interview with the man himself, talking about how Beeston has influenced him as a poet, and why our poetry heritage is so strong.

You might know him from his TV and film career, having co-written hits such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show and produced the film I Believe in Miracles about Nottingham Forest’s Brian Clough. But his creative career began as a stand-up poet, after he’d given up a previous life as an insurance broker, and moved to Castle Boulevard. Originally born in St Ann’s, he was introduced to poetry at around the age of 14 when he read Small Dreams of a Scorpion by Spike Milligan. “I’d read his comedy books,” says Henry. “But that was a book of serious poetry, and was the first book I bought that as well as making me laugh made me cry. It was such a brilliant thing that somebody that funny could also move you.”

and read one poem and people laughed. I thought ‘this is good’ so when they did their next event I read 2 or 3 poems and over the next few years made a special effort to write stuff to perform.” From there he got into a circuit of doing jokes and poems, but remarks that at the time (late 70s early 80s) there wasn’t really a proper established poetry group that did performances apart from the group he was going to, which was part of a writer’s federation. “I was aware that something was happening in Beeston,” he says. “I’d heard that Beeston had an event once a month at the library.” And of course, he returned to the library earlier this year as part of his ‘Poetry Hour with Henry Normal’ tour. He adds: “The reason I founded the Nottingham Poetry Festival was because that’s how I started, and I wanted to give a platform to new people to have the opportunities that I had. After the event in April at Beeston Library with Pete Ramskill I was told that there’s a move to get Beeston back to becoming one of the literary highlights of England.” After he became famous from his TV and film work, poetry and Beeston still played a part in his life. “I was actually booked to perform at Beeston twice, and they were special because the first event, in the early 80s, was the first time my dad had come to see me, and that was memorable. Then the lads that used to live nextdoor but one to me in Bilborough, who I’d not seen for 15 years, came along to Beeston to see me at the second event.”

is “It’s at th his point that memories of into Beeston get full flow”

In terms of performance, it was attending a Nottingham festival at the playhouse which introduced him to the poet Roger McGough (who he has since worked with on the radio show Poetry Please) who introduced him to performance poetry at the age of 19. But it was joining a poetry group with his sister and Beeston-resident friend Wendy that gave him his first proper opportunity to pursue and perform poetry. “There were about twelve people in the group and it was generally people starting out in poetry. I was in my early 20s,” says Henry. “Wendy really helped me get confident. The group put on an event at The Black Boy, a pub in Nottingham, and I got up

He reflects on the event in April and the response from Beeston residents: “The gig was packed. You can do some places and, with poetry being a minority sport, you sometimes only get twenty people. But at Beeston you couldn’t get any more people in. It was very energetic and a very good audience. I hope that Beeston has a sense of itself and continues to do stuff. ‘Inspire’ is such as good word, because that’s what we’re trying to do all along.”

Continues...

A poem for Beeston 3:49 to Beeston by Chris McLoughlin Headphones. Loud. Dark fields flick past, woods, forests, meadows, then two concrete towers steaming graffiti, written into sky...

He adds: “I always think of Beeston as being part of Nottingham but I’m aware that it has its own distinct identity, but some places don’t. They’ve not got that sense of a centre, whereas Beeston is far enough out and has a history. There’s no reason why Beeston shouldn’t be the centre of poetry. It has as much right to be the centre of poetry as Hay-on-Wye.”

... home.

It’s at this point that his memories of Beeston get into full flow, and he digs out an interesting fact that Beeston is the only place in the world where he’s been thrown out of a pub.

atuers d e m o S for yo . diary..

