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Nottingham News

Nottingham News, Notts What's On

Wollaton Park, Nottingham – Saturday 20 July 2019

Tickets are selling at record speeds for Nottingham’s biggest summer party Splendour, set to take over Wollaton Park in just one month on Saturday 20 July.

Following the full line-up announcement, with headliners Manic Street Preachers and The Specials, as well as Rag’n’Bone Man and All Saints set to perform next month, Splendour fans were quick to react. The organiser, DHP Family, has reported tickets are selling faster than ever before in the festival’s 10-year history and are predicting a sell-out.

George Akins, DHP Family owner, says: “The overall reaction to this year’s line-up announcement has been overwhelming; we’ve definitely got the right mix of exciting new artists and established favourites to make it an epic party for everyone to enjoy. With ticket sales well ahead of all previous years, we’re encouraging those who haven’t bought a ticket yet to act quickly to avoid missing out.”

Behind the scenes, DHP Family, working in association with Nottingham City Council, are busy putting the final touches to the festival to deliver a great day out for the whole family.

Across the site, there will be an array of food and drink to please all appetites. Indulge on Cheesy Does It’s gourmet toasties, prime and local Nottingham meat from Romano’s or vegan, veggie and gluten-free pizzas from Stone Baked Pizza, washed down with a tasty unique blend of coffee from Boxed Drinks Limited or a tipple from one of the beer tents. In the exclusive VIP retreat, there will be a gin garden, gourmet food and a quality choice of craft ales and cocktails. There are also a number of trade stalls selling everything from bonsai trees, novelty jewellery for children, clothing and accessories, plus festival body art, with more details to be revealed on the Splendour social channels in the coming weeks. A fantastic fringe line-up will also be revealed soon.

The award-winning music event is Nottingham’s biggest party of the summer, with a funfair, fringe entertainment stage, kids’ area and entertainers out and about in the crowd, as well the extremely popular Gem Anthems Silent Disco, back for another year.

Credit Ami Ford

A Splendour Ale has now been launched at Bodega and Rescue Rooms in Nottingham. Created in collaboration with Hollow Stone, the light refreshing pale ale has a slight citrus finish with notes of grapefruit and hints of the tropics and is the perfect way to look forward to the festival.

Once again, the Confetti Stage at Splendour is in partnership with Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, a leading provider of creative industry education. Working alongside Notts TV, preparations are underway to ensure technical operations on the day run smoothly, including fitting the big screens and sound control.

Craig Chettle, Chief Executive of Confetti Media Group, said: “This is Confetti’s 10th year partnering with Splendour, and our 25th anniversary year too. We’re counting down to another great festival, and looking forward to seeing our students crewing for the Confetti Stage and putting their music, tech, film and TV skills to good use. We also have an array of student talent performing across the various stages which is really exciting.”

Credit Ami Ford

Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council said: “We’re really looking forward to Splendour with just a month to wait now. There is always something for everybody to enjoy and it’s great to see how all the city comes together to celebrate at Wollaton. While we get lots of people coming into the city for the festival, don’t forget Nottingham residents can take advantage of a £10 discount just by adding their Nottingham City Council Tax number when booking online or taking proof of residency to the Nottingham Tourism Centre when buying tickets.”

The opening slot at Splendour also remains up for the grabs. Nusic’s 2019 ‘Future Sound of Nottingham’ finalists, soul-pop artist Mollie Ralph, electronic-pop singer Jacob Fowler, singer-songwriter Remy, pop-punkers Desensitised, indie-rockers Near Mrs, pop-indie providers Don’t Forget Rupert, plus rapper Exchecker, will all play at the epic, free final at Rock City on Sunday 7 July.

Children under 11 will once again be admitted free and discounts are also in place for Nottingham City residents. Including booking fee, a standard ticket is £56.65, coming down to £45.65 when the Nottingham City discount is applied. Tickets for Nottingham City residents aged 11-17 are £22. VIP packages are also available and start from £87.65 for a Nottingham City adult.

