• Next Red Dot Day to be held at East Midlands Parkway on Saturday 5 March • Priced at £15 for adults and £5 for kids for a return trip to London • Book in advance or turn up and go on the day • Visit www.reddotday.co.uk now to download a voucher

East Midlands Trains has announced the date of its next Red Dot Day as Saturday 5 March and tickets are now on sale for just £15 return.

The Red Dot Day will offer unlimited travel from East Midlands Parkway throughout the East Midlands Trains’ network on Saturday 5 March, with tickets priced at just £15 return for adults and £5 for kids.

East Midlands Trains launched its innovative Red Dot Days in June 2009, and has so far held eleven of these special days at different stations across its network, with almost 16,000 passengers taking advantage of one of the discounted tickets.

Marc Turley, Head of Marketing for East Midlands Trains, said: “Our Red Dot Days have proved a huge success and we know that people eagerly await an announcement about when and where the next one will be held!

“With an 850 space car park offering all day parking for just £5 and a regular train service to London, East Midlands Parkway has proved a popular location to hold our Red Dot Days. We’re pleased to be returning to East Midlands Parkway for the fourth time and hope that our first Red Dot Day of 2011 will prove to be a huge success.

“We want as many people as possible to take advantage of this special offer, so are urging people to book early and reserve a seat in advance, which can all be done easily at East Midlands Parkway station.”

Passengers can travel on any East Midlands Trains service from East Midlands Parkway throughout Saturday 5 March. Return travel can be made on any train, any time, provided return travel is made on the same day.

Tickets are available only from East Midlands Parkway station with a special voucher, which can be downloaded from East Midlands Trains’ dedicated website, www.reddotday.co.uk. Passengers are advised to book early and reserve seats for their journey.

East Midlands Trains has also announced plans to hold a Red Dot Day at Corby station on Saturday 2 April. Tickets will go on sale in early March.
For more information about East Midlands Trains Red Dot Days, visit East Midlands Trains dedicated website at www.reddotday.co.uk.

Nottingham City Council is the first council in the East Midlands to launch a new user-friendly "cashless parking" service called RingGo.

Drivers using some City Council owned car parks and on street bays can now pay simply by using their mobile phone.

For free registration call 0115 8714000 or visit www.myRingGo.co.uk

As part of Nottingham City Council's commitment to providing excellent customer service, motorists parking at certain car parks will no longer need to make sure they have the right cash to pay for a parking ticket. Instead, they can make a quick call to register to use RingGo and then pay for parking using their debit or credit card.

This is an easy and convenient way of paying for parking and benefits include:

• Not having to hunt around for/carry loose change
• Being able to extend their stay by sending a simple text - no need to go back to the car to top up payment
• Perfect for people 'on-the-go', saving time queuing for parking machines
• RingGo is also available as an i-phone app, so is perfect for people with smartphones
• Online registration anytime as an easy alternative to registering by calling RingGo

RingGo payment facility is available at the following car parks: Curzon Street, Brook Street, Aberdeen Street and Canal Street; plus where there are on-street parking meters in the city centre.

As part of an innovative new partnership, Experience Nottinghamshire are proudly launching new shopping breaks with East Midlands Designer Outlet.

The packages, which include an overnight stay, will allow customers to have a personal stylist spend time with them to help them discover new shades and styles that flatter their body shape and enhance their wardrobe.

Also included is a £30 gift card to take advantage of the advice from the stylist and the discounted designer brands available with up to 60% off.

Visitors to Nottinghamshire will be able to chose the right place to stay based on price, location and facilities via the unique Nottingham Breaks website.

These packages are perfect for a get together with the girls as part of a hen party in Nottingham or as just as a cool city break shopping.

For more information on the packages, please contact the Nottingham tourism centre on 0800 044 5465.

Experience Nottinghamshire has launched an innovative short break tourism package this January, aimed at boosting overnight visitor stays in the city.

Developed in partnership with Things to do in Nottinghamshire, the campaign boasts a comprehensive, bespoke website available at www.nottinghambreaks.com.

Visitors interested in taking an overnight stay will be able to select a Nottinghamshire package based on a wide variety of themes from family breaks, city breaks, activity breaks and more. Customers will then be able to choose their hotel based on price, the distance from the attraction and the facilities at the venue. This is the first time Nottingham has provided an online, joined up approach for visitors.

Visitors will be issued with a travel tourism card that will enable prepaid entry to their chosen attraction, in addition to access discounts at a range of other top venues across the city and county, made possible through the partnership with Things to do in Nottinghamshire.

Mike Baulcombe, Tourism Leader at Experience Nottinghamshire said “Nottingham Breaks is another exciting development for Nottinghamshire tourism. Whilst there are other potential tourism card schemes on the market, we’re confident that our partnership with Things to do in Nottinghamshire gives us a great advantage over other tourist destinations.

The combination of our package offer together with on site discounts will prove an excellent incentive for holidaymakers in the coming months.”

Over 21,000 people took a trip to the Castle for CAMRA’s Robin Hood Beer Festival last week. And even though a colossal 700 firkins (equal to approx 100,000 glasses) were ready and waiting, by Saturday evening, not only had tickets virtually sold out but the beer had too!

Visitor numbers for the festival are up year on year, however since it was relocated to Nottingham Castle last year numbers have taken a steep rise. All pre-booked tickets were serviced and whilst CAMRA will ensure extra stocks are brought in next year, they do urge people to book tickets in advance to help them plan ahead.

