For this month’s pick we turned to Paul Scotton, General Manager at the Savoy Cinema.
Book
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
I discovered Bret Easton Ellis in my early twenties and he quickly became my favourite author. Something about the way he writes always draws me in. Less Than Zero is a scary look at the emptiness of privileged youth in LA in the 80s and the narrator Clay drifts through his life struggling to connect to any of the people or situations around him. It’s a short book but it always captivates me and I love getting sucked into Ellis’s worlds and the disturbing characters he creates.
Notts Spot
Highfields Park
After long days stuck inside at work me and my wife love escaping for a walk around Highfields. You can simply walk around the lake or extend the walk through more of the university campus or even combine it with crossing the road and into Wollaton Park for a longer walk. We love seeing the ducklings in the spring and there are always squirrels and rabbits hopping around as well.
Song
The Kids Aren’t Alright by The Offspring
I watched the film The Faculty in 2000 when I was 16 and it opens to The Offspring’s The Kids Aren’t Alright. I absolutely loved it and it heavily influenced my music taste from my teens into adulthood. I loved their album Americana and from there I discovered Blink-182 and Sum 41, that whole pop punk sound I still love like I was discovering it yesterday.
Holiday
New Zealand
I’ve been incredibly lucky enough to visit New Zealand twice, once in 2011 and again in 2023, and both times were the most incredible trips. The landscape really is breath-taking and as a big Lord of the Rings fan it literally makes you feel at times like you’ve stepped into Middle-earth. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone and the Kiwi Experience tour bus that can take you from top to bottom is a great way of seeing a lot in a shorter period of time.
Film
Se7en
Asking a film fanatic to choose one favourite film is so difficult, films are just too diverse, but for this I’ll go with Se7en. I spent my late teens and early twenties working at a video rental store consuming as many movies as possible and I feel Se7en was the first adult film that really blew me away. David Fincher is a master filmmaker and Se7en literally has every aspect a great film should have; you can’t stop thinking about it for days after you see it.
Meal
Phat Buns
Phat Buns on Hartley Road in Radford is our go to takeaway. They do amazing burgers and loaded fries. When you want to treat yourself to some naughty food instead of cooking at home it’s definitely one of Nottingham’s best places to go. It doesn’t help that it’s on my way home from work as well so the temptation is sometimes too strong. They’ve also opened one in Beeston, near Highfields.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
