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| Hoods author Carl Fellstrom Read a timeline of Nottingham Gunn crime |
Hoods uncovers a story many people have been fascinated by over the last decade: organised crime in Nottingham. It starts out in the fifties at the beginning of the modern-day drugs trade and then moves onto the tabloid fodder of the well-renowned Gunn brothers and ‘Assassination City’, with our chief of police telling the rest of the county, 'We can’t cope.' We met up with the author Carl Fellstrom in a safe place and asked him a few questions…
Are you originally from Nottingham?
I’m not. I moved here in 1995. I’d worked at various different papers in Northamptonshire, Bedford and Yorkshire before. Around 2003 I was doing a lot of crime stories for national newspapers. I was frustrated because I could always write a lot more than they would print. They were very London-centric and a story from the provinces really had to be extraordinary to get in there. The book came from that material.
Have you received any threats after writing this?
There have been a few. There’s nothing I would say I’m really worried about, but I’m aware that there are a small minority of people who I have to watch out for. In fact there’s even been a facebook site set up dedicated to getting people not to buy the book. I think the one thing some people in the book don’t like is their criminal reputations being tarnished. The fact that they have been named as informants, for example - it’s almost like they want these to be whiter than white. But generally the reaction that I’ve had is quite positive. I know that it must be hard for some of the families of the victims, bringing all the memories back. But there are so many unsolved cases too and it’s worth trying to raise their profile again. Take Tommy Lau for instance, he’s a lovely chap, but he can’t walk again because he got mistaken for someone else and shot. He still doesn’t know why it happened and it’s hard for him to live with that.
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| David Gunn - unhappy with the book |
I received a letter from David and he has read it. He was upset and didn’t like the fact that I wrote about Jamie Gunn and he was fairly abusive. But I think he was most upset that I didn’t go to him while I was writing it. There was a plan at one stage to do that, but I felt that the closer I got to them, the more they might expect me to give them some kind of a cloak of morality. For the same reason I didn’t try to interview Colin Gunn.
They seem to want to play up the Robin Hood myth, but these guys have done brutal things and there isn’t much room to give them some kind of makeover. I don’t think they should be allowed to rehabilitate themselves so quickly after what they have done. I’m all for rehabilitation in the long term, but I think out of respect for the families of the people who have been murdered they should wait a while. They’re the real victims of this story, not Colin or David Gunn for any character assassination.
Having read the book, I don’t think it really sensationalises anything - it’s more focused on the evidence of the police files. Although perhaps the cover and the title could be considered slightly hyperbolic…
In terms of the cover image, I had no say in that and was as surprised as anyone that they chose the image of Colin Gunn. The original cover was going to be the one of men in balaclavas that can be found on my internet sites. But the title is one I chose. I felt it summed up what I needed to say as a lot of it centres around the Robin Hood myth and Nottingham, with people trying to moralise about their own villainy.
But the story itself is sensational enough already. Only the other day I heard that David Gunn is at Lowdham Grange prison with Robert Briggs-Price, Jamie Neill and Donny Quinn (three other well-known Nottingham criminals). Why on earth would you put all those people in prison together? It’s ridiculous. The authorities make it so easy for them to carry on doing what they’ve always done and so hard for them to rehabilitate.
You must have sifted through loads of information to write this. Are there any particularly juicy bits that didn't make the final cut?
I had to take out a lot of names and there was the odd thing that didn’t make it in for legal reasons. There was one story about a former Nottinghamshire police officer who was implicated in a massive customs drug bust and yet walked free. I think there was a bigger story to that, but I couldn’t print the details.
Another one must have been the figure you call The Taxman. He’s only touched upon briefly in the book, but seems to be the biggest criminal of the lot…
He was like Colin Gunn was maybe fifteen or twenty years ago. He could be very brutal, but is now one of the most successful businessmen in Nottinghamshire, if not in the whole country. He has a lot of power and a huge amount of influence and recruits former police officers to work for him so he has a great information intelligence network. For legal reasons I had to take things out that would have identified him a bit more easily. Though I think a lot of people in Nottingham already have a good idea who he is.
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| Dave Francis - became a political hot potato |
Another interesting character involved in the book early on is Dave Francis. Tell us about him…
He was a very enigmatic character from the Meadows gang in the eighties and early nineties. They were responsible for lots of armed robberies and later got into the drugs trade too. Dave began to run his own drugs cartel and yet was still a leader for the black community in a lot of ways. But what he did, which was a stroke of criminal genius, was to get a job as manager of the local drugs charity. That gave him access to a database of people using crack and heroin, enabling him to set up a mini-empire, whilst garnering a lot of influence through politicians like Alan Simpson MP and Sir Geoffery Errington, the chairman of the drugs charity.