Councillor David Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Customers said ‘The Robin Hood Beer Festival attracted tasters from across the region, country and even the globe, which culminated in an exceedingly healthy trade for local bars, restaurants, and hotels. Not only did local businesses enjoy a roaring trade during the festival but antisocial behaviour was minimal throughout.’

A staggering six hundred volunteers set up and served over the 3 ½ day event, which SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) brewers from around the country have praised it for its magnitude, organisation and layout.

Colin Wilde, Commercial Director of Nottingham’s own Castle Rock Brewery said ‘With personal extensive experience of visiting beer festivals across the UK and Europe, this is the best one I’ve ever seen. Nottingham Castle is iconic and the Robin Hood CAMRA Beer Festival is now synonymous with it. This will be a growing visitor attraction for years to come and is already one of the ‘Crown Jewels’ in the UK beer festival calendar.’

Britain's most active poltergeist resides in the ancient caves that lie beneath The Galleries of Justice Museum, Nottingham.

Britain's most active poltergeist can be found in the ancient dungeons that lie beneath the Galleries of Justice Museum. Ghost hunters can expect to experience the supernatural as stones fly through the air and they get touched by an invisible force. Many witnesses claim that the ghost is that of a former parson who gave prisoners their last rites in what was the condemned cell during the time of the Sheriff of Nottingham.
 
Fright Nights, Britain's most popular ghost hunting company who are celebrating ten years has uncovered that the Galleries of Justice Museum holds Britain's most active poltergeist.

Martin Jeffrey, Event Director at Fright Nights said "It doesn't surprise at all, for the last eight years we have been exploring the dark side of the Galleries of Justice Museum’s history and it has been consistently active through those years. As a part of our tenth anniversary we are very pleased to be organising four very special events there!"

Head of Museum Nikki Burley comments “The Poltergeist seems to be most active in what was the Sheriff of Nottingham’s dungeon, when we uncovered what is thought to be an oubliette where prisoners were left to die, it all got a lot worse.”

Please contact us at the Galleries of Justice Museum on 0115 9520 555 to find out about Halloween activities available for children and adults in the week commencing 26th October. These include paranormal investigations and ghost tours for adults and fun spooky tours, wicked witch tours and other free activities for children.

Peppa Pig and little brother George will be returning for a second visit this year to Twinlakes Family Theme Park, Melton Mowbray on Sunday 30th August 09.

The leading children’s TV characters from Five’s Milkshake and Nick JR will be appearing at regular intervals throughout the day. There will be competitions and free workshops designed around the Nickelodeon characters.

Park Manager, Sandy Gyorvari commented “These much loved children’s favourite TV Characters, Peppa and George were hugely popular when they visited Twinlakes in May. Due to  a high customer demand we have invited them back. We are looking forward to memorable and exciting day!”

The TV Character days are exciting additions to the family theme park at no additional cost, they are designed to compliment the attractions and facilities already on offer including the holiday and half term activities, offering even better value particularly for season ticket holders! 

Medieval Banquets return to Nottingham thanks to the Galleries of Justice Museum.

Try something different at the Galleries of Justice Museum, in the heart of Nottingham's  Lace Market. Home to the Villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, the Galleries of Justice Museum is the ideal venue for your unique Christmas event.

Hosted by the Villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, prepare to be royally entertained in the exuberant atmosphere of our Grand Banquet Room and Sheriff’s Hall.

Join us for a night of music, fun and laughter. Our superb four course dinner will be served to you by our serving wenches while medieval minstrels entertain you to make your Christmas party a night to remember!

Costume Hire

If you wish to hire one of our medieval costumes and truly enter into the spirit of the occasion, you may do so for just £8 per guest in advance or £10 on the night. Prompt arrival is recommended.

Banquet booking and prices

Prices start from £42.50 per person and includes a bottle of house wine per person or unlimited house beer or cider for the duration of the banquet. A £10 per person deposit is required to confirm the booking.

To check availability and book your event call the Galleries of Justice Museum on 0115 952 0555.

A major exhibition of over 6O works by David Hockney from national and international museum collections will open Nottingham Contemporary, one of the most important new spaces for art outside London, designed by leading architects Caruso St John. The public opening is on Saturday 14 November 2009.

The exhibition will re-examine Hockney's work 1960-1968, his early years in London and Los Angeles, in the context of art today. It is the first time the early work - finishing with the iconic Californian painting A Bigger Splash - has been brought together since the Whitechapel retrospective of 1970, nearly 40 years ago.

The exhibition will occupy two of Nottingham Contemporary's four galleries, a huge combined space of 750 square metres, lit by 133 skylights.

"Quite simply it will be one of the best spaces for art and culture anywhere in Britain", Tate Director Nicholas Serota was recently quoted as saying.

The exhibition is curated by Nottingham Contemporary Director, Alex Farquharson. He is known for his adventurous and popular approach. He co-curated British Art Show 6 which attracted 350,000 visitors to four cities and If Everyone Had An Ocean, an exhibition inspired by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, one of the most popular exhibitions ever at Tate St Ives.

About the Hockney show, Alex Farquharson commented: "Hockney, in this period, was at the crest of a wave, not only in the artistic avantgarde, but in culture in general. It is a fascinating trajectory, from his first idiosyncratic takes on abstraction in 1960 to his unforgettable representations of southern California several years on. Allusions to this work abound in art today – in the work of Elizabeth Peyton, Jack Pierson and Frances Stark, to cite just three important examples. It feels absolutely the right time to be revisiting this work now.”