Nottingham... and do you love your city?

[So]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

DoubleD said:

Rock City with the wonderful burger van outside. I used to love eating burgers with my ears still buzzing!

They sold the floor off in pieces recently as souvenirs.

Of the burger van?

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

So said:

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

DoubleD said:

Rock City with the wonderful burger van outside. I used to love eating burgers with my ears still buzzing!

They sold the floor off in pieces recently as souvenirs.

Of the burger van?

[DoubleD]

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

Is Rock City still open? I did enjoy some nights there, and the floor was always sticky!

The sticky floor was a safety device, its stopped you slipping over when you were pissed.

[gus607]

Every day the local rag reports that the council have granted planning permission fore even more student accommodation.
There a more students than non English in the city
Car parking not expensive,my arse..

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/not...

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

gus607 said:

Every day the local rag reports that the council have granted planning permission fore even more student accommodation.
There a more students than non English in the city
Car parking not expensive,my arse..

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/not...

1 hour free, 3 hours £2.20. Most cities would die for that!!

[2gins]

I love Notts too, don't even live there. First visit was in about 2001, on a Tuesday on a vodbull hangover after the night before while studying at Birmingham. 3 lads, we'd decided that lectures weren't happening and as I had a car (1987 Mk 3 escort 1.3L, burgundy with lacquer peel and faded bonnet - this is Pistonheads after all), it was blindfold and pin in the map and off we went. Got there about lunchtime, parked in the big shopping centre off Paradise St (not the Broadmead... ?). Had a great afternoon, decided to make a night of it but as we couldn't afford a hotel we ended up in the YMCA on Mansfield Rd. Finished up at the Renaissance student night, more vodka/redbull and ended up dragging my mate out at 2 AM by one leg with him yelling "But she's blonde!" in protest.
We all graduated in '02 and a few of the lads got jobs in Loughborough, one guy took a PhD and moved into Beeston after a spell in Radford. Many great nights out through the 2000s, Rescue Rooms, Cookie Club, coffee/beer in the Malt Cross, The Social, Pitt & Pendulum... lots of (fat) lasses, laughs, mucking about as lads do etc... brings back great memories. Bands seen, probably the best was the Von Bondies just as Stealth opened, Long Blondes also great, Ash a couple of times too, and The Darkness. Saw the Ashes test at Trent Bridge in 2003, when we went 2-1 up in the series, so many memories and stories, I'd move there in a heartbeat but married a Londoner!
Anyway it was a different time of my life when I was free an single, so may be best left like that but a great topic OP so thanks for putting it out there! Haven't been back for about 10 years except for a flying visit last year, I didn't go into the town proper but the nostalgia was building on the tram journey out to my mates there.
I haven't loved anywhere I've lived since in the same way but that's probably as much about my life style than anything else, i.e. now I have kids etc so its just different. I am a Midlander at heart though, despite being born on the South Coast. Both grandparents in the Midlands, 5 years studying in Birmingham.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

2gins said:

I love Notts too,

Good lad

[OzzyR1]

Grew up in Nottingham, went to school at the Boy's High just north of the Arboretum.

So many memories, mostly good with the odd unfortunate incident mixed in.

On my phone at the moment but if the thread is still alive in the morning I will list my reminisces and see if you identify with any??

For starters, no-one has mentioned the Hand & Heart on Derby Rd yet...

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

OzzyR1 said:

Grew up in Nottingham, went to school at the Boy's High just north of the Arboretum.

So many memories, mostly good with the odd unfortunate incident mixed in.

On my phone at the moment but if the thread is still alive in the morning I will list my reminisces and see if you identify with any??

For starters, no-one has mentioned the Hand & Heart on Derby Rd yet...

Still there, complete with room dug into the rock.

[antspants]

I live just down the M1 in Leicester and spent many a night clubbing in Nottingham at The Bomb (showing my age now), and prior to that used to go drinking in Notts to see if the myth that there was a 5:1 ratio of girls to lads was true or not

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

antspants said:

I live just down the M1 in Leicester and spent many a night clubbing in Nottingham at The Bomb (showing my age now), and prior to that used to go drinking in Notts to see if the myth that there was a 5:1 ratio of girls to lads was true or not

There once was an influx of girls, due to a a very big nursing college (or maybe university) near the centre. the 5/1 rumour is utter bks though.

[StanleyT]

Grew up in North Derbyshire for a while which was ste so Nottingham was a blessing. Sherwood Forrest and Clumber park were ace and the three birds I knew from Notts were all very "interesting" as apparently this was the norm there, a) great record vinyl collections, b) into peeing on blokes from Derbyshire (Think this was a county rivalry) and c) into extreme piercing and 'wrong hole'. d) whilst in the 1980s had a load of Goths these were fun goths unlike the miserablist Leeds type goths. Had a GF "Jane from HMV" who eponified all four characteristics, cripes you could hav eu sed her flaps for a hangglider if you could put up with the moistness, and it was the best "past romance I've ever had", shame we ended up on different continents otherwise it could have been (was at the time) heaven..

