Beestonian

Issue no.

32

The

Ready for its close-up

ovies. They look dead easy to make,

don’t they? That’s what we thought:

after a few months of watching

local filmmakers come to the Beestonian Film

Club at Café Roya showing their art, we

thought it might be a good idea to have a go

ourselves. Surely it’s little more than writing a

fairly decent script, finding some people to talk

to the camera and then pointing a camera at

them? Simple! We grabbed some pens and

paper, put some coffee on and got to work.

Nearly two years down the line, we now realise

how wrong we were. Making films is incredibly

difficult, and it’s the skill of the producers, editors

etc that make it look easy. We started filming

just over a year ago, and swiftly realised how

tricky it is: the weather and light conspires

against you; things that look good on paper

sound daft when spoken; over-zealous

Sainsburys security guards call the police on you.

Now, a year after we wrote in these, and the

Nottingham Post pages that ‘we’ve nearly got

it ready to release , we have finished it off and

even let it loose on the public. Beestonia: The

Movie. A 23 minute rush through Beeston’s

past, present and future; a psychogeographic

(cheers, Will Self! ) blast through our town with

no particular intent other than capture a feel of

what the place is like, rather than a dry

documentary that neglects to include the real

thing that makes Beeston a great place to live:

it’s unique oddness.

The editing process has been a Herculean task,

but our director took up the task with gusto

and produced something from hours of

footage that is a visual treat, and sounds

terrific. He is a professional who doesn’t think

it abnormal to spend three hours trying to

work out what the sound of a time-travelling

bus would be. Melvyn, we salute you.

Our presenter, Jamie, bought so much gravitas

and talent to his role narrating the script that

everyone we’ve shown it to so far assumes he

is a proper RADA actor, rather than a bloke I

met at college who had a big beard decades

before they were hip.

We’re now showing the film here and there,

and the response is good. We’ve also had

some interest from local media, and maybe

discussing talks about getting it broadcast.

Otherwise, we’re going to continue to show it

here and there, and perhaps put it out on DVD

at some point. Keep an eye on our Facebook

page for more details of showings.

Now, the sequel. ‘Inham Nook: The

Chilwellian Strikes Back’, anyone?

LB and CF

M

Bee Movie

he Student Volunteer Centre at the University of

Nottingham is committed to helping students get to

know and support the areas they come to call their own

whilst enjoying their University experience and we continue to

make efforts to integrate students into Beeston and the surrounding

areas.

You may not be aware but students from the University of Nottingham

have been helping out in Beeston for a while now. Students regularly help

out at various locations in Beeston in a variety of activities, for example at

the Pearson’s Centre students help out running an Athletics Club and a

Dodgeball Club attended by local children at least once a week. During

Student Volunteer Week the volume of volunteers increased for a week

which was appreciate by the young people.

Students also help out in several local schools including Beeston Rylands,

Trent Vale Infants School and Beeston Fields Primary School. Many of the

students who volunteer within the schools are using this to gain experience

to go on and complete their PGCE qualifications and become the future

of children’s education. Kate Harborne a 3rd year Physics and Astronomy

Student and school volunteer said ‘I have been working with

Beeston Fields on a Wednesday afternoon; it has been

wonderful. I've been spending time with the little ones playing

games and being read to. It's really lovely!’

As well as helping the students’ progress in their careers, helping out at

Primary schools enables younger children to interact with University

students and find positive role models in their community that will

encourage them to see the benefits of higher education, as well as having

a lot of fun with a new engaging person in the classroom!

The University of Nottingham Students’ Union aims to enhance the

experience of over 33,000 members, working in partnership with the

University and the local community to make Nottingham graduates the

best they can be. We support students to boost their skills by offering

them the opportunity to run a huge amount of amazing events, sports

clubs, societies and activities - making sure they have the most incredible

time here in Nottingham.

Jenny Gammon; Student Living Manager, University of Nottingham

Student’s

Helping

Beeston

The University of

Beestonia

On 29th November 2014 at 7pm,

Christ Church Chilwell will be the

venue for a rare treat: a

performance of the much-

loved Messiah by one of the

best chamber choirs in the East

Midlands.

The Sinfonia Chorale, conducted

by Richard Roddis, are an

accomplished choir with a varied and

often challenging repertoire, and earlier this

year they went on a successful tour to the

Hamburg area in Germany. For their autumn

concert, they are relishing a chance to sing the

Messiah, which seems to acquire particular

qualities of vitality and meaning when

performed by a chamber choir.

Handel in fact originally composed the oratorio

in 1741 for a relatively small ensemble. He had

lived in London since 1712, and set his music to

an English text.

One of the joys of the Messiah lies

in the highly skilful and melodic

way the music enhances the

meaning of the words, and

the work is often performed

close to Christmas.