Francis became a political hot potato and a difficult fish to catch. The police even left him alone for a while as it became so hard for them to get to him. He was always playing the race card, but in the end he got too arrogant. He’d built up a pyramid of people working for him and they just took it out layer upon layer until he became so isolated that he had to come out of the woodwork and do bits himself and was caught as a huge load of heroin made its way to Nottingham. He went to prison for some time, but is out again now. He spends a lot of time in Jamaica these days supposedly doing charity work, but I believe he does come back to Nottingham quite often as he has a lot of family here.
There are so many stories about Nottingham gangsters flying about. Was it hard to separate the truth from the bullshit?
Absolutely. I’m not sure I got as far as I wanted to with it either. There will be mistakes in there, but I hope I’ve got as much right as I could have. I tried to source everything three times over to be sure. But Nottingham is a gossipy city and everyone is only really one degree removed from everyone else. Lots of things have become myths that aren’t true and some are. I’m sure that some of the stories I was told have a whiff of colouration in them, but others I’m absolutely certain were correct. For example I’m sure people were involved in the murders I’ve mentioned them in connection with.
Researching this book must have been depressing as hell. Were there any lighter moments, or times when you had to laugh?
I guess there were, but I can’t remember them. I got so caught up in it that it was occupying my every thought. I was seeing people who had been at the sharp end of it. There’s a lot of pressure on you trying to keep those people secret and safe from others finding out they’re talking to you. All these things take a great toll over a length of time. It’s taken a long time for me to get out of that headspace.
How well do you think this book will sell outside of Nottingham?
I’m not sure geographically, but it’s doing okay. The first print run of 7000 sold out before Christmas. The second print run was another 4000 and they’ve all gone. So we’re now looking at our third print run now and we’re looking at doing a paperback in February. I think that’s great as paying £17 for a book is a luxury and I’d like it to be available at a cheaper price.
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| Police Chief Steve Green - "We can't cope." |
Back in March 2005, when you did that ‘We Can’t Cope’ interview for The Telegraph with Nottinghamshire Police Chief Steve Green, did you realise the stir it might cause?
His comments in the interview totally took us by surprise. I think what happened was that we were so well-briefed that we got him in a corner. He then thought in a wrong way that we were going to blow him out of the water. So he gave us a really candid interview to take the heat off the situation. We didn’t realise it would be on the front page of The Telegraph, but it caught the editor’s eye at the time. It was also election time and crime was a hot potato. What was disappointing was that the next day Green accused us of blackmailing him into the interview. Which was extraordinary… Then years later he came to rely on the interview to dig himself out of a hole, using it to save his job by saying he’d pointed out the problems they were facing at the time. Life has its ups and downs and I wouldn’t have wanted to be in his situation at all. But he wasn’t the right man for the job and at that point he had screwed up! Abandoning the drugs squad was his decision and had a massive effect as they were supplying primary intelligence to those investigating gun crime. It was a massive blow to their investigations. The two went hand in hand and it was naïve to think otherwise. Other things like taking bobbies off the beat and sending them round in cars also had a bad effect, sending out signals that the police were too scared to be on the streets. There were things that he did that had a huge influence on the ability of Nottingham police to deal with their workload at the time.
Was Colin Gunn a criminal genius, or did the police really fuck up?
He might not have been a genius in an intentional way, but he was very good at what he did and that were definitely elements of professionalism in that. But certainly I believe that the police had a larger part to play in him becoming so successful. Their collective mistakes really helped him on his way.
Why do you think he stayed living in Bestwood and Rise Park, when he earned so much money he could move anywhere? Couldn’t he have just moved abroad?
Colin’s wife Victoria tried to get him to move to Spain on numerous occasions and they certainly talked about that. But Bestwood was in his blood. He hated coming into town after a while, after taking a couple of beatings and losing control of the things happening outside of his estate. He was a big fish in a small pond and when he came into the city it was different as people no longer looked at him like he was the King. A lot of it was about power. He could certainly have afforded to give up his life of crime, but he probably liked and was used to the feeling of reigning over the people of Bestwood.
Did your opinion of the Gunns change after you finished the book?
I think that it helped to understand them as human beings. It’s easy to think of people as cartoon-style gangsters, but it wasn’t just criminals who looked up to them. I talked to many people who are law-abiding citizens of Nottingham that only had good things to say about them. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about Nottingham as a city too. Not least that the connections between people are so close. It’s like one big family.
