Newcastle, New Years Eve

a photo from this evening's Winter Carnival

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Happy New Year and thanks to everyone who visits this Blog

a Jesmond yard

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Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne; this is the back yard of a terrace house there.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

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a detail from the eastern end of the cathedral which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the previous Cathedral burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666 . The new building was declared officially complete in 1710 and was the tallest building in London until 1962.

winter evening on the town moor

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The Town Moor is an area of common land of around 400 hectares within the city boundary of Newcastle upon Tyne; it is larger than Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath ( in London) combined. The Moor is used from time to time to graze cattle. A large travelling fair called the Hoppings is held there every June.

The Cluny

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The Cluny is a bar and music venue set in the the Ouseburn valley which once was a thriving industrial area containing lead works, potteries and a corn mill. The Cluny building once housed a bottling plant for a Scotch whisky called the Cluny.

NUFC #1 fan?

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Newcastle United Football Club: NUFC

North Sea, Boxing Day

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the annual Boxing Day swim organised by www.nsvl.org.uk at Whitley Bay this morning. Sea temperature about 4C.

xmas bridge

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red bridge

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purple bridge

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green bridge

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blue bridge

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The Millennium Bridge across the Tyne connects Newcastle and Gateshead ; it has a very effective lighting display which changes colour frequently and sequentially.

Ilford Road Metro Station

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Ilford Road Metro station today. The station was purpose built for the Metro system and opened on 11 August 1980. The Metro serves Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland districts of North East England. Almost 40 million passenger journeys are made each year.

Sage Xmas

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the Sage is celebrating its 5th Birthday and is currently lit up for the festive season

Sage Choir

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The Sage have been running free Seasonal Music sessions this week; this photo shows a choral group called Backbeat performing in the Concourse this evening.

Christmas Market

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Charlie's

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Recently opened, yet another bar and restauarant along the Quayside; this time Charlie's, a champagne bar on Watergate at the northern end of the Swing Bridge.

Emerson Chambers

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reflected in the window of Boots the Chemist on Blackett Street

Xmas Steel

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A steel band was entertaining the Christmas shoppers on Northumberland Street today.

Fog on the Tyne

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Fog was draped like a damp grey veil around the Tyne Bridge today. This photo was taken at lunchtime. Newcastle is not an especially foggy place, but a well known song called Fog on The Tyne was recorded by local group Lindisfarne whose album of the same name reached No. 1 in the UK album charts in 1972. Newcastle United footballer Paul Gascoigne released a version of the song in 1990 which reached number two in the UK singles chart.

Ross Sands

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Ross Sands in Northumberland is a long stretch of dune backed beach running between Holy Island to the North and Budle Bay to the South; tides and winds contrive to deposit old lobster pots together.

The Alternative Option

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Every December a Christmas market is held around Grey's Monument on Grey Streeet and Grainger Street ; some stall holders are from other European countries. This stall's name and the rare hairstyle was just too good to miss.

Vivienne Westwood @ Christmas

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the shops in town have displays to reflect the forthcoming religious and secular holiday; the designer Vivienne Westwood has 10 stores in the UK, one of which is in Hood Street, Newcastle upon Tyne and which is shown here.

I danced in the morning....

....when the earth was begun
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an image from Blyth promenade provides a topical image for next week's climate change summit in Copenhagen. Whether you believe the activities of mankind affect climate change or not; we billions live on a relatively small planet and our impact on the natural world around us is severe and our voracious appetite for material trappings and lifestyles deplete finite natural resources at an ever increasing rate. We owe it to our children, grandchildren and subsequent generations to leave them a sustainable future.

Newcastle Fish market

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at the old Newcastle Fish market ( now a night club) on the Quayside, Poseidon , the King of the Sea, stands flanked by two fish market women. The city arms can be seen above the doorway.

Thomas Bewick

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Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) was born into a farming family at Cherryburn in Northumberland . He is renowned for his equisite woodcarvings . The memorial seen here is in Amen Corner next to St Nicholas’s Cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne; it marks the site of his workshop where most of his work was created.

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The Chillingham Bull by Bewick:
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55 Degrees North aka Swan House

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reflected in a cafe window on Pilgrim Street, the apartment complex called 55 Degrees North, converted from the old BT offices which were called Swan House. Swan House was named after Joseph Swan a local scientist and inventor of the electric light bulb; yes the electric light bulb! Edison fans go Google.