A local audience would be

particularly welcome at the

concert as the choir plans to stage

future events in the Beeston/Chilwell area.

Tickets

(£10, or £6 for full-time students under 21).

Available from:

www.sinfoniachorale.uk

Turner Violins

1-5 Lily Grove

Beeston

Nottingham Tourist Centre

1-4 Smithy Row

Sandra Wakefield

0115 9606236

Handel’s Messiah in Chilwell

T

A local

audience would

be particularly

welcome at the

concert...

n the last issue we made Professor Dan Eley the Bestonian

in celebration of his one hundredth birthday. It’s a heck of

an achievement, not only to reach one hundred years old,

but also to mark yourself in that time as one of Nottingham

University’s, and Beeston’s, most eminent and respected professors. So

that’s why we weren’t surprised when the university, presumably deciding

that Eley being named Bestonian in our esteemed mag just isn’t enough,

decided to have a birthday celebration for the great man.

Lord Beestonia and I were in attendance, as were a great many people;

Eley’s former PhD students and undergrads, current students, and RSC

(Royal Society of Chemistry) representatives, to name just some. There

were so many people in fact that they filled two auditoriums, and the

second room had to watch everything live streamed from the

first room!

As we sat down, I found myself next to Jan Jones, one of

Professor Eley’s very first students when the building opened

in 1960. A resident of Bramcote, she told me she thought

some in the room had travelled from as far London to attend.

We’d soon find out that it was a huge understatement.

Jones had this to say about Eley: “One of my last memories of studying

here was Dan. He tried to explain to me, very patiently, a one dimensional

square. I think he failed to explain it, and I failed to understand! We both

failed miserably, and fifty years on I still don’t understand!”

It was then that I caught sight of Professor Eley. He was sat in the front row,

next to his son Rod and Rod’s wife. The three of them looked delighted

yet overwhelmed with the turnout, and throughout the proceedings I

caught snatches of Eley’s surprised pleasure as guest after guest spoke

about him and his achievements.

Amongst the speakers was Professor Katharine Reid, current Head of

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, who said of his legacy, “I’m sure

nothing I do will ever quite live up to him.”

Indeed when you look at Professor Eley’s life, you see he has

packed in enough for two. The man was awarded his first degree

in 1934 before he was even twenty, and by 1940 he had achieved

two PhDs. Eley continued to work, being published countless times

up until his very last publication in 1994, 14 years after his retirement.

After Professor Reid, Professor Peter Norton stood up. Norton announced

he had travelled all the way from Ontario, Canada to be here today, and

then proceeded to read out numerous well wishes from esteemed

scientists who were not able to make the event. Notable among them

were Sir David King (the UK’s Special Representative for Climate Change)

and Gerhard Ertl who won the Nobel Peace Prize for Chemistry in 2007.

King, in his message, described Eley as “the quintessential scientific figure;

knowledgeable but forgetful, brilliant but absent minded.”

Eley’s legacy doesn’t just live on through the people he touched, but also

through his work. Eley was frequently referred to as a polymath. He

worked in not just chemistry, but also biology and physics as well. He was

the proponent of the Eley-Rideal Mechanism of gas-surface reactions.

Alongside one Professor Spivey in 1962, he successfully proved that DNA

conducts electricity. The practical application of Eley’s work spans vast

fields, reaching from the chemistry of plastic explosives, to the

manufacture of smartphones. It was this as much as anything, that we were

celebrating here today, not just the man, but also the science.

We had a chance to speak to his son Rod before the event. “Dad told

me that his earliest memory was sitting in his high chair, aged

three or four, and being suddenly knocked down off it by the

force from the explosion at the National Shell Filling Factory

(The Chilwell Explosion)!” The explosion happened in 1918

and 134 people were killed. The explosion was reported felt

as far away as 250 miles. It is a strange bit of serendipity for a

man whose expertise is chemistry, and whose work at one time

even directly involved plastic explosives, to have his earliest

memory as a great, but tragic, explosion. Here is a man who started off

as a bystander to history, but now has gone on to forge it himself.

There was an overwhelming outpouring of love for this man, which reached its

peak when Martyn Poliakoff presented Professor Eley with a certificate

commemorating his fiftieth year as a member of the Royal Society, then unveiled

a plaque for him, and then wheeled out an amazing 100 candle cake. Being

scientists, this was lit with a concocted flammable brew then put out with dry ice.

Finally, Professor Dan Eley himself was asked if he would like to say

anything. The eminent, much loved professor, stood up.“I’d like to say

something,” he said, “but I can’t remember where I put my notes.”

Very happy birthday again, Professor Eley, not once but always a

Bestonian, and a truly inspiring man.

