Category Archives: Nottingham

May 5 2012

Tamatanga – Nottingham – pretty good!

Just before I left for New York, I met my old friend and former client Nick Hammond for lunch in Nottingham. It’s always good to see him to reminisce about the old times – he worked at the former Castle College.

We have had some amazing meals over the years – in all sorts of places – New York, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Malmo and Hamburg to name but a few! We have also ‘done’ most of Nottingham’s too – Harts, World Service, Jamie’s and Carluccio’s!

It was apparently Nick’s turn to treat me – and he offered the Tamatanga Urban Canteen in The Cornerhouse. I have to confess I hadn’t heard of it. It’s not a part of town I tend to go.

In the heavy rain I arrived and he was already perched on one of the massive tables – which you share – I figured this was a canteen!

He recommended the food – we did Thai food – a main dish, rice and lots of smaller dishes. And a bottle of coke.

I was pleasantly surprised, the service was great – quick and efficient. The food was amazing. And incredibly – it was around £15 for us both!

I was reminded when we were sat there about one of the key findings of the work we did for the sheriff’s Commission back in 2009 – food featured highly in world-class attractions. One of the best meals we had was in the Farmers Market in Los Angeles – where it was cheap but really good quality.

Well done Tamatanga!

May 4 2012

Real United – a beacon of hope?

Just before I left for New York I met a really inspirational guy, Roger Henry. Roger is involved in Real United FC – which is a football project with a difference. It’s not just a ‘team’ though.

Real United FC are the first inner-city semi-professional football club in Nottingham. They are a project which goes beyond the football.

At the moment they are taking around 70 young people from St Anns, Radford and Hyson Green to Harvey Haddon Stadium to train in a safe envirnoment.They are hoping to move shortly to the Forest Recreation ground – making the transport much easier. I hope they get their way.

Roger explained to me that this is as much about mentoring the young people as it playing football.

They also offer workshops on substance abuse, knife and gun crime, gangs, sexual health and education / employment. Family intervention to resolve disputes and conflict is available.

The organisation also re-integrate offenders and work with the Youth Offending Team.

They currently have a workplace partner – Mercedes Benz Nottingham. Some of the young people on the project are offered work placement. This has to be applauded.

In fact the whole project is a fantastic idea. Anything that reduces crime on the streets of Nottingham must be good. Especially after the week we have had – with the renewed headlines which are not good for the place.

Sport can often give people a focus with structured training. Competition on a football field is better than a competition with knives must be a good thing?

May 3 2012

Churches past and present…

As I drive along Castle Boulevard each day (on my way to Costa Coffee!) I have watched the new Cornerstone Church gradually come out of the ground – on the site of the old MFI.

It’s not looking pretty. Imposing yes, pretty no. In fact, to date, it looks like a newer version of the MFI trade showroom it has replaced. All steel, crinkly tin and some token brick and stone facades. Theres a bit of a curved section of brickwork and a jauntily angled joint between brick and profile sheets. Although the scaffold remains up, the ‘reveal’ isn’t going to be eureka moment I fear!

I was thinking as I drove past this week what a difference a hundred years makes. Well, perhaps 200. If you have ever seen the Basilique_du_Sacré Coeur in Paris, St Pauls in London or La Salgrada Familia in Barcelona – you’ll understand what I mean. These are great pieces of architecture – that have stood the test of time. They remain iconic and standing! They were constructed of the very best material, stone, slate, lead. They had character and real features. They were more than just canopies to protect people from the wind and rain. They are not buildings they are places.

I wonder in a hundred years if this new Cornerstone church will be standing. I’m guessing that MFI was built in the late 1970′s – a pretty poor lifespan. 35-40 years?

Our world today is all about sustainability. We concentrate it seems to me on the energy and ‘green’ credentials. But surely some of the most sustainable ones are those that were built hundreds of years ago. Their embedded carbon has long since been written down. Look at the Pitcher & Piano in Nottingham – originally a church, now a bar. Re-use at it’s best.

I’m sure cost has featured highly and I gather that congregations are high in number. So, these new churches have done something the old buildings couldn’t do! Perhaps they are sustainable after all?

May 2 2012

The Mayor – what The Economist says…..

The Economist 21st April 2012

“…opponents [of a Mayoral system] fear that Mayors are intended to push through radical reform. They are right: that is why Mayors are a good idea. Arguably, the dispute is between those who prize solidarity and consensus as bulwarks of a good society, and those who place their trust in staying competitive in a fast-changing world. Those who favour Mayors are in the latter camp; a city only needs a champion if it plans to compete.”

There Endeth the lesson.

May 2 2012

The Mayor Of Nottingham

As I headed back across the pond toward Blighty yesterday, a timely reminder that all of Nottingham should turn out to vote tomorrow! And whilst I was in the air, I gather that I had my 15 minutes of fame (well 15 seconds) on both the National 6 o’clock and 10 o’clock news….

