Communications and Marketing Coordinator and Project Support Administrator, Billie and Davia attended the prestigious Goose Fair Dinner and The Nottingham Awards. It wasn't all smooth sailing as Billie tells the story of a Derby girl in Nottingham.
Thursday 26 of September, marked a significant day for this Derby girl as I set out to experience that most Nottingham of events – The Goose Fair. More specifically, I was attending the Goose Fair Dinner and the Nottingham Awards.
The Goose Fair goes back a few years (728 of them to be exact-ish), to the good old days, when Geese were driven from Lincolnshire to Nottingham market. Now before you get images in your head of cartloads of geese, or geese on leads. The geese were walked, with their feet coated with a mixture of tar and sand to protect them on the long journey. But I digress. The official fair opening that celebrates the triumphant goose march has been accompanied by an awards dinner for 11 of those 728 openings, starting all the way back in 2012, which if my internal clock is correct, should not be over 10 years ago. Jane Todd, our Chair, was a winner of one of the first awards given out.
It was an ordinary office day when Davia and I were invited by Jules (NCVS CEO) to attend the event on behalf of NCVS. A whirlwind of 'what do we wear?' ensued, thanks to the miracle of next-day delivery, we were prepared.
Thursday arrived, and I left the office early to get home and change. Disaster struck when the trams were halted due to a faulty tram. The prospect of attending a fancy dinner in my work clothes loomed large. Fortunately, the trams resumed service after a 20-minute wait. During this time, I inadvertently became part of a nearby passenger's video call, dodging her flailing hands as she chatted away. Thankfully the tram arrived and I hurriedly took my seat. As we were nearing the train station, the tram driver started to make an announcement, which was promptly drowned out by the sound of an alarm. Would I have to get off? Would I ever get home? My journey continued, and so did the alarm, for a few more stops before a slightly red faced girl pulled out her personal protection alarm and quickly turned it off.
Once home, I quickly showered and changed before heading back out. Davia and I met at the Motorpoint Arena, checked in, and received our complimentary drink token. We said a quick hi to Angela and had a pleasant chat with the lead of Public Health, who complimented Davia’s shoes as we hung up our coats.
Inside, we cashed in our free drink token and met up with Hon Alderman Merlita Bryan, before moving over to a quieter spot. Alderman Tom Huggan rang the bell to call us up to the main room and we began the dignified scramble for the lifts. We'd been seated at table eleven (at the far end of the room) which also housed, amongst others, Cllrs Corall Jenkins, Patience Ifediora, and June Stewart from Nottingham College’s Learning Support Unit. Also in attendance at the event were Police Crime Commissioner Gary Godden and his deputy, Angela (who you may recognise as previously NCVS Changing Futures Ethnic Minority Community Engagement Coordinator), NCVS trustees Eunice Cambell-Clark and Michael Khouri-Bent (whose company, Lets Move Ltd, was sponsoring the event) as well as Leader of Nottingham City Council Cllr Neghat Khan and Cllr David Mellen.
The evening kicked off with speeches from Alderman Tom Huggan and Jon Rea from Nottingham City Council, before a toast and grace from Cllr Carole McCulloch, Lord Mayor of Nottingham and Reverend Jo Tatum, Lord Mayor’s Chaplain. The starters, roasted Mediterranean vegetable bruschetta, were disappointingly as solid as a rock - two out of five stars. The main course, pan-roasted chicken, redeemed the meal, especially with the arrival of gravy boats - four out of five stars.
As the event ran late, we enjoyed a performance by singer-songwriter Alice Lynn, a proper musician as my dad would say as she also played the guitar (she is on Spotify if you wish to hear her music). Just as the first award was presented, a tram strike notification on Davia's phone pinged, the trams would strike tonight. If I was to make it home I'd have to leave right then. I would also miss the mango and passionfruit cheesecake. Gutted.
I collected my things and made the seemingly endless walk through the tables, ducking my head in shame and whispering apologies as I went, before bolting out of the door, grabbing my coat, and jumping into a lift. Disaster - I'd pressed the wrong button and now found myself face to face with an ice rink. Frantically swivvelling back into the lift I managed to find the exit. Speed walking through Nottingham’s nightlife I had remembered my way back. No small feat for someone with the same sense of direction as a dizzy turtle (apparently, they are known for it). Waiting for my tram, I observed the city's evening buzz, from party-goers to the homeless community seeking safety for the night.
On my tram ride home, a message from Davia popped up with a photo of the much-anticipated cheesecake. It did look nice.
‘Nope, you didn’t miss anything, it was weird’
‘Oh?’
‘I ate it, but nah’
‘Mine too?'
‘Yeah’
‘You monster’
That settled it, I would need to find a cheesecake to replace the one I'd missed out on. Which I did, a nice chocolate one from ASDA, they weren't weird, and yes, I ate both.
The evening's winners included Robert Ghahremani, The Friends of Wollaton Park, Tranai Todd, and Barbara Bates, whose inspiring stories can be read here.
People from Derby might be known as rams or ducks, but for that night, I was very much a goose on the loose! Five out of five stars, highly recommend.
If you see one of the team out and about; come over and say hi!