“I’m sure

nothing I do will

ever quite live up

to him.”

BESTonian:Dan Eley’s 100th Birthday

I

There were so

many people in fact

that they filled two

auditoriums...

ommercial sand and gravel extraction

and quarrying by the River Trent at

Attenborough began as early as 1929

and has continued almost to the present day.

The resulting ʻpits', flooded with water, have

produced the wonderful ʻNature Reserve' that

we all now enjoy. Quarrying around the village

of Hoveringham started 10 years later and still

continues, with reserves yet to be exploited.

As well as leaving a legacy of scenic lakes and

environment for wild-life, both sites have

produced some interesting and revealing

archaeology. Perhaps one of the more

remarkable finds came as the result of gravel

extraction of a different kind. In 1938,

workmen from the Trent Navigation

Company were dredging gravel in

the Trent below Clifton Grove and

near to the river banks of Beeston.

Their progress was stopped by

wooden stakes or piles driven into

the river bed. At the same time,

human remains – in the form of a

skull – and bronze spearheads were

brought to the surface.

The foreman of the works, Mr Griffin, had the

foresight to contact the Thoroton Society, a

Nottingham archaeological group, whose chairman

Mr Hind was dispatched to investigate. From the

remains and artefacts, Hind identified the site as

being a 3,000 year-old Bronze Age Pile Settlement.

Gravel extraction and work on the river bank

continued into 1938 and, over this period, more

piles – several hundred – emerged, along with yet

more artefacts. Although the main site was on the

Clifton side of the river, a large number of piles

were discovered on the Beeston bank.

The piles were grouped close together and would

have supported a platform upon which huts

would have been built — a village on stilts. Such

prehistoric sites are known in Europe but this site

is almost unique in Britain.

The settlement proved to extend over 100 yards

downstream and two-thirds of the way across the

river.

This does not mean, however, that the entire

village was over water. With the changing course

of the Trent it is likely that much of village was

over marshy land along the banks. It is evident

that the villagers knew the river well and made

good use of it.

Among the many finds were spearheads, bronze

swords, rapiers, daggers, knifes, a crucible

containing metal, five more skulls and two dugout

canoes each made from a single oak over 27ft

long and between 18 to 20 inches wide.

At first thought it might seem strange that anyone

would want to build their home on a platform

above a river. However, when we look back to

prehistoric times, it makes more sense. The people

living in the village — or perhaps we should call it

a farm or homestead — were agriculturalist.

Building over such a marginal environment makes

good use of valuable land resources and

certainly, with the Trent prone to

flooding, was better than building

directly on the river bank. Evidence

of prehistoric field systems exist on

nearby Brands Hill in the form of a

series of terraces running the entire

length of its northern slope.

Archaeology has moved on a pace

since the settlement's discovery in

1938. Ariel photography of the area is

starting to place it in a wider prehistoric

landscape. One photograph shows where the

villagers might have buried their dead.

In the large field on the right hand side of the

road, just over Clifton Bridge, the shadowy outline

of the old course of the River Trent can be clearly

seen. Along its southern bank are a series of

ʻBronze Age Ring Ditches' — the ploughed-out

remains of tumuli (burial mounds).

More recent photos of the fields along the Trent

by Barton show what is believed to be a ritual site

known as a hendge monument – a circular bank

and ditch. In the same fields are the remains of an

earlier Neolithic (New Stone Age) causeway

enclosure, a communal gathering place.

In the late 1960s when the gravel quarry at Coniry

Farm in Attenborough (at the back of the Village

Hotel) began, a number of large coffin-shaped

stones set upright in the ground were exposed.

These were interpreted by archaeologist Bob

Alvey as the remains of a stone circle.

What do the artefacts discovered at the Pile

Settlement tell us about the people who lived

there? The canoes are self-evident of a mobile

riverside community.

The crucible with its remains show that they were

working metal, if only to repair valuable bronze

tools and weapons. Hind and his contemporaries

believed that the large number of weapons found

at the site were the result of both accidental loss

and warfare.

He substantiated this with the fact that all of the

skulls had sustained the same damage, a hole in

the back of the head. It is not unusual for large

numbers of bronze weapons to be found in

ʻwatery' places — lakes, rivers, wells, springs etc.

Modern opinion is that these are ritual deposits,

valuable objects given to the gods or ancestors.

The skulls are however a different matter. It is a

remote chance that six or more individuals would

all receive identical wounds in battle, or

accidently. Could it be that these people were the

victims of ritual sacrifice – an appeal to the river

gods for safe passage?

