Sven-Goran Eriksson signs for Notts County!

Staggering – that’s the only word!

I’m talking of course of the local football news story that former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has signed for the world’s oldest league club as Director of Football. Apparently Sven’s duties will include the overseeing of player development and training facilities at Meadow Lane. Other responsibilities will include looking after the youth academy, negotiating transfers for the club, scouting for new talent and the general health and fitness of the players. Joining him in dealing with these duties will be his long-time assistant Tord Grip.

It’s all become a reality due to the recent takeover of Notts County by Munto Finance, a Middle-East based consortium who have highly ambitious plans for the club which include a realistic establishing of Notts in the Championship within the next five seasons. This patience makes a refreshing change in these kinds of matters. Those close to Munto Finance, the ambitious consortium which took control last week with plans to establish the club in the Championship within five years, say Eriksson is in for the ‘long haul’.

On the Trail of Robin Hood

A walk in the local Sherwood Forest this week set me pondering the age-old story of the Nottingham outlaw and the legends surrounding his associated characters and places. I’ve touched on the story previously in articles featuring St. James Church at Papplewick and Sherwood Forest itself but I hopefully have a different slant to offer within this piece.

Sherwood Forest was enjoying a day’s respite from the regular rain of late on Monday, the high clouds finally clearing to offer fresh sunlight dappled through the old oaks, the rays searing into the clearings amongst the trees. Many visitors only appear to consider the Major Oak as worth seeing and truly it is a tremendous sight, but within a few minutes one can be in seclusion within the boundaries of the 450-acre former Royal hunting park.

Being a busy visitor centre much visited by tourists necessarily affects the amount of wildlife in the Forest but there are still compensations along the many pleasant paths through trees. Out in the Forest today were dozens of different fungi carpeting the ground and felled trees. A close up study of the ancient oaks is also quite a wonder. As I walked the gunshot fire of squirrels dropping acorns from the tall boughs onto the otherwise silent woodland floors. It was against this backdrop that I considered this story of the world-renowned outlaw of Sherwood Forest.

North Nottinghamshire still remains an area of more than average forestry. Some of it no longer deciduous but still attractive in its own way. This is especially so when requiring a part canopy against the elements on a wet day’s walking. It was on just such a day recently that I found myself walking with a friend in the local Thieves Wood and Harlow Wood. It’s in the latter that the site of a legendary Robin Hood story can be found.

Wet days can sometimes bring their compensations ironically and so it was today for a series of inclement days had seen the formerly dried up waters of Fountaindale gurgling and flowing busily. The ballad of Robin and the Curtail Flyer documents the first meeting of Robin Hood and Friar Tuck at Fountaindale. It’s a story that has been enacted many times for Hollywood and television. One legend has it that Robin had a resting place near the dale whilst the Friar may have either been from Nearby Newstead Abbey or possibly a smaller Abbey at Fountaindale. Robin had the reputation as the best bowman in England and had heard that the Friar was his match and more. When searching for and finding Friar Tuck at Fountaindale, Robin Hood demanded that the Friar carry him across the water. Tuck duly and obediently acceded to Robin’s demand only to drop him him in half way across. Stories record that within humiliated, a fierce fight ensued before the two became friends after gaining mutual respect with Tuck joining Robin Hood’s band of men.

Another interesting side story from the area describes Sir Walter Scott writing parts of his famous ‘Ivanhoe’ epic at nearby Fountain Dale House. Scott referred to the area as ‘Copmanhurst’.

An excellent video account of one man’s visit to Will Scarlet’s grave

At nearby Blidworth lies what is reputed to be the grave of another of that band, Will Scarlet. The Church of St Mary of the Purification on the main street houses a curious monument to the rear which was not originally a gravestone but rather the original apex from the tower of the church. There are no markings on the stone but generations of local people have passed down the legend that Will Scarlet was buried against the back of the church. Who really knows? As with all stories related within the legendary story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men one has to use one’s imagination. Certainly though if there is any accuracy in the stories, the area of Nottinghamshire containing Sherwood Forest, Fountaindale and Blidworth would present a worthy epicentre of its activities.

A Saturday at Lowdham: Afternoon

Time to return to the WI Hall for two more lectures before the festival would end for another year. Ink in the Blood presented by former newspaper editor Barry Williams and introduced by Nottingham Evening Post Features Editor, Jeremy Lewis was an interesting experience to say the least. Mr. Williams, a very accomplished man and former editor of three large local newspapers for many years including the afore-mentioned Nottingham edition was in Lowdham to talk about his recently written autobiography and seemed to have attracted many of his former work colleagues from the local newspaper to see him. I was struck by this at once as one of the old hacks sat next to me with a loud, self-important and booming voice appeared to believe I was a piece of furniture to be leaned on. Perhaps there had been a few gin and tonics over lunch I mused as I pulled my chair away from his weight. It must actually be a common ignorance that some old journalists have as another of his blue-blazered ‘chums’ appeared to consider my shoulder as a convenient leaning post before I physically took his arm and removed it to his surprise.