Tickets can be purchased from the newly launched website splendourfestival.com or in person from the Nottingham Tourism Centre. To claim Nottingham City resident discount, a copy of your council tax bill is required.

To stay in touch with festival news follow Splendour on social media: Facebook: @splendourfestivalUK
Twitter: @splendourfest
Instagram: @splendourfest
#SplendourFest.

Line-up to date:

MAIN STAGE
Manic Street Preachers
The Specials
Rag’n’bone Man
Louisa
The Slow Readers Club
Barns Courtney
Rob Green
Nusic Comp Winner

CONFETTI STAGE
All Saints
Ash
Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals)
The Rifles
The Coronas
Bria
Ava Saint

COMEDY STAGE
Andy Robinson (Compere)
Suzy Bennett
Roger Monkhouse
Vince Atta
Sean Heydon
Nathan Caton

COURTYARD STAGE
My Pet Fauxes
Mid November
Esther Van Leuven
Megatrain
Velvet Blush
94 Gunships
Re Teu
Camille Christel
Laurie Illingworth

Nottingham News, Notts Health & Care

Derbyshire Carers Association are hosting a Carers In Employment event in Chilwell, Nottingham on Wednesday, 3rd July, 2019. Part of a D2N2 initiative working across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, this project helps businesses support employees who may be struggling with caring responsibilities in the home. The working day can be long and stressful. However, for those employees who care for a disabled relative at home, there is often pressure and worry in what should be their leisure time. This project trains employers on how to support carer-employees. This may mean offering flexible working hours, job share or working from home.

The event will take place at Haveli Restaurant from 11.30am – 2pm with a FREE Indian lunch. It’s a great opportunity to network with like-minded employers and find out about support available to local businesses.

To confirm your attendance and book a place, email: employers@derbyshirecarers.co.uk

or phone 01773 833833 for more information.

Lancs Leisure, News, Notts Leisure

Donington Park. 14th-16th June 2019

Download Festival returned to Donington Park for 3 days of pure rock music. This mammoth extravaganza now in its 17th year is a highlight in the festival calendar, boasting a line-up that included Slipknot, Def Leppard and Tool as headliners, you would be hard pushed to find any other festival with such established names.

Slash

Unlike other festivals where they rely on just the headliners to pull in the punters, Download Festival also ensure that the non headliners are just as appealing. Acts such as legendary guitarist Slash playing with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Smashing Pumpkins, Trivium, and Whitesnake all worthy of catching live on their own, let alone together at one event.

As always Download try to put on little gems just to add that extra sparkle to their rock music crown. These are bands that are formed by individuals from other famous bands and if you don’t do your research you might miss them.

One band that could be considered a gem, were the main stage opening act Last in

Line. Created from the former members of Dio, surprisingly even Vivian Campbell (guitarist) managed to be awake early enough to ensure that the band was ready to go on time, despite also performing as part of the headline act Def Leppard later in the evening.

One other such band on Friday was Deadland Ritual. Comprising of Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) Matt Sorum (ex-Guns N Roses) Steve Stevens (Billy Idol guitarist) and vocalist Franky Perez (Apocalyptica) they impressed the crowd with their brand of rock on the Zippo Encore stage.

Over the weekend there were numerous issues with the merchandise stalls accepting card payments, some punters waiting over an hour to get to the front of the queue just to be told that the card machines weren’t working. Better communication would have been appreciated. A hoodie would have set you back £45. Drinks such as Pepsi were £3.50 for their version of a large size. Alcohol prices started at £4.50 all the way to over £16 for a bottle of wine. Tea and coffee were around £2. There was a whole variety of food stalls, ranging from £5 for doughnuts up to £9.50 for Filled Yorkshire puddings.

Unfortunately, despite Download having a stellar line up, the weather was not playing ball. Biblical downpours and endless mud were the conditions for this festival. Occasionally, the sun would make appearance to tease the rock fans to remind them of what could have been. As the saying goes “Julia Cesar and the Roman Empire couldn’t conquer the blue skies” neither could the organisers of Download.

