The Beestonian Issue 74 by The Beestonian

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Beeston Be e e Th

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Beeston Local One-stop online shop

Scotty's soap-box new year - old scott!

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BRIGHT

Movie Night by Daniel Cullen (prints available - email dan@bigidea-creative.co.uk for info)

e definitely take a “glass half full” approach here at the Beestonian. There’s no escaping from the fact that Covid has caused no end of grief, fear, turmoil and anxiety. From that though, we continue to see lots of small and large acts of kindness, bravery and selflessness, that have strengthened our communities and formed bonds that will last long after the crisis is over.. Despite the ongoing grind of lockdowns and restrictions, there are green shoots appearing in Beeston, at least in the town centre. First off, top butcher Craig Dawsons is opening a deli near to their shop. The unit a few doors up is going to be a Turkish restaurant, and on the opposite side, the long-derelict Durham Ox is being converted into a Pudding Pantry. Retro second hand boutique White Rose is on the way as well. This, combined with the cinema nearing completion, means there are lots of reasons to be cheerful about the future in Beeston. Covid means that high streets are going to change quite radically in the months and years to follow, but, as ever, Beeston is ahead of the curve when it comes to adapting. Shoe shops may not be a financially viable business these days, but whatever occupies an empty unit, creates employment, and pays business rates and taxes is fine with us.

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We will always champion local independent businesses over corporate chains, and in this issue you can read about how some of them are helping other independents to grow. Plus there’s loads of the usual features you’ve come to expect from Beeston’s favourite free magazine. If you think there’s something other NG9ers should know about, send us an email thebeestonian@gmail.com - and we will do our best to fit it in. Lastly, we’d just like to acknowledge all those on the front line who have worked tirelessly over the last year – health and social care staff, teachers, emergency services, other public sector workers – the list is endless. Whilst we appreciate the sentiment of clapping them, applause doesn’t pay bills, and we hope that they will get their dues when the time comes. Stay safe, and look after each other. JC

John Cooper Editorial

beeston speaks i am

This issue: Jamil Ahmed Postmaster

grew up as a migrant child in greater Manchester. We lived in some of the poorer areas of Manchester. At the age of 10, my father got a job in Nottingham and we made the big move from Manchester to Sneinton. I went to Greenwood School which later became the Nottingham Academy. We moved to Beeston in 1994, as it was a friendly area and also well known for good amenities”. “In 2013, an opportunity arose to buy the local post office on Broadgate. I decided to take this opportunity, as I wanted a change from my previous job. Living in Beeston and having a business in Beeston, allowed me

“Beeston is very diverse and very friendly and I think that’s what makes the town so unique. .” to stay connected with my local community and allowed me to contribute to the local area. It also helped me to gain knowledge of the local community. The post office plays an important part when it comes to serving the local community, and I don’t just mean the products and services that it offers, but from helping customers with non-postal related issues, to conversing with some of the elderly and vulnerable customers who don’t have anyone to talk to, but love coming in to the post office to have a chat. I often see the majority of my customers in and around Beeston, and some of them I know so well, that I have built up a good relationship, that even when they move out of the area they still come back to use my post office”. “What I like about Beeston, is that it’s very lively with the university and there are many prominent businesses around. A lot of green spaces such as University Park and Rylands. Beeston is very diverse and very friendly and I think that’s what makes the town so unique. Most people are very relaxed and this creates a great atmosphere. Since 1991 the town centre has been transformed a few times. The old shops such McDonald’s, Superdrug,

Be Wise and many others have all gone. But the construction of Tesco’s and now the new cinema bring new opportunities. Not forgetting the tram”. "One thing I have done is the development of two derelict commercial properties on Chilwell Road and transformed them into a modern retail premises and two flats. My brother and I bought the shops back in October 2015. They were derelict and completely ruined and so we spent most weekends and evenings fixing it up. The work took us 18 months in total. These were featured on the TV series ‘Homes Under the Hammer’. I had great fun doing the show, and the episode was aired in 2017. After that it was nice to get recognised around Beeston when shopping and at work. It still turns up on daytime TV, and someone will say that I’ve been on TV again”. "There are so many funny stories that have happened at the post office. If I had to pick one it would be when a student came in and handed me an item, unpacked, and with no address on it. They simply walked out whilst I was walking back to the serving counter. Another one is that someone once posted a parcel, and then three years later he received it back and he asked me why”. “I’m proud to say that as a sub-postmaster I enjoy serving the local community and I hope the local community will give me the opportunity to serve them. I would ask everyone who reads this article to use their local post office and encourage friends and family to use theirs. Post offices are run by individual Postmasters and we rely on the customers’ footfall to keep us open. We offer a wide range of services such as: postal services (Royal Mail and Parcel Force worldwide), local collect services, currency exchange, travel insurance, DVLA services, passport check and send and many more. We also sell greeting cards, stationery, toys, gifts and household items. You can even drop off your dry cleaning”. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the lovely people of Beeston for making it such a great place to live”. CF

Beeston Eats Beeston Local John Cooper

How restaurant owners are adapting to the new in 2021

eeston has long been host to a wide range of excellent independent restaurants, which have been badly affected by Covid. The ability to continue operating as a takeaway has been a lifeline for many of them, and a recently launched app is making it easier for them to get their wares into the mouths of hungry Beestonians.

“We have 26 local restaurants on the platform currently, with 8 which are exclusive to the app. We have some great discounts not on any other apps and we have some very exciting new additions to reveal in the coming weeks.”

“We’ve had some great feedback about how userfriendly the app is, and as a business owner, I’ve found it’s very easy to use. The great thing about Beeston is that we are always keen to support local businesses. It’s a pleasure to be able to advertise and showcase local businesses and most of the work I do goes into advertising these businesses.”

Javid Omoomian tells us a bit about Beeston Eats, and how he’s helping to keep lots of businesses thrive during lockdowns. “I’m a Nottingham local, and I own The Circle Eatery on the High Street. Having already opened the first Circle Eatery in Bingham, we chose Beeston for our second restaurant as it has probably the best independent restaurant scene in Nottingham!” “Like many restaurant owners, the pandemic forced us to totally change our business, so I quickly signed up for all the big apps like JustEat and Deliveroo. It was then that I realised that these companies take large cuts of sales - as high as 30% for UberEats. Their algorithms also favour the large, city chain restaurants, and so Beeston independents get less exposure.” “The Beeston Eats app is therefore essentially a local alternative to these big foodordering and is a platform where customers can browse and order from independent

Lockdown Beeston through the

restaurants, local to Beeston. The rates are also a lot lower, meaning that the restaurants can pass the savings onto local customers.”

“It’s been a very tough year for the industry and I think it will continue to be tough for a few more months yet. I think habits have changed and so takeaways have become more and more the norm. Restaurants are being forced to adapt really fast. One positive to come from the crisis is that everyone appreciates their communities and local businesses now more than ever.” Beeston Eats is on Facebook and Instagram, where you will find updates and competitions. The app itself is available to download from Appstore or Google Play. JC

Simon Flavin J&B Autos: J&B Autos was established in 1990 and I bought the business in 2006. Covid has been really tough for us. Even though we have remained open throughout all the lockdowns, we found that a lot of customers assumed we were closed. We think this is because the dealerships had closed and people thought we would be too. The initial MOT extension obviously had a big impact on us too. If one good thing has come out of Covid, it is that the community spirit

has grown stronger. We strongly believe in putting something back, which is why we look to support a different charity every year. We have helped Operation Orphan by letting them use our vehicles free of charge to collect and deliver, which saved them thousands on hire fees. Last year we were set to sponsor the Beeston Art Trail but sadly it had to be cancelled. One thing we have always done is offer a free collection and delivery service for customers

with disabilities, so naturally we have extended this to vulnerable and shielding customers. We have a very strict cleaning regime and we are really careful to make sure everything is 100% when collecting and dropping off. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can look back on these times and glad that they are over with. Until then we are doing all we can to keep ourselves and our customers safe.

id you know that last year saw more new businesses, sole traders and pursuits of passion register with Companies House and online platforms than previously, come years end? A huge boom of creativity was born out of lockdown, some ideas out of necessity, others due to furlough and some due to people having unexpected time on their hands to try new things. Beeston Local, a new online selling platform and community is launching soon to support them all and help customers find them.

Shopping small and supporting local, much like a puppy, isn't just for Christmas and if the events of 2020 and watching the fight of businesses small and large claw to survive, to adapt (and thankfully, in some cases thrive), showed us anything, then it’s that we need to bind together, listen and look out for how to support our local shops and traders within our community and foster and share ideas to keep them and not lose them as the world slowly and carefully opens up again. Enter Jack Isaacs, a Beeston local who’s grown up in and around our brilliant town. He is launching a very exciting project this year and is currently deep into setting up and building Beeston Local. This will support local creatives, makers and sellers in Beeston to be able to sell effectively and at a reasonable rate through an online one-stop shopping experience for our beloved location. Many readers will be aware of Not On The High Street, eBay and Etsy and possibly know of MadeMe, Shopify sites and obviously the king of all online shopping, Amazon. However Jack’s honourable and ace intent is to remove the high fees (a key barrier to trade for sellers), and to create a network of local vendors and build a community of buying locally online all year round. He even has plans to eventually include a bicycle courier service for delivery, working with local destinations like newsagents etc as drop off and collection points. It’s all rather great and very eco and green! Jack is a local entrepreneur with an extensive background in IT and web technologies and is setting this project up at no cost - the costs that will be incurred by this project will be recouped through transaction fees that will be outlined to vendors on signing up. Aside from that, all other revenue generated will be put back into the project and community. The system is being built from the ground up with simplicity being at the core of it. The not-forprofit venture is all about supporting local, buying local and discovering those hidden gems that are situated on both Beeston High

Street and Chilwell High Road and hiding in the Rylands and surrounding areas. Jack started to put out feelers for vendors to join the platform in late 2020 and he said: “The response when I put the call out on the Beeston Updated Facebook page and via other channels was great, there’s been a lot of interest and I’ve started conversations with everyone who contacted me. A great variety of vendors have been in contact and although at the initial point of launch we won’t be able to support subscriptions based services and some food suppliers (with leaving the EU there’s a few new laws to work with), but learning of the demand, it’s something to strive towards for phase two, after the first wave of sellers have launched.