Nottingham is 20x the city that stty st Derby so yep agree.

[2gins]

So is this an appropriate point to post "we hate Derby, we hate Leicester...."

[bingybongy]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Bullett said:

Spent many happy weekends/evenings in Nottingham. It was the nearest 'cool' city that had bands and for those of us in the provinces (Lincolnshire) that was a big draw.
Three whole pages and no mention of Rock City. Pah, saw so many bands there and at the Poly.
Other places had gone last time I went, the Narrowboat, The Salvation?

Sal is still here, as is Rock City. Narrowboat was demolished as part of the canal side regeneration.

Can I just add I was at Rock City's opening night. It was supposed to be the Human League but wasn't ready so it was postponed and they couldn't come. It was rearranged with The Kinks and you could get a refund or they would honour the Human League tickets.
I went it was great.
I also spent far to much time in The Narrowboat. The Shippos was spot on.
After the Narrow boat round to the Irish Club to try and pull a student nurse with a pocket with a few coppers in to drop in the bucket the shirt and tie thugs brought round.

[bingybongy]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

OzzyR1 said:

Grew up in Nottingham, went to school at the Boy's High just north of the Arboretum.

So many memories, mostly good with the odd unfortunate incident mixed in.

On my phone at the moment but if the thread is still alive in the morning I will list my reminisces and see if you identify with any??

For starters, no-one has mentioned the Hand & Heart on Derby Rd yet...

Still there, complete with room dug into the rock.

My (now) wife worked in the Hand and Heart for a couple of years.

[bingybongy]

Selectadisc.

[Faust66]

I live in Beeston (about 4 miles outside of Nottingham) and work in the city centre.

Place is OK I suppose. Not a fan of the lefty City Council ad their ongoing war against the motorist. That said, they've got to do something as it seems pointless to have a permanently gridlocked city centre.

There seems to be ever increasing numbers of empty shops and aggressive chavs hanging around (no different to many cities though), the nightlife can be good (I tend to frequent the Sal & Tap n Tumbler for the rock/goth scene and I can't really comment on other pubs and restaurants as I'm not really bothered by that sort of thing.

Same with shopping: order off ebay or mingle with the great unwashed in a crowded city? Online every time, thanks.

Much prefer Beeston: lively suburb with a 'village' feel for shopping (local butchers, greengrocers, bakers etc.) and some damn fine real ale pubs. And free parking.








Oh, Rock City: stopped going there many years back when they were playing some st pop music in the main room. Still a good live venue IMO but the club nights are a bit mainstream for my taste.

[carlove]

Most of my extended family live in Nottingham, so up there quite a lot, I live in York myself. I don't find people are that friendly, I think if you said hello to a stranger in Nottingham you'd lose your wallet, people don't seem to say thank you if you hold a door or let them through in traffic. My dad, who grew up in Nottingham gave me the advice never to beep at anyone when driving or you'll probably get stabbed.

Maybe I'm just too used to York, which although is full of drugged up chavs flying along the pavements on their bicycle people are generally very friendly and polite. it does very much have an everybody knows everybody feel. Only issues are the previously mentioned drugged up chavs and the millions of tourists, driving through the centre can be like an assault course trying to avoid tourists who have wombled into the road.

One thing I do love about Nottingham is the scenery, it's beautiful, the Castle area is stunning. I drive through Mapperly Plains to reach my Grandma's house and some of the views are just stunning. My conclusion, Nottingham looks nice, isn't full of tourists but the people can be a little scary, I like it, but I wouldn't leave York in a hurry, it's better than Leeds though without a doubt.

[Bullett]

bingybongy said:

Can I just add I was at Rock City's opening night. It was supposed to be the Human League but wasn't ready so it was postponed and they couldn't come. It was rearranged with The Kinks and you could get a refund or they would honour the Human League tickets.
I went it was great.
I also spent far to much time in The Narrowboat. The Shippos was spot on.
After the Narrow boat round to the Irish Club to try and pull a student nurse with a pocket with a few coppers in to drop in the bucket the shirt and tie thugs brought round.

Knew the Narrowboat had gone, I worked at Capital One for a few years 2000-2002 ish and whatever chain pub it was was in a similar spot by then.
I played in my band upstairs there a few times, did a lot of the Nottingham student/Indie circuit actually.

To whoever said they went to Lincoln, brave move, at least until the uni opened you were lucky to get one with the correct number of fingers. Lovely place in the day, slightly scary at night with the yokels and the RAF on the pull. No place for a goth/indie kid.

[jesta1865]

Sadly not been for a few years now, but lived up there for 5 years when I was a kid, started supporting Forest and have ever since, 46 years now :0.

Love the city and the nightlife when I have been up for matches etc (lived in Essex most of my life), but I suspect my rose-tinted beer goggles have helped that .

My wife bought a brick for me in the Forest wall, next time we are in the UK I will make sure I see it finally.

In Auckland now, a lovely city with a great vibe, football is crap out here though