April, 2012 | Experience Nottinghamshire

Theatre Royal Nottm exterior night time 2009

Posted on 27 April 2012

Things to do this weekend, 27-29 April 2012

Well you wouldn’t believe May was virtually upon us as the rain seems set in for another week. Here are my top five things to do this weekend:

All About Allen: on Sunday there’s the last of Woody Allen’s comedies in the series at the Broadway Cinema. The Purple Rose of Cairo stars Mia Farrow and Woody Allen himself.

Focus Gallery Exhibition: located on Derby Road a new exhibition opens this weekend with new paintings, ceramics and jewellery from some of the UK’s finest artists and makers.

Tribute to the V-Force at Newark Air Museum: the third of the museum’s V-Force reunions looking at the amazing Victor and Vulcan Aircraft. Includes

Posted on 26 April 2012

Why not try… holidaying on a canal boat?

Erin paid a visit to Hire a Canalboat at Sawley Marina to find out first-hand what a canal boat holiday is all about…

With the busy pace of our modern lives, a holiday which forces us to slow down, relax, and see the world with fresh eyes sounds like just what the doctor ordered. A canal boat holiday ticks all these boxes.

Arriving in Sawley Marina, reputedly the largest inland marina in the UK, fills you with a sense of wonder. This is new territory, especially for someone like me who has never set foot on one of these charming vessels before.

Many of the canals around Nottinghamshire were created to serve

Giles Croft, Helen Edmundson and Miranda Seymour

Posted on 25 April 2012

Author of Frankenstein inspires moving production

We caught up with award-winning playwright Helen Edmundson, to find out more about her play Mary Shelley, which is on now until 5 May at Nottingham Playhouse.

What first drew you to Mary Shelley and her story?

I had read Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ as a teenager and the story had really captured my imagination. Coming back to it, I realised it is much much more than a horror story or a thriller – it is a novel of ideas, and I found myself wanting to discover how a girl of eighteen had managed to write something so philosophically challenging and profound.

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein aged just 18 – what do you think

Posted on 24 April 2012

My Favourite Spots in Nottinghamshire by Alan Metheringham

This week we are sharing Alan Metheringham’s favourite places in Nottinghamshire. If you would like to share your ‘favourites’ with us, email us at social@experiencenottinghamshire.com or use the comment section below. You may feature on our blog and our various social media platforms.

Alan is a local photographer who often shares his gorgeous pictures of the county with us.All the photographs on this page are his. His favourite places are:

“Felley Priory
A favourite place for me is Felley Priory, such a wonderful garden set in the beautiful Nottinghamshire countryside. From early snowdrops and fantastic springtime display of daffodils that carpet the orchard through to the colour of summer and autumn and on to

Posted on 20 April 2012

Things to do This Weekend, 20-23 April 2012

The rain has come hard this week so far but in Nottingham at the moment it’s still dry so let’s not let the weather put us off.

It’s a big weekend with St George’s Day coming up and celebrations take place across Nottingham all weekend and on into Monday. There’ll be activities and entertainment at Nottingham Castle and Old Market Square as well as a St George’s Day Medieval Weekend at Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.

On St George’s Day itself (Monday 23 April), there’s free live music at the Trent Navigation from 6pm when Paul Gibbard performs all things Mod and Britpop.

There are a whole host of attractions involved in

Posted on 19 April 2012

Have a go at.. A Magic Lantern Tour

This fortnight, guest explorer and have a go hunter Erin tells us about her magical tour of The Theatre Royal.

On a beautiful spring day in March, a friend and I arrived at the box office of the Theatre Royal in Nottingham, for the intriguingly named ‘Magic Lantern Tour’ of this beautiful venue in the heart of the city.

Presented by Ezekial Bone (a renowned story teller who has a passion for the city, its history and its characters), we were met by the man himself and joined a group of fellow tour-goers to explore the behind the scenes history of the Theatre Royal.

Completed in 1865, the theatre has

Posted on 18 April 2012

Record Store Day in Nottingham

We asked Joey from The Music Exchange to tell us a bit more about Record Store Day and what is happening at The Music Exchange and in Nottingham to celebrate.

The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived and founded in the USA back in 2007 as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding independently owned record stores in not only the USA but internationally.

The UK soon followed suit in 2008 and has been growing gradually ever since. From a handful of stores in the first year, Record Store Day UK now plays host to over 190 stores.

On April 21st 2012, all of the independently owned record stores join forces with

Vicky McClure - courtesy of Beaumont London

Posted on 17 April 2012

My Favourite Spots in Nottinghamshire by Vicky McClure

This week we are sharing Vicky McClure’s favourite places in Nottinghamshire. If you would like to share your ‘favourites’ with us, email us at social@experiencenottinghamshire.com or use the comment section below. You may feature on our blog and our various social media platforms.

Actress Vicky McClure is one of the UK’s most promising newcomers and is best known for her role as Lol in Shane Meadows’s This Is England. Vicky was born in Nottingham and still lives here today. In 2011, she won the BAFTA for Best Leading Actress for her role in This Is England ’86. Here are her favourite places in Nottinghamshire:

“Being from Wollaton, Wollaton Park is one of my

Posted on 13 April 2012

Center Parcs 25 Year Anniversary

This year is the 25th Anniversary of Center Parcs UK flagship holiday village in Sherwood Forest. Erin Huckle our PR Manager caught up with Karen Henderson, General Manager, who has worked at the venue since it opened.

How did you first start out with Center Parcs?

I started my career at Center Parcs as Housekeeping Manager back in January 1987 and was the first employee recruited by the General Manager on site. At that time the village was being constructed and my initial task was to commence recruitment of key members of the Housekeeping Management team to enable us to commission the completed accommodation units on a phased basis i.e. we were involved with ensuring

Posted on 05 April 2012

Have a go at… Easter Baking with Shelly Preston

With a 50 strong crowd of ladies (and the odd gent), the Welbeck Farm Shop was alive with a buzz of excitable chatter and gentle 80s beats; as foodie smells danced in the air.

I took three friends along to the evening (these demos make for a fabulous evening out), and with a glass of fizz on arrival, and a generous portion of coconut dusted marshmallow (I’m not ashamed to say I had two helpings), we settled into our seats and waited for the show to begin.

Shelly Preston (owner of Boutique Aromatique – last year’s charming little addition to the Welbeck Farm Shop foyer), and her two