You can also follow our latest coverage on Twitter or visit our Facebook and Instagram pages and become part of the discussion on all things Gedling borough
A Met Office ‘danger to life’ weather warning has been issued for parts of the UK – including Gedling borough.
The Met Office states: “Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected over parts of the UK on Saturday.”
“The alert will be in place from 9am until 11.59 pm tomorrow (8) and people in the affected areas are warned of potential flooding, lightning strikes, hail and strong winds.
Commuters who use public transport have been warned “where flooding or lightning strikes occur” there is a chance of delays and cancellations to rail and bus services, while motorists could face difficult driving conditions and road closures.
Here’s what the MetOffice is telling people to expect…
Flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds
Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life
Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
Some communities might become cut off if roads flood
Power cuts might occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost
Five day forecast for Gedling borough
Today:
Patchy cloud during the morning, particularly for the north and west, but clearing during the day with plenty of sunshine developing. Feeling very warm by the afternoon with winds fresher at the coast. Maximum temperature 29 °C.
Tonight:
Remaining dry with largely clear skies into the evening and overnight, with winds easing but temperatures remaining mild for most. Minimum temperature 16 °C.
Saturday:
Increasingly cloudy Saturday as spells of locally heavy rain spread east to all parts into the afternoon and evening with the risk of thunder. Feeling very warm again. Maximum temperature 28 °C.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
A mixture of sunshine and showers likely, perhaps turning heavy and thundery at times, particularly into Monday and Tuesday. Temperatures cooling somewhat to generally near average.
Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning over an AI-generated “frightening” scam video doing the rounds on social media that he said will “ruin lives”.
The Money Saving Expert issued the warning on his Twitter account after the chilling “deepfake” video of him began appearing on social media platforms appearing to show him promoting an investment app claiming to be linked to Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk.
However, the video has been revealed to be an AI scam and uses sophisticated technology to mimic Lewis’ face and also voice.
Martin has now called on regulators to “step up” and tackle these “dangerous fakes”.
He issued the warning via a Twitter post on his official account.
WARNING. THIS IS A SCAM BY CRIMINALS TRYING TO STEAL MONEY. PLS SHARE.
This is frightening, it's the first deep fake video scam I've seen with me in it. Govt & regulators must step up to stop big tech publishing such dangerous fakes. People'll lose money and it'll ruin lives. https://t.co/ZzaBELg1kg
He wrote: “WARNING. THIS IS A SCAM BY CRIMINALS TRYING TO STEAL MONEY. PLS SHARE.
“This is frightening, it’s the first deep fake video scam I’ve seen with me in it. Govt & regulators must step up to stop big tech publishing such dangerous fakes. People’ll lose money and it’ll ruin lives.”
The Money Saving Expert has previously warned of scams using his image to appear legitimate, telling people that he does not appear in adverts.
He said: “If you want to check just search on MoneySavingExpert to see if it’s something I’ve actually said, if it is not there, it won’t be.”
Martin said he doesn’t appear in adverts or agree to promoted posts so all are scams.
For those looking where to go for a booze up that won’t break the bank, budget pub chain, Wetherspoons, is many people’s first port of call. And now a new interactive map will help you find the cheapest branches near you.
With the cost-of-living crisis raging (and the price of a pint likely to go up by a shocking amount) you can search the map by the drink you want, whether that’s a beer, a gin-based tipple or whatever else takes your fancy.
The handy map has been created by food and drink website, Pantry and Larder.
This screenshot shows the map displaying the price of Carling at The Ernehale in Arnold
Using the Wetherspoons branches across the nation, the map was created using over 16,0000 prices from the brand’s pubs in the UK.
The website shows that the price of a pint of Carling varies by a massive 191%, ranging from £1.99 to £5.79.
The cheapest pint of Carling at a Wetherspoons clocks in at under £2 at the Wilfred Owen in Shropshire. Meanwhile, a pint of Camden Hells will see punters fork out £5.65 at Gatwick Airport.
In Gedling borough The Freeman in Carlton and The Ernehale in Arnold offer the cheapest tipples.
A price for a pint of Carling is £2.49 at The Ernehale and just over £3 at The Free Man.
