Whilst in Whitley Bay, I found a rather good second-hand shop with a small selection of Victorian photographs for sale. The price negotiation was complicated by my profound deafness and the shop-owner's challenging regional accent, but a price was eventually arrived at. Here is the first of the ten photographs I bought. A pencilled caption … Continue reading Mrs Hall Of Newsham
Tag: Calendar
Home Again
Home again. Home to the hills and the mills, home to the stone and the sets. The scale of Newcastle was grand, but perhaps a little too grand. I like to see fields at the end of streets and moors on the distant horizon. It's good to be home.
Passing Whitley Bay
We've visited several art galleries during our short trip to the North East, but few have anything to compare to the triptych mosaic on open display in the entrance hall of Whitley Bay Metro Station. Entitled "Passing", it was created in 1983 by Ian Patience and a group of young people from a Youth Opportunities … Continue reading Passing Whitley Bay
It’s A Grand Place
We spend hours walking the streets of that great big architectural theme park that is Newcastle Upon Tyne, in constant danger of walking into lampposts as we gaze up at the ever-changing skyline. Bridges appear from the rooftops of Victorian offices, cathedrals and castles nestle up to Edwardian shopping arcades. It's a grand place.
Hello Newcastle
I accept that I am old and therefore I should complain about everything, but I must confess the train journey up here was excellent, the city of Newcastle looks splendid, and the sun is shining like a lifted tariff. Hello Newcastle.
Curving Away
We are back with the reality of the old after yesterday's brief flirtation with the imagined future! I always call this particular photo of mine (dating from around 1980) "Halifax Before Eureka," as it shows the spot where the Eureka National Children's Museum was later built. The curve of the railway line heads away from … Continue reading Curving Away
1st April 2025
So many of my photographs of Halifax were taken 50 or 60 years ago, so for a change, I thought I might post a more contemporary view. So today, I went to the top of Beacon Hill and took a photograph of Halifax as it is now. You would hardly believe the changes that have … Continue reading 1st April 2025
Surveying The Change
A photograph from the early 198os showing my father watching, somewhat wistfully, as the last remnants of the old Charlestown Railway Viaduct in Halifax are being demolished. This leaves him with a clear view of the Albion Mills and Bailey Hall factories of John Mackintosh, where he spent the last 25 years of his working … Continue reading Surveying The Change
Seaside Shutters and Displayed Memories
There is something rather special about a "Walking Snap" - those brief moments of history captured in the click of a seaside shutter. Armies of seasonal photographers would stalk the piers and promenades of endless seaside resorts, snapping holidaymakers and displaying memories in grubby shop windows. Here's my mother and my brother in Bridlington some … Continue reading Seaside Shutters and Displayed Memories
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