The Tartan Army

Historical documents record, over hundreds of years, regular invasions by armies from Scotland into England, ‘The Auld Enemy’. The 17th century was particularly busy until The Acts Of Union brought the two nations together in 1707. That didn’t stop Bonny Prince Charlie laying claim to the throne. Gathering support, as part of the Jacobite rebellion…

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My Grandad’s Game

“It’s really important to tell their stories and I’d love to hear grandad’s story, and he wants to do it,” Vicky McClure, 2023. Eighty years ago, the D-Day Landings took place on the beaches of Normandy, France, among them, a promising young footballer, Ralph McClure, of Collingham Footway, the Meadows, in Nottingham. Fast-forward eighty years,…

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Night Match

Is there anything quite like a match at the City Ground on a winter’s night? Something about darkness intensifies the experience as senses shift into hyper-alert. Every smell becomes essence of, whether it’s fags, beer or burgers. Every sight gains another characteristic, from a black velvet, rippling Trent, to a stadium so illuminated it has…

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A Stain On The Game

Sounds, smells, taste, touch, places and things can all evoke powerful, personal associations for us. These can be life-affirming, beautiful and positive, sometimes the opposite, sometimes good and bad. And the trigger for the memory might not be obvious. Take bananas. They are nutritious and much loved in sport by such as tennis players at…

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