Whitesnake

Whitesnake managed to create one of the biggest responses from the crowd, with their blend of tongue in cheek sing-along anthems. Although it was hard to tell if it was Whitesnake material or the fleeting appearance of sunshine that sparked the audience into life. Vocalist David Coverdale tried to get the audience to sing a long and at times it fell flat. However musically the band are still a tour de force when it comes to playing live, although it did feel like most people watching were just waiting for the classic hit “Here I Go Again” rather than all of the other material that they did back in the 80’s such as “Still of the Night”.

There were plenty of highlights throughout the weekend, with so many bands it would be hard not to find something to like, in summary some of my personal highlights were Slash with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators performing a setlist that wasn’t heavily reliant on Guns N Roses tracks. (Ok so they did slip in ‘Night Train’, but they can be forgiven for that one).

Def Leppard

Seeing Def Leppard perform the album “Hysteria” in its entirety brought back lots of memories and appeared to be well received by the rain-soaked crowd.

Bad Wolves performing their version of “Zombie” was probably one of the more poignant highlights of the weekend. Dedicating it to Delores O’ Riordan.

Slipknot were another phenomenal highlight, a performance that was high octane from the opening notes of “People=S##t” to the dying notes of their final song “Surfacing”. It was a masterclass in taking the music to the fans.

Also, Slayer performing what has been widely publicised as their last ever UK appearance was a set list designed to please the fans one last time. Songs such as “Raining Blood” and “South of Heaven” sent the crowd into a frenzy. Fingers crossed that it isn’t the last time Slayer play live in the UK.

Another amazing Download Festival, albeit a muddy one. The only issue the organisers have now, is how do they make 2020 even more rocktastic!!

Written by Luke Seagrave.

Nottingham News, Notts What's On

North Notts BID is delighted to be delivering two brand new, free-to-attend events this summer in Retford and Worksop town centres.
Worksop will welcome the ‘North Notts Food Festival’. The event takes place from 10am-5pm on Thursday 25th July. This is the first day of the Nottinghamshire school holidays so promises to be a real family affair with children’s activities provided by ‘Fairly Famous Family’ and the ‘Liver Cottage’ comedy walkabout. There will also be a delicious mix of artisan food market stalls to buy goodies from on the day.

The highlight of the day is that there will be live demonstrations from celebrity chefs Dean Turner and Brian Turner CBE. Bristol-born Dean became a household name, cooking family-friendly recipes on ITV’s Lorraine after regular appearances on ITV’s This Morning in 2009, where his cheerful persona made him a huge favourite to millions of viewers.
After coming second in BBC’s MasterChef Goes Large in 2006 – he changed his life radically, leaving his job as a digger driver to pursue his love of cooking and food. Dean’s ethos on food is that it should be achievable, simple and above all taste fantastic.

Brian Turner CBE is said to be one of Britain’s much loved and well-known chefs having trained at Simpson’s in the Strand, The Savoy, The Beau Rivage in Lausanne and Claridge’s before opening his own establishments.
Having been on the first ever Ready Steady Cook Show, Turner served nearly 15 years on the very successful programme as well as many appearances on This Morning, Saturday Morning with James Martin and more recently his own shows ‘A Taste of Britain’ and ‘My life on a plate’ on the BBC.

Bank Holiday Sunday, 25th August, will see the BIDs first ever musical extravaganza, ‘Party in the Square’ that will take place in Retford’s historic market place from 2pm – 7:30pm.

Hosted by the BID’s very own BID Ambassador Joe Sentance and BID Chair Steve Bennett, the afternoon kicks off on the specially commissioned 60sqm stage, with Ginny Brown and the Collective getting everyone in the mood with a selection of soul, funk and disco classics.

Little Mix tribute band, Little Fix, will then take to the stage followed by local family group, The Bowkers who will treat the audience to some vocal harmony swing-style classics. Ramping up the energy, Mercury, one of the UK’s leading ‘Queen’ tribute acts will rock the audience with renditions from Queen’s brilliant back catalogue of hits.