Most importantly, I’m excited to help the Beeston community grow and to help Beeston residents and beyond learn about what shopping experiences they may be missing out on and not yet know of. My family are from Beeston and nearby and I’m excited to give something back to my community! I watched ‘The Truth about Amazon’ documentary on TV recently and felt like I needed to do something to combat the conglomerates - a key feature of the Beeson Local platform will be verified reviews, as the show revealed fake reviews are becoming a big problem for online sellers and their credibility.

Amy Victoria Gathercole Launching Beeston Local The creation of a one-stop online shop for our community!

We’re looking to launch Beeston Local in Spring 2020, you can keep up to date on news and ERS TO REGISTER TOP 3 REASONS FOR SELL updates via our social TO JOIN BEESTON LOCAL channels on Facebook audiences and beestonlocalonline 1. You can connect with new audiences and Instagram @ customers in your local area, beestonlocal and if tform is, if you that are being built as the pla you’d like to register as you can still sell already have an online shop, a seller please contact Beeston Local me at partnerservices@ your products and creations on beestonlocal.co.uk to as well. have a chat and see if ts for the majority 2. Delivery and postage cos it’s a good fit for you and past for local hopefully sign up.” of items will be a thing of the As Beeston Local is looking to launch in the spring I will be bringing you updates with future articles including content showcasing some of the initial vendors who sign up to work with and sell their wares and makes on the new platform in future Beestonian issues on the lead up to the launch. AG

can hand deliver sales, post COVID times you ntually take and meet your customer or eve ycle courier advantage of the eco-green bic rking to set up. delivery service that Jack is wo platform will 3. The costs will be low, the nt method so partner with Stripe as a payme s and payment say farewell to high listing fee l amount on a charges, you will pay a minima sale, and that’s it.

Tim Pollard This issue: The Reich Stuff

n these times of dreadful strife, division, polarisation and tribalism, I think it’s only fair I lay my cards on the table, take a honest stance and admit to you all that amongst a great many other things (for instance ‘overweight middle aged Robin Hood impersonator’, ‘wargamer with more unpainted toy soldiers than sense’ and ‘incredibly tired widowed single-parent’), I’m also a ‘fully-paid up libtard snowflake Remoaner social-justice-warrior traitor enemy-of-the-people’ - and proud of it.* So how is it, with all my ridiculous leftwing credentials worn so blatantly on my Lincoln Green sleeve, as well as all over my own Facebook page, that I’m so frequently accused of being a Nazi? (and sometimes, amusingly, a ‘Stalinist Nazi’). It’s certainly not because I’m a genuine WW2-type Nazi, nor one of their modernday US Capitol-storming ‘white power’ descendants. No, I’m something much more insidious – I’m an admin for the BEESTON UPDATED Facebook page, and you wouldn’t believe some of the accusations levelled at us on a regular basis, including the risible ‘you’re all fascists’ smear.

*In the interests of full disclosure I’m not actually a ‘Remoaner’ any more – I’m a Rejoiner… : ) **Some of these people may not be real admins.

Beeston Updated was (and is) a brilliant idea – a page devoted to the Beeston/NG9 area intended to let people know what was going on, make announcements and foster a real sense of community and pride locally (after all, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that we live in the best town in the country). Over the years, as the membership has grown considerably the page has had to change. Whilst it has endeavoured to stay true to its roots, the admins have had to institute some rules so the page doesn’t become swamped with posts that aren’t in keeping with what it’s supposed to be informative, helpful, friendly and supportive. Some rules are (or should be) obvious – no bad language, no national politics, no encouraging vigilante behavior, or posting ‘amusing’ memes better suited to personal Facebook pages. Some rules are occasionally questioned though - why can businesses only post once per week, why do they have to have an NG9 postcode attached, and why do photographer’s wildlife photos have to be posted in a group rather than individually? Most people (I hope) can see the logic behind not wanting to turn the page into an endless stream of adverts, especially almost daily ones from some companies, nor to have it become a giant photo album

for some of our very talented and prolific wildlife photographers – but the postcode issue can be tricky. It’s supposed to ensure the businesses advertising are actually local, because we’re trying to encourage our readers to support them. But what do we do if (for instance) a food business based outside the area but delivers into it wants to advertise? Should we be asking potentially vulnerable single-person companies selling items from home to provide a postcode online? And these days we’ve had to stop taking ads asking for (or offering donations of) items for collection from individuals or private addresses – kind and generous those offers may be. Not only is it unwise but it also flies in the face of both sensible Covid guidelines and the law - and none of us want the page to encourage or facilitate any unnecessary journeys or social contact. It’s a minefield that Matt Turpin and all the other admins – Nev, Kirstie, Dave, Steve, me, Big Barrie, Odd George and Barrington Womble III** have to navigate to the best of our ability and judgement. Sometimes we disagree with each other but we all have the best interests of the site – and our community – at heart, and I think it shows in the ongoing quality of the page. That said, sometimes we have to stop commenting on (or even delete entirely) threads when they get out of hand, become too heated, idiotically Covid-denying or antimask-wearing, too insulting or otherwise beyond the pale – and that’s when we’re accused of being ‘Nazis’, especially by the ‘we know better’ tinfoil hat brigade in all their various and wonderful guises. But I guess that in Beeston - and likewise in Beeston Updated, all human life is here - the good, the weird, the helpful, the friendly and the angry (and that’s just the admins). The rest of it is up to the community, and that means *you*. So if you’ve not joined yet, please do. Beeston Updated is a great resource and I genuinely believe it provides a unique and important service to all of its members during yet another lockdown when any extra contact can be invaluable – and especially when we’re living in times where actual far-right voices are becoming louder it’s good to know the vast majority of people living around you are kind, decent, sensible, caring and thoughtful. And if you have joined, *thank you* – stay connected and please… stay safe. TP

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WHAT HE FU ZZ ? T

"Since August I've created nearly 200 images, started selling greetings cards, and will have an exhibition in Lincoln's Decimal Place Gallery window throughout February." To view her online gallery or to make a request, visit @capturedbythefuzz on Instagram. Greetings cards are available at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/capturedbythefuzz DC 3

Giving time to something you care about outside your immediate family circle can make a positive contribution to the wider community and be a deeply satisfying experience for the volunteer. There is a welcome buzz to that sort of activity and it can be a real antidote to dépression. Volunteers have always played a critical role in supporting communities and particularly so in Beeston. Just think of the Middle Street Resource Centre, Attenborough Nature Reserve and Beeston Railway Station.

Significantly, under present Government rules, volunteering is a rare opportunity to mix legitimately in the wider world. Voluntary or charitable services offer ways to do something useful to help your local community, especially if you are under 70 and are determined enough to commit. The key is to decide what is right for you. Do you have interests, expertise and the time to share and what are your priorities? There are plenty of local volunteering opportunities from food banks and NHS to driving or helplines, even vaccinators just now. Among the many roles in health alone are the NHS Volunteer Responders Programme, shopping for food and essentials, collecting and delivering prescriptions for someone who is isolating or shielding. There is the St John Ambulance Vaccination Volunteers programme. There are check in and chat volunteers - telephone support, NHS Transport volunteers - equipment, supplies, medication, patient transport. The

list is almost endless for assisting stretched medical staff and helping in key worker roles. Clinically vulnerable over 70, pregnant or those with underlying health problems can still volunteer, providing you focus on home based activities. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) offers online guidance, Volunteering and Coronavirus, how you can help - clarifying rules for volunteers of all ages and abilities in England. Notts County Council and local NCVO centres are useful contacts for matching your aspirations to wider local needs. There is no need to wait. Volunteering can start spontaneously from home by looking out for your neighbours - by offering help with shopping and other errands, remembering to stay safe whilst helping others. Check Carers Trust East Midlands, The Volunteer Centre Erewash, the Nottingham Voluntary Action Centre and the Rushcliffe Volunteer Centre. Many useful things can be done by phone or online without ever leaving your house. Remember to be tolerant if established charities and volunteer networks are finding it difficult to function in the present lockdown and may have to decline your offer. This is a frustrating time for us all. Sadly, Voluntary Action Broxtowe has folded under the strain and the Pearson Centre for Young People is closed, but the Middle Street Resource Centre (MSRC) Beeston helpline remains open. There are plenty of opportunities out there for volunteers to enrich their own lives, gaining new skills and confidence by helping others. Persevere. Support causes that you care about. Try it! PR

Fuzzy Felt Answers:

"The enjoyment comes from the brilliant ideas people come up with, and the creative challenge of trying to make an effective image out of the limited colours and shapes in the box."

