1964: NOTTINGHAM - Queen of the MIDLANDS | Two Town Mad | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

[@hilaryepstein6013]

I love these old black and white films, they make even the back streets look beautiful. Ray Gosling was a wonderful documentary maker and his narration was perfect.

[@beds139]

Ray was a true urban poet back then.

[@paultaylor7082]

The late great Ray Gosling, he appeared for many years in the late 1960s/early 1970s on Granada TV programmes in the North West. His unmistakable East Midlands accent set him apart from most of Granada's presenters, who were either from London or sourced locally, such as Tony Wilson, Bob Greaves, Bob Smithies, Patti Colwell and others. I think the only one of that cohort left, now Lucy Meacock has retired after 38 years last month, is Paul Crone. Before her early death from cancer, Patti and later Ray appeared in a number of documetaries on Radio 4, the likes of which now are rarely scheduled.

[@stephfoxwell4620]

@@paultaylor7082Must be an adult Goose by now.

[@NeutronNick11]

Brings a tear to the eye. Imagine saying Radford has a community spirit today!

[@edgarallenjoe6494]

We certainly need it back!

[@elainekerslake6865]

I lived in the city in the seventies and it was almost the same as in the sixties although the demolition of St Anns was starting and Clifton being built. The ladies clocking off at John Players or was it Raleigh. Big industries back then. Yates bar , the Flying Horse, the newly built Victoria centre and intercom night club. Great city.

[@Nightjar57-vd1yd]

Our dad grew up in St Annes. Used to love visiting our grandparents in the old terraced houses with cellars. Every saturday we'd go to watch County one week and Forest the next .Great days, still have a soft spot for the old place.

[@Chevy-jordan]

My birth town! Crazy how my accent isn’t that different from his. Despite being born in the 90s and growing up in Derby. That East Midlands accent.

[@elgee6202]

Not "crazy" at all - Derby and Nottingham are 25 minutes from each other. It would be be far weirder if you had a totally different accent.

[@buttershy_]

mad how recognisable the shots here are even today.

[@phillipecook3227]

Listening to his voice I understand where Lineker acquired his accent. Wonderful stuff. When " Wally" spoke about having to replace 40,000 homes in Nottingham I thought of my city of Glasgow and every other urban location in post war Britain where the " improvements" took place unknowingly ripping apart and destroying communities which had taken centuries to evolve.

[@Test_Card_Tom]

Ray died in Nottingham in 2013 age 74. A brilliant, journalist, author and Gay rights activist. Seek out his documentaries - they never disappoint.

[@padgepadgham3238]

Treated very shoddily and died in poverty. I loved all his qualith stuff, not like today's rubbish.

[@hopebgood]

I wasn't even born when this was filmed but I genuinely find it interesting to watch all this old stuff.

[@SMTRodent]

I wasn't, but I was startled by how much is familiar.

[@antonycharnock2993]

I was born 7 years later. It's the weird mythical world of your parents and grandparents only passed down through stories. We studied Alan Sillitoe the Nottingham writer in English at school, the Nottingham of Saturday night, Sunday morning & Uncle Albert, the sad lonely old man kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGjbpHtnnNyWbNE

[@andrewstratford4753]

Wow born and bred here still live here and my god how its changed, queen of the midlands then now i dont venture into it.😢

[@jazzhands7771]

Great story, lad 😂😂😂

[@archiet2205]

“Greater Nottingham sprawls towards a million people…” Moving words…

[@MrDavey2010]

Ray Gosling was an excellent reporter. He used to report for Granada TV back in the day.

[@jeanniejones9548]

I was born in Nottingham in the Meadows late 1940s it was a great place to grow up. We had lots of freedom as children lm sure we were poor but it was a good community. Then moved to Broxtowe late 1950s that was a nice area then. I went to Players secondary modern and then worked as a sewing machinest in various places. Always plenty of jobs to get into. Used to go down Locarno at lunchtimes and weekends thats were l met my husband and moved to his home town. But l have some good memories of Nottingham. Great pubs also.