[poll id=”2″]
You can sup on a pint of Guinness for £31.5 at both pubs.
Stella is £3.25 in the Arnold and Carlton branches, although those seeking to save could venture over to The Samual Hall in Sherwood and pick up a pint of the popular lager for £3.05.
Veronica Fletcher from Pantry & Larder said: “Drink prices vary massively across the UK. And it’s not just as simple as London being more expensive than the rest of the UK.
“For example, a bottle of Prosecco at my local costs £16.39. Less than three miles away, the exact same drink is 39% cheaper.
“Interestingly, certain drinks such as Camden Hells lager are significantly cheaper in Scotland.”
The mysterious sequel to Breath of the Wild which left fans waiting six years to finally get their hands on was finally released back in May.
Since then we have been constantly playing and testing the sheer limits of what’s possible within The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK). As the trailers show the sky is literally the limit, and yet there is so much more below the fabled Kingdom of Hyrule than fans were left to believe.
Whether it’s traversing a familiar yet unknown map, battling new foes or flying around on your own whacky creations there is almost no end to the fun adventures you can encounter playing through Tears of the Kingdom.
The Beginning
Just like its predecessor, Link is thrown onto a tutorial area to learn the basics all over again, however this time we’re in the sky! The equivalent to the Great Plateau is instead the Great Skylands, in which a spirit, Rauru, of a lost species called Zonai is there to guide you through.
A significant change in TotK is the freedom within the game, as while you can’t quite escape the Sky Islands early, you can travel wherever you want to collect the new abilities to replace the old runes.
To start with, Link can obtain four new abilities: Ultra Hand, Fuse, Recall and Ascend with a few old and new runes to obtain later in the game. These four abilities are the core to your playstyle, giving Link absolute freedom and allowing you to solve dungeons however you want.
Every player will experience that “wait…that actually worked!” moment and it’ll feel amazing.
From the islands you jump down to Hyrule below to start your journey and play however you want.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Official Trailer #3 (YOUTUBE)
Gameplay and Mechanics
As mentioned earlier, there are the four core mechanics which pave the way that you’ll play TotK. The most notable is Ultra Hand: functioning similar to Magnesis from Breath of the Wild this ability will let you grab anything metal; but also, pretty much anything at all so long as it isn’t an enemy or glued to the ground!
It also arrives with a new mechanic to stick objects together and build vast vehicles, or just to build a very, very long bridge. This is the clutch which gives the player the chance to do whatever they want, however they want.
Our personal favourite use was to build the famous Hoverbike. This small build consisting of 2 fans and a steering stick gives full freedom to fly around the Kingdom’s sky and depths without worrying about stamina or time. However, players still need to be aware of their battery as if you run out, you’ll find yourself tumbling towards the ground.
Continuing on to the second main ability, Fuse – This craft ability will let you connect any item on the floor or in your inventory to your sword, shield or even arrows.
Courtesy of Nintendo
In some ways this replaces the elemental swords and arrows from Breath of the Wild, but mainly it allows the players to create whatever weaponry they want, out of pretty much whatever they want. We recommend utilising some of the new Light Dragon’s scales or horns by attaching some of them onto your weapons as they’ll heal you for a quarter of your life every time you hit an enemy. Or, in turn you could fuse a Zonai device such as a cannon to your spear and build a make-shift musket!
There is also Recall, this builds on the foundation of Stasis from Breath of the Wild allowing you to bring objects to a halt and then return them to their original position. This can be used as one of the many ways to reach the Sky Islands, just hop on some fallen debris and send it flying back up. Our personal favourite use of this was to catch ourselves following a misplay, such as dropping our Hoverbike off a cliff, which Recall would give us the opportunity to gather it right back.
Lastly, the fourth main ability that you also start with is Ascend from the four shrines on the Great Sky Islands. This might be forgettable at first – especially considering it was only meant for play testing to cheat your way out of caves before the developers realised how useful it could be as a game mechanic – but this ability can save the player so much time as it allows them to fly right into any surface above them so long as you can see the other side. With the expansion of caves, this ability has been so helpful in exploration.