Beetlejuice The Scream Nightmare Before Xmas Earyh Vs The Flying Saucers

site page)

(Answers on oppo

A lot of you will already know Lucy Morrow - she’s the singer and bassist for fabulous local band The Madeline Rust (not heard them yet? Seriously? Do yourself a favour, visit themadelinerust.co.uk and listen to ‘Zooey’. Go on, you can thank me later). However, it turns out she has another string to her bow. Lucy is a feltist, a fuzzonado, a feltspert - ok I’ll stop but you get the picture (and if you don’t, she can make it for you). She’s a dabhand at the old Fuzzy Felts and, as you can see below, she’s using that skill to create an ever-expanding range of pop culture images, as suggested by her social media followers. So, how did she get started?

6. 7. 8. 9.

Can you guess what these fuzzy felt pictures are?

Lucy went in a different direction.

rapped at home on and off for ten months. Threatened by events and rules beyond your control. Facing anxiety, helplessness and isolation? It’s January, resolution time. So what can be done?

Aliens Magic Roundabaout Beatles Flash Gorden The Addams Family

Lucy Morrow's Fabulous Fuzzy Felt Formations

"In August 2020 I had some planned surgery which meant I had to spend a significant amount of time on the sofa. Having been inspired by a friend who'd been playing with Fuzzy Felt, I bought a vintage 'Monsters' themed box from ebay, and my husband would set me daily challenges to keep me amused (an underwater scene, outer space, etc). I started to share the images on social media and friends started to join in, giving me more and more fun ideas to try, and it wasn't long before I was cajoled into setting up an Instagram account. Now I have people all over the world giving me all sorts of suggestions!"

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Dan Cullen

et’s be honest: this whole Covid thing is a bit of a downer. It’s about as much fun as a traffic warden at a sex party. That said, it has brought out the best in some people, especially when it comes to finding new and wonderful ways of coping with the boredom of an interminable national lockdown. Some people have started painting or gardening, some have taken up cooking.

beeston Volunteering matters T

Peter Robinson Thoughts of Volunteering in Lockdown?

Scott Bennett This issue: New Year same old me and that’s absolutely fine

raditionally, January is the month of the year where I make resolutions to become the version of the person I always wished I could be. To lose two stone, to be more successful at work, to be a better husband and father. Every year I do this and every year I get to the first week of February and feel miserable, and wonder why I set myself up to fail? I always wished I’d set my sights on something more achievable, like, “this year I’m not going to get mauled by a lion in the middle of Nottingham city centre.” I’d be pretty confident about that. Yes, unless there was a travelling circus passing through town at the exact point I wandered out of Sainsburys holding a sirloin steak, I’d totally nail that. Dry January always baffles me. It’s dark, it’s cold, you’re skint, you have a house full of leftover booze, but that’s the month you decide to stop drinking? It’s insane. I know I probably drink too much, but the problem is, I’m British, it’s what we’re good at! I think it’s in our DNA, most people have a double helix, the British have a triple vodka. It always amuses me when you see the advice on the side of alcoholic drinks, ‘drink responsibly.’ Let’s be honest, how can you drink responsibly? Especially if you’re doing it properly. It’s an oxymoron. The more you drink the less responsible you are, because that’s the whole point of drinking! You don’t hear people saying, “yes I may have had 11 pints, but I’m still completely in control of this scout group.” But here is another reason however, why myself and millions of others can’t do Dry January this year, and this time it’s nothing to do with willpower or the weather. It’s far worse than that. For most of us Dry January was on the cards, until we heard the words ‘home-schooling’. Now this month is going to be wetter than the monsoon season in the Amazon jungle. Let me tell you, there is no sexual tension stronger than that between a home-schooling parent, a box of wine and 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon. We all worry about our children slipping behind, but we shouldn’t. We’re all in the same situation. I also remember that once my daughter spent nearly six weeks at school making a roman fort and when she’d finished, it was just an unpainted Weetabix box with a toilet roll stuck on it, so I think we can handle a few months out of the system. Obviously, education is important, but most of the people in this government went to Eton. That’s meant to be the best education money

can buy and we’ve seen how stupid they are, so let’s all just relax, okay? Getting in shape is always another resolution I fail at every single year. Some people have a difficult relationship with food, my problem is we get on really well, a bit too well to be honest. It’s true love really, I need food and food needs me. Spirit mediums claim they can talk to the dead, well I’ve got that gift with chocolate bars. There is one in the kitchen cupboard right now, that has been trying to seduce me for hours. I can hear it talking, well it’s more like a Wispa actually, (sorry). I recently watched a television program about dieting and they recommended chewing gum before eating as that can reduce your hunger dramatically by up to twenty five percent. Yes of course it will, because everything will taste of bloody mint, won’t it?! As I get older, I do think my diet is starting to work against me. At any one time we have at least three bottles of Gaviscon in our medical cupboard, it’s getting to the point where I am having to finish every meal with a shot of it, like posh folks do with a good brandy. I can’t cope with anything above the acidity of a mild cheddar now. During the Christmas holidays I had one spoon full of onion chutney after 8pm. Big mistake. For two hours after I was laid out on the sofa moaning like my appendix had burst. It’s also hard to commit to a fitness programme when you ache every morning. I never thought those days would come, but since I hit forty I no longer leap out of bed ready to seize the day, I inch my way out, grimacing like a heavily pregnant woman. Everything hurts now, my shoulders, my back, my neck - all it takes is for me to nod and I’ve given myself whiplash. I can’t watch the programme Question Time anymore, because if I agree with a point too vigorously I’ll end up in a neck brace. “What happened to you Scott?” “Someone said something about free school meals and that was it!” Self-improvement gets more difficult as you get older. There is less incentive to bother. You know who you are and what you like, and there is a freedom in that. You don’t care what people think anymore. You’ve whittled your friendship circle down to three people and you’re happy with that. You have less time for redemption too, the reality is if you’re forty and you’re a knobhead, then you’ll probably die a knobhead.

But if there is one year that you can skip these resolutions, it’s 2021. After last year no one needs to better themselves, we just need to look after the version we’ve got now. Don’t set yourself targets, life is hard enough at the moment. Let’s make this year the one where we focus on doing the things that make us happy, let’s make that our goal. So, this month I take a brief look at what some of these things might be.

Essential Oils The sales of essential oils have increased over recent months, with many people using them to help bring a little moment of happiness. There are many different ones available. Lavender helps to soothe and calm, citrus can help to perk you up, and the aroma of sunflower oil wafting through the house means that your chips are nearly ready.

Gardening Even if you’re isolating, the garden has the power to provide wonderful escapism from the stresses of life. Sitting there on your bench in the sun, with a coffee, listening to the bloke next door strim that same patch of grass for three straight hours. There is nothing better for the soul than a day spent digging God’s soil. It almost makes the days you spend in crippling agony afterwards seem totally worth it. If you’re not used to it, gardening can be brutal. In May 2020 the Queen guitarist Brian May tore his bum muscles after a vigorous session tending to his flowerbeds. You could tell Brian was a qualified Astrophysicist, as when speaking about the incident, he was quoted as saying “I’ve managed to rip my Gluteus Maximus in a moment of overenthusiastic gardening.” In layman’s terms what he means is “I’ve been digging and I’ve torn my arse muscles.”

Walking A stroll is a great way to lift the mood and reconnect with nature. I love those people who get into all the gear. The Goretex jacket, the brand new walking boots, the GPS tracker. All essential kit for that half a mile stroll around the local nature reserve. You hear them coming a mile away, metal water bottles clinking, gadgets beeping, they look like they’ve been on a Duke of Edinburgh challenge for the last thirty years. Most of us have lost those compass and map reading skills now. We just blindly follow Google Maps until the battery runs out. We are useless without our technology. If we were in a field and someone shouted that a bull was charging, we’d probably just try and plug our phones into it. Walking has loads of benefits, but it’s a bit like broccoli - it’s clearly good for you but it’s practically impossible to sell it to your kids. If you want to see fear in your children’s eyes, just suggest going for a walk on a Sunday afternoon. They look at you like you’re sending them into battle. All the colour drains from their cheeks, they begin to panic and try to think of any excuse they can to get out of it. A walk isn’t a walk when you’ve got young children, it’s more like a hostage situation with Haribo. You try and make it exciting, “come on kids, let’s find a stick!” They look at you with contempt, “A stick? What you on about mate? I’ve got a PlayStation at home, what year do you think it is? We aren’t cavemen!” Mine are always bored by the first dog poo bin. They are hungry, hot, cold, tired, bored, it’s relentless. My wife will always try and keep things up beat, “It’s nice to get away from it all isn’t it?” “What do you mean, get away? We’ve only gone about ten metres, I can still see the car!”

Decluttering

I have never heard anything as quintessentially British as that. In LA, gangster rappers get shot at from moving vehicles. In the UK one of our most famous Rockstars pulls a butt cheek whilst gardening. The only way it could have been more British was if he’d slipped on a cucumber sandwich whilst carrying a pot of tea and listening to the Archers.

Clearing out your clutter is cathartic, and can bring happiness and calm. Many people have followed the Marie Kondo method which is to get rid of anything that doesn’t spark joy. It just applies to objects though. I know they can be annoying but it’s never acceptable to stick the kids in a bin bag, unless it’s Halloween.