[@jerrycarr]

I was there at that time..Had a Little Job In Victoria Hotel...Nice To See This ..Lived At Robin Hood Chase.. Lots Of Good Folk Looked After me..Went back for a few days holiday 10 years ago..From Donegal Here....The Magic Was Gone...Same Here Lots Of changes...Cheers

[@johnsmith-bx4rn]

Used to drink in Yates's back in the early 70 s , was hoping i might recognise someone , only recognised the manager standing behind the bar who everyone refered to as Dublin Danny . Back in the day , he definitly didn't suffer fools gladly

[@clarsach29]

the concept of having to close a bank account when you move towns and re-open one in the new town (because back then individual branches held your account) is so foreign to us in these global times....

[@phillipecook3227]

I was thinking about this the other day. In my working lifetime a bank has gone from being a large Victorian building on an urban high street ( and a solid career for life if you were interested) to an app on my fone.

[@tuduleshiggins8832]

I grew up in Lenton, and went to Lenton Primary; how times of changed!

[@RetroRegan]

When Nottingham was a city to be proud of. And not the student cesspool it has become today. Where people had respect and manners. And looked out for each other. Born and bred in St Anns until the demolition forced us to move. Brings back lots of memories. I dont look back through rose tinted glasses though, as I know there were problems. Like the race riots in 1958, but on the whole Nottingham was a grand place to live. And what the council did to some of Nottinghams most beautiful buildings, a lot of them Watson Fothergill is unforgivable. And as for the Market Square, an absolute travesty.

[@pinky-ud1rt]

RIGHT

[@QuinntheEskimo132]

There many times in the 60s. Loved it. Still a favourite when last visited 15 years ago.

[@RetroRegan]

Sadly it's gone downhill over the last 15 years. Mostly down to the influx of students. Every empty building is soon snatched up to become student accommodation. It's a sad shadow of it's former self.

[@Rockthecasbah3535]

It looks beautiful compared to now 😪

[@daffyduk77]

Anyone remember the army surplus shop on Arkwright Street, brilliant place. Also the nearby Mushroom bookshop, good for alternative literature, like small GPO-style pamphlets on how to fool the GPO into thinking calls hadn't connected, when they had, to evade billing.

[@diabolicalartificer]

I grew up in Long Eaton, used to go to Nott's regular on a Barton's bus. I remember them both, & the Beehive vegetarian cafe. Scoring dope in Hyson Green, record shopping in HMV in the Broadmarsh, now gone. Drinking Shipstones & Hardy & Hanson was it? Went to Nott's about 6 months ago, it was like a ghost town, loads of empty shops but there was still loads of folk around, it was still busy, but not the same.

[@colingoddard7540]

Those were the days.

[@nigelrequiem]

Memories of a more ordered and civilized time when society had standards!

[@johnmathieson6233]

Amazing story

[@FlibDokky]

Looks heavenly compared to the current UK dystopia

[@Joedirt3349]

Juice

[@phillipecook3227]

Isn't that the truth. In the words of the song " you don't know what you've got till it's gone".

[@RetroRegan]

It was.

[@gevaraven8132]

Love it. Not only my City of birth but also my year of birth

[@paultaylor7082]

I think Ray was born in Northampton, so he was very attached to the area. I think even now, Leicester still has one Tory MP, the only seat the Tories won from Labour on July 4, believe it or not, out of 650. This was as a result of Claudia Webb standing as an independent, splitting the Labour vote and allowing the Tories to win narrowly. Love the Laurence Harvey hair style, BTW, very modern for 1964. I spent many nights in Yates's Wine Lodges in Manchester (they had a few) drinking 'blobs', sherry with a bit of water and sugar thrown in. A very quick way to get pissed, I can confirm. Boots is now owned by a Swiss pharmaceutical conglomerate. The Good Old Days are well and truly over, 60 years on, Nottingham is virtually unrecognisable now, from the number of visits I made during my working career, 1975 to 2023, when I frequently visited the city. Even as a Manc, I still have a fondness for Nottingham.

