Hucknall: Jack Shaw, 19, of Rockwood Crescent, was fined £220 for drink-driving in an uninsured Volkswagen Golf in Watnall Road, Hucknall, on August 16. Magistrates in Nottingham heard he had 55 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, over the limit of 35. The car was involved in an accident involving a lamppost in Watnall Road, where he failed to stop. Shaw was ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £22 victim surcharge. He entered guilty pleas to all the charges.

Carlton: Gareth Wellburn, 31, of Holme Lodge, was fined £300 for possessing cannabis and cocaine. Magistrates in Nottingham heard he admitted having the drugs on May 11. He was fined £300 and ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and costs of £85.

Newark: Kathryn Davies, 44, of Raglan Gardens, pleaded guilty to assaulting a male and causing criminal damage to a door, door frame and fire extinguisher in Newark on July 15. Magistrates in Nottingham handed her a community order with supervision from the probation service for nine months. She was fined £50 and ordered to pay £75 compensation.

Beeston: Sarah Whitmore, 41, of Potters Court, Beeston, accused of assaulting a female and causing actual bodily harm in St Ann's on July 3, has been bailed to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on September 26.

Toton: Penny Cross, 40, of Kensington Close, admitted stealing £3,298.30 of cigarettes and perfume from Asda Home Stores, Bulwell, between January 1 and May 20. Magistrates in Nottingham ordered her to pay £500 compensation. She must comply with a community order, have probation supervision for 12 months and complete 160 hours of unpaid work.

Gedling: Joshua Anderson, 19, of Queens Avenue, pleaded guilty to assaulting a male in Nottingham on May 16. At Nottingham Magistrates' Court, he was fined £110 and ordered to pay compensation of £50 and a £20 victim surcharge.

Carrington: Ruben Fernandez, 25, of Church Drive, has been bailed to attend Nottingham Crown Court on September 24, charged with having an offensive weapon, a hammer, in Mansfield Road, Nottingham, on August 16.

A 16-MONTH-OLD boy from Nottingham was found dead in a swimming pool at a resort in Jamaica.

The island's police force, the Jamaican Constabulary Force, confirmed that the body of Zimie Brown was found floating in a pool at Hibiscus Villa, Mount Pleasant, in the town of Runaway Bay, on the northern coast of Jamaica.

His family made the discovery at about 8am on Wednesday.

A date for a postmortem examination has not yet been confirmed.

PELHAM Street is the modern name of a very ancient thoroughfare. Back in the days of yore it was known as Gridlesmithgate or sometimes Girdlesmithgate.

Exactly what the origin of the name is no one seems sure, although an educated guess puts the derivation at Great Smith Gate, perhaps named after a citizen of the time or to recognise the number of craftsmen in the area.

The name was dropped in 1800, perhaps to avoid confusion with nearby Bridlesmithgate, and the new name was adopted, recognising the family name of the Duke of Newcastle. Similarly, Clumber Street honours the duke's generosity to Nottingham, taking its name from his vast estate in the north of the county.

Like all old Nottingham streets, Gridlesmithgate was very narrow until it was widened in 1844 from Clumber Street to the present Thurland Street.

A bottleneck existed for another ten years until it was completed down as far as Carlton Street.

Pelham Street was home to several interesting inns, including the Blackamore's Head, which stood opposite Thurland Street on a site later occupied by Boots the Chemist.

It was in the Blackamore that the body of Lord Byron was laid after the long journey from Greece on route to his last resting place at Hucknall in 1824.

The Durham Ox was a starting point for mail coaches to Lincoln and Newark and the Sun Inn was the headquarters of a less-than-popular political party of the late 18th century called the Democrats.

They were declared sympathisers with the French Revolution and the American cause in the War of Independence and were often on the receiving end of anger, including threats to burn the Sun Inn to the ground.

Another inn was the Red Lion, later called the Old Ship. In 1763, an association for the protection of fighting cocks was formed in the hostelry. The nearby White Lion, in Clumber Street, was renowned as a centre for the barbaric sport and a great match was arranged between cocks from London and Nottingham.