If that wasn’t enough for a fantastic afternoon of music, the event is rounded off by Jake Quickenden, who will sing a selection of popular tunes. Jake is a former X Factor finalist, I’m a Celebrity runner up and winner of Dancing on Ice 2018.

As well as being able to sample the delicious food in the many cafes and restaurants in town, those attending will be able to feast on a selection of street food from vegan, locally produced ice cream, to the taste of the Caribbean and can even get into the festival spirit with a face and body art station. It is really going to be an afternoon for all of the family to enjoy!
Find out more about both events and the delicious food that will be available please visit www.northnottsbid.co.uk or email info@northnottsbid.co.uk for more details.

Nottingham News, Notts What's On

GREAT Yarmouth seafront is gearing up to welcome 15,000 motorcyclists as part of the two-day Great Yarmouth Wheels Festival in July, creating a spectacle along the Golden Mile while raising funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

The free festival, taking place on Saturday, July 6 and Sunday, July 7, is organised by Great Yarmouth Borough Council with sponsorship from individual seafront businesses, and the Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area company. In its fifth year, the festival is set to draw families and vehicle enthusiasts to the seafront for an action-packed weekend.

This year’s expanded event will see a larger area of the seafront lined with even more prestige, classic and bespoke cars, large commercial vehicles and other special activities and entertainment. The big headline attractions and further details will be announced over the coming weeks. A highlight will be on the Saturday, when an estimated 15,000 motorcyclists are set to visit the festival, arriving from 10am for On the Throttle’s Great Yarmouth Motorcycle Take Over. Then on the Sunday afternoon, Centre 81 Classic Car and Bike Rally will parade along the seafront for judging by the mayor at the Sealife Centre Gardens.

The borough council has again worked closely with Norfolk County Council, as highways authority, and the organisers of these authorised visits, to ensure they happen in a co-ordinated way, which reduces the impact on other road users, while still capturing the huge economic benefits that thousands of extra visitors bring.

This year, motorcyclists planning to access and park within the festival site along the Golden Mile are asked to make a voluntary donation of £2 per bike, which will go towards the running of the festival and the East Anglian Air Ambulance. Bikers are encouraged to make their donation online in advance to get a fast lane entry sticker for parking via www.gywheelsfestival.co.uk

One of the most anticipated motorcycle attractions on Saturday will be Seastar Superbikes, who will be bringing the Ducati and Kawasaki Norwich Roadshow and will be located close to the Sealife Centre Gardens. They will have a mobile dyno “rolling road” enabling motorcyclists to test the performance of their bikes, and will also be running escorted Ducati ride-outs for those who pre-book by calling 01508 471919 or emailing sales@seastarsuperbikes.co.uk.

New for 2019, there will be a drop-off point for helmets and leathers at the Marina Centre Café, as well as extra stalls selling motorcycle parts, accessories and other merchandise, with confirmed traders including Flint Motorcycles, Motus Bikewear and Clean My Ride. The festival is brought to you by Great Yarmouth Borough Council in conjunction with the Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area, Joyland and the American Diner, On the Throttle, plus other seafront businesses.

Andy McSweeny, of the Great Yarmouth-based social media forum On the Throttle, said: “The Takeover, as part of the Wheels Festival, is an annual highlight for motorcyclists and this year we’re hoping to welcome a record 15,000 bikers for the Motorcycle Takeover on July 6, raising funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance and for the sustainable running of the festival.
“Please remember to make your £2 donation, ideally in advance online, to get your fast lane entry sticker. The £2 donation per bike allows visitors to access and park their bike within the festival site along the Golden Mile.”

Cllr Paul Hammond, vice chairman of the economic development committee, said: “Wheels is a major highlight in our events calendar, which boosts visitor numbers and spend, and promotes our borough as a vibrant place to live, work and visit. This year, we’re gearing up for an even bigger festival, bringing fun for everyone over two action-packed days, centred around the spectacle of 15,000 visiting motorcyclists on the Saturday and the car and bike rally on the Sunday.”