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| Colin Gunn - community spirited? |
In some ways they embody the sense of community spirit in Britain that has perhaps been lost since the Thatcher days. However perverted that became there were good things about that, with people looking out for each other and particularly those who needed help like the elderly. They cared about their community and I think they genuinely wanted to do well by them, but the brutality of what they did to get where they were is quite shocking.
How valid do you think comparisons to the Krays are?
I think they’re entirely valid, though I didn’t touch on it much in the book. There’s no doubt the metaphor works. Everything I know about the Kray twins as a phenomenon is similar. On the one hand they were compassionate towards their own, on the other side they are business-like and brutal to anyone who posed a threat to them. As brothers there is a bit there as well in the sense that one was perhaps slightly unhinged and more violent, with the other one being the slightly stronger character in terms of getting things organised.
Has there been any interest in the book from film or TV companies yet?
Just before the book came out there was some, but there hasn’t been much since. Certainly I’ve talked about it with people and I’d be interested in being involved with something based on a similar way to how Shane Meadows gets people from the local community involved. But so many things would have to be right, the story itself and the people involved that it’s a massive job. But it is something I’ve thought about, yeah…
Colin Gunn’s own biography is bound to come out soon. If he asked you to write it with him, would you do it?
Hmmm. I’d definitely think about it, but I’m not sure they would ask me. I think there is a lot of bubbling talk from the Gunn side about publishing something for themselves. David is coming out soon and I think he’d like to restore his reputation and go back to Bestwood with his head held high. So there is definitely an interest in their story, but whether I’d be involved in it or not is another matter.
What are you going to write next?
I’m working on a book in tandem with another writer, which is the story of an undercover police officer. Believe it or not he went undercover to infiltrate the miners during the strike. A lot of people wouldn’t realise that the authorities in Nottingham would use their own police officers to resolve what was a civil law situation, but that’s Thatcher for you.
What would you say to people who are afraid to go out at night in Nottingham?
Don’t be scared. The only way things can change and you can reclaim it from the gangsters is by getting out there and making it your own city. Try to impose your own character on the place and cheer it up.
Hoods, published by Milo books, is available to buy online and in bookshops now.
Read a timeline of Nottingham Gunn crime
Milo Books website
Hoods: Gangs of Nottingham book
Write Commentby 44ton Jan 07, 2009, 05:30:58 pmmy copy/copies is/are due to arrive on fri/sat,really looking foreward to it,in fact had to order 4 copies for friends !! sounds like its a good recommendation.we are surrounded by the "cartel",and will be intresting to see how much hype has gone into it as there are a few of us that know the truth regarding some of the things that went off..
by Jared Jan 07, 2009, 05:41:43 pmSweet!
Well hope you enjoy the book and let us know what you think. I rattled through it in a couple of days in the end. If you do think anything is innacurate let me know about it and i'll ask him. But I certainly didn't feel it was sensationalist in it's tone. To be honest I think most of his information has come from the police and victims side...
by NS Jan 07, 2009, 05:48:17 pmIt certainly gives you a bit more information and background than you get in your average news article.I find that to be the case with most things. Crisp packets, reciepts from co-op, spam email, t-shirt slogans.
by 44ton Jan 07, 2009, 06:00:04 pmwith colin it was 50/50 if you were in the pub with him one minute he would buy the whole pub a drink or put money behind the bar,then the next day he would be screaming" wtf are you looking at" one of his lads once threatend to burn my house down for not driving through the estate fast enough,braggin about who they were and so i should know what they do,never happend and that was 6 years ago,,then i was approched by one of them driving his 4by4 for wearing my high viz jacket outside the grove in daybrook,the pratt even asked me if i was a copper then proceeded to ask me who's veihcle he was driving,"well thats colins jeep,and your not colin"i replied,he got out and started walking towards me so i walked towards him,he did no more,turned round,got back in and drove off saying i was a deadman,that was 5/6 years ago n i'm still here
by ben_cipher Jan 07, 2009, 06:44:02 pmlol at the uncle quote 44ton - if i had a pound everytime i heard that!
i got my dad the book for crimbo as he grew up in bullwell and knows lots of the chaps in the book from childhood it seems like a good read - ive had a flick through before it was wrapped and ive got dibbs on it for when hes done!
on the stark contrast ive worked in peoples houses that either know the above named or are family of people written about and to say they are not impressed is an understatement!
by ketch Jan 07, 2009, 07:47:40 pmi also got this for christmas, gonna tackle it after ive finished Karl Pilkingtons new book.
by Jared Jan 08, 2009, 12:26:14 pmOkay, a few questions from me for Carl. Hopefully the interview will be tomorrow so if you have any to ask then please get them on here today if possible.