I’ve realised that keeping a pristine garden when you’ve got children is pretty much impossible. I bet even Alan Titchmarsh wouldn’t bother if he had to deal with an angry five year old taking the heads off his tulips with a Paw Patrol football on a daily basis.

We’ve all got too many clothes, we keep them in the hope that two things will happen. We’ll either lose weight or they’ll become fashionable again. Neither will occur. They’re skinny jeans and you’ve been a 36 waist for six years now. It’s over, accept it. When you get older, there is a cut off point for skinny

jeans, and it’s often the circulation around your flabby inner thighs. There is nothing that hurts your selfesteem more than a slim fit shirt. I hope that whoever came up with this concept, when they die, are buried in a coffin that looks normal but pinches them a bit under the arms. Putting on a slim fit shirt in January is the most depressing start to the year. It’s like trying to get a tent back into a duffle bag. There’s flesh spilling out everywhere, the kids are having to stand on my belly, there’s stitching tearing and buttons are popping off like triggered land mines. I get those hideous areas of exposed flesh in between the buttons too, peering through like a babies head does during childbirth. Someone should do a dad fit. Something that looks good when you’re doing the school run, makes you appear all toned and lean, a bit like a corset, holding all that flesh around the back like a pony tail. Then when you sit on the sofa that night at home, holding a beer, the truth just pops back out again. But I think the thing that makes me really happy is that this year we have the hope that we can have real human contact again. In real life, not in the virtual one. We’re a social species, we need to talk, to embrace, to laugh together again. As a stand-up comedian I’ve really missed this more than anything. I’m ashamed to admit this, but I once timed putting my bin out with the NHS clap, just to feel popular. I needed that applause. I can’t wait to reconnect with people. I’ve even thought about shoplifting in the supermarket, just so I could have a conversation with the store detective. I thought, “perhaps if I made a run for it, he might get me in a headlock!” Can you imagine that, a conversation and a cuddle all in the same night, I don’t think I could handle it! So be kind to yourself this year. Some of your friends may try and make you feel guilty with their hopes of self-improvement, but ignore them, this year is about recovery not re-invention.. Scott Bennett Comedian www.scottbennettcomedy.co.uk Twitter - @scottbcomedyuk Instagram - @scottbcomedyuk Stand up from the shed – Live stream Every Week Live – www.facebook.com/scottybcomedy Podcast – Search “Stand up from the shed” on Apple and Soundcloud Twitter - @standupinashed SB

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1a Devonshire Avenue, Beeston, Nottingham. NG9 1BS

65 Only £ A3 for an or print A4 r £55 fo

Prints now available

Rendered in pen and watercolour, our expanding collection of Beeston's spectacular pubs and restaurants are now available as limited edition, signed Giclee prints.

t s e e B Mini The

t s e e B i in M o t e m Welco ion Homeschool edit

, Graphics by Dan

Goodbarton Created by Helen

Cullen

We have given each of our puzzles a difficulty rating. Some of them should be nice and easy for all ages, with others you may need more help!

Level 1

Level 2

good for all

Maths

Level 1

Take a walk along Beeston High Road and work out these sums! 1. Silver posts on passage to Tescos from the High Road + Red Security Alarms on L’Oliva =

High quality Giclee prints, on thick A3, textured paper. Each print is individually signed and numbered by the artist £65 for A3, £55 for A4 (plus £5 postage if outside Beeston) Postcard sets coming soon...

Interested? Drop us a line at: thebeestonian@gmail.com and we'll arrange payment and delivery.

All p ro go to fits supp help o Bees rt the tonia n

brainteasers

geography Can you rearrange these words to find Beeston road names? Remember, there are many words for ‘Road’. There are roads from all over Beeston, so feel free to get a map if you need some help! There are a few tricky ones.

2. Petals on the Sue Ryder pink flower + The last digit in Hairven’s phone number =

R E N A L

3. Posts with bees outside Natwest - Links in the chain on the Ten Bell =

V I L E

C O V E T

T O O K

H E N

W E N T

T O

4. White Flagpoles in Beeston Square - Litter bins outside St John’s Church =

• • • •

Level 3

bit of a challenge

Level 3

T A C O

W A L L

N O T

C A R

D O O R

L O G

D R E A M R E S T

5. Arrows on Robin Hood symbol at Greenhood x Cats in the upper windows at Magikats =

B R E D

6. Acorns on the front of Oaks Medical Centre x The Food Hygeine rating at Bean =

C A L L

F R O T H

10.

B R I N E

O R

11.

L E A V E

M E N U

7. Planters on lampposts in Beeston Square ÷ Large circular flowerbeds in pedestrian precinct =

12.

D I R E

13.

O L D

8. Posts with traffic lights at high road crossing ÷ Bees on the beeman’s hat =

14.

S E L L

15.

L E A V E

N E I L

R I B

F L E D G O A T T O A D

T E N T

N O S E S

C L E A N E R N E W E V E

S A M

C R U S T

C R A T E

U N W A R Y

History

Level 1

Can you work out which of Robin Hood’s arrows hits the target?

General Knowledge Can you solve these clues to fill in the crossword below?

Level 3

2 3

b 7

Art

Level 2

Can you copy the picture of the Beeston Bee using the grid as a guide? ACROSS

DOWN

1. 3. 5. 8. 10. 11.

1. 2. 4. 6. 7. 9.

Who sits on a stone bench in the middle of Beeston? (6) Christian Centre in Beeston which shares its name with a desert phenomenon (5) Hallam’s Greengrocer’s has been made into a model, displayed in Barton’s window, using what toy? (4) What does 1 across hold in his left hand? (6) The tram’s final destination, in Beeston, is ______ Lane (5) Earliest recorded name for the area of Beeston (7)

A famous Beeston boxer with a High Street restaurant named after him (7) Inham ____, area of Chilwell (4) What is the name of the bus that can take you all the way to East Midlands Airport? (7) A famous High Street shop which originated in Beeston (5) ________ Pocus; a soft-play venue on Queens Road (5) Hemlock _______ a large, ancient rock situated near Bramcote Park (5)

Science

Survive & thrive

Level 2

This little experiment you can do at home demonstrates how the mass of water changes once salt is dissolved in it, and also looks pretty! Younger ones will need help here.

You will need: 2 cups 2 glass jars Red food colouring

Community Matters

Blue food colouring Roughly 100g salt A spoon

Method:

hen living and working in the Rylands you become very aware of the long established families and friendships within the community. What’s less obvious are the new relationships and friendships being formed through social groups such as Friday Club (the weekly social dining club for the over 60’s). Here’s the story of two Friday Club regulars Peggy and Freda, and what their friendship means to them.

1. Fill the two cups with the same amount of water 2. Add a little food colouring to each cup 3. Add salt to the red water, until it can dissolve no more in it (it is saturated). You will use a lot of your salt. You will know when no more can dissolve as, despite stirring, you will see salt settle on the bottom of the cup.

4. Pour just over half the red water in one jar, and just over half the blue water in the other 5. Now, very carefully, using the back of the spoon to help slow the flow, pour the rest of the red water into the jar with the blue water and the rest of the blue water into the jar with the red water 6. Your jars should now look different! One is all the same purple-ish colour, and the other you can see two layers of colour. One red, and one blue!

When you pour the red water on top of the blue water, the heavier red water sinks through it, mixing the colours. However, when you pour the lighter, blue water on top of the red water it remains on top so you can see both colours still.

The first adventure was to Bardills garden centre and they started walking together locally once or twice a week. They attended Janet’s 24 hour danceathon in October 2019 where they danced and laughed the night away till 4am. Their birthdays are two weeks (plus ten years) apart and they started a tradition of having fish and chips on Queens Road to celebrate. Social distancing wasn’t going to deter their friendship this year as they sheltered on opposite ends of the bus shelter to enjoy their feast.

HOW, and WHY?!! Once you’ve added the salt to the red water it becomes more DENSE! The salt molecules have mixed into the water molecules. It is, therefore, heavier than the blue water.

Around two years after her husband’s death, Peggy was only going out to do her shopping and was struggling with her grief and feeling lonely. She was told about Friday club through a friend in the Rylands. She went the first time with a friend and started to look forward to going. Freda joined the group a little later and in Peggy’s words their “friendship just exploded from there, it was so easy to be friends with her they just clicked straight away.”

Mine didn’t work? Why!!? If yours hasn’t worked (mine didn’t first time) you may have put too much food colouring, or not enough salt in. Also you must pour it very carefully on top so the blue doesn’t agitate and mix in with the red.

Peggy shared that if she didn’t have Freda she might have not gone out as much over lockdown and have “locked myself away again - I am really pleased about being friends, we can just laugh and be at ease.”

Following the death of her husband Bob, Freda moved to Beeston to be nearer her daughter. Freda knew no one else, and would just go walking. Like Peggy, Friday Club was recommended to her, and a regular called Frances met Freda at the car park so she didn’t have to go in on her own. At her first meeting she sat between the regulars Peggy and Sheila where there was a space. Peggy, Sheila and Freda just got chatting, and after a while she started joining them on little trips to places like the film club at the heritage centre.

This issue: The Power of Friendships, Old and New.