“I was sitting with Wendy in my early 20s, dressed in black. The Landlady came up to me and said, ‘We don’t like your sort in here’ and I said, ‘poets?’ but she meant goths, and so we had to leave. I’ve never been thrown out of anywhere other than that one pub in Beeston. It’s interesting that the best and the worst can be side by side in the same place.” Our chat ends with reflections on what poetry means to Henry: “It’s the purest form of communication. You can communicate your perception of the world. My mum died when I was 11, and what I’ve found is that almost everyone creative has had something happen to them in adolescence that’s meant they’ve stepped back and analysed life to see how it works. To have that is almost essential; you need that detachment from the world to be able to look at it.” By the time this issue comes out, Henry’s latest book This Phantom Breath will be available to buy, published by Flapjack Press. And he’s also been recording A Normal Imagination on BBC Radio 4 which will be on BBC iPlayer. He will also be performing his show ‘Nature vs Human Nature’ at Lakeside on Saturday 29 September. JM

POETRY ROUND-UP Inspire Poetry Festival 2018: Beeston events Wed 26 Sept Performance WORD! with Vanessa Kisuule 7pm, £7/£5 Sat 29 Sept Poetry Coaching with Cathy Grindrod Five one-to-one sessions between 9:15am-4pm £35 Poetry Takeover 11am-3pm, free

rd Buziznwnoer! w

Performance Translations with Maura Dooley 7:30pm, £5 For full programme of events visit: www.inspireculture.org.uk then navigate to: whats-on/events/inspire-poetry-festival-2018

MATT TURPIN An Interview with Lee Stuart Evans

ee Stuart Evans has made you laugh, though you probably haven’t realised. With his debut novel, he looks like inspiring a fair few other emotions.

Lee grew up in Warsop, where North Notts slips into the wilds of Sherwood Forest. Despite Warsop’s rail station being mothballed before Beeching could take his axe to it, he became fascinated by trains, books, and music, all which play a part in his debut novel, Words Best Sung. Gifted at turning out inspired jokes and humorous links at short notice he’s been snapped up to work on too many TV shows to try and cram in here, but if you’ve watched anything from Love Island and I’m a Celebrity through to 8 out of 10 Cats Do Countdown and Would I Lie to You? you’re guaranteed to have been tickled by his writing, albeit repeated by Frank Skinner, Jimmy Carr, Ant and Dec et al. “It can be incredibly rough in the writing room” he explains when we meet in the Vic “we have to be absolutely frank with each other and no idea is sacred. It takes some getting used to – we basically tear into each other, but it works”. It surely does. One of the highlights of 8 Out of 10 Cats are the bizarre flights of fancy Sean Lock goes off on; “We call it ‘Sean’s World. We put out thousands of ideas with Sean and he’ll just know which one is worth running with. Often we just set him on a path which he’ll improvise from – he is just so instinctively funny” The stints on ‘I’m a Celebrity…’ aren’t exactly your usual week at work “We get flown out, then it’s a 45-minute drive into the jungle, often in the dead of night. They have a huge amount of staff on that show, so there’s often a convoy toing and froing to the camp. We arrive at 3am in the morning to work with Ant and Dec on the script, then go live at 7am so it hits primetime in the UK. I’m back at the hotel in bed by 10.30..it’s a strange existence” What inspired the book? “It started off as a Alan Bennet-esque Talking Heads monologue, which included a flashback to the sixties. When I read it to my wife she found that was the part which most interested her. I started to

develop the story into a novel, with my family members and photographs of that time inspiring the story”. It’s a terrific read with richly drawn characters speaking authentic Notts’ accents, perfectly capturing that feeling of being young, a celebration of those halcyon years that while glorious come with a burgeoning sense of melancholy as adulthood and responsibility beckon. It also features trainspotting: not the Irvine Welsh own coming of age orgy of heroin, pub fights and Scottish accents, but the actual hobby of collecting engine numbers. The protagonist is – like Lee – a huge fan of trains and the final days of steam act serve as a metaphor for growing up. As another Nottingham-bound diesel thunders past the Vic, rattling our pints, I ask why he chose a Beeston publisher for his book “I met Alan through Five Leaves Bookshop. He initially told me also wasn’t publishing any more, just distributing the 12 or so titles he currently had in print but his wife Carol read it and liked it and suggested he read it - he did, and then asked to publish it, so I will be forever grateful to them both. It means a lot that people think it’s a very Notts book, and that it was published by such a knowledgeable and respected Notts writer / publisher” They weren’t the only ones to be impressed: famous book blogger Andy Miller bigged it up, as did the music writer Pete Paphides, and Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature, which picked it as their ‘Summer Read’ this year. “It’s good to see it reaching people. I’m proud of my roots, and admire those smart kids who grow up with a quiet love of reading. Too many children grow up with a largely unspoken, but definitely ingrained sense that reading or books, being bookish, is somehow ‘not for the likes of us’, the idea that learning is for posh people. I try to casually tell them learning is as much for them as those at Eton, more so, really. The only reason I didn’t go down a pit is because of reading” Lee shows that a love of reading really does take you places – in his case bookshop shelves, countless TV studios and Australian jungles. It’s great to think a bit of Beeston has helped this along. MT