The hole in the back of the head would then

seem consistent with a Bronze/Iron Age sacrifice

method known as the ʻtriple death'. In thispractice, the victims were first garroted and then

bludgeoned to the back of the head. Finally, their

throat was cut. Is it possible that the four lives a

year that the Trent was meant to claim is a distant

memory of such a practice?

Joe Earp

www.nottinghamhiddenhistory.wordpress.com

Our residenthistorian Joe Earpgets stone-age man

(and we don’tmean theBeeman!)

The

Pile Settlement

Pile Settlement Archaeological Finds

C

Pile Settlement Map

olette Renaud left her home,

the small town of Luc in the

South East of France, in

February of 1837 aged only seventeen,

and arrived in Beeston that April. Why

she stopped here, God only knows. I

like to think she was seduced by

Beeston’s beauty; its golden fields and

luscious rolling hills, its good people. I

like to think that. It doesn’t make it true.

Let me describe Colette. Contemporary

sources called her a buxom beauty, and

I concur. Her figure was hourglass and

every man kept his eye on the time. Her

smile was the kind that could turn even

the curmudgeonliest old bastard to

smile, with full lips that she painted the

colour of the aurorae she’d once seen

above the Alps. Needless to say, Colette

turned heads.

However, what was the first thing this

fiery beauty heard upon arriving in

Beeston? The whole town was ablaze

with talk. Only a few days before the

Great Bendigo had gone seventy five

rounds against his rival Ben Caunt. The

game had been fierce and filled with

underhand tactics. It was still up for

debate who had actually won.

Colette Renaud had picked up enough

English to get by, but she was stumped.

She’d never heard of this sport. “Baerre

neuckel boxine?” Really, she asked?

People actually did that?

Colette was instantly intrigued with the

concept and that weekend she made

the short pilgrimage to Sneinton, the

local hub of the sport. She took her

place in the front row. She waited.

Well, Colette was disappointed. It was

not what she had expected. She’d

misheard, Colette realised, but her

expectations had been built. She

needed to see what she had come to

see.

Thus began Colette’s mission. She

spoke to people, chased up leads, and

only a month later, under a bare-bulb

with a baying crowd, Colette Renaud

unleashed the very first ever Bear

Knuckle Boxing. It took place in what is

now the remains of the Barton bus

station. Colette had imported three

bears, a mother called Esther and her

two boys named Steven and Frazzles.

The fight, between young up and comer

Mathew Lewd and Esther the bear,

lasted only one round, but man was it

good. Lewd really fought valiantly, got

in several good punches before Esther

crushed his face between her big hirsute

paws. Colette bounded in in the thirty

eighth second and wrestled the mighty

brown bear to the ground as punters

dragged Lewd’s body out of the ring.

The next fight, between William

Radburn and Frazzles, didn’t last much

longer. Willie took it to two rounds by

running out of the building and circling

it. Of course he wasn’t fast enough to

outrun Frazzles, but boy did he try.

The next week Colette branched out to

getting people to fight smaller animals.

Foxy Boxing was born. Colette herself

even got involved, taking on an entire

vulpine family in a series of fifty six

rounds.

However the fun didn’t last long. Only

five such events were held before the

constabulary was brought in. Colette

was arrested for animal (and human)

cruelty and was escorted to the nearest

harbour and sent back to her home.

The bears were adopted by Councilman

Peter Fatstard who had secretly been to

see every bear fight, though not for the

sport. Fatstard loved Colette. His diaries

tell us of an unrequited love so intense,

so passionate that frankly it bordered on

pervey. But Peter Fatstard took in

Colette’s bears and looked after them

until his death in 1860. He was found

half eaten. The police were baffled.

That, then, is one theory why there are

three bears on the Broxtowe crest but,

dear reader, there are others.

Chris Fox

C

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ho is the Beeman? You’d think it would be easy

to find a bit of history on what is perhaps our

most famous landmark in Beeston. You’d be

wrong. There is a surprising dearth of information. Wikipedia

tells us he is ‘George’, modelled on an anonymous sculptor’s

father. I vaguely remember him appearing, back in the late eighties;

reading about him in the Nottingham Evening Post as I trampled round my

Stapleford paper round. I can remember how odd he seemed: a statue not

where a statue should be; not on a plinth, looking imperious and arrogant;

but sat, arm outstretched, impassive and accessible.

I was a bit lost when I decided to write about him, therefore. And this article

might have just been a couple of lines saying ‘That beeman statue. Good,

innit?’ if I hadn’t stumbled accidently stumbled across an email

address for Sioban Coppinger, the creator of the beeman while

looking for something else on the internet. I fired off an

inquisitive email.

The next day, I’m sitting in the Flying Goose café, reading a

nineties poetry anthology written with the beeman in mind

‘Poems for the Beekeeper’, when she rings. Excellent timing.