Alan Carr, chief executive of the Great Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area (GYTABIA), said: “The Wheels Festival brings a real buzz to the Golden Mile and the many thousands of people it attracts are good for the town and great for business. This year’s festival looks like being bigger than ever and GYTABIA is delighted to be able to support it.”

Michael Cole, of Joyland and the American Diner, said: “We are very excited to be sponsoring Wheels again this year. This free festival is set to be bigger and better than ever, promising a great weekend for families and enthusiasts alike while boosting trade right along the seafront.”
The festival will take place from 10am to 6pm on the Saturday and 10am to 4pm on the Sunday. For more information and to enquire about a trade stall, visit www.gywheelsfestival.co.uk

Highways arrangements
Marine Parade, between the junctions with North Drive at Britannia Pier and the Kings Road roundabout, will be closed to traffic between 7am and 11pm on the Saturday and until 7pm on the Sunday, with a clear signed diversion in place.

There will be no direct vehicular access to Marine Parade from Lancaster Road, York Road, Trafalgar Road, Trafalgar Square and Britannia Road. The taxi and coach stops along North Drive will not be affected. Motorcyclists will be routed onto Marine Parade via Trafalgar Road, Kings Road and St Peter’s Road.

The car parks at St Nicholas (limited spaces), North Drive, Euston Road and in the town centre will remain open for the public. However, the car parks at Anchor Gardens, Marina Centre North and South, and Jetty North, plus the closed roadway of Marine Parade including the landau lane, will be designated parking zones for the motorcyclists and Wheels exhibitors, who will be guided by traffic marshals. Access along the whole length of Marine Parade will be maintained for pedestrians and emergency vehicles.

Nottingham News, Notts What's On

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar-nominated movie starring Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard follows the story of Rachel Marron, a world-famous performer and her bodyguard Frank Farmer who is hired to protect her from a strange unknown stalker.  

Alexandra Burke plays Rachel for the third time, following stints in the West End and subsequently on a sold out tour in 2016.   The Bodyguard – The Musical is a magnificent production that is simply faultless on every theatrical level. It looks fabulous and sounds fantastic  

Alexandra is a gifted singer, but also an accomplished actress as shown in this blockbuster stage version of the 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.

A tale of Grammy-winning superstar mom, Rachel Marron (Alexandra), who is being stalked by a very sinister knife-wielding hoodie.

Enter a no-nonsense security man who clearly is good at his job but he can’t protect his or her feelings. Charismatic Benoit Marechal plays seasoned bodyguard Frank Farmer – reminiscent of a young Clint Eastwood. He carries off the role perfectly, with a very funny karaoke scene a surprising highlight.

It always helps that you care about all the central characters and that is quite an achievement in this rom-thrill as opposed to rom-com.

Rachel’s son Fletcher (a role shared on tour by various young up and coming stars) is a delight throughout- charming in every scene.

And there’s Rachel’s jealous sister Nicki (Micha Richardson) who adds extra elements of suspense.

The choreography from Karen Bruce is pure West End meets Broadway.

And the stunning ‘in concert’ numbers feature the very best in state-of-the-art, high-tech lighting.

There is also a deft use of back projection to show the pyscho mind and six-pack of Rachel’s stalker (Phil Atkinson).

The whole show – at under two and a half hours with an interval – has the magic touch from the moment the slick set design opens to the dramatic finale.

A top-notch orchestra do not put a collective foot or note wrong.

And there’s the 16-strong soundtrack to relish including: Greatest Love of All, I’m Every Woman and Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

The sell-out crowd were on their feet during the crescendo build-up to the stirring I Will Always Love You. This is a not-to-be missed musical production. 

Runs at Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 22nd June – Tickets available at www.trch.co.uk

Nottingham News

Children and care home residents have celebrated the launch of Rushcliffe Roots, a new campaign designed to help residents connect with their food roots and discover local, healthy and sustainable food. Members of Serendipity’s Nursery and Beauvale Care Home in Rushcliffe visited ‘All Things Magic’ on 9 May, a self-contained allotment style farm area in Screveton. The facility promotes the physical and mental benefits of gardening whilst providing opportunities for guests to understand the origins of their food.