Sadly Sheila passed away, and Peggy and Freda’s relationship just developed. Freda explained that they go walking and have little adventures, “It’s just nice - and it’s a laugh. We speak every day on the phone. She came to my birthday party last year and my 70th this year so she knows all the family - they think Peggy is lovely and they’re amazed at how I’ve opened up. When I have bad days - sometimes she senses it - it’s weird.” Peggy explained that another Friday club member has christened them the “lively birds” – “lets face it, we all know each other at Friday club, before Friday club when my husband was still alive I would see people around the Rylands and say hello, but life was so busy I never really knew them. Friday Club brings people closer together, we all have grief in common, friendship is important. I don’t laugh with anyone else as much as Freda.” Friday Club is open to all residents over 60. Meetings are every Friday between 1.30 and 3.30pm for food, friendship and fun. Since the latest COVID-19 restrictions it’s changed to phone calls, Zoom meetings and food deliveries, but Friday club will be back as soon we can meet safely again. Janet Barnes and Naomi Robinson Community Activists

Peggy and Freda at

Friday Club

Go Wild for

Hedgehogs University Advice from the Hedgehog Friendly Campus group at The University of Nottingham

appy new year everybody! Who’s hoping it’ll be better than last year?! We’ve learned from 2020 that there are a lot of things in life we can’t control. However, I think a more positive outlook would be to focus on what we can control, specifically how we can change things for the better. As we look to 2021, let’s try to make the world a better place for everyone, wildlife included. And where better to start than in our own back garden, making life a little better for one of the nation’s favourite animals1, the hedgehog. This year, I’d like to encourage you to be a little lazier in your garden! Less maintenance and more wild areas are key to biodiversity. Leave a wild corner in your garden that isn’t tidied or trimmed at all2,3, which attracts a wide range of wildlife, and helps to rebalance human interference with nature2.

"This may sound hard to believe, but hedgehogs are good swimmers!"

A log pile is also great for biodiversity; hedgehogs might build a nest under it2, and it can attract insects which the hedgehogs can eat. Similarly, fallen leaf piles3 are great nesting sites and provide bedding material. Just make sure you leave them alone! This may sound hard to believe, but hedgehogs are good swimmers! A pond is a great place for hedgehogs to drink, plus it attracts insects for munching on, and other creatures such as frogs2. Just make sure there’s a slope or ramp4 to allow hedgehogs to get out of the water, otherwise they can drown. A few other tips of a wilder garden. Stay away from chemicals! They kill tasty minibeasts that hedgehogs can eat2. Plant wildflowers to attract insects2. Make a hole in your fence for hedgehogs to roam5. Better still – hedges rather than fences produce flowers and fruits for wildlife, provide nesting places for birds, and cover for hedgehogs2. I hope I have inspired you to let an area of your garden go wild, if not for biodiversity, then perhaps out of laziness! Written by Hannah Constantin from the Hedgehog Friendly Campus group at the University Of Nottingham (funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society). Keep up with our activities here: facebook.com/uonhedgehogs Contact me here: hannah.constantin@ nottingham.ac.uk

1. rsb.org.uk/news/14-news/1649 2. britishhedgehogs.org.uk/creating-wildlife-garden 3. hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/helpful-garden-features 4. britishhedgehogs.org.uk/leaflets/Hedgehog-Street-top-tips.pdf 5. hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden

university

of beestonia

ince March last year, students have been plunged into the deep end, forced to keep up the same standard of work in very abnormal circumstances. It’s been difficult for all the university students finishing their degrees, but arguably even harder for those starting and moving to the city for the first time.

studies. She expressed her discontent with the clarity surrounding the ever-changing regulations and understands students’ frustrations.

Not only were these ‘freshers’ trying to navigate their way through a strange city, meet new people and succeed in their studies, they had to do it all in the middle of an international healthcare crisis, exacerbating any feelings they may have had of feeling isolated and out-of-place.

“I think the constant changing of rules is just frustrating for students as there’s no clarity around the decisions. We were assured that we would be given a relatively easy return to campus from September and that blended learning would continue throughout this year, but that quickly changed. I, and I am sure many others, feel that it would’ve been better to just continue with home learning so that students didn’t waste thousands of pounds on accommodation that simply isn’t being used.”

Irene Bisoni moved to Nottingham from Italy in September to start her degree, but did not expect living and studying during a pandemic to be so isolating.

Lauren also went on to say that she feels students have been forgotten by the government, aggravating students’ frustrations over the past several months.

“I had a lot of hopes about moving to another city and starting anew. The first lockdown was bearable for me but during this lockdown I’m really starting to feel isolated and I’m incredibly homesick. Not talking to people in real life makes things incredibly hard at times.”

She said: “There’s rarely ever a mention of university students in government briefings even though we’re a generation whose futures will be most affected by this crisis. It seems that all students are grouped into one perception of all acting irrepressibly even though, for the most part, this isn’t true. The student experience has been hugely different this year but I do commend the university for taking the steps they did for keeping campus safe and covid-secure.

Irene also felt like the presence of a lockdown has severely affected another key aspect of university life, “In terms of my student experience it is virtually non-existent. I haven’t been able to truly experience university as a fully functioning student. I also feel like university students are forgotten easily because people think they’re older, more mature, and more able to cope with the workload, but I don’t agree at all. A lot of emphasis has been put on students partying and breaching rules during the pandemic, and although I am completely against the breaching of rules, there have been circumstances where we have been wrongly demonised. I’m hoping that after the pandemic is over I’ll be able to see Nottingham in a different light.” University of Nottingham student Lauren McGaun has also just started her second year studying Politics and American

Faith Pring This issue: Students and Pandemic

Lauren added: “It has been very difficult to adjust as most of what was meant to be some of my best years at university have been spent working at home and struggling to focus which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.” Throughout this pandemic, the lives of students at university have been turned into a chaotic string of events, despite the fact that university should be some of the best years of their life. Students have been at the forefront of this pandemic, often for rule-breaking, but here’s hoping when we eventually return to normal, the scapegoating of students will return to normality too. FP

Must

that write

sis!!

y the

blood

Creative Beeston Debra Urbacz This month: Mellow Yellow

have been watching with great interest since the beginning of October, the renovations at 42 Chilwell Road. Ever since my childhood when dad used to take me onto building sites (his job was to lay the foundations), I have been fascinated by how buildings are constructed.

Quite recently a general store, this particular ensemble of bricks and mortar had been empty and neglected for quite some time, but its sturdy Edwardian exterior held the promise of another reincarnation. I was particularly excited when I passed by midOctober and noticed that the original signage, on the top part of the large front window, had been uncovered – the past was being slowly revealed. I found myself looking for excuses to walk past just to keep an eye on progress. By the end of November the rotten window frames had been replaced and the surrounding brickwork repaired. More renovations, including the installation of a fire escape, which could have had embarrassing consequences – they knocked through to the neighbouring pharmacy’s upstairs toilet! Luckily nobody was sitting on it at the time, there might have been some very red faces. Things were really taking shape at the end of December. New pipework, rewiring, new ceiling, concrete floor and the framework for shelving went in. The beginnings of Yellow Wood Café were in place. Cheered at the thought of Beeston’s burgeoning independent café scene gaining a new venue, I felt it was time to catch up with its creator

to hear all about future plans. It’s Saturday afternoon and the Farmer’s Market is ‘safely’ bustling in the square, cheerfully masking the closed and empty businesses. There is a lightness in my tread as I make my way down the High Road to the corner of Colin Street and knock eagerly on the whited-out glass door, delighted to be getting the opportunity to see what was going on inside. Iain greeted me warmly and invited me to look around. There had been significant work done on the ground floor and I could see the future of this room, full of people enjoying coffee and each other’s company to the backdrop of a busy street scene. Iain got the keys in August but started the project and negotiations back in March 2020, just as it became apparent that we were in the throes of a pandemic. Not everyone was as enthusiastic about his vision, nevertheless the opportunity was too good to pass up. Ever since he was fifteen, Iain had a passion for cooking and felt this was something he would enjoy doing for a living. Instead he studied engineering and forged a successful career as a sound engineer at one point working at the BBC as a radio engineer and more recently as an associate professor in acoustics at Nottingham University.

Taking voluntary redundancy in June left Iain with new options to explore, and just like Robert Frost in his poem ‘The Road Not Taken’, Iain knew that he had to choose the right path thus enabling his teenage dream to materialise. This poem resonated with Iain and the ‘yellow wood’ came to symbolise the community café space that Iain was keen to create – no regrets, no looking back just enjoying the journey. Iain has done much of the restoration work himself. He talks me through this with all the enthusiasm and trepidation of a man who knows he has taken on a huge project but is driven by a desire to restore and expand on the building’s former glory. He talks me through some of the horrors he has discovered dismantling the modern fascia and signage revealing the rotten lintels, and of course the most precious of all the things he has been working hard to preserve, those fabulously authentic windows! There have been a few tense moments, but Iain tells me that working with an enthusiastic local builder helped to reassure him that they were in good hands and with someone who really appreciated the attention to detail that was required. Cornish-born but with much of his early life spent growing up in Yorkshire, Iain has lived and worked in Beeston for over twenty years now, and resides in one of the network of terraced streets that have been part of Beeston’s heritage since the 1800s. An allabsorbing career, raising a family and recent ill-health left him feeling quite detached from his local community and this is definitely something he would love to remedy – also

something we both recognised as incredibly important in light of recent events. As we walk around the shell of the old shop (at a safe distance of course), Iain talks enthusiastically about his plans to integrate his love of good honest food and fresh coffee with his passion for music, one he shares with his wife Kay. There is ample space over the three floors to provide music and ‘soul food’ to customers, bookable rooms that can be used for study or work and space for Kay to operate a counselling service. A definite feel good space, Iain smiles as he describes the feeling he gets as he arrives at the shop to work in the mornings. Fortified with fresh coffee, the radio and the morning sun streaming through the windowed frontage, he approaches each task with care and curiosity – weighing up what will work best in each room and how it will eventually look. It has definitely been an antidote to the doom and gloom in the news. With all the major wiring work and fire regulations adhered to, apart from the spiral staircase fire escape from the first floor out to the garden terrace at the back, Iain is hoping to be open for business by the end of April. To accompany Iain on his renovation journey, follow on: facebook.com/YellowWoodCafe instagram.com/yellowwoodcafe YellowWoodCafe.co.uk DU

"‘yellow wood’ came to symbolise the community café space that Iain was keen to create – no regrets, no looking back...”

