The buzz of the crowd was missing yet again, as I wandered across Trent Bridge. Nottingham Forest were at home with no spectators. They didnt 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 hadnt 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 needed to collect. The main Midland Railway Station was away to our left, but on our right was the London Road Railway Station. It once housed the operation of the Great Northern Railway and their route to London Kings Cross via Grantham. They even had the cheek to declare a faster route time than the rival service to London St Pancras. The building
opened in 1857, but finally ceased operations in 1967 when Grantham service was diverted to the Midland. The main entrance still looks every bit a railway station, but is now the hub of the Virgin Active health club. A sign on the railings above the adjacent canal advertised the Island Quarter. In truth, it is more of a concept than a reality. A nucleus of buildings has been in place nearly 20 years, but the rest of the land remains effectively waste ground. The BBC, Premier Inn, a NHS Walk In Centre and a Government building form the entrance gateway, but under normal circumstances the land before us is just a rough car park for big events at the nearby Arena. A COVID testing centre recently in situ, has now been dismantled and moved on. Is it a sign of better things on the horizon? The buildings on the far side go under the title of and are a sort of research centre of excellence. It is also a National Chemical Landmark, no less. A blue plaque on the wall by the main entrance says as much. It is all very dramatic, but this is where the research was
undertaken for Ibuprofen. The next time you reach for your remember where it was developed. The building was originally part of the Boots empire and known as E3 Building - the home of the biological and medical sciences research. Boots are synonymous with the Beeston area of the city, but had other premises in this area. A plaque on Station Street opposite the side of the Midland Railway Station Marks those killed, when the building took a direct hit from enemy bombers on 9 May 1941.
The Nottingham Arena is a just a stones throw round the corner. The current sponsor, Motorpoint, has a logo emblazoned on the exterior. Whatever the sponsor, the official title of the building is the National Ice Centre. It was constructed between 1998 and 2000 and is perhaps a fitting legacy to the Nottingham skating duo, Torvill and Dean. The building replaced the old Nottingham Ice Stadium, which had probably seen better days. The now has a 10,000 capacity and a separate practice ice rink. If the rink space is used, the capacity is even higher. It stands ironically on Bolero Square, in homage to the gold medal night performance in
Sarajevo all those years ago. The current pandemic has seen all fall quiet in the last year. There have no big concerts or home games of the other main user, Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team. The ice hockey season was abandoned a couple of weeks ago without a puck being fired in anger. The likelihood of any major concerts being able to go ahead in the next few months looks zero, so Liittle Mix can rest easy knowing that their attendance record will remain intact for some time In case anyone is inquisitive, 15, 685 is the record crowd they crammed in for them.
We headed into the Lace Market.