It’s time for the referendum on whether Nottingham should have a Mayor. My view has always been ‘yes’ – and this means a change in how Nottingham is run.

Having spent the last few days in New York and watched that City grow up over the last twenty five years I’m convinced that we need strong leadership. Giuliani changed things for the better. He sorted crime with his zero tolerance policy. He created a seismic shift. The place is better for it.

Unfortunately we don’t seem to have been able to engage the ruling Labour Party over the last few weeks. They seemed to have been intent on a ‘negative’ campaign. Latterly they have clung on to a ‘racism card’ – suggesting that Mayor could be a BNP supporter? Previously though it was spin about the costs, corruption and fat cat salaries as I blogged about here.

I have said before that I think Nottingham has great ingredients – Confetti / Antenna for the creatives, Nottingham Contemporary for Art, Bio-City for the scientists and, amongst other things, tow World Class Universities. What it seems to me that we don’t have is a recipe to bring these things to gather – and we certainly don’t have a master-chef.

A Mayor could be that master-chef?

We have so much potential, but seem to get dragged down in small-time party politics.

This is an opportunity to play a bigger part in the UK. Cameron is offering seats at a Mayoral Cabinet – do we really want to be listening outside the door? Really?

I have seen at first hand how inward investment works – you need someone to go to. You need someone who makes things happen. Although I have respect for some of our local Politicians I am of the view that the system we have at present need change if we want to see see change in the City. A change of perception, a change of direction (up) and a change in our future fortune…

I know which way I’ll be voting tomorrow – assuming Mr Branson gets me home in one piece!

Apr 30 2012

Keith Haring – at the Brooklyn Museum

One of my all-time favourite artists is Keith Haring – his life was cut short at 32 by AIDS. His was a very brief career – and that has been celebrated with an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.

I went a few days ago. It’s a 30 minute subway ride from Manhattan (take note Nottingham Tram people – is $2.25 – £1.39). It’s a monster of a building – over half a million square feet. They have a wide range of exhibits ranging from Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art, and represent a wide range of cultures. Some of the stuff is really old – 3,000BC! Not altogether my cup of tea, but fascinating.

This is the first time a major exhibition has been shown of Haring’s work. There were 155 ‘pieces’ on show.

It’s a fantastic collection. It chronicles his arrival in New York with a mixture of photographs, paintings, sketchbooks, journals, exhibition flyers, posters and chalked subway drawings. There are some interesting videos of him working at the New York School of Art – it’s incredible to see the speed at which he painted in his highly stylised way.

My favourite piece was a 6ft high 49 foot long single painting which contains may of his signatory icons – the baby being seen several times. I think his work is brilliant, it’s a little ‘daring’ in part – this isn’t an exhibition for young kids! I love the simplicity of the art – it is almost cartoon like. The later more perfected style I prefer to the slightly messier earlier work.

I think we should get it at the Nottingham Contemporary next!

Oh, and I bought the T-shirt – partly because at that point Mr Branson and the blind man hadn’t returned my bag!

Apr 28 2012

The Branson Pickle

As you might have gathered I have been having fun in trying to re-connect with my luggage in New York. Finally the bag I entrusted to a nice girl at Heathrow has been delivered to my hotel in New York, it took 36 hours. It arrived in the middle of last night.

The Blind Man sent the bag back to the airport and Virgin then had it shipped to the Hotel. It was the least they could do. I did note Mr Branson that you had it delivered by the ‘regular’ service as opposed to the ‘rush’ option the delivery company offer.

Virgin Atlantic are an organisation who pride themselves on excellent customer service. Well, on their performance over the first 36 hours of my holiday were woeful. A few issues:

1. A member of their staff picking my bag up for the blind man in the first place – a good idea to check? He was blind after all.
2. My having to suggest that there had been a swap as the blind mans bag was similar and still on the carousel?
3. Giving me a USA number to call to get an update which didn’t work. It was unobtainable.
4. A warning that I should keep my spending to a minimum for emergency stuff only. $50 doesn’t go far when you need 2 x sets of basic clothes and toiletries.
5. That I had to call Virgin three times in the UK to get an update – despite the fact that they promised to keep me posted – they had my mobile and email addresses – but didn’t use either. Ever.
6. They use a delivery company in the USA who they can’t talk to (!) – so although they knew that my bag was with the delivery company they couldn’t tell me where it was / make contact with the company – other than by emailing them!
7. When they did dispatch the bag from JFK they used a ‘regular’ delivery service – within 12 hours when there was a ‘rush’ option.
8. Being unable to find my details on two occasions – despite me having a reference number. Hardly confidence inspiring.

This is one of this occasions when you are completely powerless to do anything. The staff say the right things but didn’t do anything pro-active.This is a very short break, spending the first 36 hours wondering what to – especially if the case didn’t turn up? At what point do you go out and start replacing some of the things in there…

One very unimpressed Virgin customer. Back to BA next time I think.