“Words Best Sung” is available from Five Leaves bookshop, Waterstones, and online retailers. Or you can win a copy by answering this Countdown-esque conundrum with a Beeston connection:

RDBT AEAOG Send correct answers, with a written testimony that you completed the conundrum within thirty seconds under a giant clock, to thebeestonian@gmail.com. Winner will be drawn on September 30th.

Attenborough's 'secret garden’

t the northern end of the Attenborough Nature Reserve, behind a large steel gate and barbed wire fence lies the Delta Woodland, Attenborough’s ‘Secret Garden’. Few, if any, of our daily visitors would have ever stepped foot into this 25 hectare wet woodland, with its impressive stands of willow, birch and alder trees. The Delta is one of the biggest woodlands of its kind in Nottinghamshire and home to many species of rare birds, invertebrates, plants and fungi. Despite being one of the oldest parts of the Nature Reserve, it is less than 90 years old. Yet, if you were to walk around the Delta yourself, you would think it had stood for many hundreds of years due to the size of some of the trees and the abundance of species found here. Prior to gravel extraction on the site, the Delta was an area of farmland with a small willow holt adjacent to the River Trent. Much of the land mass that makes up the Delta, as we now know it, was created using silt washed from the gravel at the Long Lane processing plant. In the early 70’s teams of volunteers had to hand-dig channels to divert the silt flows and expand the Delta. Today, the Delta requires just as much human intervention in order to manage the woodland and control invasive plants, preventing them from shading out the slower growing native plants in the understory.

A traditional method of woodland management is applied whereby rides and glades are cut to allow sunlight to break through the canopy and reach plants on the woodland floor, and different compartments are coppiced (trees are cut to stumps in order to stimulate regrowth) on a rotational basis to create varied age structure within the woodland. Volunteer work parties head into the Delta on an almost weekly basis to carry out management work. During the summer months, they brave the insatiable appetite of mosquitoes to clear the woodland floor of the non-native Himalayan balsam, a species introduced in the Victorian era that spreads rapidly along rivers and in wetlands. Some 1,500 volunteer hours a year are dedicated to controlling balsam alone, the benefit of which was realised in the Delta this summer when common spotted orchids flowered in the woodland for the first time in 30 years! Outside of the bird breeding season, in the winter, the volunteers brave the cold to coppice trees. Nothing goes to waste in the wood, and the cut timber is used to make sustainable charcoal which is sold in the Attenborough Nature Centre. Any wood unsuitable for charcoal production is stacked into log piles, which provide a home and shelter to many species of invertebrate such as slugs, snails centipedes, woodlice and beetles. Rare fungi such as the fragrant bracket fungus (Trametes suaveolens), and the eyelash fungus (Scutellinia subhirtella) share the log piles in the Delta with lesser stag beetles and the rhinoceros beetle (Sinodendron cylindricum). Standing or snagged deadwood is one of the most valuable habitats in the Delta woodland – and one of the reasons that members of the public are not freely permitted into the area. When a tree dies it is allowed to rot away and fall of its own accord (elsewhere on the Reserve we would need to bring down dead trees for public safety reasons).

