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Here is The Nottinghamian from Thursday, December 15:
Hello,
Today's edition of the Nottinghamian takes a look at the historic walkout of nurses across Nottinghamshire. Our reporter Joel Moore headed down to the picket lines to hear the thoughts and feelings of the nurses taking part.
We will also discuss a new underground venue set to open in Nottingham shortly and hear from Santa about how work has been at a new garden centre Grotto. Plus we see how the people of Nottingham wrapped up to stay warm in today's street style.
Historic walkout
NHS workers braved sub-zero temperatures as they flocked to picket lines across the city, including at Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) and City Hospital in Nottingham, from 7am today. Arianne Johns, a deputy ward sister at QMC, was one of thousands of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members to take industrial action across the UK.
She said she was sometimes forced to work 12-hour shifts without a break due to low staffing levels. "We suffer in the wards, we are working short-staffed all the time," the 43-year-old said. Arianne added: "Sometimes we're going 12 hours without a break, from 7am until 7pm, sometimes we can't even have a toilet break. You just don't have the time for it, sometimes not even for water."
Ms Johns, of West Bridgford, said she was living "penny by penny" and was in her overdraft every month. Kiera Blow-Manners, a health care assistant at QMC for four years, said hospital workers were increasingly burned out and tired. "We are struggling with the cost of living," said the 33-year-old.
Speaking at the QMC picket line, RCN regional organiser Sarah Leigh Barnett said: "This has been 10-plus years of below inflation pay. We can't attract at the bottom, we can't retain and we've got an aging workforce," she said. The RCN is calling on the Government to give nurses a pay increase of 19.2% - 5% above the rate of retail price inflation. Read more here.
Weather and trivia
Weather: Remaining very cold on Friday with low cloud and freezing fog patches slowly thinning and clearing through the morning to sunny spells, but reforming again during the evening. Maximum temperature 2 °C.
UV: Low
Further reading: New snow and ice weather warning for Nottinghamshire issued by the Met Office
Trivia question: Which Nottinghamshire village is home to the bramley apple?
The answer to today's trivia question is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Street style
Vianh Do stayed warm in a layered outfit. The 21-year-old health and social care student describes her style as "random". She gets her inspiration from online websites, TikTok and fashion magazines. Vianh said: "I like smart style mixed with street. Basically I look at my wardrobe and look at what I want to put together that day."
When buying new clothes, Vianh tends to go for jumpers and shops "more for the top half". Vianh, who is originally from Norfolk, likes to shop at vintage stores too. Her style advice is: "Wear whatever makes you feel most comfortable."
Outfit breakdown:
- Jacket - Cow
- Jumper - SCRT
- Jeans - ASOS
- Shoes - Converse
- Bag - Vans
Going underground
Appearances can be deceiving when it comes to Nottingham's newest venue as it's completely hidden from view behind a door on no.9 Thurland Street. The Alley is Nottingham's first city centre underground shooting range and it's set to open before Christmas.
The basement venue has been given a complete makeover ahead of its opening day which the owners are hoping will be before Christmas. Sam and Denise Viner took on the challenge of building the range, which has taken four months to construct.
Visitors will be able to have a go at hitting multiple targets with paintballs which are hidden all over the building in different sets, rather than hitting other players. "I ran a paintball site when I was younger and really loved the activity side of it but there are major blockers in that you need to drive to a place and get a group of ten people together," Sam said.
"No one likes getting hit with paintball even though it's a load of fun. So we thought we would have targets instead. We started looking for a space but we thought the city centre was as good as it was going to get. We found this space and it was perfect as it was underground and the atmosphere was perfect." Take a look inside here.
In the grotto
When it comes to visiting Santa, it's not too common to pass through the closet doors of Narnia and walk into a plush green tropical garden complete with gorillas. However, at the Woodthorpe Plant Park Shop, you can do just that.
Following the path around the beautiful plants and pond brings you to the main event - a meeting with Santa Claus where children also receive a tiny Christmas tree to take away and plant. Visitors are given a challenge to find all the hidden items before getting to Christmas land and meeting Santa Claus and Mrs Claus.
The first year for the grotto has been a sold-out success with extra dates now available for booking. "I love greeting the boys and girls," Santa said. "It's been really surprising what they are asking for as Lego and dinosaurs seem to be top of the list. Children have asked for Barbie too and I remember bringing her when she first came out.
He added: "There was a group of children who were all brothers and I asked one of them what he would like for Christmas. He said 'I just want everyone to be happy at Christmas'. Isn't that marvellous?" See inside the grotto here.
That's all for today
Thank you for joining me for today's edition of The Nottinghamian. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did why not sign up to receive it directly in your inbox every weekday by clicking here.
The answer to today's trivia question, which Nottinghamshire village is home to the bramley apple, is Southwell. The story goes that the original Bramley apple pip was planted at the bottom of a cottage garden at 75 Church Street in around 1810.
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