Curly's Corner Shop, the blog!

Well done Miss Goggin

There has been a fair bit of Twittering “tweats” and giggles over this picture which has appeared in the press showing South Shields MP David Miliband and his wife Louise looking relaxed in their Primrose Hill living room under what some might describe as a “salacious” painting. I’m not at all bothered by their choice of furnishings or decorations, just so long as the tax payer isn’t funding them, unlike someone at The Daily Mail who said:

‘There is no way I would have that on my wall. It is a bit smutty and sleazy and looks like it ought to be in a pole-dancing club rather than the home of the British Foreign Secretary.’

However, remember this was The Daily Mail, and my libertarian leanings say that a liberal mind will see artistic expression in a far different light in comparison to those with a closed mind.

No, I was far more interested in the story about how and why this picture was taken. I have to tip my hat to Naomi Goggin, winner of The Times Canon Young Photographer of the Year 2010; her fortitude, determination, and the  sheer guts displayed by such a young waitress is admirable and heart warming. As someone with more than just a passing interest in photography I am highly impressed with her desire to be a “winner” and her sheer brass neck in deciding to knock on the Milibands’ door on the day of that famous announcement. To  cap it all, she got her shot after fumbling around with an unknown tripod found by David’s wife, in uncertain light, with nervous and shaking hands – the girl did well, extremely well, under the circumstances.

When one joins in the “scrum” of full time professional photographers chasing down a story, one is always conscious of other eyes upon you, the adrenalin rush begins, the heart beats faster, and the brain hurries along trying to keep to the beat – it can be so easy to do something stupid, set the wrong iso speed, choose a wrong aperture, set a shutter speed which is too long for shaking fingers,  spoil it all with a huge burst of flash, I’m sure Naomi knows exactly what I mean, sometimes you get it right, and sometimes it just goes plain wrong.  After all, those prying eyes have been at it for years, and getting paid for the pleasure (or pain if they fail to come away with a newsworthy picture), it does just make you wonder why none of them had her nerve.

Anyway, congratulations Naomi for managing to find a winning picture amongst such a massively strong field, on a day of intense media feeding frenzy!

And now to a couple of the “lighter entries”.

Meanwhile I am pleased to note that this picture has been chosen by Sterling Publishing in the USA for inclusion in a book authored by Prof. Jim Bell of Cornell University to be titled “The Space Book: 250 Milestones in the History of Astronomy”, which should please the young artists of South Shields’ Customs House no end!

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Sorry this took so long, however, now that the good people at Virgin Media have been down in a hole at the end of the street, we have the internet again – yay!

These are a few more of the pictures taken on Tuesday evening at South Shields Town Hall as we celebrated it’s 100th. Birthday, if you were there you will agree it was a marvellous show and a great celebration. If you missed it, then I hope these pictures make you just a little envious!

Update

This is worth sharing – the official Alchemy Fireworks video of the event. At least I now know who I stood in front of, just glad that their tripod was so much larger than mine, and that I didn’t spoil the show!

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Grand 100th Birthday celebration

Sorry I’m a bit late posting this following my earlier “tweet”.

I joined a huge crowd of “Sanddancers” outside of South Shields Town Hall this evening to witness one of those rare spectacular events that we do so well here. It was cold, damned cold, but the light rain did not dampen the spirits or chill the heart as we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the opening of the new Town Hall in Westoe Road, just as huge crowds gathered in October 1910 to cheer the finishing of one of the grandest public buildings in the north of England so we massed and sang “Happy Birthday” together.

From 6:30 this evening the crowds were entertained by Ray Spencer, pop/rock band Four Worried Men, and our latest “X Factor” entrant Jade Thirwell, as well as the pipes and drums of 101 Rgt, and a host of other colourful drummers. A stage had been set to one side of the building with a gigantic screen showing the action for those who could not get close enough with live video showing enthralling glimpses of the entertainers and the spectators. Mayor Tom Piggott greeted the crowds and expressed his thanks for the wonderful turn out as a collection of old images illustrating the history of the Town Hall were projected for us to see. All the while a colourful light projection was thrown onto the facade of our best loved building, and the whole spectacle was rounded off with a fireworks display at 8:00 pm.

