'Discover King John's Palace' project shortlisted for the Big Lottery Fund People's Millions funding programme

'Discover King John's Palace', a project lead by the Sherwood Forest Trust, has been shortlisted for the Big Lottery Fund People's Millions funding programme.

A public vote TODAY (26 November) will decide whether the project gets the funding it needs. Further details and the telephone number to call are here: http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2014-finalists/central-east/discover-king-johns-palace

There will also be a piece on the project on ITV Central East News at 6pm tonight.

'Walking through history' TV programme visits Sherwood Forest

King John's Palace, Kings Clipstone

Tony Robinson (of Time Team fame) will be walking through the history of Sherwood Forest this coming Saturday (22 November) at 8pm on Channel 4. The programme summary reads: 'In Sherwood Forest and the Peak District, Tony Robinson explores the story of King John, the hapless monarch who stumbled from one crisis to another.'

During the programme Robinson will be discussing the intriguing ruins of King John's Palace and the history of Sherwood Forest with Andy Gaunt of Mercian Archaeological Services CIC.

Charity screening of 'Operation Oman: the untold story of a secret war' documentary at the Broadway cinema (16th November)

There is a Royal British Legion charity screening of a documentary film, 'Operation Oman: the untold story of a secret war,' at 12.15pm tomorrow at the Broadway cinema in Nottingham.

The film was made by Nottingham film-maker, Tristan Ofield, about the Dhofar Rebellion in which his father fought between 1969-1975. They returned together in 2011 to make the film, which was the first time his father, Major Nicholas Ofield had been back to Oman in 40 years. It is considered 'Britain’s Secret War', and cost 24 British soldiers lost their lives.

The screening itself will feature an exclusive introduction from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who both fought in and wrote about the conflict, and will conclude with a Q&A with both Major Nicholas Ofield and Tristan.

• Trailer
• Press release

'Under the Music Hall' film being shot in Nottingham

Ellie Wake has sent me details of a film she will be directing in Nottingham next month:

'This November I will be directing a film called ‘Under the Music Hall’ in one of Nottingham’s underground caves, based under the Malt Cross Café bar in Nottingham’s city centre. The Malt Cross is an old Victorian Music Hall, one of the best preserved in the country, and the film focuses on the history of the building and the cave which lies beneath it. The story follows a local girl who investigates the cave and encounters characters from its history. The main periods addressed will be, the time of the Carmelite Monks, The Victorian Music Hall era, and the bombing of Nottingham during WWII in 1941. Our aims with this film are to both raise awareness of Nottingham’s underground cave system, as well as sharing some of its rich heritage through the historical stories portrayed.

The film is also to run alongside a community project which will work directly with the public to collect their experiences of Nottingham’s caves, as well as collecting stories from the past to be compiled as resources to the users of the website. We aim to work with local historians and other volunteers to do this. Our objective with this side of the project is to not only present a useful source of information, but also to provide a means through which locals and visitors can share their experiences with a wider audience, whilst developing a much closer level of personal involvement and interaction with the wide array of historical subject matter involved.'

The film-makers are currently in pre-production and are seeking to raise the funds needed to shoot the film through crowd-funding website IndieGoGo.

• Online funding campaign webpage for the film
• The 'Under the Music Hall' Facebook Page
• Press Release

Special offer on 'A City of Light: Socialism, Chartism and Co-operation - Nottingham 1844'

Christopher Richardson, author of 'A City of Light: Socialism, Chartism and Co-operation - Nottingham 1844' has been in touch to say that he has 'recently refurbished and improved the web site for my book, with new information on people and places I wrote about and some additional illustrations.'

There is also a 'seasonal special offer' on the opening blog: £7.99 incl. p&p, signed and gift wrapped, and a donation to a local history society. Visit acityoflight.wordpress.com/ for further information.

Day school on life on the 'Home Front' in Nottinghamshire during the First World War, 25 October 2014

A joint Thoroton Society/Nottinghamshire Local History Association day school will be taking place on the 25 October at Ravenshead Village Hall.

The subject is life on the home front in Nottinghamshire during the First World War.

Further details and a booking form are available on the NLHA website.