Guests of all ages were invited to help one another plant fruit, flowers and vegetables as part of an educational exercise that introduced them to the joys of farming local, healthy and sustainable food. Young children in the group were particularly excited to meet a range of friendly farmyard animals, including chickens, goats and sheep during their visit, as they discovered the origins of food production in the UK.

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Executive Manager for Communities Dave Mitchell said: “Understanding the journey our food takes is extremely important in helping us all to make healthier, more sustainable lifestyle choices. “Rushcliffe Roots will provide fantastic opportunities for carers, nursery children, care home residents and schools to discover their food roots through educational sessions designed to cater for all ages and backgrounds and I would encourage everyone to get involved.”

Organisations or groups can find out more by visiting www.rushcliffe.gov.uk or calling 0115 981 9911.

Nottingham News, Notts Health & Care

A new adoption agency will offer children in care the stability and security they need to achieve their potential. The launch of the Regional Adoption Agency (RAA), part of Adoption East Midlands, will transform the lives of children and their adoptive families. Every year the RAA will be looking for families for approximately 160 children.

The Government’s vision behind the regionalisation of adoption services is to accelerate the pace of change to ensure those children, for whom adoption is the right path, are given the best chance of finding a loving and stable family as quickly as possible.

Incorporating Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council, the Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) will work collaboratively across the East Midlands to encourage more people to become adopters, which in turn leads to markedly improving the life chances of children in care.

As well as the RAA, Adoption East Midlands comprises a regional partnership incorporating Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council and Rutland County Council and two voluntary adoption agencies, CORAM East Midlands and Faith in Families.
Shelagh Mitchell, Group Manager Adoption East Midlands, said: “We want every child to be in the loving, stable home that’s right for them, and adoption can transform the lives of these vulnerable children – and their adoptive families – in a remarkable way.

“By coming together and joining forces through the work of RAAs, councils can use the network to match children with the right families much more quickly.”

“RAAs will be the platform on which a modernised adoption service is built; providing better support to adopters and to meet the needs of children waiting for adoption.” A key aim of the RAA is to encourage more people who express an interest in adoption to attend information events and hear from people who have already gone through the process.

Shelagh added: “We need to celebrate adoption success stories and show at first-hand how loving families change the lives of children in care.” “We will also give people expressing an interest in adoption the information they need to make a life-changing decision. This will include dispelling a number of myths surrounding the adoption process and challenging unhelpful perceptions.”

Across the East Midlands adopters are needed for sibling groups of two or three children, children with additional needs, children from a BME background and school age children. “Although we have priority needs in different regions, our message is clear, we welcome anyone who has interest in adopting children and who wants to make a difference to children’s lives,” Shelagh added. Kyle and Steven, from Rushcliffe, decided to adopt siblings after they knew they wanted more than one child.

Steven said: “Our main motivation for adopting was that we both came from large families and we knew that we wanted to have a busy household with all the energy and fun that children create. “We love the idea of keeping siblings together and to be honest they probably settled a bit better quicker because there was that sense that wherever the others were, they were meant to be.”

Kyle admitted the experience was not without its challenges: “There are always challenges having three young children of a similar age in terms of meeting all their needs… but it’s also wonderful, exciting and keeps you young, and something we’d not change at all.”

The couple both agreed adopting siblings has been one of the best decisions they made with Steven adding: “If you’ve got the time, and the energy, and the space, to adopt siblings it’s an amazing and wonderful thing to do because they have each other, you are keeping a family together and you have a ready-made family that have that established connection. We’ve never regretted it for a single moment.

See Steven and Kyle at home discussing why they adopted and why it could be right for you at www.adoptioneastmidlands.org.uk/stories
Paula and Tim, from Rushcliffe, had two teenage daughters when they adopted a five-year-old girl.

Paula said: “We involved our teenagers throughout the adoption process as we felt it was important that they were on board from the start.
“If you’ve got birth children and you’re thinking of adopting, what’s important is to talk to them about it quite openly, find out what they feel and what they think.