TIM SEXTON Standing deadwood provides nesting sites for woodpeckers (all three British species breed in the Delta) along with a home for many hundreds of saproxylic organisms – organisms that feed on dead and decaying wood. It is estimated that some 13% of all species of plants and animals known in the UK are directly dependent on deadwood habitats, while many more are dependent upon the saproxylic organisms themselves, underlining just how important this habitat is to the Reserve. In the last century, there has been considerable losses of coppiced woodland habitats in Britain. In fact, some 95% of coppiced woodland has disappeared from the wider landscape since the early 1900s leading to significant declines in once common species such as nightingale and pearl-bordered fritillary. Removal of trees for agriculture or intensive forestry, pollution, scrub invasion and over tidiness are just some of the reasons for the decline. Attenborough’s ‘secret garden’ therefore provides a lifeline in this corner of south Nottinghamshire for many of the species that live in this habitat. If you want to learn more about the Delta, we are offering a rare opportunity to go on a guided walk in the woodland on the 13th October between 10am and 1pm. Booking is essential as places are limited. See www.attenboroughnaturecentre. co.uk/boook for more details. TS

DR JO NORCUP â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Culture is no better than its woodsâ&#x20AC;? W. H Auden

n this heritage themed issue of Trees Of Beeston (TOB), I want to introduce the importance of trees into our everyday valuing of civic heritage. We are very fortunate in Beeston to have so many street trees and indeed trees in the front and back gardens of private properties that function to enrich the quality of our environment: enable all manner of animals to live alongside us for our betterment (hello insects! Hello birds!). It is important to remember that many of these trees have been planted, maintained, and cared for by civic custodians in previous decades for our everyday enrichment, and that we have a duty to pass that careful and thoughtful tree heritage forward. For the many buy-to-let property owners in Beeston who could potentially see tree maintenance as simply felling, I would urge you to think again. Well maintained coppiced or pollarded trees (maintained by specialist tree surgeons) can give not only unique landscape features, improved vistas and reduce the worst side effects of extreme weather conditions, but also retain values to properties because trees make places more habitable, more desirable. If you have a mature tree in or near your property, consider looking into Tree Preservation orders. I have

recently noticed I have bats in the row of trees that make a wee hedgerow at the back of my garden. Little pipistrelles. They eat the gnats as well as the increasing numbers of mosquitoes that have been hatching in the heat of the summer and with such extreme weather patterns more likely to increase in the coming years, I am more than happy to have my Bat box up to encourage natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insect repellent into my garden and outdoor area.. I am particularly thankful to The Beeston Civic and District Society who have campaigned and worked so hard over four decades to maintain the diverse and beloved tree heritage we have. While a number of notable and beloved trees have been lost, the society has campaigned and enacted tree-planting programmes to ensure a quality of life for the humans living, working and passing through. To keep bees in Beeston (and indeed all manner of vital insects, pollinators, animals) it remains important that the trees we love in our public spaces and along our streets. For more information about the Beeston Civic and District Society, see https:// beestoncivicsociety.org/about/our-history

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Dr JN

Tree facts: Trees of Beeston #2 The White Lion Linden/ Lime Trees. The Lime / Linden Trees outside The White Lion Pub at the junction of Middle Street and Station Road are not just useful markers in the landscape, nor simply shelter from the elements after vacating the pub after last orders. These lime trees provide magical roosting space in their branches for the beloved Beeston Pied Wagtails whose flock in mini-murmurations last winter provided a fleeting nature spectacle as the birds in their tens (I stopped counting at around 60 birds), eddied and swooped between the site of the flattened Beeston Fire Station and car park that provides temporary seasonal playscapes during holiday seasons: Christmas Fayre Houses of fun to bouncy castles, sand pits and ride in the summer at Beeston on Beach.

derives from Middle English, lind meaning yielding, as the trees were prized for their adaptability and use for carving, modelmaking, and sculpture. The non-specified Lime trees outside The White Lion have dense, palm-sized, green heart-shaped, leaves that are immediately recognisable during the spring and summer time. What makes them utterly distinct are the white with a hint of lime green flowers that appear in the spring throughout the summer which eventually grow small spherical fruits. Lime flowers secrete a sweet nectar, attracting a diverse array of pollinating insects, especially butterflies and bees. These trees are highly prised by beekeepers for the amount of pollen they produce. For a town with ‘Bees’ in its name, it is apt then that here in Beeston we learn to love and cherish these amazingly giving trees. In addition to the benefits gifted to insect life, humans over the centuries have also come to regard the Lime/Linden flowers.