These four abilities aren’t the only ones, and as said before you’ll reunite with some old favourites while also seeing new mechanics!
And for those collectors you’ll be happy to know that the Amiibo unlocks have returned too, but for those who distain them then you’ll also be glad to know they can now be found in the base-game.
The Amiibo unlocks are now fully open, but don’t expect them to be easy to obtain, with the only exclusive items still locked behind amiibo are the new paraglider skins for dedicated collectors.
Unfortunately, the Wolf Link companion has been cut, only giving meat when summoned.
Pictured: Link (Courtesy of Nintendo)
The Story
Before you even arrive at the sky islands, you’ll find your self deep down underground with Princess Zelda exploring strange occurrences coming from there.
Zelda will talk about a mysterious race of dragon-like people called the Zonai which is one of the key focuses of this game. You will find some hieroglyphics depicting a war in Hyrule’s past, however the ending is seemingly obscured by boulders before you and Zelda come across a corpse who we now know to be Ganondorf.
From there the story will lead you to the start of the game.
We won’t get too deep into the story, but from the start, after diving down from the islands, you’ll have two primary objectives; find Zelda and regional phenomenon.
The former will be your primary goal, inevitably leading you to fight Ganondorf while the latter will focus on various regional events replacing the Champions and the Divine Beasts. Though neither are required to finish the game.
You’ll also unlock a quest to find various Geo-glyphs which show new cutscenes and some familiar imagery showing the true story of Hyrule.
When found, you will get awesome cutscenes of the past leading up to this very moment, and the present all up until you find the Master Sword.
Outside of those quests, there are also a lot of side quests and familiar faces to help rebuild Hyrule, including even building your own house!
Each quest will result in a unique reward as well, with them primarily being the four champion abilities replacing some of the most loved mechanics of Breath of the Wild.
Personally, while the dungeons all have a new feel these champion abilities will fall short of what they used to be and they cannot do much when compared to our current runes and Zonai devices.
You will have no rush or true requirement to really do any of the main storylines, even getting the paraglider is potentially optional.
There is really no way for it to be more of an Open-world game, we have played it for hours at a time and haven’t progressed in the story, and yet have never had a second of boredom.
Courtesy of Nintendo
The Switch
The biggest issue I found with Breath of the Wild was the hardware limitations – and they’re still there in TotK.
Visually the game looks fantastic, the cutscenes are all perfectly seamless with great voice acting. However, we have had some technical difficulties where the game has taken several minutes to load even on the inventory page.
It also feels like the game wants you to cheat, with several duplication methods found in the first few weeks. Some are even easily obtainable by just playing regularly so the average player might accidentally come across them.
Comparison with its predecessor: Breath of the Wild
Compared to Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom is a direct upgrade with improvements to every issue with its predecessor. The players want dungeons? They have dungeons. The players want to explore the sky? Go build a plane! There is little that you cannot do in this game!
The story is fantastic and extremely emotional at parts thanks to the pace of the game, the brilliantly put together cutscenes and the use of time. With the gloom being a direct upgrade to the Malice from Breath of the Wild, adding further horror to Ganondorf’s reign.
Our personal favourite improvement are the boss fights. In Breath of the Wild the divine beast fights were all visually the same and appeared cluttered up, even Ganon looked slightly unremarkable.
However, in TotK they’re all very unique from a shark to a giant flying goliath called Colgera. This beast was fought miles into the sky, and while the fight wasn’t the hardest it sure was a spectacle to watch.
For a more traditional boss fight we still have all the mini-bosses and of course Ganondorf to fight.
However, the Guardians that appeared in Breath of the Wild are seemingly all gone. The games time skip is unknown between both games, but pretty much all the Sheikah technology is nowhere to be seen, and as such the terrifying robotic spiders are gone too. But fear not, they have been replaced by an even more terrifying jump scare. You’ll find them scatted, but our first interaction was through getting the Hylian Shield again – at first it seems almost identical to Breath of the Wild, but it is not.
While we believe the dungeons are a direct upgrade to the Divine Beasts, and that the champions are great, especially how they can travel with you, their abilities are much weaker.
