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Interview: Author Ian C Douglas' new creative writing courses at Nottingham Trent University

This summer, local author Ian C Douglas is teaching two new world-building courses as part of Nottingham Trent University's Creative Short Courses programme. He chats to LeftLion about making stuff up... 

Left Magpie: Jimmy Sirrel, Don Masson and the Anglo Scottish Cup

With Burns Night on the horizon on Sunday 25 January, we invited our regular Notts County, Mansfield Town and Nottingham Forest football columnists to muse on the influence of Scotland in the history of their own clubs. 

Below, Julian McDougall - our Notts County specialist - gives his take... 

Three days of darkness and light: the Nottingham attacks as they happened

Two years on, Benedict Cooper remembers how the city came together in the wake of the Nottingham attacks, in which students Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber and caretaker Ian Coates were tragically killed.

Come and Sing with Sir John Rutter at The Royal Concert Hall

Led for a fifth great year by the celebrated composer and conductor John Rutter, Come and Sing is an afternoon of choral singing to lift the spirits. All proceeds from the concert go to the Nottingham Refugee Forum too. The four concert organisers (Margaret, Hilary, Jane and Dave) shared their combined thoughts on the event with us…

We chat with Ian Broudie about goals, inspirations and Nottingham memories

The Lightning Seeds were formed in 1989 and named after a misheard Prince lyric, with frontman Ian Broudie going on to become one of the best tunesmiths of his generation, a writer of wonderfully melodic and uplifting indie-pop songs tinged with the band's custom vulnerability. Ahead of the band's return to Nottingham on 14th November, as part of their tour celebrating 35 years of the band and aptly timed to follow up on the release of their Greatest Hits album, Tomorrow’s Here Today, we had the chance to speak to frontman, producer and songwriter Ian Broudie...

Caves, campervans and comedy: the life of a Notts comedy promoter

Ian Whitcombe started off running comedy shows in his local pub and now has big names calling up for a gig. He talks to Left Lion about his role in the Nottingham Comedy Festival, the acts he has nurtured, and his own journey into the land of laughs... 

Review: An Audience with Sir Paul Smith at Nottingham Playhouse

The Beeston-born fashion guru took time out from his busy schedule to support Nottingham Playhouse with an evening of conversation...

Concert Review: Sir Mark Elder's Farewell Concert

The Hallé marks the end of Sir Mark Elder's glittering career with a farewell concert at the Royal Concert Hall...

Concert Review: The Hallé Sir Mark Elder review

Ian C Douglas went to see the Hallé conducted by Sir Mark Elder at the Royal Concert Hall...

Nadia on… Coming Together Through Grief

Our regular columnist and Nottingham East MP reflects on the loss of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates...

Gig Review: Sir Chloe at The Bodega

Following the official release of their sophomore album I am the Dog, alt-rock band Sir Chloe take the stage at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms, promising fans a culmination of tracks new and old...

Nottingham Students Design Exclusive Collection With Sir Paul Smith

Two Nottingham powerhouses have teamed up to cement Nottingham’s place on the map for top fashion...

A Favourite of Sir Elton John, We Hear About Nottingham Fashion Brand Daniel Hanson

Launched by the late Daniel Hanson and his wife Julie Hanson in 1989, Nottingham luxury dressing gown and fine garment design and manufacturer brand, Daniel Hanson, has garnered an elite following for over three decades. Its premium fabrics and exquisite designs have made it a household name in Hollywood, amongst royalty and around the world. We catch up with Associate Julian Hanson and his mother, Managing Director Julie Hanson, to find out more about this special family-run business…

The Thompsons on Style, Sir Keir Starmer and Dressing as Twins

Nottingham's most opinionated grocers on...

Out of Time: Sir Francis Willoughby and the Construction of Wollaton Hall

Wollaton Hall has been a centrepiece of the Nottingham landscape for just under five centuries, proudly overlooking the city from the summit of its glorious grounds. We take a look at the unique life of Sir Francis Willoughby, a controversial yet influential figure who paid for the construction of the iconic mansion back in 1580...

Out of Time: Sir Peter Mansfield, The Nobel Prize Winning Notts Lecturer Who Pioneered MRI Scans

From becoming a University of Nottingham lecturer to winning a Nobel Prize for his work on the technology behind MRI scans, Sir Peter Mansfield is one of the finest minds in Nottingham’s history. On what would have been his 88th birthday, we celebrate the life and legacy of a true genius who, despite his incredible achievements, always remained humble…

Out of Time: Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe, the Medieval Knights Who May Have Had a Same-Sex Union

During the 1913 renovation of a mosque in modern-day Istanbul, a fourteenth century tomb was rediscovered bearing the names of two men. The first was Sir William Neville, a former Constable of Nottingham Castle, while the second was Sir John Clanvowe, the man said to have penned the Robin Hood ballad upon which all later iterations of the legend are based. But the nature of the tomb, and other recorded evidence, suggests that Neville and Clanvowe could have been bonded in an early example of a same-sex union…

The History of Sir Frank Bowden and the Raleigh Cycle Company

We take a look at the life of Sir Frank Bowden, the man responsible for creating The Raleigh Cycle Company and making Nottingham the largest producer of bicycles in the world...

The Siren - A Short Story by Esther Kearney

A short story about nature, nostalgia and new beginnings...

Sir David Attenborough is Backing the Bid to Buy Attenborough Nature Reserve

Try saying that headline three times fast.

Sir Trevor Nunn and Kenny Wax are Putting on a Musical in Nottingham

One of them is the multi-award-winning producer of The Play that Goes Wrong, Top Hat and Six. The other is one of the most legendary figures in the history of theatre, winning numerous Tony and Olivier Awards, directing the likes of Cats, Starlight Express and Les Misèrables, and being named by The Telegraph as one of the most influential people in British Theatre. Together, Kenny Wax and Sir Trevor Nunn are launching Identical, a brand-new musical premiering as part of the new season at Nottingham Playhouse… 

Have I Got Newstead For You: Ian Hislop On His Satirical Exhibition Showing at Newstead Abbey

Private Eye Editor and Have I Got News For You panellist Ian Hislop is no stranger to satire. He was in Nottingham recently to launch an exhibition of satirical art at Newstead Abbey. It’s an offshoot of the British Museum’s 2018 exhibition I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent. Together with British Museum Curator Tom Hockenhull, Ian has selected nine of his favourite British satirical prints by Gillray and Cruikshank, among others, which are on display all summer...

Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff is a YouTube Sensation

Nottingham is crazy about science, with a grand history of making leaps and bounds in innovation and research. The University of Nottingham has a large part to play in this, and for those who get a kick out of seeing what happens when you mix up chemicals, set a flame to gases, and the behaviour of volatile substances, their Research Professor of Chemistry, Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff, has made a series called The Periodic Table of Videos to satiate the inner nerds in us.

Flood Plains Modelling with Ian Bartlett

As the days get darker and the nights get colder, the rain is sure to fall, which in some parts of the country may mean the misery of flooding. One local man, Ian Bartlett, has been creating models to help communities understand how to prevent flooding in the first place...

Ian Livingstone Talks Fighting Fantasy

To celebrate 35 years of the Fighting Fantasy books, Ian Livingstone came to Central Library to talk about their history and run a workshop on how to write your own adventure.