trees “These lime ical provide mag ace in roosting sp es” their branch

In-between times, it is home to wild poppies and rudely dismissed wild flowers (“weeds”) that enable passing pollinators to feed between there and the magnificent lavender flowers that stand at the front of the White Lion and The Star Inn (these planters are now lovingly watched over by the street art depiction of Michael Elphick as Boon when Central TV used the location for filming the 80s TV drama, but I digress). Before this site is developed and the temporary exposed skyscape around Beeston Central tram interchange is again infilled with concrete, pay attention this autumn for the Pied Wagtail minimurmurations. At dusk. Be patient as you will be rewarded with the privilege of watching the wee nodding monochrome birds gathering and readying themselves for roosting. Their pre-roosting flights can be watched in and around the trees that border Beeston Square, but for better visuals of their swoopings, head for the lime trees outside the White Lion Pub

Lime Trees or Linden trees (Tilia) are a popular and highly diverse family of trees found in the northern hemisphere of the globe. They are not related to the citrus tree that produce the lime fruits found in Mediterranean climates. The name Lime

Herbalists value their medicinal benefits as dried and then steeped in hot water, a lime-flower infusion as tea has been noted to give health benefits for those suffering from a cold, coughs, fever or infections. Limeflower tea has also been valued for its diuretic properties. Lime trees flowers in the spring bring a sweet, rich warm inviting smell that might be a challenge to discern above the car fumes and everyday human noise and bustle, but you will be able to sense it next spring. You will get a soft subtle waft up your nose, a sweetness and lightness. The linden/lime letting you know longer days the dark days are over, and the light is returning. This complete article can be found here: geographyworkshop.com/2018/08/24/ trees-of-beeston-2-beestons-treeheritage-and-the-white-lion-lindenlimetrees . Dr JN

#2 The LIME TREE

The linden trees outside The White Lion appear to be a form of Linden, but there are many hybrid varieties that share similar characteristics to that of the European variety (Tilia x europaea). Below are some facts from The Woodland Trust website about the general characteristics of the type that can be located outside Geoff Ball’s and share traits with those outside The White Lion Pub. •

NOT to be confused with the citrus tree found in Mediterranean (no limes for your G&T on these!)

•

Linden is called lime a distortion of the Middle English word lind from which linden comes meaning flexible reflecting its human and environmental benefits.

•

Linden trees come in many shapes and sizes from Small shrubs to larger varieties (such as see outside Geoff Ball’s on Station Road). Most varieties grow in the northern hemisphere

•

The leaves vary from small to large are dark green in colour and are heart-shaped with tufts of white hairs underneath, fading to a dull and dark yellow before falling in the autumn. The flowers that are a white/light lime colour become small red/brown small burrs on a long stem. They are hermaphroditic with male and female parts and are pollinated by insects.

•

Long associated with fertility in the UK, the Linden tree is symbolic for liberty in European countries such as Germany, France, and Switzerland, and many were planted after the war across Europe as street trees

•

During the war, lime / linden blossoms were used to make soothing teas and have been ascribed medicinal properties to help with sleep, as well as coughs and flu.

•

A highly sought tree for its wood, the Linden has been used for turnery, carving, and furniture-making. They are also highly prised as a valuable source of food for honey bees and many caterpillars of moths and butterflies as well as providing homes for insects such as aphids, which in turn provide food for birds, ladybirds, and hoverflies.

•

Different types of Linden trees have been used in ornamental planting in public parks.

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visitingwoods/trees-woods-and-wildlife/britishtrees/native-trees/common-lime

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his year’s Oxjam Beeston Music Festival has a target: to reach £100,000 raised over the eight years it’s been running! That would be a phenomenal achievement for a little town like Beeston, making it the largest ‘Oxjam’ contributor to OXFAM in the country.

Takeover is about music - and community. For many local people it is THE event of the year, allowing them to wander for more than 12 hours around venues offering a heady mix of music from local talent for little more than the cost of a couple of pints.

