Saturday 30 July 2011

The St. Oswald





















The St Oswald is a fishery Protection Vessel operated by the  Northumberland Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NIFCA)  . It is seen here entering the River Tyne yesterday.

The St Oswald was built at Hepworths Boatyard on the Humber in 2001. The vessel is 21 metres in length with a 6 metre beam and is powered by twin 500kw Caterpillar engines. 

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Blaydon Races


The Blaydon Races were a horse race meeting  first held on an island in the River Tyne about 1 mile west of Blaydon, later transferring to  Stella Haugh where the races were held until 1914.

 The races were to give their name to a song of the same name written by George Ridley and recorded as having been sung at  Balmbra's Music Hall in Newcastle upon Tyne on 5 June 1862. The song was to become, and remains, a Geordie Anthem recognised by everyone on Tyneside and sung to this day by supporters of Newcastle United FC.

Monday 18 July 2011

river view
























in this picture can be seen   Newcastle's 12th Century Castle Keep, 14th Century St Nicholas Cathedral, Moot Hall 1811, High Level Bridge 1849, the old Fish Market building ( foreground)

Sunday 17 July 2011

Spiller's Tyne Mill demolition





















for comparison please see similar view on 1st May:

http://newcastleandnorthumberlanddailyphoto.blogspot.com/2011/05/kittiwake-tower.html

Monday 11 July 2011

HMS Tyne


























HMS Tyne was on a courtesy visit to the River Tyne at the weekend. She is the 6th ship in the Royal Navy to have been named after the River Tyne.

HMS Tyne serves as a  fishery protection unit within the United Kingdom's waters along with her two sister ships Mersey & Severn.

Sunday 10 July 2011

Mouth of the Tyne Festival





















The Mouth of the Tyne Festival takes place every July in Tynemouth and South Shields, towns which lie either side of the mouth of the River Tyne. This morning there was a children's carnival procession in Tynemouth

Saturday 9 July 2011

Durham Miners' Gala. 9 July 2011





The Durham Miners' Gala   developed out of  miners' trade unionism, with the first Union being established in 1869. The Durham Miners' Union organised the first Gala  in 1871 and it developed into the largest unofficial miners and trade union gathering in the United Kingdom . It is  locally called "The Big Meeting" or "Durham Big Meeting". It is a highlight of cultural life in the North East of England.

There are no working pits left in the  Durham coalfield but the Gala remains a paean to the proud political and cultural heritage of the former  mining communities   which are   represented by colourful banners, each typically accompanied by a brass band, which are marched through Durham City to site of the old racecourse  where political speeches are delivered. In the afternoon a Miners' service is held in Durham cathedral.

This year two of the trapped Chilean Miners were guests of honour and a Chilean flag was flown on the balcony from which local and national dignitaries observe the procession..