TREES OF BEESTON The pleasure of small green sho ots Dr Jo Norcup "A culture is no better than its woods." W.H. Auden

gh, January, February. Bleak, innit. The seemingly ceaseless cold wet weather. The mud. The dark mornings and limited sunlight, all these natural seasonal factors serve to makes one want to hibernate, and that’s without factoring what is going on in the human world! I guess that’s the point of winter and hibernation. Folklore across the British Isles give a nod to the winter season. From Samhain/November 1st through to Imbolc /February 1st, winter is a time for rest and restorative nurture. To hunker down. To reflect and to refocus. To find joy and resources where and how one can in order to replenish energy stores, and my goodness, all life on this planet at this time in history needs care and recharge as we go into 2021.

In this column, I want to focus on the efforts being made by Beestonians / Nottinghamshire folks to nurture the love of nature and growing plants for food, for colour, for their fragrance, for the multiple joys they bring to the complex biodiversity of human and non-human lives in the local area. For many in Beeston, this begins in November / December in preparing allotments and gardens for downtime, spreading mulch, preparing to begin growing seeds indoors on warm windowsills or on heat-pads in greenhouses. December and early January begins the winter preoccupation of flicking through seed catalogues, of assessing what seeds are left over from last year and of planning seed swaps with other gardeners / allotmenteers to mutually swap and try growing new varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Allotments are prepped for (no)Dig growing and planning what and where to grow on allotments for food, on flowers and plants in planning gardens, in planting trees – ornamental and fruiting – for the rich benefits of their presence in our daily lives takes in the joyful prospect of reading and researching old and new organic ways of growing.

Winter is a good time to consider what we can let go of, where and what we want for the future, and signing off my last column, I concluded by reflecting on the joys planting affirmative seeds – both actual and metaphorical, going into 2021. Thankfully, the plants and trees know this secret. Nature has brought so many comfort, joy and sustenance, in particular over the last year during successive lockdowns, and served to create closer connection with the natural world when switching off screens and going outdoors (if possible) for daily exercise. The importance of rest to recharge in order to regrow and begin the growth cycle is important for humans, and we are a part of the natural world, not apart from it, so this Trees of Beeston column focuses on how we can attend to our connection with the natural world individually and collectively in our local landscapes in and around Beeston.

We are fortunate to have so many knowledgeable growers in Beeston, so I want to suggest a few community groups and individuals for readers to look up, read and get involved as and where suitable. Growing one’s own food, even if only on a windowsill, offers a little green shoot of joy as every child growing cress will confirm. It’s the spark of life brought about by light that gifts the plant and a sense of hope. We all need that.

Bare-root tree growing Winter months (November – March) are the best time in the year to attend to any tree surgery, when the branches of deciduous trees are bare, when birds are not nesting. If you are pruning branches, it is always handy to keep a small pile of cut branches for any over-wintering mammals and insects. Bareroot trees and bushes are also best to plant at this time of year so they have time to establish themselves slowly, although planting them in the early spring in April can be done. It is always good to ensure that any new plants have their roots soaked before planting, although do not plant into earth saturated with water or when the earth temperatures are too cold so as to avoid rotting.

Always put some kind of feed and compost into the hole that is dug for the bare-root treestock of your choice (this year I chose another Hazel in the hope that I might, in a couple of years’ time, get some hazelnuts that don’t entirely get snaffled in the early autumn by squirrels), then mulch around the surface of where the tree has been planted. Mulch acts like a duvet to keep roots warmer than if they didn’t have any (if you compost your own kitchen waste, then use some of this or else any spare leaf mould or wood chippings). For those of you who brought live potted pine trees last Christmas, then you can plant trees in the ground at this time too.

Seed-Swaps, #GreatSeedSwap and community planting groups There are many ways to grow plants, whatever your circumstances. Ways one can appreciate the green shoots of new growth that start springing with the snowdrops. In the suggestions that follow, there is something for everyone to either begin learning online or else to get involved with when the weather warms. But you can start doing things in your own homes now. Hints on social media illustrate how you can grow greens from vegetable scraps: carrot tops, the bases of celery and fennel, and from the rooting area of the base of spring onions to replenish your salad trays. Experimenting with growing from your scraps was a World War Two survival tactic – if scraps weren’t cooked up (potato peel wine, anyone!), or given to animals as food, then if they could be grown to flower, seeds could be gathered from them for the following growing season. Seeds can be gathered from pepper plants and apple cores, and my nan was expert at nurturing plants that began from such humble recycling beginnings (she even grew a lemon tree from a pip – she had proper green fingers!) I am experimenting with green shoots from radish tops and carrot tops to try planting, and I let my kale go to seed last year so will be planting these in seed trays soon. Will see how it goes. Meanwhile a sure-fire way to get involved in the supportive and encouraging gardening and allotmenting community of Beeston, or to gain insights into appreciating the wild plants in our local landscape is to look on social media. While I only mention a few examples in this column, Trees of Beeston would be keen to connect more to showcase the breadth and diversity of activities.

Zero_Waste_Garden (Instagram) Lily is a marvel, working towards selfsufficiency, posting about all that is affirming and sustaining of and for the world through

actions. #GreatSeedSwap2021 was initiated by Zero_Waste_Garden, echoing seed-swappers up and down the country (our own Greening Beeston held seed-swapping events every year until face-to-face seed swapping was stopped because of COVID last year). So this year, get involved in sharing last year’s seeds in mutual exchange for other seeds so that people can sustainable share varieties of crops. Follow Lily, she has volunteered at community allotments in Long Eaton and has her own allotment. She is hugely knowledgeable, very well connected across Beeston and Nottinghamshire (and the world via social media) and you can learn a lot from her.

Beeston Gardening Community (Facebook) Here is a strong and capable collective of people with vast knowledge of gardening. Generous and supportive souls generally live in this group and share extra plants and seedlings throughout the year in a mutual exchange fashion. This group enriches Beeston as much for the collective spirit as for the enrichment their knowledge and efforts bring to front and back gardens and allotments in and around Beeston.

Incredible Edible Beeston (Facebook) This community brings together Beestonians to work reclaiming unused patches of land to grow food for everyone to enjoy. Their site near The City can be spotted when travelling towards Beeston Central (it’s near the Middle Street tram stop) and had its first successful year last year. It is so lovely to have this site. Anyone can join in. Please contact organisers and follow the group if you are interested in working and learning how to grow food.

The Nottingham Forager (Instagram and Facebook) If you are interested in learning more about the wild plants and flowers in Nottinghamshire, The Nottingham Forager is a reliable first stop. Offering courses and tours to educate Beestonians and Nottinghamshire folks more generally, their knowledge of fungus and what to look for will make the untrained eye reject any use of pesticides favouring instead the valuable bounty of our wild plants - dandelions and nettles ROCK! So as the days get lighter and the weather warms, look to begin planting something new that you can watch grow to enrich your near future and in turn enrich the landscape of Beeston. Happy plant and tree appreciating! Dr JN

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eaders may remember me from our Pet Mart days (such fun times). Yet it seems despite 35 years in the shop, I have also been on a voyage of discovery, beginning with volunteering for Homestart, where I first met survivors. These were confused and emotionally distressed women, stoically bringing up their children under the shadow of domestic abuse. I tried to give comfort and support but had no answers or awareness myself. So I joined a womens studies and counselling class at university, volunteered at a refuge and was then lucky enough to get a job with the charity, Equation. Then all the pieces clicked into place, the sad questions on those women's faces were answered. We hear the news don't we, that during the lockdowns, domestic abuse has doubled and probably vaguely wonder why this is? Many of us will dismiss it with the belief that when couples or families are trapped together in the house, unable to go about their daily business, tempers will fray, nerves will be strained, rows ensue and maybe even smacking or pushing. We almost pardon it. But nothing is farther from the truth. Domestic abuse is not about stress, exasperation and losing your temper. Domestic abuse is about knowingly and purposefully controlling your partner by seemingly being angry. This is to intimidate enough to establish being the boss with all the power in the relationship and lockdown has been the perfect cover for abusers to increase their torment. Their partner is trapped, isolated with no friends or family around, therefore no protection or witnesses, (except for the children who are often traumatized too, leading to withdrawn or bad behaviour.) So then you might ask why he (usually), needs to control a partner he supposedly loves and respects? In response I would suggest that we all need to recognize the damage done by gender roles. Men expected to be tough, in charge,

unemotional and 'of the world'. While the expectation for women is to be compliant, feminine and 'of the home'. If we hope for domestic abuse to end we need to accept the devastating effects of patriarchy on both men and women. Imperialism, racism, Wars, corruption and misogyny are all affiliated with patriarchy. Your next question might be 'What can we do about it?' Well, we all need to go on this journey of awareness and understanding. It is a men's problem that needs to be tackled by all the lovely and caring men out there to challenge abusive and aggressive behaviour, not excuse or ignore it. One thing that Covid has taught us is that we all need community, kindness and compassion over power and status.