I wonder what our ancestors would have thought of this birthday party, and what sort of events might happen in 2110? I’m sure the Town Hall will still be there with Queen Victoria proudly in her place.

If you weren’t there, you missed something really special, a big message of thanks needs to be sent to all those involved in organising the party – well done everyone!

More pictures will appear in South Shields Daily Pictures (where I welcome your comments) shortly.

I tip my hat to the photographer who wangled an upper room in The Britannia – smart move!

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South Tyneside Independent Alliance councillor offends those more “worthy”

Half-wits and gobshites eh?

Well, yes, there are a number of us around – half seem to have been elected to public office, and the other half write about them!

It does tickle me however to see an opposition councillor being accused of “pontificating” and being “unworthy”……….by a drink driver.

As I asked back then:

Are they all whiter than white?

Are they as pure as the driven snow?

Are they not as human as the next man?

QED Cllr. McAtominey.

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Town Hall 100 years old on Tuesday October 19th.

These videos are worth sharing, particularly for ex-pats wanting to show their children or grandchildren something of their home town, produced by South Tyneside Council and presented by John Grundy.

An interesting look behind the scenes for those who haven’t been inside, I’ve seen most of it in my time, but I’ve never been up that Clock Tower and I don’t suppose you would get me up there for a King’s ransom!

A great evening event is planned for next Tuesday and you can also take the chance of booking for a guided tour, more details on the council’s website here

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Joan Smith, you need to visit your mother more often!

Some years ago, when he was still a junior minister, David Miliband offered to send me a copy of South Tyneside’s cultural strategy. I was astonished and excited: my mother lives in Miliband’s South Shields constituency, which I visited frequently as a child, and I remember it as a rather dismal place with lots of fish and chip shops and a dingy slot-machine arcade. I’ve been back plenty of times since and now it’s even more run-down……….

South Shields was never in the same league as Hastings.

Beauty of course is in the eye of the beholder, and unfortunately Hastings simply cannot compete with the natural beauty of our remarkable northern coastline, nor our broad flat spacious sandy beaches, or our miles of open green space on The Leas and our wonderful sea front public parks. Hastings has it’s cliff face and a narrow pebbly beach with ornate colonnaded Victorian buildings and one or two smart inviting hotels, it’s closeness to it’s history is not nearly as intimate or as old as ours (think of Bede), it is indeed more memorable for its traditional English pier which was sadly destroyed a few days ago. I have visited Hastings, it is nice of course and it is closer to the traditional expectation of a seaside resort being more compact than South Shields, but I could find just as much to feel dismal about it with it’s tacky gift shops, candy floss atmosphere, amusement arcades, and keep off the grass signs.

I have been relatively excited by some of our new developments that have happened recently in South Shields but seriously disappointed at the snail’s pace at which we introduce changes and improvements. Redevelopment at the Ocean Beach Amusement Park has been welcome, the South Marine Park is a real gem now, the Littlehaven Hotel was an excellent addition to amenities, new housing along the riverside has been a boon (although the fledgling plans to build a marina at the old Velva Liquids site might have been a bigger plus if they had been pursued), the plan for the regeneration of Rekendyke is a good one but so slow in progress, but Ms. Smith is essentially right in asserting that we need to make the very most of our relationship with the sea and our beaches, to which I will add our maritime heritage.

The new swimming pool promised for the Pier Head area will be a massive improvement and add to the amenities available for use in all weathers, but we do, however, need to add more and I see scope for additional hotels (the Gypsies Green proposal was excellent but a major disappointment that it ran into opposition financially and politically), a maritime and shipping museum on underused Port of Tyne land at the Pier Head incorporating the Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House would also prove to be a draw as would the relocation of the Westovian’s Theatre to this area. I also see scope in the future for development opportunities in the North Marine Park and would love to see  a “community glass house” growing exotic plants and perhaps cactii and trees tended by school groups or allotment associations in the area occupied by the former Parks Department building. In the South Marine Park I’d like to see further development of the Lakeshore Railroad station that might include the Tourist Information Office and static displays illustrating the history and renewal of the Victorian park all within a station building constructed along Victorian designs with a waiting room and small cafe. I’d like to see greater links between the Littlehaven beach and the Arbeia Roman Fort, although any buildings ought to be confined to the beach facing frontage below the park’s heights. I’d like to see some really bold moves to relocate the football pitches on “the Dragon” to the Gypsies Green area with the co-operation of the National Trust, to allow an expansion of leisure facilities, perhaps including another stab at attracting a hotel/conference centre surrounded by retail units (go see the far end of Hartlepool’s marina for an example of the style which I prefer).

