To the Fair City! … on Wednesday lunchtime. Have time to kill, will travel. I’m never happier than when walking the mean streets of NG1 with my PEN-F in my hand.
Snap, snap, snap away.
It was the same old path being trodden, although with plenty of changes to capture. That’s pretty much what I do these days; I walk, I document, I archive, and then in ten years' time I look back and think, Blimey, how the hell did we get here?
I started off by the Cattle Market. I had a quick shifty around the best army surplus that ever existed. I was tempted to buy a pair of army fog glasses that I thought I could maybe get away with as some rather ultra cool cycling specs. I think they would just look like swimming goggles, tbh.
Oh well.
There was a repugnant smell along the canal, along with lots of green thingies cluttering the side. As ever with nature I’ve absolutely no bloody idea.
I plotted along London Road. There are still a few bulldozed plots of land. Here Be Regeneration when I return, maybe in a year’s time or so.
I pressed on and headed to what remains of Broad Marsh. I was reliably informed by my close pal tour guides the day before that Broad Marsh is creeping back into existence or, more to the point, it is creeping back south.
Having been an absolute shit hole for the best part of five years, there is a noticeable difference in that a number of vacant units are now showing signs of life further down towards the bus station end of Lister Gate.
When you factor in the fantastic new library, the brilliant new bus station, and the NHS walk in centre that is to come, I’m optimistic that Broad Marsh still has another tale to tell.
It all then got a little bit weird. There was some half term Halloween event being staged I think by Nottingham BID. It basically involved a procession of adults, then descending down the ages to young toddlers, all dressed up in spooky costumes and dancing something of a spooky dance.
It’s not really my thing but I have to admit that the energy and enthusiasm was infectious. At least it gave Broad Marsh some sense of purpose as many proud parents and friends were on hand to capture the event. Oh, and so was I.
The crowds were getting more dense as you worked your way north up Lister Gate. I took a slight detour and decided to cut around the corner along Castle Gate.
I paused momentarily outside 29 - 31. Here’s where it started and here’s where it probably got as good as it will ever get, tbh. Have a good one, etc.
I was tempted for a swift half at the Royal Kids and then one more for the road at the Salutation.
Chin chin.
But I kept on walking back down Hounds Gate, where the spooky Halloween BID lot were still doing their arm waving thing. Good luck to them.
Not a lot else then, really happened. It was a case of retracing old familiar steps and viewing the Fair City through a 2026 lens, but always remembering the personal stories around the built environment.
Christ, I’m sounding like bloody Robert Elms now.
West End Arcade was reached. West End Arcade was then pretty much ticked off in under a minute or so. It’s disheartening to see that it’s been reduced to one level, with the escalator end now being blocked off.
I had a peek through the window at the wonderful Afro-centric shop. There’s a Rasta coloured tank top in there that I’ve had my eye on for two to three years now. I really should buy it one day.
I then headed up Hurt’s Yard and had a bit of a peek in at Rob’s Records Mart. There were a couple of customers in there but already it was too busy to try and get around his Aladdin’s cave of vinyl.
I had a few items to tick off on my list. I headed up towards the old Poly. My route involved going past Rock City.
Never change, etc.
I’m not that familiar with Nottingham Trent University. It was always a cool place that was out of my reach during those early gigging years. I very much doubt gigs still take place there now.
What I was keen to see was the current exhibition in the Bonington Gallery. This was a retrospective of photos by Alan Lodge, who has captured various activism and protest scenes from the mid-70s onwards. It was a fantastic way to spend half an hour or so.
I made my way over to Hockley. I did a bit of crate digging at Rough Trade and then paused momentarily outside the old shop front for G Force. I was wearing an early 90s G Force knitwear tank top. I think the moment was lost on everyone else around the area apart from me.
And that was pretty much it. I plodded back down towards Broad Marsh, boarded a bus, and had a brief thought about how things might change in the next twelve months.
