Club Weekend Visit to Leicester in October 2015

Around 20 members of Newark castle, including wives and partners, had a weekend away in the City of Leicester, most of us arriving at our hotel on Friday 9 October and departing on Sunday 11th. The stay turned out to be full of interest and fun, with plenty of laughs and great food.

The trip was the inspiration of President David. It may seem strange that we all agreed to visit Leicester, which is on the doorstep, rather than a destination further away, but David is an expert on the city, seeing that he works there as the Director of Estates and Commercial Services at De Montfort University. He has a budget of many millions, a staff of three hundred and responsibility for more than 20000 students. Therefore, David’s key opens many city doors.

Leicester was a total revelation to me. I had not been there for over thirty years. I used to visit on business and always considered everywhere to be underwhelming and generally rundown. It has certainly changed compared to the Leicester of yesteryear. In particular the city centre is upmarket, containing many restaurants, bars, boutique shops and large malls and stores. Overall, it is very cosmopolitan with a population comprising of many ethnic groups, adding great interest to any visit because of the diverse range of culinary delights, exotic clothing and other goods. By far the largest ethnic group is Asian, mainly Indian. The addition of more than 35000 students, studying at two universities, just adds to the diversity. Modern architecture and public spaces, such as fountain-filled squares and pedestrianised streets, combine with ancient buildings and are a treat to the eye because everything has been tastefully blended together.

When we arrived in Leicester on Friday afternoon, we first drove through the suburbs.We headed towards the centre down the “Golden Mile”, which contains many shops selling beautiful saris and a wide range of ethnic foods. Progress was slow, which enabled me as a passenger to have a good look around at the stores and their customers. At the roadside, many decorations were being installed to celebrate the Festival of Diwali, which was less than a month away.

We arrived at The Holiday Inn, conveniently placed near all the central attractions, meaning that we did not have to drive anywhere over the weekend as everything was in reasonable walking distance. After checking-in, we strolled across the road and a pattern developed: the ladies visited the shops and the men visited the pub! We didn’t stay out long, but went back to the hotel in time to greet the others and then rest before going to eat.

Good food provides a relaxing way to enjoy each other’s company. On Friday night, we walked to a restaurant where we were to have an Indian meal. The walk summed up cosmopolitan Leicester. We crossed from our hotel to a large open and partially grassed square, which was designed as a meeting area with plenty of seating on low walls around the grassy areas. We then entered a pedestrian zone. It was already dark. The streets were lined with restaurants offering a wide choice of cuisine, many with seating verandas where some dinersrelaxed with a drink before going inside to take a meal. There were coloured lights in the trees and suspended across the pathways. The place was buzzing. It reminded me of being on holiday somewhere in southern Europe. After a short time we arrived at the Mem Saab Indian Restaurant, which turned out to be a sophisticated blend of East and West. We were shown to our seats, walking past a pianist playing a selection of “Play it Again Sam” tunes. We were met by the manager, who introduced us to our waiters and then explained what dishes they were going to put before us. We all sat together on a long table. We were away from the other guests but near enough to hear the music from the Champagne Bar. The food was excellent, with many different dishes to sample. President Dave proved why he has hair on his chest, by eating a dish so hot that Dyno Rod had to be called to pipe cold water down his throat!

By contrast, the next night we ate a gourmet meal, organised by David at Trinity House, a medieval building owned by the University and containing a splendid chapel which doubles as a dining room for special guests. It was a black tie event just for our group and the meal was out of this world. When the word "gourmet" was first touted I thought that it probably meant "pretty good". After all, who expects truly gourmet food in a university? However, we were all astounded by the presentation, taste and quality of an absolutely outstanding five course meal. It turned out that a specialist company, independent of the University, was responsible for the restaurant. Furthermore, they provide the same service to institutions all over the UK and our chef had just won the award of Top Chef out of more than 300 restaurants! We were not surprised. The meal was truly memorable.

Away from pleasuring our stomachs, David had prepared an itinerary of visits which kept us very busy. Here is a summary.

Saturday morning:

Exploring the many retail establishments in the city centre, such as the Highcross and Haymarket Shopping Centres, the Leicester Lanes containing many independent boutique establishments, and the Open-Air Market. I found the latter very interesting, with lots of stalls, the best of which are for fruit and vegetables and displaying a wide range of Asian and Caribbean produce. Such is its attraction that the market is open six days a week.

Saturday afternoon visits:

  • The Cathedral: Although smaller than many cathedrals, it contains many historical artefactsand exhibits. Of course, the centre of attention is the Tomb of Richard 111.
  • The King Richard 111 Visitor Centre: This has been thoughtfully designed. By way of visual presentations, it takes the visitor through the background and history of Richard, onto the discovery and excavation of his body. The Centre is built directly over the site of the excavation and it is possible to gaze down upon the exact spot where he was found.
  • The Jewry Wall Museum: This contains many fascinating displays and artefacts from prehistoric times to the medieval period. The museum is on the site of a Roman public bath and has a famous landmark, the Jewry Wall, one of the tallest surviving pieces of Roman masonry in the country.

Sunday visits:

  • Leicester Castle, the Great Hall (opened by arrangement): This Hall dates back to Norman times, when it was a showpiece and centre of magnificence. The Earl of Leicester held a court every three weeks and many criminals were sentenced there to hang on the Earl’s gallows. When the Castle fell into decay at the end of the Middle Ages the hall continued as a court, thus surviving destruction. In 1821 it was divided into two court rooms, one civil and the other criminal, and was not finally closed until the 1990s. Other rooms we visitedwere the Grand Jury Room, Barristers’ Room, Judge’s Room and, under the Criminal Court, the holding cells. The Great Hall has been purchased by President Dave on behalf of De Montfort University and will become a business centre.
  • Leicester Castle, the Motte: This is a large mound of earth and all that remains of the original castle, apart from the Great Hall. There are good views from the top, overlooking some of the oldest parts of the city.
  • De Montfort University: David took some of us on a tour of the University Campus. It contains many listed buildings but recently there has been a ten-year £200 million investment in many modern buildings, such as the £35 million Hugh Aston Building. The university has one of the largest numbers of Teacher Fellows of any UK university and has been awarded Centre of Excellence status.

We had a marvellous weekend. I think it was one of the best Club trips we have ever had. Thank you David for a well-planned and entertaining visit.

John Lewington

John’s Work “RotaryVisitLeicesterOct2015”