It was Arnold Summer Fair on Saturday, not to be confused with Arnold Carnival which traditionally occurred around this time. Our local council, Gedling Borough council, used the opportunity to celebrate diversity, recognising the 75th anniversary of the Windrush arrivals and other migrant communities that make Nottingham a diverse and inclusive society. One cracking idea from the council, was the inclusion of a spoken work session on the main stage by the “Nott another Poetry Collective”. Compare of the spoken work event was Jay Sandhu. Jay is a writer, has worked on BBC radio Nottingham, is a stand up comedian, poet, performer and producer.
Jay read extracts from the book “Race”, which is a collection of Jay’s works and others about racism, politics, history and women’s rights. The pieces Jay spoke were about racism and Jay’s black heritage. Well that was my interpretation, I was looking after and entertaining my 9 month old grandson, Alfie at the time, so may have missed some points, but that was the vibe I heard from Jay’s words. It was a difficult audience for Jay and the artists as traditionally the stage has played host to music and dance and the audience were probably more in tune with “Hi Ho Silver Lining” and “We Will Rock You”. Having said that, the artists went down well with the audience and received generous applause.
After the session was over I approached Jay and asked if I could take some photos for my street strangers project. We went behind the stage to take some photos, using the black backdrop of the stage as a canvas for Jay’s portrait.
You may notice that Jay is wearing and Umbro England football shirt, but under closer inspection you can see that the badge says Loyle Carner Football Club. Loyle Carner is a hip hop musician, well known to those who follow that genre and played Glastonbury at the weekend to high critical acclaim. Loyle is a friend of Jay. What I love about my stranger meets are the back stories, a simple chat with Jay and we’ve explored racism, hip hop and Glastonbury. Oh and Jay knows some of the people I follow on social media, particularly people from the fabulous National Justice Museum.
Thanks for letting me photograph you Jay, it was good to meet you. I hope you like the photos.
@boxplayer thanks Box' , poetry in Arnold , a hard sell , it's not as 'gentle' as Beeston, although we actually have a theatre , the only one in the suburbs of Nottingham !!!
@bkbinthecity cheers Brian
@marlboromaam that's so kind of you mags
@boxplayer thanks Box' , poetry in Arnold , a hard sell , it's not as 'gentle' as Beeston, although we actually have a theatre , the only one in the suburbs of Nottingham !!!
@rensala thanks Renee, the back stories do take some writing
@beryl thanks beryl , I am pleased with this