Huge sums were staked and hundreds of "fight" fans expected to attend.

However, the night before the great match, someone got into the cocks' training area and succeeded in poisoning so many of them that the match had to be cancelled.

The association offered a reward of £50 (more than £1,000 today) to catch the villain.

Nearby Thurland Street was laid out in 1845 on the site of an historic mansion which was first called Thurland Hall and then Clare Hall.

It was called Thurland Hall from its builder, Thomas Thurland, a wealthy Nottingham merchant, several times mayor and member of Parliament, who died around 1473 and was buried in St Mary's Church.

He built Thurland Hall in 1458, the estate covering more than eight acres, bounded by Parliament Street, Pelham Street, Carlton Street, Clumber Street and Broad Street.

It remained in the Thurland family for around 150 years before being sold to Thomas Markham and later to Sir John Holies, who fought against the Spanish Armada and eventually became Earl of Clare.

He died in Thurland Hall in 1637 and was buried in St Mary's Church. His son John was born in 1595 and was made Recorder of Nottingham in 1642.

It was he who entertained King Charles at Thurland Hall when the king rode into Nottingham to raise his standard at the start of the Civil War.

The Earl of Clare was a Loyalist and suffered for his convictions. He died in 1665 and was buried, like his father, in St Mary's Church.

The fortunes of the house declined over the centuries and it became the courtroom of the Tradesmen's Assembly. At a meeting held there in 1816, it was decided to establish the library which afterwards became the Bromley House Library. The old house was pulled down in 1831 and when a number of buildings were built on the site, Thurland Street was created.

On part of the site the Corn Exchange was built in 1850 and, in 1863, the Nottingham Chamber of Commerce was established there.

It later became the Trades Hall.

A CITY binman has been accused of smashing his lorry into a parked car and driving off – then returning the next day to make threats in a bid to cover up the incident.

Carlton Dowell, of Hyson Green, has denied two charges of using threatening behaviour, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report the crash.

The 54-year-old was driving a refuse lorry for Nottingham City Council when he allegedly hit a blue Volkswagen Bora in Brindley Road, Bilborough.

Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard yesterday that after the incident, Dowell drove off – but the smash had been witnessed by a neighbour.

The car was owned by joiner Jonathan Rice, 20, who had parked in the street while visiting his friend Anthony Pearson, 26.

"I came out on the street and saw my car all caved in," Mr Rice told the court. "I was fuming when I saw it. It was all scratched up from front bumper to rear bumper."

Nigel Pearson, Anthony's father, lives across the road and claims to have seen the bin lorry "scrape the whole side" of Mr Rice's car.

He told magistrates: "I work from home and was delivering some parcels to a courier truck. I saw the back end of the lorry hit the car.

"I saw it scrape down. I thought he [the driver] was going to come back and have a look but they just kept collecting the bins."

He said he wrote the registration number of the lorry on a piece of paper and attached it to Mr Rice's windscreen.

After discovering the damage, Mr Rice, of West Bridgford, and his friend got into a car and went to find the bin lorry. Anthony Pearson told the hearing: "I thought the best thing to do in a hit-and-run was to go and get all the details.

"We both jumped out. Jonathan went over to the passenger side to check for damage and before I had said anything I was told '**** off, I haven't done anything'.

"I was shocked to be attacked like that.

"I felt threatened; he was swearing at me. I thought the best thing to do to defuse the situation was to go back to my car."

Dowell, of Plantation Side, is also accused of returning to the street the next day and threatening the father and son.

"I was stood outside with my mum when he pulled up and leant over from the driver's seat to the passenger window," said Anthony Pearson.

"He said he would lose his job and said he would come back another day with some lads and friends for me and my dad. The first thing that was going through my head was fear for my family."

Dowell's defence solicitor told the court that his client claimed the words exchanged were "dismissive, not aggressive" and he did not believe he had caused any damage.

He also challenged some of the times mentioned by the witnesses, which didn't accord with police records of calls about the incident, on August 6 last year.

Mr Rice told the court the incident had cost him a £500 excess on his insurance to have the £1,500 damage repaired.