We chatted about the statue over several phone calls and

emails. Commissioned by the Council as part of a major

overhaul of what was then a grimy, unpedestrianised High

Street, Sioban decided to create an icon; an imaginary

Beestonian hero. A fan of puns, both visual and verbal, she used

the bee motif with abandon, creating a stone apiarist with his hat,

tools and hive. ‘‘I wanted something that could be walked through,

bypassed, sat on, interacted with, yet not detract from a person’s journey

down the highroad. I’m of the firm belief that public art should engage,

and if done correctly should become part of the place, not stand aside

from it”, she told me.

It’s not even called the Beeman, the Beekeeper, or even George. His

official title is ‘The Beeston Seat’, focussing on the more

practical purpose of the piece, but it is unsurprising the

beeman has become the focal point. There is more to it

than you might expect, however. Look closely in the

leaves and you’ll see more than leaves poking through

the concrete foliage: “There are wrens hidden in the

hedge; the idea is that young children will try and find

them, and two hidden fish, to say ‘things don’t have to be

the way you imagine’”.

The relationship between humans and bees was important. ‘It was only

after completing the piece did I read how reliant on bees we are as a

species. While the beekeeper has this seemingly symbiotic relationship

with his hive, there is still that sense of danger, of the wild, these creatures

bring us sweetness, but can sting.

The piece was modelled not on her father, but her friend Steve Hodges

‘He’s a man who exudes the right air of calm. He came up for the official

opening, and has been back since, posing for photos with his concrete

form’ Is he bemused by his fame? ‘He takes it in his stride! He embodies

the character perfectly though: gently acknowledging the celebrity status.

He has that ability to sit there for decades, unflappable, absorb whatever

surrounds him’.

WWho is the

Beeman? The

Beestonian finds

out ...

Sting inthe Tail:

The

BeemanStory

It’s not called

the Beeman, the

Beekeeper, or even

George

He has become perhaps the most kissed man in Beeston, the

most photographed, the most recognised. Yet he’s starting to

look a little bit in need of some love. Cracks are showing: not the wrinkles

of age but the wire mesh used to shape his body has started to become

exposed after years of baking in summers, freezing in winters, as well as

the wearing effect of a million hugs and drunken straddles. His nose has

broke off, leaving a ‘ring’ that makes him look quite punk, slightly

incongruous with his more passive position.

Can anything be done to spruce him up. Well yes. I send Sioban some

pictures of the erosion and damage, and she reckons he is easily fixable.

What’s more, when the piece was commissioned part of the contract

stated that the piece should be kept in a decent condition, and

the repairs done by the original artist if they were available.

Perhaps it is time for us to get the council to act on this. As Beeston enters

a new era, the most radical change since cars were banished from the

main throughfare in 1987, our most famous icon and much loved petrified

apiarist deserves a facelift. Broxtowe Borough Council, over to you.

LB

We’ve now amended Wikipedia and are in the process of compiling an

archive for Beeston library, with scans of pictures from the piece being made

and first erected, as well as contemporary news clippings of the reaction.

We’ll be hosting these online soon, check our FB page for details.

He has

become perhaps

the most kissed

man in Beeston

an Beeston Rylands really be the Centre of

the Wildlife World....?

There's definitely some who think so - that all-round

nature good guy off the telly, Chris Packham for

one. If you’ve spotted the posters around town and

in the Attenborough Nature Centre, that other

“centre” of the Wildlife World...if you can have more

than one centre of anything, you'll know that Chris (Young

CP to his mates) is back in Beeston again in December. This

time at the Pearson Centre, 'cos there wasn't enough room to

accommodate all his nature-crazed fans at the usual Beeston Wildlife

Group venue at the Rylands Primary/Infants/Academy/School - or

whatever they call these things these days. In my day it was much easier,

just the little school, the big school and the end of education as we know

it - Beeston Fields Secondary School for Boys – where survival was the

name of the game.

But I digress.....when Young CP (note the cringe-inducing familiarity) met

t'committee on his last trip to the Rylands, he bent their collective lug hole

about the need to get kids out and about in the open air, away from their

dastardly play stations. "Get them out there appreciating nature, taking

some exercise and sniffing faecal matter": he said, or words to that effect.

So, not wanting to risk the wrath of Young CP (getting sickening now I

know!) or being set upon by Itchy & Scratchy (Springwatch cognoscenti

will know of whom I speak) they've got on and done something.

Aiming to raise 10 grand over the next few years,

they're already quarter of the way there. Thanks to

the incredible generosity of Beeston's premier

green grocer and fishmonger Fred Hallam Ltd, who

have donated towards the fund to bring Nature into

our local schools. Along the way, Hallams have

become Green Guardians with the Nottinghamshire

Wildlife Trust, the folks who run the amazing

Attenborough Nature Centre!