Sandhill and The Side

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This photo shows the junction of Sandhill and The Sides near Newcastle's quayside; the Tyne Bridge, iconic emblem of the city can be seen to the top left and top right of the photo.

Wylam Brewery

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Wylam Brewery was established in 2000, not in Wylam but on a farm in the nearby Heddon on the Wall., Northumberland . Heddon is the site of a stretch of Hadrian's Wall
http://www.wylambrewery.co.uk/

The Blinking Eye

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The Gateshead Millennium Bridge , also known as the Blinking Eye was opened to the public on 17 September 2001 and was officially dedicated by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 7th May 2002. It cost £22m to build, and was designed by architects Wilson Eyre and structural engineers Gifford; it was built by Volker Stevin. It is a pedestrian and cycle bridge spanning the River Tyne and connecting Newcastle to Gateshead. The bridge is known as the Blinking Eye because of its elliptical shape and its rotational movement.

Hanover Street

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Hanover Street was a site of bustling and thriving warehouses built between 1841 and 1844 by Amor Spoor. Some suffered bomb damage during World War Two and the rest were finally abandoned during the 1970s. Those on the south side have now been converted into modern apartments. This view shows parallel rows of smooth stones which were set in the cobbles to make it easier for horse drawn carts to get up and down the slope.

Grey Street Flags

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A variety of political and religious groups often set up stall at the base of Grey's Monument in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne. An active political campaigner in his own time perhaps Earl Grey ( yes he of Earl Grey Tea fame) would look down with a degree of empathy at those who congregate beneath his statue.

Little and Large

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there are a number of white Fiats like this around North Shields and Tynemouth, but these were spotted just near Selfridges on Oxford Street , London late this summer.

Christmas Panto

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The British pantomime is a form of theatre traditionally performed at Christmas for family audiences . Pantomimes combine a mixture of song, dance, slapstick and audience participation. This year#s pantomime at Newcastle's Theatre Royal, shown here, is Cinderella.

Mobile Library

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Northumberland County Library Service has four mobile libraries serving people in villages and remote rural areas. This one was pictured on Holy Island.

Street Entertainer

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Covent Garden is a popular location for tourists near London's West End. At its heart is a market building designed in 1632 by Inigo Jones . In the open piazza around the market, street artists and musicians entertain the crowd, including this silver gladiator.

Return to Sender

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Return to Sender, a figure of Elvis Presley by Sean Read, at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland.

Baltic Stairs

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"BALTIC is a place where visitors can experience innovative and provocative new art, relax, have fun, learn and discover fresh ideas."

Durham Cathedral #2

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Durham Cathedral

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Construction of this magnificent Cathedral began in 1093 AD. It is considered to be one of the finest examples of Norman Architecture. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site . Over this weekend it is the perfect backdrop for the Lumiere festival. This photo was taken on Friday evening in pouring rain.

stairs to Amber

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Amber is a film & photography collective based in Newcastle upon Tyne; these stairs lead to their studios off The Side on Newcastle's quayside

Remembrance Sunday, Tynemouth

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In the United Kingdom the second Sunday of November is marked by ceremonies at local war memorials . Wreaths of poppies are laid in memory of the fallen and a two minutes' silence is held at 11 a.m.

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The memorial at Tynemouth, shown here, is made of white granite and was unveiled in 1920.

the old Fish Market

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This photograph shows the old Fish Market building on the Quayside, with the High Level Bridge and the Castle Keep in the background. The building was opened in 1880 but could never compete effectively with the Fish Quay market nearer the sea at North Shields. the building was designed by the architect A.M. Fowler and the stone sculpture over the doorway was carved by George Burn. The sculpture is of Neptune, god of the sea, flanked by fishwives who sold the fish. This building now houses a nightclub called the Viper Lounge

2nd Floor, The Baltic

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The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is located on the south bank of the Tyne in Gateshead. It has no permanent collection. It is housed in a converted flour mill with only the south and north facades of the original 1950s building being retained. Construction began in 1998 and it opened on 13 July 2002. Architect: Ellis Williams.

Quayside, Saturday morning

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The spire of All Saints Church dominates the skyline as viewed from the Gateshead side of the river Tyne ; the foundation-stone of the church was laid by the Reverend James Stephen Lushington on Monday the 14th of August, 1786.

Port of Tyne pilot cutter "Collingwood"

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The Collingwood is a new 16m aluminium pilot cutter and was designed and built by Pembroke Dock based Mustang Marine; it has a top speed at sea of 22 knots.