Blogs from Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

http://www.heygo.com 17th March - Nottingham Nottingham began in the 6th century as a small settlement called Snotta inga ham. The Anglo-Saxon word ham meant village. The word inga meant 'belonging to' and Snotta was a man. So its name meant the village owned by Snotta. Gradually its name changed to Snottingham then just Nottingham. In the late 9th century the Danes conquered North East and Eastern England. They turned Nottingham into a fortified settlement or burgh. The town had a ditch around it and an earth rampart with a wooden palisade on top. In the early 18th century Daniel Defoe described Nottingham as one of the most pleasant and beautiful towns in England. From the late 17th century salt glaze stoneware was made in Nottingham. In the 18th century the hosiery industry boomed. There was also ... read more

The buzz of the crowd was missing yet again, as I wandered across Trent Bridge. Nottingham Forest were at home with no spectators. They didn't miss anything much mind. The Bournemouth boys arrived from the South Coast with a plan. We are still in lockdown mode, so extended exercise walks are the only travelling possible. After a rather dull and cloudy morning, the sun and blue skies were making an appearance by lunchtime. The England cricketers had been enjoying some sunshine in Chennai on the TV before I ventured out, but then the sun always shines on TV. Alas they hadn't enjoyed much else about their day, as the wickets tumbled to the spinners. We walked up London Road towards the city centre. The Other Half had made a purchase from a central shop, that she ... read more

The steward kept a beady eye on me, as I photographed the old ticket collection point. It was FA Cup 3rd Round weekend. In yesteryear, it was possibly one of the highlights of the football calendar. The modern game and the rise of the Premier League has seen the "top" clubs fielding weakened teams and treating the competition with a degree of contempt. What was the steward doing there just after midday on this cold, bright winter Saturday? The ticket collection point was all locked up. The turnstiles remained closed. Inside the home team had scored after a few minutes of this early start. A rare goal of quality in this stop / start season, but there would be no crowd adulation today. A few club officials and members of the press would the only ones ... read more

Yes that is right . It does say Nottinghamshire up on the title . Makes a change after 89 days of Chesterfield and Derbyshire . It is Day 90 and it is still dull and damp but up to now the rain has kept off . We have a plan and it is a bit different today . Escape as been offered to us and we are embracing it with everything we have .I wake and hear nothing . No pitter patter on the roof. Looking out of the window it is dry - well perhaps dryish is a better choice of word . We get into Gabby and drive . She is parked up alongside a marina . We have driven down a very quiet road and find ourselves looking out over a country park ... read more

My mum used to say that all things came in threes. One good thing would surely be followed by another two. The first bad thing would quickly follow with two more. I am sure she was wrong as for us things seem to come in fours and fives. When something goes wrong it does it with a vengeance . Selling our house for example . We have three offers on the table . The first made before we left for Italy. The couple as lovely as they were had not even got their property on the market. They were convinced once they found our bungalow that they would sell theirs straightaway. Nope they did not . They had a flurry of activity and two people were interested but they had not sold their properties so nothing ... read more