“Our birth daughters are exceptionally proud and protective of their little sister. If you ask them they think we should adopt more children.” Paula and Tim also praised the support they received from the local authority. Tim added: “If you need help and support it is there, so don’t be afraid to ask for it. We found ourselves in situations where the advice we received was invaluable and it helped us deal with issues and move on to the next stage.” Tim and Paula discuss their adoption journey, see their video here www.adoptioneastmidlands.org.uk/stories

Find out more about adoption at www.adoptioneastmidlands.org.uk or come along to an information event (details are available on the website) and have a chat about how adoption could create the family you’ve always wanted.

Nottingham News, Notts What's On

A rare and exciting exhibition of paintings entitled ‘Father and Son’ by Kip and Richard Combes is currently on display at Bassetlaw Museum. Kip Combes (1924-2013) was a prominent figure on the local art scene and a president of the Worksop Society of Artists, while his son Richard is a highly respected New York-based artist who has exhibited internationally and has work in major private collections worldwide.

Donated by Richard, the exhibition has 17 paintings from both artists whose styles have been influenced by their surroundings and life experiences. During the early stages of World War II, Kip Combes was evacuated to Retford with his family and, apart from a period of living in Manchester, he remained in the town for the rest of his life.

Richard Combes, said: “Being originally from Norfolk Kip’s work is very much influenced by the Norwich School of Painters, and this can be seen in the atmospheric moody watercolours and oil renderings of his much loved local landscape.” Richard was brought up in Retford and worked as an architect in the UK before moving to New York City. There he earned Master’s degree in painting at the New York Academy of Art and his remarkable skills and mastery of techniques have earned him multiple awards and a full membership of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.

Although many of Richard’s works are realistic representations of people and objects, they are not just skilful depictions of subjects. His art transports viewers into the middle of an intriguing, unfinished story and makes them wonder about how it continues. This exceptional artistry transforms everyday spaces and objects into extraordinary images that are both absorbing and haunting. Richard said: “I am definitely interested in perspective, light and architectural details and the relationship between single figures, still life and empty spaces. I would like to thank the museum on behalf of my father and myself for this opportunity to show our work together. I know he would have been greatly honoured, as I am myself.” The ‘Father and Son’ exhibition runs until Saturday 10th August at Bassetlaw Museum, Grove Street, Retford and is open Monday to Saturday 10am-4.30pm. Admission is free.

Father and Son. Paintings by Kip and Richard Combes
Saturday 18th May – Saturday 10th August

Nottingham News

A community group have been praised as ‘High Street Heroes’ for their work litter picking around their local shops, cafes and restaurants to help keep their village tidy. The East Leake Tidy Team use social media to help coordinate their services and ensure volunteers have access to all the equipment they need to keep the village welcoming for visitors and residents alike.

Volunteers meet regularly to scour the village for unwanted crisp packets, drinks bottles, or waste and are always keen to add more members to their group.

Rushcliffe Borough Council has praised the group as part of their High Street Heroes campaign that aims to celebrate the efforts local business groups and individuals go to in encouraging businesses to thrive.
The authority’s Executive Manager for Neighbourhoods, Dave Banks is thrilled by the community group’s work, which is supported by the council’s ground maintenance contractors Streetwise Environmental Services Limited.

He said: “The East Leake Tidy Team represent yet another fantastic community group working together to keep their High Street clean, tidy and inviting.

“We know there are lots of volunteers across Rushcliffe who are joining forces to ensure their community, and their High Street, thrives and we will support their efforts wherever possible.” East Leake Tidy Team organiser Mel Roper said: “We love our village and it’s always great to find like-minded people who want to care for our High Streets and help support the local, independent businesses who call East Leake home.

“Our group offers residents the opportunity to care for their community safely and in their own time – we’ve even had some civic-minded young people spend their school holidays tidying up the village!” Find out more about the High Street Heroes campaign by emailing media@rushcliffe.gov.uk or calling 0115 9148 555.