The trial continues.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue service has freed a horse from a ditch in East Bridgford. 

Engines from Bingham and Carlton, along with rescue vehicles from Highfield and Tuxford, were called just after 2am on Tuesday to rescue one large horse on Closes Side Lane. 

Specialist large animal rescue equipment was used to free the horse.

It is now in the care of a vet and crews left the scene at around 4.40am. 

<blockquote lang="en"><p>One happy horse to be rescued &amp; one very happy owner. Great work by crews. Mobilised at just gone 2 &amp; just back now. <a href="http://t.co/RR6SJSO5Z6">pic.twitter.com/RR6SJSO5Z6</a></p>&mdash; Damien West (@damien_west) <a href="https://twitter.com/damien_west/status/509207440467173376">September 9, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A NOTTINGHAM business has stepped in to help East Midlands Ambulance Service after hearing that thieves stole a sat-nav from one of its vehicles.

The specialised navigation equipment – which cannot be used inside a normal vehicle – was taken from an ambulance outside a New Basford home on Friday between 9pm and 10pm.

Paramedics were treating a patient at the time it happened.

Steve Bates, of Midland Regional Printers Ltd, in Basford, has now given EMAS a £400 donation so that it can buy a replacement sat-nav.

Mr Bates said: "My son is a paramedic, so I know how hard staff in the ambulance service work.

"When I heard about the theft, I was really annoyed that someone could be so selfish.

"I wanted to help and was more than happy to replace such an essential piece of kit."

CITIZENS will have to step into the shoes of police officers as spending cuts continue to hit the local force.

About £42 million has been cut from Nottinghamshire Police in the past four years as austerity measures from central government saw 20 per cent slashed from its budget.

This led to the loss of 300 police officers and 400 other staff and a number of police station closures.

But Whitehall wants a further £12.7 million to be saved in the next financial year and the force predicts cuts of at least £30 million in the four years after as ministers try to plug the deficit.

Chief Constable Chris Eyre yesterday revealed plans for Nottinghamshire Police to "change shape" to meet the challenge.

As well as an emphasis on working with other emergency services and community organisations, and investing in IT to be more efficient, the plans will mean teams of detectives being replaced by one leading officer and a number of civilian staff tasked with jobs such as taking statements and trawling through CCTV footage.

Mr Eyre said: "We won't know exactly how much the cuts will be until after the general election.

"But if we have to save £30.4 million over the next period, we have to turn the organisation into a different shape."

The county's police and crime commissioner, Paddy Tipping, said the force was doing what it could to "claw back" officers but any additional savings would undoubtedly hit the workforce. In this budget, there are plans for another 100 officers to be recruited but there is no hiding from the cuts."

Phil Matthews, chairman of Nottinghamshire Police Federation, said that changing the roles of officers and increasing civilian staff was not the answer. "From our perspective, we would prefer it if it was still the officers doing these jobs," he said. "Officers can deal with different situations that civilians aren't trained to."

Despite Mr Eyre's determination to recruit more officers, he admitted the future was unsettled.

"We are going to be smaller because someone has nicked the chequebook," he said.

A 60-year-old woman has been saved from a burning flat in Eastwood. 

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue were called to Phoenix Court shortly after 10pm on Thursday after reports of a flat fire.

Crews from Stockhill and Eastwood attended, using thermal imaging cameras and four sets of breathing apparatus to search the flat. 

Firefighters led the woman to safety but her flat was left severely damaged.

She is now in hospital, having been taken by ambulance.

Crews left the scene around 11.40pm. 

KELVIN Wilson feared his Nottingham Forest career was 'finished' – and admits he is delighted to be pushing for a first team return after coming through his injury nightmare.

The defender revealed he was genuinely scared he would have to hang up his boots, as a crippling back injury left him unable to walk or even stand up properly last season.

Wilson started only seven Championship games last season, after the back problem struck just a few months after he had made a £2.5m return to the club from Celtic.

After finally overcoming that problem, the 29-year-old then tore his calf in pre-season training, leading to another six weeks on the sidelines.

