Lemmy Statue to Contain Last of His Ashes
Plus Barlaston restaurant makes list of top 100 UK curry houses, helping rough sleepers in Newcastle and photo shoot raises cash for the Dog's Trust charity
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🤘Lemmy Comes Home. Local sculptor Andy Edwards has paid tribute to the late Motörhead frontman, born in Burslem in 1945, in Staffordshire Clay, which is now ready to be cast in bronze. Depicting Lemmy at the height of his fame in the ‘80s playing one of his beloved Rickenbacker basses, the statue will also contain the last of Lemmy’s ashes, some of which are also enshrined in a bust at Nottingham’s Rock City. Standing on an eight-foot plinth, the 2.2 metre-tall sculpture is to be unveiled mid-2025 on Burslem’s Market Square.
Local boy Lemmy was born in Burslem in 1945
🥘 North Staffs Curry House Makes top 100 Indian Restaurants. Serving Indian food with a modern twist, Barlaston restaurant Blanc NRI is mentioned in the British Indian Food Guide. Situated off the A34 in Barlaston, the ‘NRI’ stands for ‘Not Really Indian.’ We like the sound of the lobster Moilee (fish in a ginger and coconut sauce) and the Kashmiri lamb shank. Check out the menu here.
🎸 Band Donate Profits from Gig to Macari Foundation. Members of Irish root music band Murphy's Marbles have donated profits from their gig at Leek’s Longsdon Memorial Hall on 21/12 to the Macari Foundation to help rough sleepers.
🛣️ Local Highway Completed. Part of a wider £50 million investment in the county’s roads over the next three years, a £295,000 major highways improvement scheme at Scot Hay Road and Kents Lane junction in Silverdale is now finished. The initiative included reconstruction and resurfacing of the road, along with repairs to damaged kerbs, ironworks and drains.
🛌 Homeless Hub for Newcastle. Authorisation for work to convert former offices at Stubbs Gate into a ‘homeless hub’ with emergency accommodation, showers and laundry facilities is ready for approval by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. Planning permission for the adaptation of the building, to be known as Navigation House, has been granted for 12 months, with a review of its impact to be carried out after it’s been in operation for a year.
🐶 Raising Funds for the Dogs Trust. BTEC students at Newcastle College raised £630 for The Dogs Trust by inviting staff, students, and members of the public to bring their dogs into the college’s photography studio. In return for a donation to the charity, participants got their hands on print and digital copies of their photos, and ordered personalised keyrings and Christmas cards. Woof!
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
👩💼 The Knot’s First Year: our founder James reflects on our first year. Why not give the gift of The Knot this Christmas and make someone a paid subscriber…
👦 Coming Soon: the Potteries Pound: this proposed digital currency rewards caring activities and volunteering – and you wanted to know more!
🎤 The Knot Life: did you know you can list your events for free at The Knot Life? More and more readers are doing it - get yours on too!
Unsung Heroes ⬇️
🏃♀️ Dave Juggins. The 75 year old gold medal duathlete can run a 5km in 21 minutes.
👗 Anya Parker James. Read about the designer that built a fashion career here.
👨🎨 Ian Parker: Mouth painter Ian has illustrated a kid’s book and is a full-time artist.
👩⚕️ Ruth Chambers: The retired GP won an OBE for improving health outcomes.
🥨 Good Vibes Only: A Word from Helen, Writer at The Knot
🤘Stoke-on-Trent is the birthplace of two of rock ‘n’ roll’s biggest legends: Motörhead frontman Lemmy was born in Burslem while Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash was also born in Stoke, and our city’s football clubs pay tribute to these two iconic rock acts via their playlists, with the Ace of Spades a particular pre-match favourite.
We’ll finally be able to admire the immortalisation of Burslem’s most famous son next year – a GoFundMe page raised £11,361 for the statue while celebrities and fans also contributed to the £50,000 needed. It’s not the first immortalisation of the rock legend – a six-foot effigy has stood outside his fave bar, West Hollywood's Rainbow Bar and Grill since 2016 and four years later another Lemmy statue was unveiled on the grounds of metal event Hellfest in Clisson, France. The unveiling promises to be quite the event, and we’ll keep you posted on updates as we hear them.
In the meantime, we hope you’re all ready for Christmas and are sending you much festive cheer and all our very best wishes for 2025. Stay tuned - it’s gonna be a great year with the centenary about to begin and plenty of great events coming up!
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ☁️ 7°(7°) Tue ☁️ 12°(9°) Wed ☁️ 12° (9°) Thu ☁️ 11° (6°) Fri ☁️ 9°(4°)
Sat ☁️ 8°(4°) Sun ☁️ 6°(2°).
Sunrise 23/12 ☀️ 08:21 Sunset 23/12 🌅 15:55