So, if nature's your bag, get yourself down to the Rylands on a

Monday evening, be where the Wild Lifers hang out. Watch for their

posters to see what's on and when. You never know, one day it could be

Sir Dave himself up there on the stage. Next month it’s Eagles....no, not the

70’s rock band - Don Henley & the guys’ rendition of Hotel California,

unforgettable or what? – sorry drifting again. It’s the Golden variety, for the

uninitiated amongst you, a humongous bird of prey.

Yep, the Rylands is definitely the place to be if you're a naturist....eh sorry,

naturalist!

Mike Spencer, Beeston Wildlife Group.

www.facebook.com/beestonwildlife

We are chuffed to

launch a new monthly

column from our friends

down the Reserve, Beeston

Wildlife Group. This issue, they

talk about a certain Smiths fan

with sticky-up hair who we’ll

be interviewing for the

next issue….

Going Wild in Beeston

C

1. What is hydrophobia more commonly

known as (clue: it’s not the fear of

water)?

2. Of which country is Dakar the capital?

3. What animal has Indian, African Black

and Broad Lipped varieties?

4. What is Europe’s largest inland port?

5. Who won his 70th snooker title at the

1995 Regal Welsh Open?

6. Which former Olympic gold medallist

lit the Olympic flame at Atlanta in 1996?

7. In which European country is the Blue

Grotto?

8. What is the diameter of each dial on

Big Ben – is it 31 ft, 23 ft or 10ft?

9. Which is the world’s smallest sovereign

state?

10. How many bridges are there across

the River Thames – 20, 24 or 27?

11. Who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress?

12. Which ship left England in December

1787 under the command of Captain

William Bligh?

13. On the Monte Bello islands in 1952,

the first British experiment of what kind

of object took place?

14. During the 1950’s, who was the leader

of the Blackshirts in Britain?

CODEWORD

The

GREY MATTER

ANSWERS:RABIES/SENEGAL/RHINO/HAMBURG/STEVE DAVIES/MUHAMMED ALI/ITALY/23FT/THE VATICAN CITY/24/JOHN BUNYAN/HMS BOUNTY/THE FIRST

BRITISH NUCLEAR BOMB/SIR OSWALD MOSLEY

Come and join us after 5pm for an early supper, food served until

6.30 on Thurs + Fri. We have a full beer, wines and cider list

including our own range of flying goose ales.

All ingredients are fair trade and organic where possible.

33 Chilwell Rd. Beeston NG9 1EH0115 9252323

NEW opening times:Thurs 10am - 7pmFri 10am - 7pmSat 9am - 4pm

Sunday Brunch 2nd Sun of every month

LIVE MUSIC THIS MONTH AT THE CROWN!

Dixie Jack Unplugged

Sunday 30 November, from 7pm

The Crown Inn, Church Street, Beeston

uitars and their owners are funny things, after all when we get to

the crux of it we are talking about the relationship between a

person and some wood and metal, for electric guitarists throw in

some magnets, a cable and a box of valves attached to a speaker. As the

part owner of a guitar shop I have heard most of the whims and almost

superstitious beliefs of the average guitarist.

The amount of plank spankers who spend what seems their entire

life and most of their money in search of the elusive sound,

usually of someone else- If I told you some of the stories

relating to the hordes of I suppose now pensionable

men, who chase the Hank Marvin sound, you may be

surprised (Swearing rant warning- I mean some of

these tossers spend nearly a grand on reproductions

of 50’s echo units, and to be honest I could get a better

sound hitting the guitar with my dick whilst plugged into

a cornflakes box). Anyways the guitar market is a

conservative and strange affair- essentially we all still hanker

after acoustic guitar designs that pre date the war and electric

guitar and amplifier designs from the 1950’s, we even still use valves

in amplifiers (ask your granddad - unless he is too busy bothering the

neighbours with his version of Apache).

The other nice thing that occurs with the guitar community comes from

the provenance and stories generated around our wooden friends.

Whether it be B.B King and his guitar Lucille (named so, as B.B. had to

rescue his guitar from a fire in a club, caused by two brawling men

knocking over a gas lamp, and the woman’s name was …), or Willie Nelson

and his battered guitar trigger (he intends to retire when the guitar no

longer functions), they all have something to tell us.

Two of my personal favourites in this area relate to ones I have

experienced personally. For at least a couple of years I had

a guitar in my shop that I was selling for a local collector.

Every time he came in he ruminated over taking this

guitar back as it had something about its sound. It also

had allegedly previously belonged to renowned Jazz

guitarist Adrian Ingram. The guitar made various trips to

and from my shop, when eventually financial necessity

dictated its sale at a reduced price. I still couldn’t sell it,

even tried ebay. Then got some strange messages via

ebay asking odd questions to no avail.

