Curly's Corner Shop, the blog!

Uncertain Instruments at South Shields Customs House

May I take a few minutes of your time to recommend a visit to the Customs House at The Mill Dam in South Shields where I spent a very reflective afternoon away from Christmas shopping today. If you, like me, are now and then looking for some sort of escape route from your toils and tribulations then this oasis of art is an ideal haven for reflection and thought. Right now there are some excellent exhibitions being shown in the Sandford Goudie Gallery including one or two which are particularly fascinating.

David Kemp’s “Uncertain Instruments” are a cornucopia of recycled items gathered over years of scouring old tin mines, scrap yards, car boot sales, and jumble in Cornwall. David has taken to the ultimate recycling in using these items to create a miscellany of artistic wit and invention, some of which would certainly make it into the props room of Dr. Who! I marvelled at the way that ancient old keyboards, motherboards, wheels, bogies, tea trollies etc. had been fashioned into wondrous works of art evoking a variety of emotions.

Also, having marvelled at the “Coat for a Boat” exhibition this summer, I found that some of the same group of knitters from South Tyneside have got together to create a “Victorian Christmas” all knitted from a variety of materials, I was absolutely fascinated and amazed at the creativity, and to top it all we have an avenue of white Christmas trees as we enter, all fully decorated yet made entirely from recycled plastic milk cartons!

If you have a spare hour when you are in South Shields town centre or Market Place then do have a walk across, you won’t regret it.

Which reminds me, I’ve just recycled an image of the Customs House director Ray Spencer in his alter ego “Tommy the Trumpeter” in what I consider to be an extremely creative style, it will be on show in my own gallery, South Shields Daily Pictures, in a few days time.

I hope he likes it.

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Leading South Tyneside Labour councillor dies suddenly

Curly wishes to note this sad moment and pass on his thoughts, prayers, condolences and wishes to his family.

A big man with a big sense of wit and humour he was difficult to ignore, and he served a term as Mayor of South Tyneside too in 1988, I often bumped into him in Morrisons in Jarrow and he always had a smile on his face and time for whoever wished to pass a few words.

Despite being very “old school Labour” he was one of those local politicians who did not find it difficult to put politics to one side and genuinely interact at a human level with his opponents.

The Leader of South Tyneside Council, Councillor Iain Malcolm, said: “I was terribly upset to hear of Barrie’s death; not only has the council lost a very good Cabinet member but I have lost a very dear and valued friend and the people of Jarrow have lost a councillor who assiduously defended their interests.”Barrie was a larger-than-life character, noted for his deep knowledge and love of local history as well as his wit, warmth and charm. As Mayor, he presided over council meetings with fairness and good humour, and was respected by both sides of the chamber. Our thoughts are with Barrie’s family and friends at this very sad time.”

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……on Wednesday

Joe McElderry will be signing copies of his new CD “The Climb” at HMV music store in King Street, South Shields at around 4:00pm this Wednesday, the 2009 X Factor winner announced the change in plan on his twitter site earlier today.

According to this Facebook page HMV will be handing out 500 limited wristbands at 8:00 am Wednesday morning to fans wanting to purchase a signed CD from the South Shields store, it also reveals there will be a short live performance from Joe in King Street prior to the record signings.

It is not known at present whether or not he will arrive in King Street aboard an open topped bus that South Tyneside Council is very keen to arrange for him, best keep our eyes peeled for announcements.

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I think that South Shields girl Jade Thirlwall should think seriously about having another go at the X Factor, she could well emulate Joe McElderry next year. Those that have heard her singing are well aware that she has improved enormously and the added maturity in her voice and personality suggest that she could be ready to give it a right good go, so let’s start promoting next year’s bid now!

I’m sure she has a dream to follow.

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Journalists – as a fraternity can be so cruelly unkind at times.

Former Shields Gazette journalist Murray Kelso, now digital editor at the Worcester News has a right good go at his former colleagues in Chapter Row, South Shields in this Tweat, then goes on to share a thought with David MacLean, who is leaving The Gazette to become political editor at The Leicester Mercury.

Well……..Twitter…..it cuts like a knife!

