A faulty zoom lens meant that I didn’t get all the photographs I wanted to this morning, at the launch of the Last Shift Festival in Greenside. Here are the few I did manage to […]
More Thorp Academy demolition photos
Wednesday, 22nd June, 2016 Saturday 18th June, 2016
Bit by Bit – Thorp update
Thank you so much to Karen of Thorp Academy for taking me to the top of the STEM building this morning to get some photos of the demolition work. Also to the staff of Thompsons […]
Down the Dene
We are very fortunate indeed that WildGround will be working in Ferndene Park most Tuesdays between now and January. WildGround is a three-year initiative to deliver high quality traineeships in natural heritage grounds maintenance. The […]
Busy Bee Busy Bee
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, […]
Thorp Academy, now and last year
Last July Kay Farrow of Thorp Academy kindly showed me around and allowed me to take photographs inside the classrooms. They were still in use, so I didn’t publish them at the time. Here they […]
Old Thorp Academy, saying goodbye bit by bit
Many thanks to the staff of Sir Robert McAlpine, who allowed me to take some photographs of the gradual demolition of the old Thorp Academy today. Health and safety laws decree that I’m not allowed […]
Stick to village speed limits
I just want to mention the Ryton Festival again, and something that happened a few minutes after the eleventh session had concluded up in St. Agnes RC Church, Winlaton. A visibly distressed young man from […]
Ryton Festival Eleventh Session
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 […]
More from Ryton Festival, Tenth Session
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 […]
Ryton Festival – Ninth Session
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 […]
Ryton Festival – Sixth Session
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, […]
Sleeping Dogs rock the Cluny
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 […]
Ryton Festival Third Session
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 […]
Second Session, Ryton Festival
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 […]
Ryton Festival is nearly here
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 […]
From the Live to the Little (Gateshead Little Theatre)
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 […]
Ryton Festival – Baby Boomers
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, […]
Beamish Hall Winter Festival 2016
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 […]
Keeping fit
If, using your own body and without any props or materials, you’ve never been asked to construct a series of objects from a Lynx Helicopter to the Eiffel Tower, or stomp your way through a […]
Thorp Academy, official opening of STEM
I was thrilled when a couple of months ago an invitation dropped onto the mat inviting me to the official opening of the Thorp Academy STEM building. STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering […]
Cats, cards, charity & the doghouse
I was in the Hexham branch of Marks and Spencer’s shortly before Christmas, a regular port of call for Mum and me. It’s one of the growing number of places where Mum has a solid […]
Carols at the Cross
Lovely winter evening enjoying Carols at the Cross, accompanied provided by the Ovington Tynedale Reunion Band, joined by the Caedmon Choir from the Gateshead Sage. Merry Christmas everyone, and thank you for following me this […]
St Agnes reception..more nativity magic !
Another wonderful afternoon along at St. Agnes Catholic School in Crawcrook to see the last of their nativity plays, this time the turn of the reception class. Lovely to get chatting to two of my […]
Nativity magic from St. Agnes !
The first thing that struck me when I arrived at St Agnes Catholic School this afternoon, is that even though I got there half an hour early, the queue of parents, friends and relatives stretched […]
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