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John Blanche 1948-2026

It is with sadness that we report the passing of legendary illustrator and Games Workshop Art Director John Blanche, who died on Monday 1 June at the age of 77...

Red Sea FC: the refugee football team building community through the beautiful game

Red Sea FC are a hardworking local football team. Founded in 2019, they provide a welcoming found- family and shared cause for refugees living in Nottingham. Freya Peters heads to the Forest Rec to meet founder Ezedin Osman to find out what motivates him and how the players are finding community far away from home… 

Film review: GAME

The debut film for INVADA Films, a new Bristol-based project fronted by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrows, GAME stars Marc Bessant and Jason Williamson (Sleaford Mods)...

Game on: two Nottingham Panthers talk the upcoming ice hockey season

Luca Sheldon and Jordan Kelsall are the two local players on the 25/26 Nottingham Panthers roster. We sat down with them to explore what it means to wear the Panthers jersey, as Nottingham lads, and how they’re feeling about the 2025/26 campaign.

Our May cover artist Becky Appleyard talks comic books, table-top games and advice

This month’s cover artist Becky Appleyard talks comic book art, inspirations, and advice for artists…

By the willows: Refugee Roots and Red Sea FC bring the beautiful game to Attenborough

Refugee Roots a local charity helping refugees build friendships and find a place to call home recently sponsored the Red Sea FC, a team largely made up of refugees whose goal is to ‘bring together sport-loving youth from all over the globe.’ The team made up of members of the refugee and migrant communities that have recently arrived to Nottingham and consider this city their second home entered the development league and proudly wear the kit sponsored by Refugee Roots. 

At the game where the team premiered wearing their new kits, volunteer befriender and language teacher Dr Christopher Towers, a poet, academic and football lover who also has a particular passion for football poetry and written collections such as Hinterlands made sure he wasn’t on the bench for this game and came to experience it all.

Lucky for some: We meet the host of Bongo’s Bingo, a night out that is redefining a classic game

A decade since they burst onto the scene, Bongo’s Bingo has led the way to reinventing the classic number game - bringing dance-offs, rave intervals, and audience challenges to provide a whole lot more fun and chaos than the traditional format. Now moving to a new home at The Palais on Lower Parliament Street, we spoke to host Adam Apple to find out what it’s like to call the numbers and manage the mayhem.

The Beautiful Game: Notts County through the photographer’s lens

John Anderson is a professional photographer with a passion for Notts County FC. After years of corporate jobs and taking photos of Queen Elizabeth, in 2016 he decided to pursue a passion project and take photos at Meadow Lane. However, his focus is usually on the crowd rather than on the pitch… 

What happens when you realise winning means betting on others losing? Gary Stevenson knows first-hand.

Gary Stevenson became the youngest and most successful trader in the city. Now he shares the insider's guide to the financial world that influences all our lives. 

Back to our Roots: How Roots Allotments are changing the gardening game

Whether it’s a hunger for connection with nature, or healthier, nutrient rich food, allotment gardening has seen a surge in interest in recent years. In the face of towering waiting lists for council-run plots, Roots Allotments are shaking things up with a fresh approach. We visited their new Nottingham patch to find out what the excitement’s all about.

A gamemaster in Notts: we hear from an escape room employee

Escape rooms have become quite a craze in recent years - so much so that Nottingham is lucky to boast almost fifty different rooms in and around the city. Ranging from the family-friendly and fun to the downright creepy and challenging, the premise is simple - your team is locked in a space for typically one hour and must solve a series of puzzles in order to escape - and with intricate sets, curious props and clever narratives, they make for an immersive and unique experience. 

We decided to chat to one gamemaster in Notts to see what goes on behind the scenes, learn how the stories are created, and hear some of the strange observations they get on human relationships …Can you guess which escape room we spoke to? 

The Name Game: We Find out the Stories Behind Some of Nottingham’s Weird and Wonderful Band Names

Generating names is always a hard task, and when it comes to naming a band, it becomes part of your identity in a strange way. And in Nottingham, it’s safe to say we’ve got some weird and wonderful examples which really do stand out among the crowd. But not only do they stand out, they also generate mind-boggling questions… So, we thought it was time we got some answers. We asked an array of Nottingham bands to tell us the true meaning behind their names. Well, we did tell them they could make something up if they wanted to, actually. So, believe these at your own risk…

Match Report: Nottingham Panthers vs Manchester Storm 18.11.23 - Adam Johnson Memorial Game

The Nottingham Panthers held a memorial game at the Motorpoint Arena in honour of their player Adam Johnson, playing against Manchester Storm in a friendly match on Saturday night. Natalie Owen was at the game to report for LeftLion. Here's how they got on…

AI Up Mi Duck: An Interactive Fiction Game Exploring Transhumanism, Poverty, and Whether the Broadmarsh Centre Will Ever Get Finished

It’s 2123 and life has got a bit rubbish. Humans are unemployed because AI does everything for them. This means there isn’t much to do other than sit inside and watch telly; Fortunately, there’s l-o-a-d-s of channels. This is the concept for AI Up Mi Duck, an interactive fiction game exploring transhumanism, poverty, and whether the Broadmarsh Centre will ever get finished… 

Football Isn’t Just a Game: How Teaching English to Foreign Players at Nottingham Forest Formed Life-Changing Connections

Emily Boaler was just seven years old when her mum was offered a job teaching English to foreign players at Nottingham Forest. So began a love of languages, football and life-changing connections...

Bella Ramsey, Nottingham-Born Star of The Last of Us, Visits LeftLion to Chat Projects, Platforms and Perfecting Performances

Cool. Calm. Composed. The LeftLion team were none of these things when Bella Ramsey, the Nottingham-born star of global HBO sensation The Last of Us, swung by the office recently. Yet all three of these words perfectly describe the nineteen-year-old, who chats openly about fame versus celebrity, taking on beloved characters, and choosing the right projects. Here’s what the super-talented Television Workshopper had to say during an hour-long interview in Sneinton Market…

Review: Nottingham Video Games Expo 2022

It might only be the first year of this brand new gaming event - but it kicked off with a bang...

Nottingham Launches Brand New Video Games Expo

Taking over Carlton’s Richard Herrod Centre a week before Christmas, the brand new Nottingham Video Games Expo gives gamers the chance to enjoy some talks, grab some merch and share some stories this December. We chat to organiser James Jarvis all about it…

Review: A Celebration of the Music from Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Our Rich Higton took a trip to the Royal Concert Hall for this magnificent musical event...

Sherwood’s Paper Fort Games Discusses Their New Release, Cosmoctopus

A conspiracy theorist’s dream, Cosmoctopus, the new board game from Sherwood-based publisher Paper Fort Games, explores what would happen if octopuses were actually alien. Following the launch of its Kickstarter campaign, Lead Developer Chris Kingsnorth tells us what to expect…

Inside Art of Football’s Mission to Make the Beautiful Game a Source of Community, Identity and Celebration

Just a couple of avenues up from the LeftLion offices sits Art of Football, a Sneinton-based arts and fashion brand that centres around - you guessed it - football. They’ve seen their bucket hats on Ian Wright’s head, they’ve collaborated with Umbro, and they’re still only just getting started. We chat to Director Luke Cuthbert about immortalising people’s memories, the importance of community, and their plans for the future…

The Thompsons on Greek Mythology, the Queen's Jubilee and the Invictus Games

Nottingham's most opinionated grocers on...