[@bananabrooks3836]

....Before....... and how it is now........

[@pinky-ud1rt]

Im born a bread nottingham looked better and safe in 1964....im 56 radford NOW ITS A DIFFRENT WORLD😮

[@AndreRomanczyk-jr1vr]

It went south for me when Yate's closed.

[@willowbrooke1215]

60 yrs ago. I was born a year later in NZ. Love these videos

[@robharding5345]

Ray was a good reporter, who knew his job.

[@RolandoRatas]

Who would have thought back then that Nottingham would be the capital of the world for miniatures tabletop wargaming ? 8:47 the pawn shop man had zero Warhammer in his itinerary back then.

[@FlibDokky]

Who would have cared

[@newtronix]

Who cares now. Nottingham is a dump.

[@justonsullivan3807]

I have always wanted to vacation in England, looks so beautiful. 👍🇺🇸🗽🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿👍

[@andrewfriman9443]

Too late darling. It`s no more. Smartphone Zombies all around. Same as any town from Nairobi to Newcastle.

[@thomassmiththekingbee]

0:09 Even the people on the bus are waving to the camera

[@David-h4z2s]

Good stuff social history of UK provincial life of time's gone by❤

[@Ftanftangfnarrr]

Brilliant. Wrong on one count, Nottingham was not a Cavalier town though. The Standard was raised to indifference, and the town quickly supported Parliament once Charles had left.

[@Golo1949]

Not only that we never consider ourselves to be northern! we are midlanders.

[@Hilts-xd8rj]

Brilliant

[@zeppelin1qaz]

I like his voice.

[@Chameleon1616]

One of the funniest parts of this documentary is hearing someone call a modernist building ‘more human’

[@dodgeboy9052]

Shipstones Drey Horses passing my Junior School .. Stanley Road I was there when it was announced "The King is Dead" 1952 .. I then moved on to Berridge road senior School 1955--1959 then started work at Raleigh Bicycles Faraday Road when they was filming Saturday night and Sunday morning .. Albert Finney ..cheers for reading , then i emigrated to Australia in 1968 still here at the beach in Queensland.. I just celebrated my 80th birthday in Guangzhou China .. 😎😎

[@simonmerrivale7927]

The bbc should watch their own archives, I they should show this to every new employee, to show that this is how England should be!!!! 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@alanstirling2529]

All my money from my paper round in those days went to buying records from Selectadisc - great record shop down the Meadows way

[@SteveCopps]

All the men wore suits back then but strangely I never noticed at the time as a boy!

[@nathanielbugg7355]

I for one can confirm one thing for certain! Nottingham is not like Leicester

[@MaxPlankton]

The place could not be more different! So many new ways that you can die or be maimed...best view of Nottingham? In a rear view mirror. Safety point, be VERY vigilant. Silent yet high speed e-bikes carrying warm lard to the bariatric and e-scooters with colossal speed present a risk to anyone >40 with less than ideal hearing and reactions..,

[@Boobookittyfunk]

Where was the factory at 6:05?

[@mattwilliams5386]

I think it's the Boots factory

[@Boobookittyfunk]

​@mattwilliams5386 you're right, it is.

[@M_Bamboozled]

Thatcher read that the mines had a powerful future and thought "I think not!"

[@phillipecook3227]

In 2024 no coal mine in Britain would have a future. Oh and the Nottinghamshire miners were the only ones who defied Scargill s lemming approach to industrial relations in 1984.

[@Jonathan-h1w9j]

Labour actually closed down hundreds of mines in the 60s Maybe you should read up on the mining industry.