"Domestic abuse is about knowingly and purposefully controlling your partner by seemingly being angry. .” My final lesson was when working for Equation. This is an amazing charity that (amongst other interventions) sends facilitators into schools and colleges to talk to kids about healthy and respectful relationships. And this is where happiness begins, this is where prevention begins. We have been worrying so about the affects of Covid on our children, imagine the children who have grown up feeling scared and confused, not because of a threat of a disease on their wellbeing and freedom but of a parent being that threat. CZ

A journey towards understanding

HIVEMIND Gossip from the

Ron Manager

February 2021

RETURN OF THE HIVE

Want More Business? Advertise in The Beestonian magazine for as little as £50 per issue, and reach over 1,500 Beestonians.* *This magazine is currently available in several essential retailers around Beeston, including Hallams, Out Of This World, Broadgate Post Office and The Cycle Inn. We also have a growing subscriber base. When lockdown restrictions permit, it will be available in pubs, cafes, restaurants and takeaways throughout the town with a much higher print run than the current 1,500. We can design your ad if required. For more information email us: thebeestonian@gmail.com

There is a scene in Mike Leigh’s dark-underbelly-of-thecity 1993 film Naked where the sarky Manc protagonist Johnny- played by the terrifying David Thewlis* - goes on a lengthy apocalyptic rant about how the Mark of the Beast will be found all over as it corresponds to the (then) burgeoning ubiquitous barcode. From then on, those numbers and lines have had a sinister appearance to many, and an early sign of a bunch of horsemen trotting in. A common counter-culture image for some time was a barcode portrayed as prison bars: we’re all enslaved by capitalism, you see?

on Manager has come a long way since his jumpers-for-goalposts Fast Show heydey, where he would wistfully recall the joys of football in a more innocent age of football. With his beloved Marjorie at his side, he now eulogises about Nottingham on Twitter to the massed appreciation of all. Naturally, hearing that he was growing quite a fan club we slipped some mickeys into his Shippos and kidnapped him to do the business about Beeston instead, surely the transfer of the season. What would you like Ron to reminisce on? Send your ideas to us at the usual address, remembering to enclose a £20 processing fee. MT

Of course, Mike Leigh made up the stuff about barcodes to fit the script, and the only real issue barcodes present is getting the stripy bastards to work when on the self-scan. Yet climbing the bridge above the station and looking out to the town centre one frosty evening, I’ve pretty much scrubbed my mind of conspiracy theories and expectation of Armageddon (I actually saw the new millennium by falling into a bin in Soho rather than being thrown into a sulphurous pit but that’s a story for another time). There, seemingly floating above our town, a series of lights higher and larger and brighter than all around it, a barcode shone out. What craziness was this? It took all of 0.005 seconds to remember: this was our new cinema, that hefty chunk of mild brutalism that’s been taking shape off the side of B&M Bargains for the last year. External lights had been fitted, and what better way to herald it’s new arrival than by switching them on? Beeston Updated was consulted, and the vast majority agreed it would be hereby known as The Barcode. There were those who pointed out it may be trying to represent film, an illuminated skeuomorph for what will no doubt be a digital-only picture-palace. Others speculated what

it would show if you scanned it (a huge tub of popcorn, p’raps?). One wag pointed out it was rather old-fashioned and should be a QR Code.

Just as no-one knows what 30 St Mary’s Axe, The Elizabeth Tower and the Beeston Seat look like we all can instantly recognise The Gherkin, Big Ben** and The Beeman. And so it shall be in Beeston: whatever the cinema is named as ‘see you at the Barcode’ will enter the local lexicon. And if you don’t like it? Well, it’s hardly the end of the world, right? _________ Congrats to our very own*** Scott Bennett, comedian extraordinaire and the best stand-up in the country. That’s not just our opinion, but the opinion of All Other Comedians In The UK who voted for him to be Chortle’s Comic’s Comic 2021. Late to the party guys and gals, but glad you got there in the end. You’ll find Scott’s column elsewhere in this mag, where you can judge for yourself. * Beeston Link: he has a child with Anna Friel, who once was seen in Cafe Roya for a party ** Beeston Link: likely named after our own Victorian pugilist, Bendigo. And yes, we know it refers to the bell. That’s sort of the point. *** Yes, we own him. He signed a contract after a few ales and if any magazines wish to poach him as a columnist they best come asking with a big bag of cash, ok? LORD BEESTONIA

Beeston's

From Beeston to the World

10 year 10 year census census A T Leia Morales

How has Beeston changed in the last 10 years?

he decennial census is almost upon us. Dropping through letterboxes across Beeston will be your invitation to participate in the “stock take” of the country ahead of Census Day on the 21st of March.

The census is a once-in-a-decade survey that gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales. It has been carried out every decade since 1801, with the exception of 1941. At the time of the last census, the population of Beeston was 21, 305 with residents moving to the town from as far away as Australia and South America to call Beeston home in March 2011. Walking through the town centre you could expect to hear more than 70 different languages being spoken. With our proximity to the city and in particular the university, it’s no wonder that we can call ourselves a multicultural town. So what has changed in the last 10 years, how many more languages are spoken? Does anyone live in Beeston that was born in Antarctica? Census 2021 will tell us just that and lots of other interesting insights into the town we each call home.

"So what has changed in the last 10 years, how many more languages are spoken?"

For the first time ever Census 2021 will be asking us whether we have previously served in the UK Armed Forces, this might seem like a very specific question but for likes of Beeston based charity Forces in the Community this information is invaluable to apply for funding and knowing how best to support those who have served their country.

Long gone is the question about whether you have access to an inside toilet (asked as recently as 1991), now the questionnaire asks about your sexual orientation and gender identity, both voluntary questions for anyone aged 16 and over. You can identify anonymously however you wish. Although results will be available within 12 months, personal records will be locked away for 100 years, kept safe for future generations. Leia Morales is working across South Nottinghamshire, on behalf of the Office for National Statistics, to raise awareness of the importance of the census, she says “The census, will shed light on the needs of different groups and communities, and the inequalities people are experiencing, ensuring the big decisions facing the country following the pandemic and EU exit are based on the best information possible.” To find out more visit census.gov.uk and look out for your Census 2021 pack arriving in early March census.gov.uk/downloadable-resources LM

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local music project has been causing a bit of a stir around the world for the last nine months. Like everyone else, back in March 2020, organisers of the weekly folk club in Beeston, cancelled all their live shows and meetings until further notice, but they were back in a fortnight with a ‘virtual’ show every Friday evening, and garnered audience and performers from around the globe. Until August, ‘Folk Beeston’, as they call themselves, produced twenty-one pre-recorded shows using videos made by performers at home, interspersed with ‘live’ chat and interviews that were recorded on Zoom. Everything was played out via a Facebook ‘Watch Party’. This enabled audience members to comment and chat to each other in real time, by posting text comments. After a short break in mid-August, ‘Folk Beeston’ returned in September, using Zoom again for live performances, interspersed with occasional videos recorded at home - including duos and groups who produced ‘composite’ videos of members recorded separately. “Many of the local regulars made the journey online with us,” says co-organiser Andy Cooper, “But we’ve been delighted that a friend of mine living on the Isle of Lewis joins us to listen almost every week!” There have been other people joining from ‘north of the border’ as well as many from closer afield, but still too far from Beeston to have been able to make the trip to the ‘real’ club every week. Co-organiser, Colin Tucker added, “We’ve also been stunned to have had contributions from a terrific singer-songwriter based in Cincinnati on a few occasions. Steven Lai, a former Nottingham Uni student now back in his native Hong Kong sent us a lovely video of a song and very recently several people joined us from

The Beestonian is... Editor in Chief / Lord Beestonian:

Matt Turpin Co-founder /Resident Don: Prof J Editor / Ad Sales : John Cooper Deputy Editor /Community Editor: Christopher Frost Design & The Beest: Dan Cullen Creative Editor: Debra Urbacz Sports Editor/ Digital Wizardry: Isaac Seelochan Uni Editor: Faith Pring All Things Rylands: Janet Barnes / Naomi Robinson Finance/ Belper ambassador: Jade Moore

the Tel Aviv Folk Club. One of whom played a couple of songs for us!” The Club regularly attracts around 35-40 people each week. The Club is also to be the subject of an academic paper which it is planned to present at a conference in Japan. Regulars at the club; singer and ethnomusicologist Paul Mansfield and local musician and head of the Mixed Reality Lab at Nottingham University, Steve Benford are collaborating on an exploration of the use of technology to attempt to create a sense of live performance.