I’m expecting a bumper Joe edition of the Gazette tonight, I’m sure they won’t disappoint the folks of South Shields.

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18 year old wins ITV’s X Factor

Most of South Shields was exceptionally quiet last night, streets emptied, as virtually the whole town joined in the 20m people following the fortunes of 18 year old Joe McElderry on X Factor. The Temple Park Centre was packed to the rafters, as was The Old Ship in Sunderland Road (despite much of Joe’s family being in London) and many other pubs in town, and when it was announced that Joe had won the collective cheer would have been audible on the moon.

Joe’s victory will provide an enormous boost to the town and it’s people and help provide a little extra feel good effect as his debut single, a cover version of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” is all but guaranteed to occupy the Christmas No. 1 spot, it is not known yet when Joe will be able to make another homecoming visit but you can be assured that it will create a big stir when it happens.

The Mayor of South Tyneside Cllr. John Anglin was at last night’s live TV link up at Temple Park and nearly needed to be tied down, he was so excited about Joe’s “stardom” that I’m sure his feet were already thirty centimetres off the ground!

“It was always a case of when Joe was going to win, not if, and now his dream has come true.

“He is a real star and has a remarkable talent so I am sure he will be number one at Christmas.

“He is a great ambassador for South Tyneside and we are all so proud of him.”

Meanwhile Joe’s mentor from Girls Aloud, Newcastle born Cheryl Cole couldn’t cope with the tension and was late back to her judges seat on three occasions after nipping back to her dressing room to shed a few tears for the lad she treats like a little brother. Joe’s rival Olly Murs was graceful in defeat. and he too will reap some rewards from his own success, the result of course was never in any doubt with Joe being the odds on favourite with the bookies, and as this table of voting percentages shows, Joe has been the front runner for last five stages, and in last nights vote he polled a crushing 61% of the vote.

The Sun reckons a trip to the States beckons for Joe with the possibility of a £5m deal brokered by Simon Cowell, and Joe is already looking to use his first royalty cheques to look for properties, one for himself and another for his mother from the Westoe area of South Shields. It’s been an incredible journey for young McElderry since first winning his way through to the boot camp stage of X Factor two years ago, when he fled in tears fearing that he was not good enough, he went on after that to pick up a Pride of South Tyneside Award before steeling himself for another crack at the X Factor feeling more confident and comfortable in his own ability and he has become the only X Factor winner to have experienced what it is like to be amongst the bottom of the pile in the early stages,  Joe said:

I wasn’t ready the last time and I just walked out of Boot Camp. I was only 15 and couldn’t handle the pressure, but I’m a lot more confident and mature now. It’s amazing to have come back and won.

“After the first time on the show I said I’d never do it again because at the time I didn’t feel ready or confident.

“When I went back I remember thinking I wouldn’t get past the first audition, thinking it would be the same as before and they’d send me on home.

“But now that I’m here, having won the whole competition, I just can’t believe it.

“It’s a dream come true and I know I can achieve anything now.”

Joe now becomes South Shields’ biggest singing sensation since Gerry Monroe and the feel good factor probably outshines the (narrow) defeat suffered by the Mariners in the FA Cup against QPR in 1970, and the visit of Muhammad Ali to have his wedding blessed in the mosque at Laygate in 1977!

Somehow after the excitement had died down a little Joe managed to send a Tweat on Twitter from somewhere thanking all those who had supported him, so I’ve asked him when he’s coming home and cheekily requested a photo shoot for this blog, I really ought to know better. Joe will be Simon Cowell’s property now so perhaps I should write directly to him!

I’m really please for Joe and his family, he has done himself proud, and has instilled a huge amount of pride amongst Shields folk, South Tynesiders, and and inspired the whole Geordie nation, like Susan Boyle he had a dream and chased it as far as it could go. Now we hope that he can achieve his aspirations for many years to come and that somehow someone helps keep his feet on the ground as he faces new major challenges and changes in his life – we would like to be able to see him often in South Shields as Joe McElderry the lad that many people know, and not as a Hollywood star with a massive entourage.

Will it be possible?