Wilson came through his third game with the under-21 squad yesterday, completing a full 90 minutes of a 4-3 win over Millwall at the City Ground.

And he says he is ready for first team duties – if called upon by Stuart Pearce.

But, equally, Wilson says he will not kick up a fuss if he is not involved against Derby at the weekend – because the team has been in flying form without him.

"It has been a long road; it has been a strange time for me," said Wilson. "I came back to Forest and played the first seven games or so, then I had a really horrible back injury and it really did scare me.

"I thought it would finish me. I had conversations with the physios, asking if it was it for me. More than once I asked them 'am I done?'.

"They always tried to keep me confident, they were always confident.

"But there were days where I could not walk. There were times when I could not even stand up straight, never mind play football.

"It was scary for me, because I had not really had any bad injury problems, in my career.

"I came back in pre-season and was feeling really good - right up until I felt my calf just go 'pop' on the training ground. You could hear it, clearly.

"It turned out to be a grade two tear, which meant another six weeks on the sidelines. I have never really had injuries in my career, so it is perhaps catching up with me now."

Wilson feels ready for a return to the senior side – but expects that he will have to bide his time.

"The team are flying and I don't expect to walk back into the team. If I was left out of that side at the minute, with the results they have been getting, I would be knocking on the gaffer's door and asking why," he said.

"I am not expecting to walk back into the team or even the squad, I will have to wait for my chance.

"But I am ready to be involved with the first team now, if called upon.

"I am confident and, if the gaffer asks me to play, I would be ready.

"The back is totally fine. I will always have little niggles with it. But it is fine, it is not slowing me down. I just need to get sharper; to get fitter.

"This is night and day, compared to how I felt last season. It was a scary time."

MUM Elisha Parker has slammed a sheltered housing block after her daughter's fingers were badly burned by a radiator.

Little Lariah Daley was left screaming in agony after she placed her hand on a radiator in the block in the city.

All four fingers on her right hand become badly swollen immediately.

She was taken to hospital to have it treated.

When she had her wound re-dressed a few days later, the skin had peeled off her fingers, which were still badly swollen.

Miss Parker says Lariah, who is only 18-months-old, is facing regular hospital trips to have dressings reapplied to her burns until they have fully healed.

She said: "Her fingers were really swollen. They were a bit of a mess."

The incident happened on Saturday, August 30, at the sheltered housing accommodation in the city where Miss Parker lives with Lariah and her son Tarae.

Miss Parker said she is unhappy because she believes there should be guards placed over radiators to prevent children from touching them.

She said: "The flat is not child friendly. The radiators get extremely hot and there should be something to stop children getting hurt like this.

"If there had been something over the radiator then this would not have happened to Lariah.

"That is why I am so angry and I want some answers from them. I don't think it is acceptable.

"Lariah has been left in a lot of pain and she is having to go back to the hospital every couple of weeks for dressings."

Miss Parker added: "It is also not very nice for my son to see, either. We usually like to go out as a family, going swimming.

"But we are not able to do that at the moment because of Lariah's hand."

The Post is unable to name the sheltered housing where Miss Parker lives.

But a spokesman for the association which runs it said: "We are sorry to hear about Ms Parker's daughter. "Customers can control the heating in their accommodation and they are provided with instructions and given guidance on how to use the system when they first move in. "The safety of our customers is of the utmost importance, and we requested an external contractor to complete an assessment on the radiators and heating system. We are reviewing the recommendations in the report as part of our ongoing investigation."

MUCH can change in the space of six months.

It is a lesson Stuart Pearce will hope Derby County are made to learn this very weekend.

But, more significantly, it is one that the fans of Nottingham Forest are already embracing wholeheartedly themselves.

Because it is hard to imagine how things could have been more different for the Reds, ahead of the first East Midlands derby of the campaign.

As Billy Davies was driven away from the iPro Stadium in late March, following the last local derby, he wore the look of a man who was only too aware of his impending fate.

Slumped low down in the passenger seat as he was ferried off, probably in the direction of the departures lounge of East Midlands airport, the Scotsman himself looked beaten; defeated.

