The Robins
- Royal Robin Redbreast -
The Hoodwinked trail is a play on the Robin Hood legend and has seen 30 bird-like sculptures appearing in various locations across Nottingham City Centre. Having caught the 9:49 train up from Birmingham (not calling at Derby due to engineering works), we pitched straight into our quest by meeting Royal Robin Redbreast immediately outside the railway station. The design is an eyecatching mosaic made up of sparkly tesserae.
- Judge Robin -
Station Street was home to two particularly amusing creations: Robo Robin (looking like how a child would imagine a robot, complete with rivets and dials) and Judge Robin (an officious fellow with red robes and a curly wig). Our initial stroll through the city streets also revealed Goose Fair Goose Fowl at St Peter's Square, Rocket Robin the Smithy Row space shuttle, and A City Built on Wisdom inside the intu Broadmarsh shopping mall.
- Ay Up Me Duck -
More robins could be detected in the environs of Nottingham Castle, an appropriate place to find the villainous Sheriff casting his tyrannical gaze upon all and sundry. Far more friendly was Ay Up Me Duck, a robin that celebrates the local dialect greeting and keeps Robin Hood's statue company on Castle Road. The sight of the statue prompted a musical interlude courtesy of Dick James with the theme tune to the 1950s TV series 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'... altogether now, "Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen, Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men".
- Captain Jack -
Several robins were located in the vicinity of Upper and Lower Parliament Streets, most notably Captain Jack the pirate complete with skull and crossbones hat plus eyepatch. Tigguo Cobauc referenced the ancient name for Nottingham as the 'place of caves' whereas Max (Superhero on the Weekends) combined elements of various superhero costumes - including a POW! belt - in being ready to fight crime but only between 9:30 and 4:30 on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Hubs
- Friar Lane -
Nottingham supplied us with a veritable bonanza of hub locations with the Secretary's research paying off in fine style. One of the first we found was on Friar Lane in the shadow of the Pearl Assurance offices, a discovery we quickly followed with the Wellbeing Hub on Hounds Gate. It's fair to say that the Chairman was kept busy with several promotional photocalls...
- Citycard Cycle Hub -
... so here is that man D9 again with one of our early evening revelations, the Citycard Cycle Hub at Sneinton's Victoria Leisure Centre. The centre combines a modern glazed frontage with the Victorian clock tower of the original swimming baths, all overlooking the landscaped spaces of the market square with the Bath Inn (a gridiron pub turned into a chip shop) adding its presence to the scene.
The Pubs
- Sherwood Stout -
Besides our robin-hunting exploits we made sure to sample a variety of watering holes and partake of (mostly) Nottinghamshire ales. Secretary WME is seen here modelling the Sherwood Stout that was obtained in the Lincolnshire Poacher, a Castle Rock outlet on the A60 Mansfield Road. The Chairman later tried the stout for himself in the Barley Twist, Castle Rock's Carrington Street spin on a modern craft bar-cum-wine cellar.
- The Longbow -
The afternoon saw us taking a little ride out to Arnold, a market town that falls under the auspices of Gedling Borough Council. The 58 Lime Line bus dropped us off on Surgeys Lane for the Longbow, a proper estate boozer that was very much to Mr D9's liking. Arnold's photographic attractions included the branch library, Scattergood's coal yard and Front Street shops, while the market stall patch next to the Methodist Church was guarded by an antique ice cream van.
- A Transport Tome -
Two Lincoln Green establishments featured during the course of the outing, important inclusions given their ales have Robin Hood names in keeping with our overall theme. Indeed, the Sir John Borlase Warren at Canning Circus had opened our drinking proceedings with a tasty pint of Hood Bitter, whereas at Arnold's Robin Hood & Little John we supped a half of Marion Pale Ale whilst perusing an absorbing 1978 magazine containing vintage bus and tram pictures.
- Samuel Hall -
Keeping with the transport theme, the Chairman's advance request for the day had been to visit the Samuel Hall in Sherwood, a Wetherspoons named after a notable lace manufacturer. The building used to be a bus garage so it was only appropriate to have a pint of Bus Stop Bitter, the house ale as provided by the Nottingham Brewery. Notable mention must also go to two contrasting Daybrook venues, the Abdication micropub being very compact whereas the Vale was a classic roadhouse with a largely intact 1930s interior - Art Deco opulence at its finest!
The Finds
- Home Brewery Gates -
Between the bird-spotting and ale-quaffing we found plenty of time for some fascinating ferreting. Two places really stood out as prime discoveries, the first of which was the Home Brewery site on Mansfield Road. Home Ales and Shipstone's (whose brewery was in Basford) were the two major players in terms of Nottingham beer production for much of the twentieth century, with Home being based in Daybrook for over 100 years prior to closure in the 1990s. Their office building with green frontage gates still stands and is currently used by Nottinghamshire County Council.
- Sneinton Market -
The Secretary's favourite find however was undoubtedly Sneinton Market on the edges of the city centre. Comprising a series of elegant avenues, the market was at one time run down and dilapidated but has been revived as a cultural quarter with new businesses and workshops. The result is an intriguing mixture of traditional arcade architecture and modern street art with the added bonus of hosting two more robins, Rockin' Robin and Wagathlon (the latter in a GBR triathlon vest perched on a bicycle).
The Closets
- Gleeful at the Gents -
Sneinton Market fulfilled another essential Hub Marketing requirement by giving the Chairman his prized closet fix. The gents in question seemed particularly atmospheric with a cast iron grille and old lettering, supplementing the Wood Street toilet block in Arnold that Mr D9 had spotted earlier.
The Bald Spot
- Hands of Hope -
No Hub Marketing report is ever signed off by the committee unless it contains a bald spot photograph, so here's one containing a robin for good measure. Hands of Hope represented the various colours of Nottingham Hospice as a patchwork-style waistcoat and was located on King Street close to Brian Clough's statue (hence old bald head met Old Big Head). Anyway, that pretty much covers everything and we caught the train home happily hoodwinked - cheers!
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