Apr 27 2012

The New York Steady State project

The journey to JFK from London is a drag – just shy of 7 hours yesterday. The headwind of up to 75mph didn’t help. Lost baggage it makes it longer!

I managed to squeeze in two films (The Ides of March and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and a documentary. The documentary was a one hour special with Andrew Marr looking at ‘SuperCities’ around the world. It was a fascinating look at some the best and worst of the planets biggest places, – Shanghai, Mexico City, Dhaka and London.

The real point of the programme was to prick the conscience. Cities of this size may have some advantages, but we could be a tipping point where the bad outweighs the good. Consumption is staggering – and that leads ultimately to waste – in epic proportions.

It is clear that something has to change. We can’t go on consuming at the pace we do. We are going to have to find new ways of living. Some of the things Marr found included localised hydroponic farming, re-use of vegetable oil for taxis and free-gans (people who live off others thrown away food).

I was sent a link to some really interesting visoning done by Terreform Inc. who are offering a glimpse into what could be the New York of tomorrow with their New York City Steady State (NYCSS) sustainability plan.

In the plan, the developers summarise their mission for greening up New York in its entirety.

“New York City (Steady) State is an alternative plan for New York City based on a single predicate: it is possible for the city to become entirely self-sufficient within its political boundaries. At its conclusion, our project will have proven this and outlined the necessary steps to achieve it.”

It looks to be a fantastic, if not fantasy, project. Even if we adopt some of the ideas this should surely help. We certainly need some free thinkers? This is more than ‘greening’ the place – it’s about a holistic approach where the city can sustain itself by using local produce and recycling locally. Food for thought?

Apr 27 2012

The New York Steady State project

The journey to JFK from London is a drag – just shy of 7 hours yesterday. The headwind of up to 75mph didn’t help. Lost baggage it makes it longer!

I managed to squeeze in two films (The Ides of March and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and a documentary. The documentary was a one hour special with Andrew Marr looking at ‘SuperCities’ around the world. It was a fascinating look at some the best and worst of the planets biggest places, – Shanghai, Mexico City, Dhaka and London.

The real point of the programme was to prick the conscience. Cities of this size may have some advantages, but we could be a tipping point where the bad outweighs the good. Consumption is staggering – and that leads ultimately to waste – in epic proportions.

It is clear that something has to change. We can’t go on consuming at the pace we do. We are going to have to find new ways of living. Some of the things Marr found included localised hydroponic farming, re-use of vegetable oil for taxis and free-gans (people who live off others thrown away food).

I was sent a link to some really interesting visoning done by Terreform Inc. who are offering a glimpse into what could be the New York of tomorrow with their New York City Steady State (NYCSS) sustainability plan.

In the plan, the developers summarise their mission for greening up New York in its entirety.

“New York City (Steady) State is an alternative plan for New York City based on a single predicate: it is possible for the city to become entirely self-sufficient within its political boundaries. At its conclusion, our project will have proven this and outlined the necessary steps to achieve it.”

It looks to be a fantastic, if not fantasy, project. Even if we adopt some of the ideas this should surely help. We certainly need some free thinkers? This is more than ‘greening’ the place – it’s about a holistic approach where the city can sustain itself by using local produce and recycling locally. Food for thought?

Apr 25 2012

Nottingham – The Mayor debate rages on…

The debate about the Nottingham Mayor continues to rage with our former Nottingham MP Alan Simpson wading into the debate. You can read his comments here.

It’s an interesting take on the arguments. On the one hand Alan seems to be suggesting the current system is fine and on the other he takes some swipes at the leadership. The phrases I picked out…

“NOTTINGHAM needs an elected mayor like a dog needs flippers. It is a delusion to think they would make the dog a better swimmer, or the city better governed. This has nothing to do with how much an elected mayor would cost. It is about democracy and Accountability.”

But then….

“My prediction is that all the things you might criticise the city council for today, you would get in spades with an elected mayor. Mates will get favoured, patronage will go unchallenged, books will remain closed, and “vision” will come a poor second to vanity.

Nottingham may have lost its way, but you can’t blame this on the absence of an elected mayor. We have a first-class public transport system, a really good ice arena, a community energy company in The Meadows widely regarded as a national beacon, two good universities and a number of outstanding authors, architects, designers and artists. Beyond this, we are strictly second division.

Good governance demands strong opposition as well as visionary leadership. Nottingham has neither. This is the council’s Achilles heel. To demolish the case for a mayor, it must open its own books and then be more imaginative.

Nottingham could be part of this, but we have to break from a culture of contentedness that holds the city back. Pride and ambition are not qualities you can claim for yourself, without inviting ridicule.

Making a stand for something better has nothing to do with mayors. Cities driving the most exciting changes do so because their citizens demand it. And those cities have real powers. Ours do not.”

Looks like a pretty damning view of the current arrangements to me? It’s hardly a ringing endorsement for the status quo? Perhaps this is my point, the current arrangements are past their sell by date. We need a new way?