Regardless of his precise destination, Davies was certainly heading out of the exit at Forest. And, as he exited the car park with the taunts of Derby fans ringing in his ears, it was a single moment that perfectly personified Forest's malaise.

That was the club at their lowest ebb.

Having failed to acknowledge the thousands of Forest supporters who had made the journey down Brian Clough Way to witness the horror show that unfolded or, indeed, to offer any kind of explanation for the 5-0 drubbing – instead sending assistant manager Ned Kelly to face the difficult questions from the media – Davies skulked away.

Eight games without a win, their play-off hopes hanging by a thread and a growing division between the manager and the club hierarchy – there was a dark cloud hanging over Forest.

The performance and result against their fiercest rivals merely represented the first rumbles of thunder, ahead of the storm that was to follow.

But, following Davies' departure, the clouds have parted, the air is cleared and the sun is shining bright again, over the City Ground.

And this is not down to one man's exit. It is, more tellingly, because of the work done by his replacement.

Because, without straying too much into Alan Partridge territory, following the revolution, came the evolution.

And the memory of the fall out of that painful afternoon that brought about the end of an era, only serves to put a sharper focus on just how positive the mood is now.

Derby fans, for their part, will have taken as much glee in witnessing Forest's evident problems off the pitch, as they did what unfolded upon it, as the Reds edged ever closer to self destruction following their last meeting.

They may be looking on with some degree of trepidation now.

Derby are likely to be in the final shake up when it comes to the promotion race. Under Steve McClaren, who is a better coach than he demonstrated during his ill fated spell in charge at Forest, the Rams will still be a force to be reckoned with this season.

And they will provide the sternest test Forest have faced yet, when they visit on Sunday.

But, almost regardless of the result, there is one absolute certainty.

And that is that Derby will face a very different; a very much more difficult challenge themselves, as they did when the two sides last met.

Forest, under Pearce, are a hugely different prospect. This is not a side that will raise the white flag of surrender. He has put together a group of players with mental strength and character.

Equally, physically, it will be a very different team side – of the Forest team that started at the iPro (which was: Darlow, Lascelles, Fox, Collins, Jara, Greening, Mackie, Moussi (Henderson 45), Majewski, Paterson (Halford 64), Cox (Derbyshire 79). Subs not used: Harding, Osborn, Gomis, de Vries), only Karl Darlow is certain of his place in the starting line-up this weekend.

Otherwise, ten of the 18-man squad from March have left Forest and a further two have been told they have no future.

Jamaal Lascelles, Danny Fox and Jamie Paterson may find themselves on the bench this weekend. Or even in the stands.

This is not a fixture that will decide the outcome of the season.

But it is one that could perfectly embody the changes that have taken place at the club; one that could personify how significant the steps are that Forest have taken, in the space of just a few months.

Victory would cap off what already feels like an outstanding start to the campaign; one that has seen Forest unbeaten in seven games and sitting at the top of the early season Championship table.

But it is no exaggeration to say that even defeat would not completely dampen the sense of optimism at Forest, such has been the transformation.

When the sides last met, Davies' side were devoid of passion, motivation and organisation. They were picked apart by a Derby side who were well stocked with all three.

What are the chances of Forest being devoid of determination and grit this weekend?

Even if they do not play to their best; even if they were to have an off day, you can almost guarantee that, with Pearce on the touchline, they will be expected to fight for every ball; to contest every challenge as if their life depended on it.

It is the bare minimum that the manager demands.

On the way back from Bournemouth last month, Pearce ran into some Forest fans making the same journey home and stopped to chat.

"They were saying complimentary things about the club," said Pearce of his encounter.

"They talk about pride in the club and pride in wearing the shirt for the club. They want to see a passion. I think regaining the pride is an ongoing thing. You can lose it quickly.

"It takes months and years to gain a reputation, to gain pride. But you consistently have to say and do the right things.

"That is what you have to do. That is what we aim to do."

It is a fight Pearce is winning.

Forest have a new manager, a new squad, a new attitude and a new sense of belief.

Forest left what was formerly known as Pride Park with their's torn to shreds, back in March.