Ravali’s replacement Tulin continues with the best ability – instead of an updraft Tulin summons a horizontal gust in the air sending you flying which is a much more useful ability for the landscape of TotK.
Arguably, the other champion abilities are much less useful and in our opinion, their biggest flaw is the fact you must interact with their spirit over just using controls, half of the time this resulted in them fleeing from us causing us to die as a result. Whistling isn’t consistent for it either.
Lastly, there is an extra champions ability which is hidden throughout the game. This isn’t all that useful typically but can help with resource gathering – We love this one as its associated boss fight was very reminiscent of a Transformers battle or a modern day Skylanders Giants Arkeyan robot’s fight.
Pictured: Ganondorf (Courtesy of Nintendo)
Conclusion
Overall, this game has some short comings from continuity between the two games or the champion abilities but generally it’s a near one-to-one upgrade from Breath of the Wild.
The fights are awesome, the map is so much larger with having not only the sky but also all the depths underground to explore – the horror of Subnautica’s Void all over again.
The dungeons and story are brilliant, with its musical score also phenomenal too. If you like open-world games this must be number one on your list to try out, even if you didn’t play the first game or aren’t a Zelda fan.
For those fans who are not too big on open worlds, then there is still a place for them here, but the primary focus will be on the ever-expanding horizon, and the freedom of the players.
In conclusion, there is a lot we have left out, including parts of the story and abilities, all the way through to the new collectables such as armour that can negate fall damage.
Even original Zelda references and enemies such as Gleeocks are back.
Pretty much all of Breath of the Wild’s content is back too, but this review has covered the starting basics needed for anyone to understand this unparalleled game.
Even though Hyrule is the same, it felt completely different – for those who worry that it is a £60 DLC then there is no need. Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel that Breath of the Wild deserved, and it has done it justice. We could not ask for more!
OUR SCORE: 10/10 – We do not give that score out lightly.
The shortcomings are all minor, or realistic for the change in how the gameplay is done. It made sense for changes to happen as they are no longer needed now. But when we can make full on logic gates in a game, we can forgive them for Tears of the Kingdom being ran on our several year-old Nintendo Switch.
The improvements are all just straight up improvements. The freedom is brilliant, and we typically do not play open worlds with these substantial possibilities. We do miss Wolf-Link, but the champions partly replace them and the final cutscenes are all great. While the last one will surely bring tears to many fans’ eyes, our personal favourite is the final one depicting the end of the war especially when the iconic theme kicks in. This game is easily worth buying a switch for.
Dance Alliance Ltd invites you to watch their first ever showcase ‘Debut’. The two performances will showcase their dancer’s fabulous talent, whilst taking the audience through a portal to witness the most iconic musical moments of past and present. With a soundtrack of well-known tunes, they promise to have your feet tapping, your hands clapping, and you saying ‘I know this one!’ in every single act.
Both performances will begin at 6.30pm.
This performance is designed for ages 3+ and is not suitable for babes-in-arms.
Greatest Days: The Take That Musical (12A) – Bonington Cinema, Arnold
Sun 9 – Thu 20 Jul, Various Times
£6.80pp £5pp on Tuesdays
Greatest Daysis the feel-good and universal story of love and friendship featuring the hit songs of Take That and adapted from the smash stage show by the writer of Calendar Girls.
We follow five best friends who have the night of their lives seeing their favourite boy band in concert. Twenty-five years later their lives have changed in many different ways as they reunite for one more epic show by their beloved band, to relight their friendship and discover that maybe their greatest days are ahead of them.
Please contact venue to confirm availability and details
A quick word from ‘This is Gedling’ Magazine who sponsor The Vibe
Covering the whole of Gedlng borough ‘This is Gedling’ magazine is being distributed now – you can pick up a FREE copy at your local pub, club, venue, theatre, takeaway.
This is Gedling is a Not for Profit (NfP) community initiative that depends on the support of advertisers, contributors, readers and donors to continue to bring FREE borough news and general interest content to the all 46 square miles and 120k residents of Gedling borough.
A special task group will be set up to guide an ongoing review of Nottinghamshire’s recycling and household waste centres as its findings continue to be delayed.