Joe’s official new website where you can get his single in time for Christmas.

Videos from last night’s final:

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7FIWMnlaUk&fmt=]

South Shields Temple Park Centre

The Climb (reprise)

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZitfjxYKBI&fmt=]

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Joe McElderry is hot favourite with bookies

Just a quick one to explain my absence from the keyboard this weekend, much work has been completed in Curly’s house with new skirting boards fitted and many cables finally buried below the floor, just need to set up a wireless network next!

Spent most of the day getting the Christmas tree up and decorated, at eleven feet high with over 700 LED lights and over 400 baubles, it becomes a half day operation with both kids helping out. Christmas cards have all been sent by snail mail or email, so now we are prepared to sit down in fron of the TV this evening to support South Shields’ favourite son Joe McElderry as he bids to become the overall winner of 2009′s “X Factor”.

I noticed this morning that the Town Hall in South Shields is flying “Vote Joe” flags from it’s posts above the building, so a reminder, if you haven’t voted for Joe yet, get it done NOW, before 9:00 pm (telephone 0901 61 61 103 to support Joe McElderry).

The 18 year old from South Shields is the hot favourite at the bookies to win the X Factor this evening (1/5 with Paddy Power, and 2/9 with Ladbrokes) whilst his rival Olly Murrs is the outsider at a generous 3/1 against, so little chance of making an online fortune by putting your house on Joe, but don’t be complacent, make sure you vote for him.

I exchanged some views with Iain Malcolm yesterday evening, and the Leader of South Tyneside Council is very keen to arrange a spectacular public event in South Shields recognising McElderry’s success, should he walk away as winner tonight, and we’d both love to see an open topped bus parade through the town centre including King Street and the Market Place, which would be sure to draw huge crowds and perhaps help retailers in those few days before Christmas. Trouble is, if the nation votes for Joe tonight, he will be virtually owned by ITV, the X Factor team, Simon Cowell and his production company etc., guaranteeing a date for a public visit to his home town may not be quite as easy as arranging a visit from Santa Claus!

However, I’m sure Joe would love to be involved in something like this, and I’m sure the young Miliband boys would love to see a South Shields winner too!

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“If there’s one thing David Miliband can’t do it’s belt out a ballad.”

South Tyneside’s Labour Council Leader, Iain Malcolm talking about the chances of Joe McElderry winning the ITV X Factor this weekend, “we have got a Foreign Secretary as our MP, but this puts us on the map for completely different reasons” he said.

The whole town is now getting wound up for this evening’s edition of X Factor willing Joe to go on to tomorrow’s decider, (well most of us just know that Joe will win) and the attendant publicity that an X Factor winner will bring to South Tyneside cannot be underestimated.

The Tyne Tunnel, Newcastle international airport and the town hall are all sporting Vote Joe lights and flags amid hopes that his success may lift the fortunes of a region that has suffered badly through the recession. Iain Malcolm, the council leader, is already planning a marketing strategy to be implemented in the event of a McElderry victory, and an open-top bus procession to welcome him home.

I wonder what route around South Shields that will take then?

I’m about to go offline for the rest of the day, some important skirting renewals to do and some cables and leads to be hidden under floor, then we hope to be back to live Tweat during this evening’s show, I understand that Temple Park will be oversubscribed for the live broadcast link up, so if you have a ticket get along early.

VOTE JOE!

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Tory poster for the capital

Of course it has come as no surprise to Curly that Gordon Brown has twisted Darling’s arm so far up his back and decreed that the out of control public spending must not be tackled by his government, but that the horrendous economic mess should be cleared up by the next  residents in Nos. 10 and 11 Downing Street. This has always been the strategy since Brown was handed the job of PM by a gutless Labour Party who were too afraid to challenge a bullying Chancellor when Blair stepped down to make his millions, keep going until you run out of other people’s money to spend, build a mountain of debt, and let the next lot deal with it, in certain knowledge that unpopularity will dog the next government within weeks of taking office. No government has ever had to sort out such an economic catastrophe since the end of WWll in the UK.