Conversely, they will emerge from the tunnel at the City Ground with their heads held high on Sunday afternoon, with their pride already fully restored by Pearce.

And you suspect, almost regardless of the result, they will return back down it with their dignity still in tact, a few hours later.

More importantly, there is a growing feeling that those who will fill the stands of what is certain to be a sold out City Ground, also now have a manager, a team and a club that they too can be proud to support.

DENISE Wragg has dedicated her life to nursing in Nottinghamshire's hospitals.

The 62-year-old specialist nurse at King's Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield has retired having been in the role for 45 years.

And after more than four decades in the profession, Mrs Wragg, who lives in Mansfield, has seen everything change - particularly the uniform. 

"I felt the dress code was more consistent in the early days; by wearing aprons, cuffs, belts, hats and capes we all felt like 'proper' nurses," she said.

"Everything has changed for the better though, wards are more relaxed and there is a lot more communication – heaven forbid if I even looked at a consultant in the old days."

Mrs Wragg retires as an Orthopaedic Nurse Specialist at the same hospital she started her training at in 1970 - King's Mill Hospital.

After qualifying in 1972 she began her first job on Lister ward at the hospital before moving on to Harlow Wood orthopaedic hospital in Mansfield where she studied for her orthopaedic diploma.

Moving back to King's Mill in 1995 Mrs Wragg qualified as a state registered nurse and in 2002 helped to set up the first orthopaedic outreach service.

The invaluable service allows patients to be discharged within a few days of hip or knee surgery, returning home for rehabilitation and to regain independence with help from the orthopaedic outreach nurses.

The service won an award for best care in the Customer Service category in the Trust's 2011 Staff Excellence Awards, and Mrs Wragg herself was nominated by patients for the Trust's People's Award in 2012.

Although looking forward to spending more time with her family in retirement, Denise said she will miss her friends, colleagues and patients with whom she has worked with for so many years.

She said: "It has been such an honour and privilege to be a part of the nursing profession. Providing care and comfort to patients and helping them get through difficult times has been very important to me.

"I have also enjoyed watching King's Mill grow into the excellent hospital it is today, but through all the advancements what hasn't changed is the heart of nursing - the compassion for patients and the drive for quality care."

Paul O'Connor, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: "Denise has made an incredible difference to many people's lives. She has cared deeply about her patients and ensured they all received the best quality care.

"Denise has been a person other staff enjoyed working with and her knowledge and attentiveness to patients was a valuable asset for the Trust.

"In today's workforce, being employed at any job for that many years is a monumental accomplishment. We would like to thank Denise for her support and commitment to her patients and the Trust."

Have you retired after years of local service? Email newsdesk@nottinghampost.com

THE life of a Sneinton miller, who was also a "scientific genius" is to be displayed at a city gallery.

The New Weston Gallery at the University of Nottingham will feature an exhibition shining a light on George Green.

More than 170 years after his death, mathematical techniques invented by Green, who lived from 1793 to 1841, are still widely used in physics and engineering.

His first essay, self-published in 1828, has been described as "one of the most important works ever written on electricity" and "the beginning of mathematical physics in England".

But Green, who was from Sneinton, died in obscurity.

The exhibition features papers gathered by his biographers and members of the George Green Memorial Fund, and has been curated by Manuscripts and Special Collections at The University of Nottingham.

PLANS to enforce the Workplace Parking Levy in Nottingham with a fixed camera will be discussed tomorrow.

The camera will initially be set up at Riverside Retail Park to check the Workplace Parking Levy at a cost of £66,000 under plans announced last month.

But the Conservative group at the council have 'called in' the decision, meaning it will be discussed at a special meeting at Loxley House on Thursday at 11am.

Councillor Georgina Culley, leader of the Conservative group on Nottingham City Council, added: "These CCTV plans as it further encroaches into private businesses, offers 'big brother' intrusion into our lives and shows yet more evidence of Labour throwing good money after bad."

Council transport chief Councillor Jane Urquhart said: "The trial to use fixed camera technology at specific sites will help both businesses licensing and the WPL team to gather information more cost-effectively.