A Saturday at Lowdham: Morning

Morning

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the local annual Lowdham Book Festival for a Saturday of literary pursuit. Lowdham is a village just a few short miles from my home and has a special significance for this blog site. It was just a year ago that I attended a lecture given by Mike Atkinson, a free-lance writer and author of the excellent troubled diva blog site. That talk gave me the notion to set this site up after formerly experimenting with a homepage for some time.

The final Saturday at Lowdham is always the most popular and usually packed with events enough to interest anyone held in the several different small venues around the village from a marquee, through a Women’s Institute Hall to an old Methodist Chapel. The day also features a book fair full of bargain reads and is now widening into literary craft displays such as bookbinding.

With so many events overlapping and running simultaneously I tend to choose a few before the day and head for those. On this day my first choice talk Victorian Nottingham was to begin at 10.15am and being a little Saturday morning-tardy I decided not to rush breakfast and took a leisurely drive through the attractive village of Woodborough and over to Lowdham instead.

The Southwell Town Trail

Summer is here, it is reported, and a good walk is all the more enjoyable for it. Today’s article chronicles in words and pictures a short walk around the previously mentioned Southwell in Nottinghamshire, the ‘Southwell Town Trail’. I can suggest this stroll of just 2.2 miles around the pretty town as an interesting and pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on a nice afternoon.

My recent visit to Southwell took in that quintessential pastime of a cup of tea at the idyllic tea room and garden in the village of Bleasby a few miles south off the road to Lowdham.

Bestwood Country Park, Notts

Bestwood Country park stretches 650 acres and is part of the original Sherwood Forest. It lies around five miles north of Nottingham and is accessable by city transport buses. It is also walkable from the Robin Hood Line train. Towards the Arnold/ Mansfield road side of the park is situated The Bestwood Lodge Hotel which is on the edge of the woodland. A decent meal or a drink in extremely civilised suroundings are available in the historic old building.

Late Autumn scene in the old hunting estate.

 

A Guide to Nottingham English

For those not necessarily of a Nottingham persuasion, here’s a fail-safe guide to survival to help you through a stay in the Lace City. It’s not comprehensive or fool-proof and please note that important tasks such as ordering a pint etc. can be performed quite adequately by pointing, talking loudly and s-l-o-w-l-y. With help from local language expert John Beeton, here’s a selection of Nottinghamshire saying and phrases that may help when visiting the city:

A charming Nottingham couple

Nottingham English

Prattinn abaht. Acting stupidly.

Ee-addizzedd dahn the bog. He had been sick.

Bogga that furr gaima soajiz. I shall not continue with this course of action.

korl yersenn a faiter? I do not share your confidence in your abilities as a pugilist.

Eez tookizz battomm.He is sulking.

Annair doo. A hairstyle.

School Dinners

Tom Brown’s Brasserie

Tom Browns is set in a converted Victorian schoolhouse close by the River Trent a few miles from the city of Nottingham and close by the main A46 over Gunthorpe Bridge.

The surroundings are smart without being stiffly formal and the eating area is set on three levels. The staff are young, well-trained, courteous and attentive. The food is superior and imaginative and whilst the prices can be expensive most nights of the week have an ‘Early Bird’ deal, sometimes running all night where two or three courses can be ordered at a reasonable price.

Tom Brownes is set in the popular riverside setting of Gunthorpe between two pubs, The Anchor and The Unicorn. Two minutes from the restaurant are attractive riverside walks from the picturesque lock and weir. I can easily recommend Tom Browns as my favourite restaurant in Nottinghamshire.

An Afternoon with Jimmy Sirrel

Most people reading these words will know all about the ‘Master Manager’, Brian Clough and his association with the football world in the city of Nottingham but fewer will appreciate the other ‘master’ who operated a short distance away across the River Trent in the East Midlands city, Jimmy Sirrel.

Jimmy managed the terminally less fashionable Trentside club, Notts. County for many years over two stays. Fondly remembered for taking the old club from the basement of English football through three promotions into the top-flight, Jimmy is deservedly commemorated at his old Meadow Lane stomping ground with a stand named after him. It’s fair to say that he achieved an awful lot with very modest resources – except a shrewd eye for a footballer. Jimmy was renowned for his ‘team’ ethos – rarely if ever would he single out a player for praise but rather would offer plaudits for a good team effort. Seldom would he criticise his team in the press, unlike his opposite number across the Trent who treated us to much mirth over the years with his scathing comments! Jimmy retired only a very few years ago at an advanced age being still in demand as a scout with Derby County.