This year’s Takeover, on Saturday 13th October, will provide the usual eclectic mix of music of many styles: there’s rap, jazz, folk, hip-hop, ‘covers’, Americana, punk, choral, indie, rock - you name it and we can (almost) guarantee it’s there somewhere. We’re even planning the return of ‘the silent disco’ that proved so popular last year.

Here’s the deal: come along in the afternoon and listen to the mainly acoustic music on offer and, in return, put some money in the collecting tins. From 6 pm onwards, you will need a wristband to get into the venues. Best bet is to buy a ticket in advance and exchange it at our Ticket Booth in The Square (up to 6 pm) or at the first venue you visit; or you could just buy your wristband on the day, at the Ticket Booth or at a venue. Prices and outlets as follows:

For some, highlight of the night will be local favourites Goose McCoy, whilst others will seek out the ‘folk punk’ of George Gadd, or the jazz of Jeanie Barton, or maybe some mellow sounds provided by a DJ at Rye, or a bit of rapping!. There is absolutely loads to choose from!

Super Earlybird (limited number) £8 Earlybird (up to Friday 12th) £10 On the day £12 Under 18s/NUS members £6* (in advance or on the day) *NB proof of eligibility needed on the day

COLIN TUCKER Outlets:

Oxfam Books and Music Shop High Road Beeston - cash, cheque or cards - tickets available until 4 pm Friday 12th October; Online from wegottickets.com card payments, plus 10% booking fee - on sale until 9 pm Friday 12th October. At the Ticket Booth in The Square until 6 pm 13th October - cash sales (we hope also to be able to take card payments) At any evening venue - after 6 pm - cash preferred - card payment may be possible. *If you are claiming a concessionary price, please have your NUS card available when exchanging a pre-bought ticket OR purchasing on the day; if you are under 18 we recommend a photocopy of a passport but any sensible proof will be accepted!

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LULU DAVENPORT Music, gigs and festivals - who’s out this weekend?

Part of the Ba

rtons collectio

eck, who switched on the glowy thing in the sky this summer? Long hazy days and even longer sun soaked nights have dominated this year, even Splendour managed to dodge a downpour! At the very beginning of this year I announced very sternly that 2018 would be my annual leave from festival frolics and I would sit out most of the annual tent dwelling musical gatherings - even most that I attend religiously: Download, Rock & Bike etc for a more sensible more chilled, laid back (dare I say adult?) year. Cue relentless radiant mornings followed by brilliant afternoons as I hid from the incoming Facebook posts; such and such is tagged in a field “having an amazing time wish you were here” Yes that was said with as much scorn as I can possibly muster after trying massively not to take the ongoing stretch of sunshine personally but, hey ho (lets go) am I bitter? You bet ya! So, since summer (mind the pun) has been a wash out, I’ve determined that no one is going to out-autumn/winter me, as I ferret out the best local entertainment for when boilers are fired up out of retirement and hot chocolate sits on standby. Here’s a sneaky peek at the best that long dreary winter has to offer NG9 style. Starting Friday 21st to Sunday 23nd September sees ultra cool bar the Berliner go all German with an Oktoberfest, complete with a beer van from a 700 year old Bavarian brewery (hope they’ve cleaned the lines in the last decade or two), proper stein glasses (plastic will never do), BBQ with German and vegan sausages, and the savagery that is beer pong. Entertainment is in the form of none other than Beeston’s own Kingdom Rapper, DJ’s Sam and Jack (not very inventive names though lads ;)) and an open mic session on the Sunday. A coupon system will be in place at £4 each or 10 for £38. My suggestion is doughnuts, Berliner in name and all that....