[@sarahlouise7163]

Labour closed far more 😁

[@354sd]

FOE stopped one in Cumbria this year

[@NedLudd717]

Lovely vid but "Nottingham was a cavalier town in the Civil war" is wrong - Despite Charles raising his standard in Nottingham, only around 300 men answered his call, far less than he had anticipated. Nottingham was actually a Parliamentarian town through and through, despite the majority of the rest of the county being for the King

[@user-ve3gh5xg9q]

Where is Robin Hood 🤔

[@dismith73]

Castle Road

[@StephenSimpsonStephenSimpson]

And now look at it. Total bloody mess!

[@RetroRegan]

Absolutely.

[@Sparkypark]

Its last vestige of soul died when the mushy pea stall closed down in Vic centre.

[@Golo1949]

@Sparkypark I still miss the one in Mansfield market, best mushy peas anywhere.

[@jamesbomd3503]

It looks Fairly modern to me you Have a city centre tram Not even central London's got a tram So it must be a fairly upmarket place

[@JJONNYREPP]

1964: NOTTINGHAM - Queen of the MIDLANDS | Two Town Mad | Voice of the People | BBC Archive joking aside - the back kitchen looked like the saturday night sunday morning homestead from which seaton used to hold court..... above, the bedroom from which he shot a pellet at old ma bull's fat arse!!!

[@antonycharnock2993]

The narrator sounds like Gary Lineker😂

[@RetroRegan]

Frank Skinner.

[@Goit_Goit]

The meadows is still a hole haha

[@76ToneCrome]

Why does he have a problem with Leicester?

[@JJONNYREPP]

1964: NOTTINGHAM - Queen of the MIDLANDS | Two Town Mad | Voice of the People | BBC Archive who doersnt have a problem with Leicester? i mean, crisps and Lineker. out of date tatters and a goal hanger. not much going for it. as for the queens of nottigham. probably... probably rife with queens, old nottingham. narrator sounds like frank skinner doin' an oliver postgate impersonation.... shardy hardy arrrrrrrr shadrack!!!! good luck you dorks!!!

[@Sparkypark]

Because it’s a dump. Its only redeeming feature is that it isn’t Derby.

[@JJONNYREPP]

@@Sparkypark Comments on ‘1964: NOTTINGHAM - Queen of the MIDLANDS | Two Town Mad | Voice of the People | BBC Archive’ 1557pm 29.8.24 i never made it to notts.. i assume it wil be crawling with normans and welchers seaking out saxon dissent(?) my home town of birth is wonderful compared to the several miles up the road where i reside now.... outsiders are deemed outsiders due to the 7 mile difference in locale. only UK residents get that aspect to easy living... that must be the celtish nature of any westerner.... different mindsets different attitudes....

[@jasongray4517]

The wrecking ball has done considerable damage to my home city of Nottingham, but don't let's pretend it was perfect then, crime-free and without its hardships. It was so much better in our day? Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not.

[@papalazarou6674]

Radford the land of the free 😂

[@MaxPlankton]

Only took the BBC Stasi 5 minutes to remove my post...

[@winstonchurchill6506]

Robin hood statue still vandalise 2024

[@jazzhands7771]

I think you mean TWO TONE 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 STOP GIVING THESE JOBS TO THE WORK EXPERIENCE KIDS!!!

[@ytho8217]

7:05, proving that at one time the English were brave enough to see a lil' pittie pup and not call for it to be exterminated.

[@GaryGeezer-l2s]

This was in the bad old days, when Nottinghsam did not have diverse vibrant community. How our sesh is fully enriched, can get dem halal certified burgers and chicken wings, with the authentic Turkish barbers. Absolutely love it

[@hasnainrazzaq9736]

give it a rest mate

[@stephfoxwell4620]

What about the transatlantic slave trade legacy?

[@Evemeister12]

Yes we're very greatful for it. 😊

[@davidspendlove5900]

What about it ?

[@Sparkypark]

It’s a slice of life in 60s Nottingham, not Amistad.

[@jamesthomas4841]

We are talking about Nottingham, not Liverpool or Bristol. The Trent flows to the North Sea not the Atlantic.