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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