Splendour

I wasn't going to Splendour originally, free tickets from the Evening Post for the cricket made my mind up that sitting at Trent Bridge was a better way to spend a Sunday.

But then a couple of Splendour freebies found their way into my lap (I'm not called LuckyCol for just one reason you know ;-) ) so a choice had to be made.

To be fair, it was a bit of a no-brainer, I'd loved Madness as a kid but for some reason I'd never seen them live. The Pogues were also a favourite back in the day, and ironically the last time I'd seen them was at Wollaton Park, in the days when it was an annual free concert, alongside the likes of Stiff Little Fingers, That Petrol Emotion, Blur, Big Country etc etc.

Owing to a combination of the poor weather, a hang-over from the day before and the draw of the Test Match on SKY, we didn't make it down to the Wheelhouse until nigh on 5pm.

Good position near the beer tent (Harvest Pale, nice) and a cool set from the Fun Lovin' Criminals.

The rain came down and my adulthood refusal to buy a cagoul as a result of my mental scars of having one pretty much surgically connected to my body as a child led to my drowned rat appearance. But who cares, dancing can keep you warm !!

As people moved around stages / beer tent we found ourselves in an even better position for The Pogues. Shane McGowan having to be led onto the stage after the first song had finished meant he probably saw less of it than me. Something tells me it's partly an act, but bearing in mind he's been drinking since he was 10 years old, he's as lucky as me to still be alive.

Again, other peoples movements (stage / beer / bowels / whatever) resulted in an almost stage side position for Madness, who were quite frankly magnificent. The rain had stopped, the sun had been briefly out before surrendering to the horizon and the Hall was lit up like a Bavarian castle. Brilliant.

If you're in Nottingham on Fri Nov 23

Take a listen

Nottingham band The No Tomorrows.

Click here to hear them .....

North / South - More Guardian sniping

Hat tip, McGaribaldi.

A largely humorous article on first reading, how to tell whether your city's location in the North / South divide by how you like your beer, basically with a head, North; flat & no head, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

But, look at it a second time and you notice that, again, there is just another ill-informed dig at Nottingham, using a made-up study to have a go at Nottingham's gun crime "problem".

The unfortunate Danielle Beccan was not killed in the cross-fire between two gangs, instilling to the reader an image of Wild West type shoot-outs happening on every Nottingham street corner. The sad reality was two idiots from a different area of town driving into their rival area and shooting at a random group of people. The two have been tried, convicted and will spend a considerable length of time rightly behind bars.

The reality is (from the BBC):

Just over half of all firearms offences occurred in just three major forces - the Metropolitan Police in London, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.

Drilling down into the national figures up to the end of April 2006 shows that West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester Police have all experienced drops in firearms offences whereas London has seen an increase.

You don't need me to tell you where London sits in the North / South argument ? (Clue, you can't get a decent pint there)

The Metropolitan Police says that in the 12 months to July 2007 it saw a 3.5% rise in firearms offences - up from 3,485 to 3,607 incidents.

Nottingham is another city that has struggled with a guns label after a number of killings in 2004, including schoolgirl Danielle Beccan - but its police chiefs say public perception is at odds with reality because the city witnesses far fewer incidents per resident than other so-called gun hotspots. Figures show Nottinghamshire Police recorded one firearms-related death in 2006 and none as of August 2007.

Maybe in Elizabeth Day, the odious Simon Jenkins has finally found himself a female to share his clammy little embrace, negating the need for him to travel up to Nottingham in search of his share of the six women to every man, or write any more b******s articles. He may not have written this, but it's got his stench all over it.

It's clear that the pair of them are journalists of the worse kind, lazy, unscrupulous & just plain s***e.

You can't beat ....

.... a nice walk round the lake at Wollaton Park on a crisp autumn afternoon.

In Nottingham 28 November ?

From the BBC:

Wednesday 28th November is going to be BBC Radio Nottingham's 1 Big Night Out in the city centre.

It's the brainchild of Breakfast Show presenter Andy Whittaker, who wanted to tackle the image some people have that the city centre after dark is only for younger people who want to drink.

As many people as possible, of all ages, are being encouraged to come into the city that night to sample what the city centre has to offer from eating out to cinema, theatre and ice skating.

A number of venues and restaurants are offering discounts and special offers that night, for a full list click here.

Andy Whittaker's Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Nottingham, will be focusing on the variety of activities available at night in the city in the weeks leading up to 1 Big Night Out.

For a half-price travel voucher for the buses & trams on the day itself, click here.