Colin Tucker Folk Beeston Goes Live

Steve has acted as ‘IT consultant’ to the Folk Beeston team, whose fourth member Mick Pearce also brought IT expertise with him and spent many hours every week in the ‘watch party’ days, stitching together the individual videos and optimising the audio. He is also, as it happens, a fine singer and musician. Many people have benefited from the Folk Beeston online efforts. There has been a strong community ethos throughout, providing support for individuals, an opportunity to work remotely and safely with others and mental stimulation for all involved. The Folk Beeston project continues until the normal club, The Second Time Around Folk Club can meet again. It remains to be seen whether the experience of recording on video and performing on Zoom will in some way affect the way the club and performers approach the timeless experience of singing and performing together in a folk club environment. The full twenty-one ‘watch party’ shows plus ‘Doors Open’ music sequences are available on the Folk Beeston YouTube channel. Along with videos that have featured in the current ‘Zoom’ shows. Further information and links available from the club website www.folkbeeston.club CT

Stockists: (Subject to Lockdown ruling updates)

Barton's, Fred Hallam's Grocery, Broadgate Post Office and Out Of This World, Berliner, The Hive, Circle Eatery, The Hop Pole, The Crown, The Star, The Malt Shovel, Broadgate Laundrette, Bubba Tea, The Bean, Beeston Library, Cafe Roya, Metro, Beeston Marina Bar and Cafe, Attenborough Nature Reserve, The Pottle, Greenhood, Beeston Nursery, The Victoria, Canalside Heritage Centre, Oxfam Books, L’Oliva, Two Little Magpies, Local not Global, John Flynn Opticians, lots of hairdressers and suchlike.

contributors this issue: Scott Bennett, Jo Norcup, Tim Pollard, Lulu

Davenport, Amy Victoria Gathercole, Peter Robinson, Colin Tucker, Leia Morales, Carol Zlotowitz and Helen Goodbarton Thanks to all who help us get the issue sustainable and available to all who want to read. If you’d like to help out - by advertising, promoting or writing with us, then drop us a line at thebeestonian@gmail.com. We are an absolutely independent, grassroots nonprofit community magazine with the sole intention of making Beeston a wonderful place to live, work and visit.

How did you end up becoming a vocalist?

Lulu Davenport Beeston Beats... ...Meets (virtually)

yup me lovelies! Welcome to another fantabulous edition of Beeston Beats. January, however, is as always not so fantastic and well, a bit crap really but if 2020 is anything to go by, I can safely say no one can predict what will happen with the year ahead. Already one of my favourite festivals (Bearded Theory) has been postponed from the end of May to September, and a few gigs and events have also followed suit making my next actual live event in April or maybe even beyond that. While the world is still completely bonkers and my boredom factor moves to an ever increasingly full capacity, I have taken to tracking down musically minded people for a bit of a chit chat (virtually and over zee tinterwebs of course!)

some favourable feedback from film festival judging panels about the film music, even if the films didn't win a prize.

First up is Stuart L an intriguing artiste, filmmaker and all round creative type,

What is your process for writing songs?

Go on then, tell us a bit about yourself... I've had a career in the NHS and University, and about 8 years ago got into filmmaking in my spare time after meeting a local producer of short films, Steve Deery, at a wedding reception at the Royal British Legion (funny who you bump into in Beeston). Initially we co-wrote some scripts, but after 18 months / 5 short / 7 feature scripts, I noticed that Hollywood producers don't rush up to you with sacks of cash, desperate to turn your marvellous ideas into celluloid. So, I decided it would at least move things on if I made some films myself. I eventually received that all-important 'external validation' when my film 'Hatman' won a prize at the 300 Seconds Short Film Festival, an international short film festival based in Toronto, last year. Why music? My musical CV until then had consisted of being a chorister as a child, singing in choirs at school and university, and playing the piano not well at all. However, I learnt that making short films on a zero budget involves working with others AND learning how to do as much as possible yourself. This therefore included writing, arranging, recording and mixing music for the films, which I could at least do, and which proved considerably cheaper than negotiating the $$$/minefield of music copyright. I was encouraged by

How did you move to just making music? I had built a small audio booth for recording ADR/dubbing for a sci-fi short in development with the Nottingham Trent University film course. One evening, after a suitable boozy meal at a friend's house, his 14 year old daughter walked in and we talked about all the singing she was doing at school. She said she'd written seven songs, so I said "Come over and we'll record them". The following weekend, at the end of 2019, she did. I was blown away by her performance, considering her age, and enjoyed adding an arrangement to her piano and voice. I nearly always start with a melody that usually just pops into my head. The ones that are ‘catchy’ (whatever that means), stay in my head, just long enough to be transcribed. Until they are transcribed, they are incredibly vulnerable, like tiny creatures - the smallest distraction and they’re gone. So when melodies pop into my head, I try to whip out my mobile and sing or whistle them. I start with a melody, build it into a standard song structure with verse, chorus, +/- bridge, suggested by the melody, and then add an arrangement that seems to resonate with the song. I add parts, and then go away. I then come back and remove anything that ‘sounds wrong’, and then add anything else that occurs to me. I repeat this until I’m not changing anything. I once read a book on chocolate, which had a chapter on making a chocolate sculpture of a rabbit. The instructions were along the lines of “Get a block of chocolate, and then remove all the bits of chocolate that do not contribute to an overall impression of Rabbityness.” Besides, it really isn’t for me to suggest that anything I produce objectively has any merit at all; music is an emotional response, with music theory and analysis incapable of defining ‘good’ music, merely rationalising what one might feel is bad. So, I end up with a song that is sort of ‘perfect’. There is nothing in it I consider wrong – or sufficiently wrong to remove.

I remember a discussion I had with a very experienced and talented local actor Melvyn Rawlinson (who had starred in my first film 'Bookface'), on the subject of 'personas' i.e. a manufactured self, for the purposes of performance. I came home, and recorded a track in a persona and was delighted to find that, although my singing pretending to be someone else was odd, I could listen to the track with the artistic and analytic ear needed to continue with the mixing process - rather than just thinking 'ugh!’ Thus 'Franky Franks' was born - a music persona named after the hero of a series of Sci-Fi novels my brother is writing. This also has the advantage of keeping my film and purely music endeavours separate. So, I carried on writing and recording, with this new singer Franky Franks. How did you end up releasing 3 albums in such a short space of time? When Lockdown 1 ended, I was able to complete the songs I'd written for that young singer who now was calling herself 'Maud'. These days you don’t need to get a contract from Simon Cowell to distribute music, there are online companies happy to put your music out there for very little, or a small % of earnings. Listening to the songs, I could see they fell into 3 groups – electronica, ballads, and Maud. So I decided to release them as 3 albums: “Songs Of Old Earth (Before The Ants Ate Plastic)” by Franky Franks available on Spotify, “Antiromantic” by Maud, produced by Franky Franks, and “Through A Milky Lens (While Avoiding The Queue)” by Franky Franks. I released them as these albums pretty much as soon as the complete set of tracks emerged from the workflow, which also dictated the order. What advice would you give to aspiring music types? Initially, if people said that a particular line sounded ‘odd’, I would try and change it, but the results always ended up bland, inoffensive, ‘safe’, and I reverted to the original. I concluded therefore, that since my ‘creative process’ worked because I kept going until each song was ‘perfect’ from my perspective, it was fruitless then trying to make them ‘more acceptable’ to someone else; other people who were not them would want something still more different. Trying to please other people felt ultimately fruitless. If others like the songs, good, if they didn’t – who cares? I don’t know anyone who likes ALL the music I like, this variety is the great thing about music. So I don’t need to worry about people not liking a song – of course

some people won’t! How do you write lyrics? I’m no poet, so I’ve had to accept that the lyrics I write are unlikely to win prizes. I’d like to try writing songs to lyrics, rather than the other way around.

"I’m no poet, so I’ve had to accept that the lyrics I write are unlikely to win prizes.”

However, I’ve asked so many friends I know who are writers of various sorts, and none of them have yet to provide me with a line. I’ll think up an idea of what the song could be about, based upon how it feels, or perhaps a word or a few words that get connected to particular bits of the song when I’m writing it. So the baleful melancholy in the opening bassline of ‘Red Yellow Gold’ tells you that whatever the lyrics are about, it’s not going to end well! I’ll then sketch a structure of what is going to be said and how, then usually very quickly (half an hour or so) get it all down; with the song in my head, the words usually just pour out. There’s often a word/ line /verse that doesn’t really work and needs playing with for a while. Once I have a voice singing these lyrics in my head, whatever they are rapidly doesn’t matter, they just help glue it all together and provide an emotional direction for any further additions to the song. What is next on the cards? With ongoing lockdowns putting filmmaking on hold, I am continuing with the music. Happily, I have started writing some new songs, and am on the lookout for local singers who would like to show off their talents. Of course, if anyone can record vocal tracks where they are, such collaboration could take place over the internet. During Lockdown 1 I also decided, despite a natural reticence to making a fool of myself in public, that NOT being able to stand up in front of some friends at a local pub and make an idiot of yourself trying to entertain them is SO MUCH MORE DEPRESSING than being able to do it. So I promised myself, that once such things are up and running again, Franky Franks will definitely do a few songs at an open mic night. Probably at the Hop Pole, possibly with Maud on vocals. It’ll be great. Please head to check out Franky Franks on Facebook and listen to the albums on Spotify. Till next time, Stay safe people and be kind to each other.. LD

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