You can imagine my surprise a few weeks later to get a phone call

from said Jazz guitarist Adrian Ingram (google him; he is mighty good).

He thought it may be his guitar and he wanted to buy it. More strange

stuff happened, but eventually he turned up, played the nails off it, showed

me a black and white promo picture of him circa 1980 something with

said guitar, and then paid for it. On his way out he turned and nonchalantly

said “That’s the third time I’ve had to buy it back”…. Weird.

I once got two of my own guitars stolen out the boot of my car. Gave up

on ever seeing them, got a phone call the next day, they had turned up

buried in a park in Long Eaton (oddly I have now moved there, yeah that’s

me on the bench with the gold can). Odd … They came back to me.

So we have established that guitarists are basically a bunch of

superstitious saddos with money problems and very conservative

tastes. But wait, what if technology could get involved in this

and give us more of a solid connection to the stories

hidden in our instruments? What if this involved using

your mobile phone? Lets face it. You're stuck to it the

rest of the fucking time it seems (really annoys me

that in shops and restaurants). What if it involved QR

codes? Even the CAMRA lot seem to have embraced

these. In fact they are the only people I have seen

actively use these codes. Who’d have thought it? Not

me obviously. I would have thought they would have

been more concerned about drinking halves of Old

Ned’s Headsmasher and what shoe and sandal combo to

wear next season.

Ladies and gentlemen let me present to you the Carolan guitar. A guitar

with QR codes with a difference. The concept was that of Steve Benford,

guitarist and Professor at the mixed reality lab at the School of Computer

Science at Nottingham University. This guitar can tell you its own stories

through your permanently appended smart phone. Steve and his team

have already had video content made by the likes of Gypsy Jazz legen

Lulu Reinhardt (Yeah same family as Django). He even got some local

players involved at my shop, playing the guitar and giving their stories. To

explain the concept a little better I will use some of the words from the

blog of the guitar –

“This is possible because of a unique technology that hides

digital codes within the decorative patterns adorning the

instrument. These act somewhat like QR codes in the

sense that you can point a phone or tablet at them to

access or upload information via the Internet. Unlike

QR codes, however, they are aesthetically beautiful

and form a natural part of instrument’s decoration.

This unusual and new technology enables our guitar

to build and share a ‘digital footprint’ throughout its

lifetime, but in a way that resonates with both the

aesthetic of an acoustic guitar and the craft of traditional

luthiery.”

For more information and to see and hear the guitar being played visit the

rather nice blog page carolanguitar.com.

Jimmy Wiggins

Sells guitars and stuff at The Guitar Spot, Chilwell Road and accepts

pints from strangers in all pubs.

G

BEESTON BEATS

You can imagine

my surprise a few

weeks later to get a

phone call from said

Jazz guitarist Adrian

Ingram

Ladies and

gentlemen let me

present to you the

Carolan guitar. A

guitar... with a

difference

have been lucky enough to go to many classical

concerts in beautiful churches and cathedrals in

the last ten years. That’s the rhythm I have got

into. I have seen a couple of bands from my youth,

in smaller Nottingham venues recently, but cannot

remember enjoying a popular concert in larger

venues where the stars are pinpricks in the distance,

the acoustics are dreadful and some person nearby

is usually discordantly joining in.

So, after a familiar evening at the fantastic

Classical Oxjam, hubby and I decided to

immerse ourselves in Oxjam the weekend after,

turning up for the first performance at 11am and

carrying on until we dropped. I put my wristband

on 6 hours too early (due to excitement) and we

started along a roughly pre determined route.

What a treat! The music was

fantastic. During the afternoon and

evening we met lots of people we

know, chatted to some we didn’t

and soaked up the wonderful

environment of a community coming

together and enjoying the vast talent, passion

and skill before us. After getting to Barton’s at 9ish,

the limbs were getting weary and music getting

louder, causing me to reflect upon why older people

find loud music intolerable when really they should

be able to cope with it better, due to dulled auditory

ability. Whatever the science, the young have

certainly realised loud music is an effective way of

getting rid of an older audience! We caved in at

around 9.30pm, but have kept in the zone every

now and then since by popping on the Oxjam CD

instead of listening to the news for a

change.

At the opening, neither political

speaker appeared to thank the

people who actually organised the

event. So, I want to say THANK YOU – and

I know many other people have sent messages

directly to them expressing appreciation. We are

so lucky to have some exceptional people in our

town, who are very inclusive regarding age and

culture - and very organised!