Eastwood on the Home Front exhibition: 5 September - 2 November 2014

Open day at King John's Palace, Kings Clipstone: 6th September

Mercian Archaeological Services are holding an OPEN DAY for their archaeological excavation at King John's Palace, Kings Clipstone in Nottinghamshire. The site is being excavated as part of their field training school and will be open between 11:00 and 16:00 on Saturday for the following: 

• Tours of the site discussing the designed medieval landscape of the palace,

• Tours of the standing ruins,

• Finds and Pottery handling,

• Results from the latest geophysical surveys,

• Display boards for the Sherwood Forest Archaeology Project and from Mercian Archaeological Services, and and news about the latest Sherwood Forest Bus Tours www.sherwoodbustours.com,

• Stalls hosted by local heritage groups including Friends of Thynghowe and the Spa Ponds Nature Reserve.

Visitors can also learn about the latest results and research from the project researching the heart of Sherwood Forest, find out about the latest news from Mercian's Edwinstowe Project and all the other upcoming fieldwork and opportunities coming soon. Further details and a map are available here: http://www.mercian-as.co.uk/fieldschool.html.

Past Lives Project in Nottingham

I've been contacted by Debbie Cooper who is coordinating the Past Lives Project in Nottingham over the next few months. The project is funded by the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund and is calling out for local cine film, photos and history featuring everyday lives of the region. Local film will be digitised for free to use within the project and the depositor will get a free digitised copy as well.

In 2012 the team worked with MACE to produce a film of the Midlands using cinefilm from 1930s to the 1970s, now they are doing the same for Nottingham. There is a short YouTube video showing how they work.

The project will be organising archive days, memory events, cine film viewing and digitisation.

The first event will be a photo and cine film heritage day on 9th August, 1-4pm.

See the Past Lives Project flier for further information.

D H Lawrence Festival 2014, 5-25 September

This year's D H Lawrence Festival will run from 5th-25th September. According to the organisers, 'the programme is packed with events celebrating both the life and work of D.H. Lawrence and the rich heritage and culture of this part of Nottinghamshire where he was born and raised, and which so influenced his work' and will include:

• Creative workshops
• Drama
• Exhibitions
• Film screenings
• Guided tours and walks
• Lectures
• Open days
• A Mining Heritage Day
• Music
• Reading groups

Download the Festival wall planner for further details.

Talk on 13 September in Retford: ‘Prophets, Martyrs and Pilgrims – the Christian heritage of our region’

British Film Institute video archive

The British Film Institute has recently made a wealth of archival and historical films available free to access online for the first time. Among the many videos now available are several showing life and work in Nottingham.

There are three relating to Raleigh cycles:

• Raleigh: Fred Mitchell
• The TI Raleigh Campagnolo racing team during the 1982 Tour of Romandie in Switzerland
• Nottingham's Lord Mayor launches a scheme in 1973 in which riders in Nottingham will be able to use the new city centre pedestrian streets

There is also a fascinating tram ride through Nottingham city centre filmed in 1902:

• Tram ride through Nottingham

Archaeological excavation at Rufford Abbey

The Community Archaeology team from Nottinghamshire County Council and local volunteers are excavating parts of the medieval monastic church at Rufford Abbey, near Ollerton. Foundations uncovered seem to suggest that the church was larger than originally thought.

Follow developments on the Community Archaeology Facebook page.

Community archaeology project in Edwinstowe, 14-25 July 2014

The Robin Hood's Village Volunteer Dig in Edwinstowe starts work today. It could well turn out to be the largest free community excavation undertaken in the county with over 100 people volunteering to take part in over 13 days of archaeology.

Further information is available on the Sherwood Forest Archaeology website and Mercian Archaeological Services will be publishing photographs and updates on the project on their Facebook page.

The Hucknall Byron Festival, 28 June - 6 July 2014

The Byron Festival in Hucknall has only just come to my attention - not sure how that managed to fly under the radar! The programme is interesting and varied, including a 'Byron Afternoon Tea' at Colwick Hall (with a lecture by Prof John Beckett on Mary Chaworth and Colwick Hall), and various tours, lectures and performances.
The full programme is available on the International Association of Byron Societies' website.