Against All Odds - Robin Hood Continues To Create Global Interest and Gets Caught In a USA Media Storm About Mistaken Identity!
Against All Odds - Robin Hood Continues To Create Global Interest and Gets Caught In a USA Media Storm About Mistaken Identity!
It seems to somewhat beggar belief, but when the world is understandably focussed on the worrying issue of the Covid 19 pandemic, against all the odds, global interest in the Robin Hood legend still continues to flourish!
As 2021 dawned, the internet- based World Wide Robin Hood Society was involved with a variety of projects related to the legendary outlaw, including:
- Reviewing 3 new Robin Hood books * - ( two factual, academic works and an historical novel that has also attracted interest in its cinematic rights potential for film and television.)
- A planned new documentary by a German television company.
- A proposed book by an American author, about the making of the hugely successful 1950’s television series, “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, starring Richard Greene.
- Sourcing a suitable illustration of Lincoln Green clothing for the “Love Lincs. Plants” project, being co-ordinated by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.
Then, right out-of-the- blue, the Society found itself thrust into a global media storm, when investors mistakenly confused it’s twitter handle, @robinhood with a USA Robinhood stock trading app that was hitting the headlines in the financial news. The Society’s twitter platform subsequently saw a phenomenal increase, rocketing to over 60,000+ followers and still counting!
Society Chairman, Bob White, commented: “Everything went crazy and over 4-5 days we were inundated with requests for media interviews - resulting in features in such high profile news outlets as Rolling Stone, (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/world-wide-robin-hood-society-gamestop-1121788/ ; the Wall Street Journal (Front page, Tuesday February 9th); NBC News and even the “Today in America” morning show! It seems that now, even after 800 years, Robin Hood, everyone’s favourite outlaw, still has a global following. His iconic story of the triumph of justice over evil and corruption continues to be fondly held in many people’s hearts, giving the legend seemingly eternal life! Perhaps, in Robin Hood, people still see him as their champion and hero, whose worthy principles might be adopted to challenge the changing times we face today?”
For further information and comment, contact Bob White, Chairman of the World Wide Robin Hood Society, by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone on (0115) 9523183.
Bob White has nearly 50 years experience in “all things Robin Hood” and a diverse appreciation of the legend’s status as a powerful, centuries-old “brand”. He is also the author of “Robin Hood: The legacy of a folk hero”. https://blkdogpublishing.com/robin-hood-the-legacy-of-a-folk-her
The Robin Hood Society gains thousands of new followers
The Robin Hood Society gains thousands of new followers!
In the past week, we have been inundated with a lot of new followers! Please see the following news articles relating to this:
"GameStop investors inundate Robin Hood Society with thousands of new followers"
Nottinghamshire Live, 29th Jan 2021
Nottingham's Robin Hood society has been inundated with thousands of new followers on social media following confusion with a US trading platform.
Stock traders have been left in anger after the Robinhood trading platform prevented investors from buying shares this week in US electronics shop GameStop.
The World Wide Robin Hood Society promotes the story of the city's most famous outlaw but it has been pulled into the frenzy after confusion on Twitter.
Robin Hood's Body Found ….clutching Maid Marian’s knickers!
Robin Hood's Body Found ….clutching Maid Marian’s knickers!
27 years ago, on July 19th, 1992, this was the global exclusive, sensationalist headline that appeared in the Sunday Sport newspaper and shocked the world! Long before the development of social media, this dubious publication thrived on “fake news” and had a reputation for unashamedly creating a wide range of fanciful stories and unlikely events that had scant reference to the truth!!!
Concerns that the county appears to be “dodging” the Robin Hood issue yet again
Concerns that the county appears to be “dodging” the Robin Hood issue yet again
Disappointment and concern are the views being initially expressed by the public and interested organisations having seen that the County Council's proposals for the new Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre are now to be carried out in two phases. With plans for a possible Robin Hood Heritage Centre earmarked for "sometime in the future" when funding has been secured, doubts are being raised as to whether the much-needed attraction will ever get built!
Questions are also being asked as to why an application has not been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a matched contribution to try to double the County Council's £5.3m investment and make it possible to extend the proposed new Visitor Centre and be able to accommodate the Robin Hood heritage element in one building. This latest fiasco is seen by the public as yet another delaying factor by the local authority in a long-running saga of failed Sherwood Forest initiatives, reflecting a sad indictment of the County Council's true commitment, ambition and pride in Nottinghamshire's most famous legend!
ITN News pressure Nottingham city council to name new sheriff
ITN News pressure Nottingham city council to name new sheriff
Before the meteoric rise of today’s instant communication networks, it was much harder for journalists to find new stories. So when, in the late 1990’s, ITN News picked up on the fact that Nottingham City Council had yet to announce who was to be the next Sheriff of Nottingham, they mischievously started to speculate that the Council were planning to abolish the centuries-old office that traditionally dated back to famous links with Robin Hood.
Of course, this was totally un-true but as the Council continued to dismissively resist ITN’s requests for an interview with the Leader of the Council, the news channel ratcheted -up the pressure by deciding to feature the story in their popular “...And Finally”, three minute slot that always concluded their 10pm prime-time news programme.
Council leader, John Taylor was furious and repeatedly dug his heels in deeper, stating he had far more important local government issues to deal with than choosing the next Sheriff! However, further telephone calls established that it was the Robin Hood connection that made the item “worthy” of national news focus and as ITN had already paid to use original footage from the 1950’s Richard Greene TV series, they had absolutely no intention of dropping the story. In the end, Councillor Taylor begrudgingly listened to the advice given by the media and communication team and agreed to an interview and the resultant feature took on a more ”tongue-in-cheek” view of the issue that showed the Council in a positive light!
Society takes part in panel of experts discussing the best and worst portrayals of Robin Hood in the movies
Society takes part in panel of experts discussing the best and worst portrayals of Robin Hood in the movies
With the new Robin Hood movie starring Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx currently scheduled for general release in November, not-for-profit company, Robin Hood Energy, recently invited the World Wide Robin Hood Society to join a panel of “experts” to give their opinions on who they thought gave the best and worst portrayals of Robin Hood in the movies. The outcome of their deliberations can be viewed at https://robinhoodenergy.co.uk/news/best-robin-hoods-film-experts-decide/
Chairman Bob White was the Society’s representative on the film panel but he personally considers the best over-all portrayal of Robin Hood to have been the “small screen” performance by Michael Praed in the popular 1980’s “Robin Of Sherwood” television series made by HTV/Goldcrest. Bob commented “For me personally, Praed, was definitively the ideal Robin Hood! He had the look and screen presence and the benefit of writer/creator Richard Carpenter’s tight scripts that cleverly blended the traditional tales with a hint of mystery and magic.”