Along with the venues, they delivered such a grand

event and reminded me about why music making,

in all forms, is so nourishing.

mCMA

We are so

lucky to have

some exceptional

people in our

town

Oxjam 2014

GigFestI

don’t need to tell you how good Oxjam was.

You looked like you were enjoying it, all

1,500 who paid for a ticket, and the many

more who enjoyed the free events in the day.

A few figures that you might be interested in,

however. We took around £12,500, well over

our £7,500 target, and smashing what we

assumed was a fluke of £10,000 last year. That’s

quite a total, and makes us the best in the whole

of the Midlands: Beeston took more than

Birmingham, Leicester et al.

Of course, it’s not a competition: all money goes to

vital causes in the UK and abroad. That fiver you

spent on a wristband will go directly to combat Ebola

in West Africa, refugees in Syria and poverty here.

There are too many people to thank in such a

small space, so we’d just like to say a group

CHEERS! to all. For one day we showed the best

of Beeston: a thriving, vibrant town that loves

nothing better than having a good time, whipping

up a storm on the dancefloor and chucking the

hard-earned at a great cause. We’ll see you next

year. Watch your back, Glastonbury.

Hello! I’m back! Had a GREAT time- we hiked up to ...

Ok... Why are youdressed up like apervert?JESUS DAVE!You were supposed to get a JOB!

No, I’m aSUPERHERO!

Is that aworm in acondom?

Where’smypresent?

IBeeston best in Midlands... best in UK?

like Star Trek (proper Star Trek,

with Captain Kirk in it, not the

new-fangled ‘Voyager’ and the

like). I also like Doctor Who, even

the new stuff with Peter Capaldi as

he makes a great Doctor even if

some of his stories are a bit… erm…

utterly rubbish. Anyone see the one with Robin

Hood in it? Preposterous tosh, not like the good

old days with Jon Pertwee, the Brigadier and

UNIT. Anyway, like Ronnie Corbett, I digress.

One of the staples of TV science fiction is the

‘parallel universe’ where things are almost the

same as ‘our’ universe but there’s some subtle

(or blatant) changes – the wrong side won

WWII, the tram was actually finished on time

and under budget or our local MP has an evil

twin (or a nice one, depending on what universe

you think we’re actually in). Baddies tend to have

goatees too.

But that all became a little too real a concept a

while ago when my partner Sal and I started

talking about my family tree. Her Mum, Joy, is a

great and enthusiastic amateur genealogist and it

was almost entirely down to her research that we

managed to track down my birth mother - and

even get to meet her - just over a year ago.

But although being adopted meant extra work

for Joy (two families to research) it turned up

some really odd facts… my (adopted) Dad, John

Pollard and his wife Paula brought me up

in a large and lovely house -

Cromwell House – on

Cromwell Road in Beeston

until his death in 1987.

Dad used to work for

Plessey and even had a

building (‘Pollard’s Palace’)

named after him, although

as with most buildings on

the site it’s long gone and

now just a car park. (Then

again most of Beeston is

just one big car park these

days, moving vehicles are

just a distant memory

most of the time).

I thought I’d try and help

Joy out in her research and

went online to see if I

could find anything out,

and here’s where it got

weird - I found a page about ‘the

Pollards of Beeston’ (www.beeston-

notts.co.uk/pollard.shtml) and thought

I’d struck gold as it refers to a

Cromwell House and a John

Pollard who was alive in the 1980’s

but scarily they were entirely different

Pollards, nothing to do with tele-

communications, Plessey or us – they were in

the lace making business, they were the Pollard’s

after which Pollard Court (near Sainsbury’s) was

named and they owned the Swiss Mills building

on Wollaton Road, scant yards from where I now

live. There’s even a photo on the page showing

their ‘Cromwell House’ too – but a very subtley

different one from the one I know.

I was bemused, confused and genuinely a little

thrown…

What are the chances of there being two John

Pollards living in a very similar looking ‘Cromwell

House’ in Beeston at the same time, and why

haven’t we heard of each other before? Are we

related? Are the records of ‘my’ family Joy found

the right one – or are we researching some odd

parallel universe? We're still working on it – but

if you see me next time sporting a smart looking

but evil goatee, just be warned…

Tim Pollard

Tim Pollard is

Nottingham’s

Official Robin

Hood...

Bow

SelectaThe Beestonian is...Editor/Lead Writer/Founder

• Lord Beestonia

Co-Founder/Resident Don

• Prof J

Design

• Dan

Associate Editor

• Christian

Editorial Assistance

• Mel

History Editor

• Joe Earp

Top-notch contributors this issue:

Tim Smedley, Joe Earp, Chris Fox,

Jimmy Notts, Tim Pollard, Jimmy

Slideboy Wiggins, Jenny Gammon,

Mike Spencer, Ric Salinger, mCMA

and Deman.

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