- Have you received any threats after writing the book?
- You must have sifted through loads of information to write this. Any juicy bits that didn't make the final cut?
- When you did that 'Assasination City' interview with Steve Green, did you realise the stir it might cause?
- Ever commited a crime yourself?
- What you going to write next?
- Your story has many villains, but who do you see as the heroes? The police? The witnesses that withstood pressure from the gans to testify...
by ketch Jan 08, 2009, 12:58:54 pmthis may be answered in the book somewhere, i'm yet to read so...
but, if he isn't from nottingham, what attracted him to write about it?
There must be stories like this for most major cities in the country.
by Purple_Jim Jan 08, 2009, 01:22:35 pmQuestion for him.
Which country is he going to live in when Colin gets out? (jokes)
by 44ton Jan 08, 2009, 01:40:03 pmone from me if you could at all please mate.
is it true that a few people refused to be in the book that he knew were involved in a big way
by floydy Jan 08, 2009, 02:01:18 pmhis publisher Milo Books document a very particular milieu:
CASUALS
Football, Fighting & Fashion: The Story of a Terrace Cult
GUVNORS
The Autobiography of a Football Hooligan Gang Leader
HOOKERS
Candid Confessions of Real Call Girls
NAUGHTY
The inside story of Stoke City's Naughty Forty, one of the most active and organised of the soccer hooligan gangs, as told by a founder member who served in the British Army before embarking on a violent path of a different kind.
so...
where do you get your ideas?
by 44ton Jan 08, 2009, 02:21:55 pmi was in court last year,(not as a defendent btw) and i was talking to a retired cid inspector who was in court when he was giving video evidence from birmingham,he was saying that the gentleman in question just kept sticking two fingers up at him,and he did say he was scared to death of him,one of the worst cases he had ever had to work on in respect o the fear of retribution factor if it all went pear shaped and he'd walked.
by Jared Jan 08, 2009, 02:29:25 pmis it true that a few people refused to be in the book that he knew were involved in a big way
I can (and will) ask him this, but I can also answer it having read the book. Yes, basically. The biggest was probably the guy known in the book as 'The Taxman'. A bigger Notts career criminal than the Gunn's apparantly, but also bloody hard for the police to pin down to anything.
by Jared Jan 08, 2009, 02:37:49 pmWhich country is he going to live in when Colin gets out? (jokes)
Colin Gunn is serving a life sentence though isn't he? So, although i'm sure the author does have some worries about this sort of thing, I doubt it will matter in 30 years.
To be honest I don't think the book paints CG in that bad a light. Most of the information about it is factual and based on police records. Apart from perhaps the allegations of date rape and the weird story about the helicopter escape plan.
by 44ton Jan 08, 2009, 03:06:33 pm
i wonder if he's concerned about daves release which i believe is in april,one of the other guys was released last week who was also implicated,and he's reluctant to leave the house,to say the least.as the support they once had has faded into near inexsistance.people just dont want anything to do with them anymore.
by Lord of the Nish Jan 09, 2009, 12:38:45 pmNAUGHTY
The inside story of Stoke City's Naughty Forty, one of the most active and organised of the soccer hooligan gangs, as told by a founder member who served in the British Army before embarking on a violent path of a different kind.
I have to say that book's really good, particularly the bits when he's in the army (which goes a long way to explaining why some people commit suicide or have massive problems when they get back into society) and when he as a forty-something bloke gets dumped by his new girlfriend after she catches him practising his fronting-up techniques in her bedroom mirror.
by Jared Jan 12, 2009, 02:30:12 pmCheck out this facebook group of people making threats towards the author of this book: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35987918686
Makes me ashamed to share the same city as some of them.
by floydy Jan 12, 2009, 02:38:01 pmare you lot sure you want to be associated with this stuff?
by Jared Jan 12, 2009, 03:06:03 pmare you lot sure you want to be associated with this stuff?
I take your point, but our focus is about the book and the author really. We're certainly not setting out to piss off what's left of the Bestwood mafia. But from my point of view it was (and is) a story worth telling...