But Brown has already been laying out the battleground for the next election, he has tried to use the economy as useful tool bleating on repeatedly about Labour’s investments vs Tory Cuts, but this strategy is now shot to shreds after Alistair Darling’s pre budget report unravelled within hours, and the new strategy has already been trailed during PMQs after Brown accused Cameron of devising policy on “the playing fields of Eton”. It will be class warfare, tribalism on a huge scale, back to basics when it’s backs to the wall for the rest of us.

Trouble is , with Gordon Brown living for free in two well appointed grace and favour properties at our expense, and Labour minister Quentin Davies spending nearly £21000 of our money on his bell tower, Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward (the richest man in the Commons) spending over £21000 of our money on one of his numerous properties, Labour MP Harry Cohen using £2000 of our cash for a new bath, ………..well the list goes on an on, this class war theme is already blowing up in Brown’s neatly decorated toilet (again at our expense).

At a local level here in South Shields and South Tyneside you are unlikely to find any toffs in South Shields Conservative Association, no big wigs from business, no jet set class with huge property portfolios or £millions hidden away in off shore bank accounts, by golly no! You are far more likely to find the elite of the business classes supporting the local Labour Party (hint, past Presidents of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and former MEPs building a fortune from a short life in public service and now mixing it as a successful lobbyist).

No the con of the class war has been revealed sharply by Alistair Darling’s very regressive move to increase NI contributions and all those “well off” folks who earn more than £20000 a year are now to be considered as having the broadest shoulders to carry the years of debt created by Labour’s profligacy! Any left wing economist will know that this measure, along with the VAT increase, will hurt the lowest paid far more than than those on higher bands of remuneration.

The respected Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated that Darling’s pre budget report, which postpones all serious pain until after the next election, will cost every family nearly £2500 per year for many years to come to reduce the budget deficit, and that people earning as little as £14000 per year will feel the pain, and that some public services will suffer cash cuts of up to 20%, and that £700m of the child benefit increases will be clawed back in 2011.

At the time the next election is eventually called, when Brown and Darling have ran out of cash and money, when they start fighting politics in a tribal and class atmosphere, we should remind them in the strongest possible way that once again Labour has failed to look after the most important class of electors in the UK, those who work to support their families and those left reliant on benefits because of a lack of entrepreneurial drive in a Britain now turning into a giant Poundland.

Guido suggests that the Irish delivered a budget that ought to have been announced in Westminster.

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Get tickets to see Joe McElderry live now!

Girls Aloud’s Kimberley Walsh band mate of Cheryl Cole, will be presenting from a live broadcast at the Temple Park Centre in South Shields as local lad Joe McElderry gives his final performance in his bid to win this year’s X Factor on ITV this weekend.

As Joe goes through what should be the performance of his life YOU can take part in a live broadcast from South Shields, linked to the show in London on both Saturday and Sunday night this week, invited guests will be talking with the X Factor’s Dermot O’Leary, Simon Cowell et al, and you can get your tickets by booking through this website, these tickets are absolutely FREE to anyone aged over eight (although 8 – 17 year olds need to be accompanied by an adult). Both events start at 17:30.

Oh and it looks as though Kimberley has become one of the latest celebrities to be backing Joe to win this year’s event.

South Tyneside Council had previously worked it’s socks off to entice the X Factor team to stage a live event at either the Town Hall forecourt in South Shields or the South Marine Park when Joe visited the town on Monday, they even tried to persuade the production team to use Temple Park Centre or The Customs House, but ultimately the decision was taken by the X Factor squad to use the Sage at Gateshead, primarily on public safety grounds and because it was easy to fill the venue with students and colleagues of Joe from Newcastle College. Personally I doubt whether they wanted Joe and Cheryl Cole to be hanging around in the South Marine Park on a freezing night and I doubt it would have benefited Joe’s vocal chords!

So, for the experience of a lifetime, get your FREE tickets booked NOW, demand will be huge and supply will be short, and the rest of the family may get to see you on the X Factor too. It also gives you a chance to help promote the very best of Sanddancer hospitality from South Shields, the publicity will do the area the world of good.

VOTE JOE!

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