"While only a very small proportion of the WPL funds are used to administer the scheme, cost savings can be reinvested to improve Nottingham's transport provision."

REGARDING your story about the £20,000 facelift for Long Eaton rail station, this will not eradicate all the problems there. For instance, the electronic display within the booking office is too high up to read and so is practically useless.

And the incessant announcements blaring out every couple of minutes makes waiting for a train unpleasant. Why does Network Rail annoy its passengers in this way?

Although a highway issue rather than a rail one, the problem of cyclists using the narrow footpath under the bridge is dangerous and downright uncourteous.

There are actually cycle paths marked out on this stretch of roadway but if vehicles avoided them they would collide with oncomers as the road is too narrow.

The local garage, which has a season ticket for its van advertising so-called free MoTs, is an anomaly which needs addressing as, often, it takes up a rail user's space when the car park is otherwise full.

EDDIE WALSH

Abbott Street

Long Eaton

WELL, I have never read such rubbish in my life. A councillor asked to resign for referring to some woman as Eva Braun? Ninety-nine per cent of the present population have never heard the name.

Robin Hood was a rogue, a robber, but if somebody called me Robin Hood I'd be flattered.

When I was about ten years old my dad chased me around Goverton Square, Highbury Estate, with his strapping belt after calling him "a bloody owd Kaiser" – not for that but for supping his ale.

ALBERT LAMB

Hartcroft Road

Bestwood Park

REGARDING Jean Taylor's letter about public toilets in Nottingham, I have MS and haven't been able to shop in town for about six years.

I am wheelchair bound and need to use a stand aid or ceiling hoist to use the toilet.

So I would appreciate it very much if anyone could come up with any good ideas to help me and other disabled people in our situation and with our problem please.

I, for one, would pay for the services and help provided.

OLIVE WARD

Lindfield Road

Broxtowe

THERE is no need to panic and go out to buy a powerful vacuum cleaner, just follow the late Quentin Crisp's advice.

He said, don't worry about dust, after a quarter of an inch (depth) it doesn't get any deeper!

W DOE

St Albans Road

Arnold

THE organised protest against the Nottingham tram extensions was irrational.

RL Cooper (Opinion, September 6) tries to pretend otherwise. Of course tramline construction causes traffic disruption and businesses lose trade.

But this is very short term, and no justification whatsoever to claim a tramline should not be built. The right answer is adequate compensation from public funds.

The new tram routes have mitigation with noise barriers and tree planting.

At the public inquiry, the presiding planning inspector did not accept a single argument put forward by the objectors starting off with so-called "noise".

GEOFFREY BENNETT

Ruddington Lane

Wilford

WE have just received a newsletter from a friend who has been working in Donetsk in the troubled Ukraine.

It is quite harrowing and puts a further touch of reality to the news.

What stood out was the actuality of the problems there. We are so insulated in the UK and such real difficulties as he relates – such as no money in the ATMs and pensions etc not being paid – seem a million miles away from us here at home.

Perhaps when moaning about the various niggles here in Britain we should spare a thought for the places abroad that are not peaceful and well ordered.

This should also serve the dual purpose of being thankful and keeping us alert to any attacks on our freedoms.

ANTHONY WILKINSON

Clifton Road

Ruddington

HOW sad to read that Joan Rivers has died.

We went to see her at the Concert Hall the last time she was here and what a show it was. She was just brilliant, although very much below the belt.

That was Joan Rivers; but the icing on the cake was when she was at the stage door, she couldn't have been nicer to everyone, signing autographs and having her photo taken with us all. I gave her some Nottingham Lace with Robin Hood on and she was so grateful, she couldn't thank me enough.

Joan Rivers was a great comedian but most of all a lovely lady.

IRENE HARDMAN

Church Street

Ruddington

I USED the new Victoria Centre escalators today, for the first time. I couldn't understand why the trip from one floor to the next felt 'wrong'.

Then I realised that the yellow strip, usually running along the edge of each step (to warn of the end of the tread) is on the back of each step on the new escalators. Is this right?

I was flummoxed by it!

ANNE WINFINDALE

Adbolton Grove

West Bridgford