A love letter to Mansfield
Back to my roots. “No one has any teeth!”. Plus, £900 for a tweet? I’ll take it.
Hello from St Panc! Just leaving London for Nottingham. I’m housesitting in Mansfield over Easter, looking after mumbo post-op and Boss Dog Aria.
I bumped into an old school mate the other day (lives in Hastings), and we got chatting about Mansfield. She’s up and down the M1 like a yoyo as her mum’s in hospital, so we can lift share and have a proper chat.
I said how sad I felt walking round the town centre over Christmas - it’s so rundown and neglected. Mansfield is all retail parks now, easier to shop there as parking. There’s too much traffic though, and it’s sucked the soul out of the town centre.
“No one’s got any teeth!” lol - not sure it’s any better in Hastings or elsewhere tbh given the cost of dental treatment.
Saw a couple of traders on the market square, which used to be thriving. Indie quarter - White Hart Street - all empty shops. We had loads of department stores - Beautiful Beales art deco style, Vallances, Woolies, Debs, Littlewoods (my first job on the cheese counter). All gone. M&S is still there but looking tired.
Great nightlife scene too - we were spoilt for choice. The Swan, The Red, The Mill, Brunels, The Village, Valentino’s. Renaissance opened in 1992 and put Mansfield on the music map. People travelled for miles to go clubbing (now in Ibiza).
Had a chat with a homeless guy sat outside a boarded up pub. About four pubs a day closing since January under high tax labour.
The library is still there (my second home), but I found the shopping centre really depressing. I spent a good chunk of my childhood in there - John Menzies’ mag rack and Chelsea Girl’s smelly changing rooms.
I sat in Costa with my sister (she went busking – an experience – tipped by a Scot!). But I didn’t feel like hanging around.
Spoke to a neighbour who said he’s been into town three times since moving in. They prefer the villages – Southwell is a PEACH. Nottingham’s a 30-min bus ride away – the Pronto runs every 10 mins, 7 days a week. Art, culture, and John Lewis.
Anyway, she said there’s some new million+ flats near High Oakham, so who’s buying? Brother has “no flippin idea” but…
Yep, yep lots going on!
Town centre getting ripped apart. Rosemary Centre gone, old Debenhams totally redeveloped.
The old BHS is being transformed into a food hall with lots of independent vendors. White Hart Street all being redeveloped. New Starbucks and other restaurant going up near the Town Mill.
Berry Hill Destination Park nearing completion now.
Hurrah, about time. Mansfield’s had millions from the Tory’s Levelling Up policy and various funds (good old Chad - doing retro Mansfield pieces!). It’s been delayed so good to see some action.
I want Mansfield and ALL the former mining towns back on their feet - this town made me what I am.
There’s a shiny new £6.8m planetarium – Sherwood Observatory. AND they’re filming series 3 of Sherwood around here. David Morrissey is a superb actor - Gone is a must-watch.
I’m going for a drink with an old mate. Her eldest (20) has applied for around 100 jobs and no luck yet bless him, so she’s found him some work at her school. Had a similar convo with another who’s hired her daughter to do some social media.
This is where we’re at folks, employing our kids. They’re coming out of uni with piles of debt and no graduate jobs.
Challenge: can AI make me rich?
I did a brand partnership with an AI company this week – £900 for a tweet (less commission) but still, it’s proper money and I got paid in TWO days. No scope creep.
Enjoyed it too – like tinkering with tools and it makes a change from writing. I have another one for a dictation tool, so let’s see how useful it is for ‘writing’ my next post.
Makes you realise these companies NEED our help with beta testing and getting the word out.
Honestly can’t be bothered with low paid editorial work anymore. I need to help Julieta through uni - £800 / mo for a ROOM in a shared house in York. It’s obscene. And I don’t want her stressing about money.
Get the bills paid and then I can pitch the travel stories I really want to write. From a stronger space.
I’ve set myself a challenge to see how much I can make from AI this year. Time to change the story.
Nika xo
Happy Easter! Got my ceremonial cacao and Firetree volcanic superfood - a 100% cocoa you can actually eat. ✨
Out-of-town housing developments, plus the parking problems in town centres, sapped high street shopping. If you live out of the town, you need to park the car within a limited distance of a supermarket, so you can wheel the trolley to the car. Most pubs are under strain because cheaper wine etc from supermarkets plus addictive evening TV soaps, keeps people on the sofa.
Glad you're getting something out of AI. I tried the X's Grok AI last year and Microsoft's Copilot earlier this year, and Copilot is particularly good at writing mathematical code for physics calculations using Python. This will massively speed up calculations I need to finish for a book manuscript. Already, the results have surprised me and clarified key points.