Conservative-led Nottinghamshire County Council started the review in 2022 amid concerns some of the county’s 12 centres may not be “fit for purpose”.
The nearest recycling centre for Gedling borough residents is on Hollinwood Lane in Calverton.
Problems include their locations, capacity problems and their impact on the nearby road network.
However, the result of the review has been delayed while the authority waits for clarity on the impact of Government reforms.
Ministers are drawing up plans to “fundamentally overhaul” the waste system, with a new set of policies to change how people recycle their waste.
This could include a reduction of materials received by recycling centres and a shift to more kerbside collections, with food waste, plastic pots, tubs or trays, aerosols, cartons and plastic film potentially to be recycled from homes.
But the full impact of these changes is not yet known and the Government is yet to publish the outcomes of a number of consultations.
The council says this delay has meant it “has not been possible” to finalise the ongoing review of its recycling centre network.
In the place select committee on Wednesday (July 5), a special ‘task and finish group’ was set up to discuss the next steps for the review while the council awaits the updated environmental policies.
Once these have been provided, the authority says it will be able to determine how recycling centres will be utilised in the future.
Mick Allen is the council’s group manager for place commissioning.
He said: “It’s frustrating we haven’t been able to conclude things.
“Until we get certainty [from Government] about strategic issues, as well as costs, it’s very difficult to make a long-term plan.”
Mr Allen added about 98 per cent of all Nottinghamshire residents live within a 20-minute drive of their closest recycling centre.
A recent survey by council waste and recycling contractor Veolia found the same percentage of people were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service they offer.
A community transport group is revamping a bus route to serve a new housing development near Stoke Bardolph.
The L75 bus route currently serves Burton Joyce and Stoke Bardolph, linking them up with Victoria Retail Park and Netherfield town centre for the shops and bus routes to town.
But from Monday, July 31, the L75 service will be renumbered as 775 and run by a new operator, without a break in service.
PICTURED Trent Valley councillors Sam Smith, left, and Mike Adams at the new bus stop on the Rivendell housing estate
The number of buses per day will increase and the changed service will serve the Rivendell housing estate near Stoke Bardolph – providing access to the new shops on the development.
In a joint statement Cllrs Smith and Cllr Adams said: “We’re delighted to announce that the number of journeys per day on the route will increase from three to six, giving longer hours of operation and the 775 will also stop at the Rivendell estate meaning the residents will be able to catch it to Netherfield or Burton Joyce and then connect to an NCT bus route to town.
“The L75 currently stops at Padleys Lane and opposite Lambley Lane in Burton Joyce and at St Lukes Church and Stoke Lane in Stoke Bardolph. It also services both Netherfield and Victoria Retail Park. We’ve successfully lobbied the county council to ensure that, from July 31, these stops will continue being served by the new 775 in addition to a new stop at Rivendell.”
“All aboard the 775!”
This new bus service is commissioned by Nottinghamshire County Council and operated by Nottingham Mini Bus and Coach.
A preschool which has been serving communities in Gedling borough for 50 years is due to close due to financial difficulties.
Carlton Preschool Playgroup, which is based at the Richard Herrod Centre in Foxhill Road, will shut later this month.
The charity rents out a room at the centre from Gedling Borough Council and has 34 children on its roll.
Seven staff have been made redundant as part of the closure, which manager Maxine Payne described as “devastating”.
She said the preschool currently pays between £2,500 and £3,000 in rent per half term.
PICTURED: Pre-school staff Jadie Roper, Ruth Jackson (deputy manager), Rebecca Curtain and Maxine PaynePICTURED: Richard Herrod Centre
Ms Payne, who has worked for the preschool for 15 years, said Gedling Borough Council increased the charity’s rent from £13 to £14 an hour in April.
But the authority said the preschool was already receiving discounted rent due to its charity status.
The leader Cllr John Clarke MBE (Lab) added that he was “very disappointed” to hear of the closure.
Ms Payne said: “We’ve always made it clear to the council that if there was a rent increase, we would have to close.
“We are very much underfunded. Our staff deserve to have the rise in the minimum wage – but together with the rent increase, this was enough to make our situation unsustainable.
