GET IN TOUCH

Friday 27th September 2024

 RACING IN THE STREETS BLOG No. 13 @ Dubrek Studio’s Derby

“Alright Duck can you get in there?” It's me bike chuck she’s lovely int she?"
“Yea she’s a nice un pal but would you consider chucking yer bike out of the disabled space if its not too much hassle”
“I'm only going Alsager like is he alright there luv?"


Well this is the 13th and my final blog for the Redundant Butties tour so to finish it off we were heading to Derby and Dubrek studio’s for the monthly Wordwise poetry night. That little introduction was by a strange fella we never did get the name of as we boarded the train to Derby at Crewe but he reminded me and my partner Khrissy of Super Hans the brilliant character in the Classic channel 4 Comedy Peep Show, either a Grandad of Super Hans or possibly Super Hans himself 20 years down the line. He never did move his bike either but thankfully it was just a couple of stops before he exited and the train breathed a sigh of relief and carried on.

Arriving in Derby we had about a 20 to 30 minute walk to the Leonardo hotel and I liked the feel of the city. It had a good mix you've got the usual modern synthetic shopping areas but closer to the centre plenty of really nice stand out oldy worldie buildings such as the Ye Old Dolphin Inne said to date back to 1530; Derbys oldest pub, so the sign says or Jorrocks Coach inn. I couldn’t help feel sad a bit too though when on occasion you’d look up to see that one of these beautiful looking buildings with fancy ornate outsides was now only a Costa Coffee or an Halifax bank. The Derby Ram is something else you can’t fail to spot when you’re here and is proudly adopted as a city symbol formed from prime cuts of folktales, Pagan ritual and an upbeat ditty. It's seen in most places; on pub advertisements, Taxi logo’s and apparently even up for a game of darts from time to time. I always enjoy seeing new places that have a strong history and are not afraid to promote these but they also know at the same time not to take itself so seriously as some other towns and cities might do. Why not have fun with something thats a part of you?

By the time we’d got into the centre of Derby, thanks to google maps it was around 5ish so we decided to get some tea first at Cosy Club they have a branch in Liverpool too so it was nice to have that familiarity as me and Khrissy have ate there regularly when we’ve met up. The Derby branch, in keeping with the oldie worldie vibes was relaxed and really grand looking inside like an old banquet hall. It's décor was similar to the Liverpool one and access wise too it had a lift so easily accessible and plenty options on the menu if Gluten free or vegan. It was a lovely first stop off right in the centre that was only a short distance from the hotel.





When doing this little tour I’m always a little apprehensive about the hotels most part because it's hard to be fully sure if the hotel or the room is fully accessible every time. Some hotels count just getting through the door as accessible and some put a lower bath instead of a wet room. Like the trains you just have to try and be as thorough as possible to minimise chances of a mistake. The Leonardo I’m pleased to say was really good. It's a modern looking hotel and looks smart. It's flat level so no ramp needed or access issues. The room was plenty big enough and it had a wet room with all the grab rails in the right place. The hotel's location is also ideal about 10 minutes walk from the poetry venue and a few minutes from the City Centre.

Around some of the backstreets with cobbles I noticed quite a lot of shops without access and the pavements weren’t the easiest to navigate, these and getting to the venue were the trickiest parts. I think that's always the balance and disappointing because I love the older looking buildings and would never say "Scrap that, don’t need it," but at the same time the lack of better access and crap paving just shouldn’t be a thing. I can’t believe that with all the tech we have at our disposal its allowed to be the case. A big reason for trying to organise this tour was because most venues in my home town aren’t updating or seem likely to ever do so. They don’t even update the excuses, so you have to sadly look elsewhere when you can, but I've seen through doing this blog and tour it can be done. For instance, just look at the gig we did in Kendal. We went and ate in a Wetherspoons that was once an old bath house from 1864 and that had a very good lift and good access so age can’t always remain the fallback answer  

Onto the gig and venue itself then. I really enjoyed it and was made to feel very welcome straight away  as I touched on the some of the roads and paving aren’t easy to  get to the venue and the venue itself was slightly off the beaten track and we made a few wrong turns trying to find it but  once there  though it was a warm relaxed atmosphere. It's level easy access from the street, so no ramp required and it's got lots going on inside as art decorates the walls. There’s plenty of space to move around and away from the poetry area and a little bar serving food, there’s an accessible loo that's big enough to turn around in and as you come out of these there’s another nice area were you can browse tattoo designs, and posters advertising what's coming up and already  been on at the Studio. Myself and Khrissy got a small pizza as we sat in the audience and it felt just chilled out. For me when you see the range of poetry and all types of people that get on stage to say their bit with passion and a quirkiness allocated  only to them, then that's what it's all about, not some venue with hundreds of seats. On this particular night I saw loads of interesting people. The lady playing the banjo and a man playing acoustic guitar stood out for me because I'd love to have that skill to play and sing lyrics too, but also I had a real feeling of the therapeutic value of art as the night got going.  I know that value seems obvious to say  but  as it stands at the moment, when loads of things still need altering then  where else would I get that time  to say what I want to say without pressure or a judgement?  In that sense, however tricky the access is in some places I think poetry has stopped me going round the bend a lot of times. Yeah, it was a night that offered a bit of everything from an ultra confident well rehearsed  Mancunian with fast energy, well woven   rhythms and  strong  stories  promoting his first pamphlet with pylons on the cover. To  a bloke I remembered  coming across once at the Wigan open mic who mused nicely  about his kids growing and a night drinking way too much booze. From a personal point of view I think my set went well, you’ll never hear me say I just battered that cos I always feel uncomfortable saying that  like I missed something off or not quite, but yea I think I went down pretty good and appreciated the big build up the host of the night Sophie Sparham. Even if at the time my brain was saying aw bloody  bollocks got to try and match it now but hopefully I did.  

The next day after the gig was sunny and there was a nice park next to the hotel so we had a little stroll around  visiting a small vintage 80’s  clothing shop, a museum and ending it with a photo next to the shiny metal Derby ram  statue outside a big shopping centre. Overall Derby and the monthly poetry night was another great experience and a success. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from this tour and the blogs and I’m grateful to have been received  well in every place  I’ve been in selling a few books in almost all too, even Camden when it seemed an impossible ordeal to get in and do so. I am ready for a rest now that’s for sure but for the most part it was great, to quote the Ronseal advert that used to come on all the time when I was younger  it did exactly what it said on the tin and I didn’t feel out of place or depth being further a field it felt good and right .  These blogs are something I’ve also enjoyed a lot more than I expected too so I’ll probably continue to write them as a record for myself. I’ll take tons of positives away with me and look forward to a solid future and platform to push on with a set of new contacts (people not lenses haha). I can't force access but  I can still  feel upbeat about the stuff I do and push on until hopefully changes do happen more widespread within society in general and the arts.