Radford Boys

Photos by Alex Sturrock

Kids? Yeah I’ve got one. What’s your job? Social worker. How do you like Radford? It’s okay, I mean it’s really run down, but we’ve been to this area a couple of times and we’ve always been okay. We come down for the craic. What’s it like here? Well, there’s crime everywhere. Crime’s rife in Nottingham, it’s rife in Derby. It’s what you make it. What would you recommend to locals? Take it as it is, don’t listen to anyone else, come and have a good day and if you don’t have a good day, don’t come again.

Kids?

Yeah, one.

What’s your job?

I’m a single parent, so I don’t work.

How do you like Radford?

I like coming down here on a Sunday because I like coming to the Variety Club; it’s really good craic, and anything goes.

How is it in Radford?

It has got a bad name, but everywhere’s got a bad name. It’s really good on a Sunday. I find it is friendly.

Would you live here?

No! No way. I wouldn’t live here! I like where I am and there’s no way I’d move here.

Kids?

No, never.

What’s your job?

I’m unemployed, I’m looking for work.

Is it hard to get work?

Well I think it is. There’s nothing really about. I’ve been to college and everything, but there’s nothing about.

Local area?

It’s all right man, the variety club is. I’ve never been anywhere else like this. It’s not very often you get a woman stripper dancing next you.

Kids?

Yeah, a son, Connor.

What’s your job?

I’m a post woman.

How do you like Radford?

God, I hate it around here. I keep expecting someone to pull a gun out. If I lived around here, I wouldn’t go out at night. If someone dropped me off in St Ann’s and said to find my way home, I think I’d die on the spot. I’d rather live on the street than live here in Radford. I’ve only been down twice. It’s shocked me a bit. I heard about it through friends. The thing that really puts me off [at the Variety Club] is the comedian. It’s constantly the f-word the whole time.

What’s your job?

I’m a group worker with children. I love children, I’ve got patience. I’d work with any children, even with abnormalities or anything.

What do you think of Radford?

We’ve been coming down here for years. It’s a very good place to meet people. We’ve never seen any trouble; there’s always friendly people about. My mum, she don’t like me and my sister coming here because it’s advertised bad. We’ve been coming down here for five or six years and we’ve not seen no trouble.

What do you like about coming to the Variety Club?

I like it here, I do. It’s a very good place to meet people and I’ve never seen any trouble really.

It’s always nice to come here on a Sunday and have a drink before you get your dinner.

The place might have a bad reputation with people who aren’t from around here but everybody I know from here likes it a lot.