“We live in a deprived area – I am a referee for the food bank for any parents having a hard time.
“It’s not just the children, it’s about the whole community.
“It’s devastating because I’ve put my heart and soul into this place. I am sad for the parents, my staff and myself as I’m out of work now.”
She said preschool bosses met with the council in June to “stress how valuable this setting is” in Gedling.
The authority offered a 50 per cent discount in the rent for June and July.
The preschool also wrote to local MPs and the Education Secretary about their situation.
Ms Payne added: “We had to give notice of redundancy to seven staff who are all from local families.
“This is a preschool that has been around for over 50 years, my children went there so I’ve got a long association with it.
“It has been really difficult but there isn’t any other option. We don’t make a profit as a charity.”
She said the Government funding rates are too low for places like Carlton Preschool to cope with.
She said: “The Government is making it easier for parents to access childcare which is brilliant, but the funding rates are so low that we don’t get enough money to be able to pay wages.
“Unfortunately, unless the funding rates are substantially made better, this is what will happen.”
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke, said: “We are very disappointed to hear that the school has made the difficult decision to close.
“The organisation had a charity status so they received a 50 per cent discount on their hire charges from Gedling Borough Council.
“Due to the cost of utilities increasing by 40 per cent we had no option but to increase this discounted rent by 5 per cent this year. We have also offered some additional rent reduction support in June and July. As a landlord, we have explored various avenues to mitigate the financial strain they faced that did not require taxpayers to subsidise them.
“We understand that the organisation faced additional challenges, including rising staff costs and a real terms reduction in government funding for free childcare places, which have also significantly impacted their financial resources.
“We have been advised that Nottinghamshire County Council, who is the education lead authority, is working with the families affected to ensure the children are relocated to the nearest suitable education provider.”
Kai Harrison, the Conservative candidate for Carlton ward in the May elections, said the Richard Herrod Centre is being “hollowed out”.
He said: “You never want to see a preschool leave an area after 50 years.
“We are going to see places like this fall by the wayside increasingly.
“Gedling Borough Council need to be more compassionate instead of being strict landlords.
“This is a massive hub for the community and lots of Gedling parents too.
“These guys care about their community, they want to be part of it but they can’t pay the astronomical rent.
“It’s sad that the council aren’t willing to find a compromise or negotiate.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are rolling out the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever, set to save a working parent using 30 hours of childcare up to an average of £6,500 per year.
“To make sure there are enough places across the country we will be investing hundreds of millions of pounds each year to increase the amounts we pay providers to offer places and will be consulting on how we distribute funding to make sure it is fair across all areas of the country.
“We are also launching a new national recruitment campaign to support the recruitment and retention of talented staff and considering how best to introduce new accelerated apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into a career in the sector.”
The Government said it is increasing the rates we pay providers for places in September.
This will include increase in the average hourly rate for 2 year-olds from the current £6 per hour in 2023-24 to around £8 per hour.
The average 3-4 year old rate will rise in line with inflation to over £5.50 per hour.
Planning documents have been submitted to Gedling Borough Council for the proposed demolition of an existing unit to form 11 no. speculative units in 2 no. blocks at the former D And P Car Breakers, Road No 4, Colwick, Nottinghamshire, NG4 2JT.
The application has been made by PJI Developments Limited of Private Road 5, Colwick, NG4 2JU.
The Design and Access Statement submitted as part of the planning application states that the intention is to demolish a detached unit(s) of 286m2 to allow the 11 units to be developed.
Further details contained in the Planning Application / Design and Access statement advise that:
The proposed development scheme is for the erection of three commercial buildings comprising individual business/industrial units for use within use classes B1, B2 and B8 – consistent with the uses accommodated in the existing buildings within the landholding.
The development site will provide 27 car parking spaces which consist of 12 no. Standard bays; 11 EV charging bays and 4 disable parking bays.
HGV and other delivery vehicles will be able to enter the site and circulate within the site, before exiting in a forward gear.
Pictured: Current Access to D & P Site (PHOTO: Gedling Eye)
Full details regarding Planning Application 2023/0447 can be found HERE.