Having met the author now I think he's clearly quite a decent and brave man. There's not much profit to be had in a book like that, in a morbid way it's more like a labour of love for him.
by Jared Jan 12, 2009, 03:09:24 pmThis is the original book cover by the way:
It was the publishers decision (not the authors) to change it to that photo of Colin Gunn.
by floydy Jan 12, 2009, 03:18:58 pmwhat the hell possessed him to write it if not money?
by floydy Jan 12, 2009, 03:23:25 pmit'd just be horrible for you lot to end up publicising something that looks so sub-tabloid and exploitative, or giving this parochial nastiness further oxygen
by Purple_Jim Jan 12, 2009, 03:36:36 pmCheck out this facebook group of people making threats towards the author of this book: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35987918686
Makes me ashamed to share the same city as some of them.
Probably the same inbreds who want him freed because he was a lovely man who gave them sweets and stuff.
by Stillman Jan 12, 2009, 05:05:31 pmNot sure if it was on this thread, but the old "My uncle's colin gunn. you're dead" line brought back memories
As an impressionable young man in stabbo in the late 80's this threat was often used. I think some of the clan used to live there but not sure on this.
by Stillman Jan 12, 2009, 05:07:23 pmNot sure if it was on this thread, but the old "My uncle's colin gunn. you're dead" line brought back memories
As an impressionable young man in stabbo in the late 80's this threat was often used. I think some of the clan used to live there but not sure on this.
Hmm to clarify, I didn't use it, I'm not that kind of chap (and more importantly it wouldn't be taken at all seriously)
by D Jan 12, 2009, 06:47:43 pmis it true that a few people refused to be in the book that he knew were involved in a big way
I can (and will) ask him this, but I can also answer it having read the book. Yes, basically. The biggest was probably the guy known in the book as 'The Taxman'. A bigger Notts career criminal than the Gunn's apparantly, but also bloody hard for the police to pin down to anything.
From reading that last section in the book, I think many people could but a decent winning bet on who the taxman is.
by floydy Jan 13, 2009, 09:35:03 amis it barry noble?
by Lord of the Nish Jan 13, 2009, 09:39:54 amHe's long dead.
by Beast of the Kong Jan 13, 2009, 09:48:17 amis it Mark Crossley?
by floydy Jan 13, 2009, 09:49:22 amand was it alright for him?
by floydy Jan 13, 2009, 10:59:53 amis it a shadowy cartel made up of barry noble, derek pavis, paper lace and dennis mcarthy, led by a sociopathic Su Pollard
wreathed in JPS smoke, draped with catamites and soaked in Home mild they plotted the destruction of the city
fuck this tacky provincial gangsterism, there are more important things happening in the world
by Jared Jan 13, 2009, 02:40:55 pmit'd just be horrible for you lot to end up publicising something that looks so sub-tabloid and exploitative, or giving this parochial nastiness further oxygen
Thanks for your concern Floydy.
I personally don't think the book is any of these things, but I can see how people might think it was if they were just judging it purely by it's cover.
On the same token I think some of the stories in it are absolutely fascinating and deserve to be told. Take Dave Francis for example. He was a clever guy from the Meadows who, when at the top of the heroin smuggling trade, also got a legitimate job as the head of a local drugs charity. From that he got respectability (people like Alan Simpson MP had his back) and access to a massive database of drug users (you can imagine how he used that). Scary but true!
Overall we're aiming for a very different slant on this story to that of the tabloids. And you're just going to have to trust us on that one really. When the piece is published then let us know if you think we've let our standards slip. But from my point of view as a journalist I think right now it's one of the most interesting pieces i've been involved with for LeftLion for at least a couple of years.
by floydy Jan 13, 2009, 02:42:05 pmit'd just be horrible for you lot to end up publicising something that looks so sub-tabloid and exploitative, or giving this parochial nastiness further oxygen
Thanks for your concern Floydy.
I personally don't think the book is any of these things, but I can see how people might think it was if they were just judging it purely by it's cover.
handbags at dawn
by floydy Jan 13, 2009, 02:46:35 pmI just meant be careful
no one has come out of covering this business looking particularly good
by Jared Jan 13, 2009, 03:02:29 pmhandbags at dawn
Sorry, I wasn't having a go with that comment at all. I appreciate your concern and I know it's because you care. But I also think that to describe this book as sub-tabloid and exploitative is (in the most literal sense) judging it by it's cover. Which is the only bit of it that I agree is sub-tabloid and exploitative. Just my opinion though.
Thanks for the heads up. Be interested to know what you make of the interview...
by Lord of the Nish Mar 10, 2009, 09:48:31 am
by Metal Monkey Mar 10, 2009, 10:54:12 amOooooh, you guys are in for it now!