If we want to be extremely bold and dashing then why can we not set about doing “a Bridges” on King Street, all it needs is a big imagination and bags of will!

South Shields, unfortunately, is not a town which can be passed through easily, we do not sit on a major road or rail route and therefore we need to continue to attract and entice people here, however our proximity to the A194M and the A19 as well as the Tyne Tunnel makes us an ideal base for touring Durham and Northumberland with their history, cathedrals and castles, we have numerous smaller guest houses but precious few quality hotels, so there are opportunities to be grasped here. A framework and a plan is in place, and we must never be afraid to change and alter our viewpoint from time to time in the quest to exploit our natural position and resources next to the sea to grow our local economy.

In this time of recession we need to remain optimistic and enthusiastic, knowing full well that we cannot guarantee the sort of regular weather patterns that attract thousands to the seaside, therefore we need to offer more for those days in the spring and summer months when rain may arrive at any moment. What we have right now is certainly not “dismal” , but it has to be recognised that it is insufficient to reinvigorate and spark local economic growth, with some of the plans already announce we need to enthuse our leaders to push ahead harder and faster to make the changes happen, where we have fallen down in the past is self evident, great promises but slow evolution of development which has left us playing catch up with our neighbours.

What’s needed to revitalise the English seaside is a bold approach that puts the sea and the beach at the very heart of the town’s amenities. It’s an amazing fact that what people expect when they arrive in an English resort (and indeed what they get) is a dismal row of tattoo parlours, slot machine arcades and takeaway food shops. What happened to the entrepreneurial spirit that gave us piers, oyster bars, art-deco lidos and even the Brighton Pavilion? Art galleries and seaside art installations are a start, but we also need seafood restaurants, modern hotels and a range of activities including sea fishing and boat trips. Otherwise, what’s happening to English seaside towns really will turn into the end of-the-pier show.

Joan Smith is right on some of these points but if she visited her mother in South Shields more often she’d discover that the people here, with our aspirations and medium term plans, are anything but dismal.

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This puzzles me

Click thumbnail to enlarge

Unless I am dreadfully wrong Ravensworth Terrace in South Shields still runs from the Stagecoach bus depot at Chichester uphill following the Metro line to the West Park, it has always been thus, even though the lowest part is little more than a footpath. Google Maps does show that Ravensworth Terrace seems to stop at its junction with Hampden Street, but they have been known to make one or two small errors in the past. So, I’m puzzled, is the footpath part of Ravensworth Terrace or not? Has the last small section of highway been legally stopped up and removed from the maps ? (Durham County Council’s Historic maps show that the change from road to footpath happened after 1979)

Foregoing the above digression, I’d like you to take note of the fence on the right hand side of the picture, on the left is a building site growing in the car park of the former central surgery, which has now by and large relocated to the new “clinic” near The Nook (so I haven’t shown it), you might just see a small notice affixed to the railings, which I believe are still the responsibility of Nexus, the Metro light rail operator. Puzzling thing is the content of the notice, seems we now have some sort of semi official designated smoking zone on a public footpath, it is difficult to know which of South Shields’ smokers this is targeted at – all of them, or just the pitifully small number who use this footpath regularly? Perhaps it is targeted at the workforce involved at the former surgery, who knows?

However, after the public complaints surrounding the smokers at the General Hospital gate on Macannany Avenue I’m half expecting the NHS Primary Trust to erect a suitable notice on the adjacent bus stop, I’m sure Nexus won’t mind. Events now are far removed from the original health service that I first enjoyed as a young lad visiting his GP in Laygate Lane, back then you needed a fully operational gas mask, an 18 inch electric fan, and a million candle power torch to find your pipe smoking doctor in the the midst of the thick fog and smoke of his surgery!

I wonder if my two Progressive and one Labour councillor are aware of the emergence of this new public designated smoking area, or if Nexus are aware of the innovative use of their newish fence?

Perhaps it explains the lack of hedgehogs and foxes around there recently.

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