October 13th the mighty Oxjam returns for its annual Beeston take over. Expect the usual fun and frolics with something for everyone - you never know the next Jake Bugg may make their debut appearance. If the Berliner Oktoberfest sparked an obsession and life is now a constant disappointment without a dash of Ooompah, it’s safe to relax as The Garage at Barton’s old bus headquarters on Chilwell high road will be launching on Friday October 19th to Saturday, 20th boasting an authentic Bavarian Oompah band and “grub” (slang term for foodstuffs) with pretzels, bratwurst, currywurst and some lovely beer to wash it all down with. For those who haven’t been to the old bus depot, the site is full to the rafters of heritage, from the old buses to Raleigh bikes - a truly unique venue. Here is a direct quote from the brains behind the event: “It’s the perfect event for the area and the venue. Beeston and Chilwell live and breathe beer. Since its conception we’ve focused on authenticity and high quality, we want people to feel like they’re in Munich, but without the hassle of having to fly home when they want to go to bed!” Sounds reasonable to me. Tickets for the event start at £5 and can be purchased at www.thegaragechilwell.co.uk. Before I rattle off to plan yet more adventures, a huge well done to Ska 2 Soul team over at Inham Nook pub who raised a mahoooosive £1,146 for When You Wish Upon a Star charideee with their 1st annual Mod and Ska three day festival. I was lured in for the Friday session and skanked along with the best of them to some northern soul and ska classics, King Hammond and the Rude Boy Mafia of The Selecter fame headlined for the festival on the Saturday an absolute treat for fans of all things Ska. On that note I will leave you, as I scuttle off to the Victory Club beer festival, after sitting on Beeston beach to put my toes on some sand and vow to never take a gap year from summer again... LD

CODEWORD#60

beestumped 1. T he punk band Nirvana released their first album in 1989. What was it called? 2. T hat band were vocal fans of a Scottish alternative band. What was its name? 3. Nirvana were rivals with Guns ‘n’ Roses. What Paul McCartney song did that band cover? 4. Paul McCartney never reached the heights of success he achieved with The Beatles. What was the original name of his most famous song Yesterday? 5. Beatle George Harrison famously learned what instrument at the feet of the Maharishi? 6. W hilst in India The Beatles enjoyed a lot of “tea”, but what was that a euphemism for? 7. Nirvana had success with a song about tea but what was it called? 8. Nirvana alumni Dave Grohl went on to form Foo Fighters. What was their debut album called? 9. F oo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett is also well known as guitarist in which punk cover band? 10. Finally, Nirvana did a multitude of covers in their short career, but which Cars song did they regularly perform?

THIS IS IT: THE HARDEST QUIZ IN BEESTON! DO NOT SPILL IT’S PINT!

ANSWERS: Bleach/Vaselines/ Live and Let Die/Scrambled Eggs/ Sitar/Cannabis/Pennyroyal Tea/Foo Fighters/Me First & The Gimme Gimmes/My Best Friend’s Girl

HIVEMIND Gossip from the

It’s been one heck of a summer, with long trousers banished to the darks of the wardrobe and Magnums for breakfast a perfectly legit option. We also made The Beestonian all smart and colourful, launched the We Are Beeston exhibition and Hallams was immortalised in Lego. All the green bits of Beeston went brown. Attenborough Nature Reserve stopped looking like a wetlands reserve and more like the Mojave. It was hot. Even the Beeman wore shorts ***** But it’s September now and we can longer longue around and pretend ale is hydrating. It’s time to ask the questions that need asking **** And the most vital question of all, one that has long been pondered by Beestonians young and old, needs answering: WHERE IS THE GONDOLA RESTAURANT???

****

It has a sign, high on the wall above Thorntons (RIP) suggesting it is close. BUT WHERE IS IT? **** We looked for clues. Acacia Walk, where the sign is placed, is a similar name to Acacia Avenue, the given address of spy James Bond **** In the James Bond film Moonraker, Roger Moore conducts an improbable chase through Venice in a souped-up Gondola. The jigsaw is beginning to come together, yes? *** Roger Moore (also RIP) was once rumoured to be buying a house on Beeston Fields Drive back in the eighties **** It is perfectly feasible to assume that Moore needed his own eaterie in Beeston when visiting. He set up the Gondola, but not wishing to be mobbed by 007 fans each time he sat down for his chip butty, he hid it with just subtle clues to guide him in. **** It is therefore our belief at The Beestonian that the location of the fine-dining Gondola Restaurant lies in a secret hollowed-out volcano beneath Poundland, with a secret passageway running under Greenhood for Moore and his mates to leave discretely. **** It is therefore also our belief that we have had too much sun over Summer and it’s done something weird to our brains. Normal service will be resumed next issue.