I’ve been on the committee of Ryton Festival for a couple of years now, and I’ve heard my friends Liz and Trevor Peart mention being committed elsewhere for the first week of the Festivals, namely, […]

I’ve been on the committee of Ryton Festival for a couple of years now, and I’ve heard my friends Liz and Trevor Peart mention being committed elsewhere for the first week of the Festivals, namely, […]
I’m a fan of all of Ken Loach’s films, including the most recent I Daniel Craig. For me however, his best will always be Kes, the 1969 film based on the novel by Barry Hines. […]
Ryton Community Library, in conjunction with GemArts, held the second of two summer holiday events this afternoon. Last month you could come along and have a bash (quite literally) at African Drumming. Today it was […]
An over reliance on “screen” entertainment can leave youngsters unchallenged, so Wyevale Nurseries have come up with the idea of Busy Bee Week. Held over the half term holiday, parents and children can enjoy gardening, […]
St. Anne’s RC Church in Winlaton was the venue for the eleventh session of Ryton Festival this afternoon. We heard from the choirs of Corbridge Middle School (Junior and Senior) Hareside Primary School Cramlington, and […]
The tenth session of Ryton Festival in Emmaville Hall was opened last night (Thursday) by its Vice – President Mrs Doris Williams. The Federation of Festivals is a national movement, but Mrs Williams said that […]
Let’s hear what the adjudicator; Norma Redfearn, has to say about our festival, and the festival movement in general. She was kind enough to give me a written quote. “I have had a wonderful time […]
Yesterday evening gave us the sixth session of the Ryton Festival in Emmaville Hall. Proceedings were opened by Jonathan Morris, the Executive Principal of Thorp Academy, and the entrants came from The Saturday Stage School, […]
Our friend Tracey, Heather and I, enjoyed a marvellous sell out gig last night at the Cluny in Ouseburn, roughly situated beneath Byker Bridge. Tracey has been here several times before, but it was a […]
I’m not a parent myself, but I have seven nieces and nephews all under the age of fourteen, and the one thing I thoroughly ‘get’ is that once you have children there is no […]
Unfortunately I won’t be able to get to all of the sessions at the Ryton Festival, but I thoroughly enjoyed the second session in Emmaville Hall this evening. It was opened by its president, Canon […]
There’s a lot coming up in and around Ryton. The festival begins on Friday kicking off at 6.15pm in Emmaville Hall, Crawcrook. They have a new-look website, click on the link to see what’s […]
A local dramatic group not so far covered in this blog are the Progressive Players. They’re an amateur company founded in 1920 at the Westfield Hall in Alexandra Road, Gateshead. Since 1939 their permanent home […]
My former English teacher Richard Reid kindly suggested I get in touch with Susan Emmett who lives in Ryton and runs the Throckley Drama Group. They are going to be performing Baby Boomers Behaving Badly, […]
I don’t envy Mark Zuckerberg his millions, because it’s down to him that I’ve re-kindled many friendships and enjoyed some fantastic times. Yesterday was a case in point, because without Facebook Heather and I would […]
Walking through the Haymarket Metro Station yesterday my attention was drawn to an illuminated poster advertising Day of the Flymo, about to begin its second run at the Live Theatre, Newcastle. The lead role in […]
I have always believed in this simple concept. If you’re feeling lonely, or a relationship has just ended, you will never get anywhere if you sit moping in the house. Ten years ago this weekend […]
Last Wednesday was an enjoyable day; I spent it on the set of the ITV detective series Vera, which has just completed filming season six. Created by ITV Gallowgate, Vera is based on the […]
We’ve been to Harrogate and York recently, but we haven’t been to rural Yorkshire for ages. It’s easy to see why Alf Wight fell in love with the place and settled in Thirsk to become James […]
On Sunday night Heather and I had a walk around the ponds at Blaydon, you’ll know where I mean, the back of where the old swimming pool used to be. I’ve never been down there before, but it […]
Heather and I went to see an ingenious piece of theatre last night at the Live Theatre. 11 Plus is a short performance based on interviews with a group of young people aged 11 years […]
I rang my friend Irene on Friday afternoon. “You know that cycle shop in Newburn, KB Cycles or something?” (KB Cycles Newburn) “Yes.” “Well is that the shop you use? It’s just we’ve been in and […]
I haven’t been on my blog because we’ve been to Liverpool for a few days, and what a fantastic place it is. We wanted a city break and we chose Liverpool, simply because neither of […]
Thorp Academy had better watch out, because the KS2 Drama Club, at St. Agnes Catholic Primary School in Crawcrook, are snapping at their heels. When it comes to end of term celebrations, St. Agnes know how to do […]