How dare you say mean things about Mr Gunn; he's all upset now - and you know how he gets when he's upset.
by Haych Mar 10, 2009, 11:35:39 amWhat a nice, civic-minded chap.
by daley thompson Mar 10, 2009, 11:58:00 amis he on twitter as well i wonder
by Adrian Mar 11, 2009, 01:02:08 pmI've just read the book (thanks to Jared for lending me the book and to my workmate Dave for giving me a nasty cold so I had to stay home in bed and read for a whole day).
Since I read the whole thing in one sitting, I have to say it is a good read and very interesting. To be honest, I'd have been happy if it had just told all the lurid details of the Bestwood Cartel and the police investigation but that wasn't the intention. It is more like a general history of crime in Nottingham since the war. I think where it falls down is that it doesn't really give an idea of what gangs are really like - it just explains their brutality and tactics but doesn't really tell you about the internal dynamics, size, organisation, psychology etc.
by Lord of the Nish Mar 11, 2009, 01:04:17 pm
by seamus flannery Mar 11, 2009, 02:03:46 pmOnly 8,626 hits?
by seamus flannery Mar 11, 2009, 02:07:11 pmApparently Gunn isn't a massive fan of the bookMaybe you should merge this thread with the 'gAOL' thread. Having two threads devoted to the fatty is over-glorifying him a tad.
by Kristil Mar 12, 2009, 08:44:08 pmHavnt read the book yet. but about the stuff with dave francis - there was a book by the jounralist nick davies - dark heart the shocking truth about hidden britain in 1998, the year after dave was sacked. there was also articles in the gaurdian and an enquiry with the drugs charity. staff and drug users who were using the servce were trying to get this out in the open, but wernt believed by the powers that be - some got threatened by daveand lost their jobs.
by Purple_Jim Mar 12, 2009, 10:27:04 pmYou would think a man of such charm, power and following could pull some muscle to knock up a decent website wouldn't you?
Clearly not.
by seamus flannery Mar 13, 2009, 12:37:43 amWhere's NJM's post gone?
by christmasatthezoo Mar 13, 2009, 09:40:02 amI have it on good authority that Al Needham is the 'taxman.' He's been laundering millions through his seemingly legitimate pub quiz for years.
by Lord of the Nish Mar 13, 2009, 09:47:07 am
(smoke)
You're getting closer.
(smoke)
Follow the organ sounds.
by Wallfly Mar 13, 2009, 12:03:47 pmNot quite an "Uncle" case, but my cousin's kid was Jamie Gunn's best mate, Marvin Bradshaw. Until some fuckpig shot him dead in the pub car park and then gobbed at my cousin in court. Then Jamie himself died. What bothers me most here - and I'm speaking as a bloke who's been paid to carry a firearm as part of the job (above board) - is how a young man can hold so much venom and hatred. What kind of suicidal idiot would want to go waving a gun around like that? And then of course, they took FP's ma out in Lincolnshire. I aint a great fan of violence, but I do insist on getting to the roots of the problem.
They should turn this into a fucking musical
by Jared Mar 13, 2009, 01:12:33 pmFookin' hell Wallfly! Thanks for the contribution and for a thoughtful and sensitive post.
Firstly sympathies for your loss. I never knew Marvin, but having read a bit about him, he seems to have been one of far too many innocent victims of this story.
To me the whole thing is like a real-life Shakespearian tragedy. Loads of people dying in unecessary battles for the sake of perpetuating old feuds (Romeo and Juliet), caused by people who want to further themselves at any cost (Macbeth) and an empire ultimately crumbling because the guy at the top started to lose it (King Lear).
by Wallfly Mar 13, 2009, 05:58:34 pmIt's a fuckin pleasure.
by adam Mar 14, 2009, 02:10:47 pmHere's a little ditty that i wrote about Bestwood-
Possibly Nottingham's most dilapidated neighbourhood-
Livin in this area is really no fun-
Cause the local's moral fibre has became undone.
All because of a certain local fam-leh,
That ruled with the fist and the blade of a stan-leh.
If you cause beef in the Bestwood area-
Then these crazy brothers will threaten to bury ya.
The epicentre of chaos, and much blood spillage-
Its probaly best to stay well clear of Bestwood Village!
by Jared Mar 17, 2009, 10:37:55 am
by Jared Apr 17, 2009, 01:28:40 pmDavid Gunn is now out on bail, but also banned from the county.
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Gunn-banned-Notts/article-910193-detail/article.html
