Curly's Corner Shop, the blog!

  Sudden loss of South Tyneside councillor

I was greatly saddened to learn today of the rather sudden and untimely loss of Labour councillor Joan Meeks. I had not been intending to return to this page until the New Year,  but  it would be remiss of me not to record my warm memories and personal tribute to  a wonderful lovely lady, who I had been conversing with just a short time ago as she  completed buying Christmas presents for her grandchildren.

I have known Joan for a number of years, she is one of a number of councillors who hail from the same riverside area of South Shields as myself, and she epitomised the image of a self effacing and selfless local representative who cared deeply about South Shields and its people. She was not  a complainer or moaner, she preferred to find the good workable solutions that suited the majority of her constituents, she was an optimist, a genuinely cheerful and happy woman until earlier this year when the devastating loss of her daughter seemed to rock and crumble her inner foundations.   I felt heart broken for her then and watched with deep concern as her health faltered over recent months.

To me Joan was always warm and friendly, she was one of those councillors who could cross the political divide with an easy charm, in fact it was more than that, perhaps because of our shared roots, she was almost motherly or sisterly, the type of lady who you would want as your neighbour. I can imagine that she probably gave away a mountain of coffee and sugar over the course of her life time, which was ultimately much shorter than deserved.

I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve sat and chatted on the beach in summertime as we shared opportunities to entertain the children, or the number of ice creams, sweets, and lollies, that she unselfishly lavished on my two, she was just that way, never wanting to see some do without, whilst others had! We may have 100000 inhabitants in South Shields, but it is smaller than you think, we shopped the same shops, and walked the same streets, she shared my eclectic sense of humour, I ribbed her terribly in these pages (especially over one particular hat) but she took it all in good sporting fun and gave some in return. She respected my views and opinions knowing they were different to hers, but she never attempted to intrude upon them, – but that was Joan, never one to be overtly confrontational, always wanting everyone to be happy.

Joan was intricately involved in many projects touched by the old Rekendyke Partnership, and we mused together over the  somewhat “artistic” architectural representations of the new redevelopments planned for the riverside when they were shown at The Customs House,

“I hope they don’t end up with a load of square concrete boxes” said Joan,

luckily it was just the most basic conceptual thoughts about areas to be given to housing and industry, and open public space.

I cannot think of anyone who had a bad word to say about her (other than he who shall not be named) she just had the sort of Geordie hospitable personality that was easy to attach to, and as such it was always a pleasure to give something in return, perhaps a portrait for an old friend, or just a kind word and a smile. That was something you could always guarantee with Joan Meeks, an infectious smile! She will be missed, sorely missed, not only by myself but also by many retailers, shopkeepers, and small businesses in Frederick Street, where she always put in an appearance during their small carnivals and festivals.

My prayers and thoughts are now with her widower Arthur, and her extended family, not least her precious grandchildren.

Their hearts will be heavy, and Joan would not have wished for that, I pray that her cheerfulness will return and show itself in the happy memories of her family.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

I may not be back for a while.

Just as I was about to make a post regarding Cameron, Clegg, Miliband and the Eurozone debt crisis my desktop PC suffered a crisis of its own. Some sort of hardware issue is preventing Windows from booting, so I’m competing for time and space with the kids on this laptop, at this time of year it is near impossible to get them off it.

Needless to say, until I have the problem diagnosed and fixed there will be no chance of updates either here or at South Shields Daily Pictures, hopefully the delay will be as short as possible. Luckily things are relatively quiet on the local political scene as councillors and Town Hall staff in South Tyneside look forwards to the festive holidays, so it only remains for me to wish my readers a peaceful joyous and Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2012.

Whilst I’m here shall we say congratulations to South Shields girls Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall of “Little Mix” who have seen their first single reach No. 1 in the charts, something which Joe McElderry did not achieve until after the Christmas period in 2010.

See you all soon.

:: :: :: ::

Little Mix chased the dream.

Exactly two years ago I used this video to illustrate this particular post where I said

“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.”

OK, so it took a little longer, but after initial rejection she was thrown in, along with fellow Shields girl Perrie Edwards,  Leanne Pinnock amd Jesy Nelson to a girl group later to be known as Little Mix.  It has been a hard road for the four girls as they went through the pressures of public votes in ITV’s flagship reality show but yesterday evening they won the coveted X Factor prize and that important contract with Simon Cowell’s music company. Another feather in the cap for South Shields  and a great advert for the young talent that we have in South Tyneside. It takes some “bottle” to be knocked down, get up, dust yourself down, and come back fighting, but as many girls from Laygate or Simonside can attest this determination to succeed is a requisite in the tough streets of Tyneside.

To be fair we knew that Thirwall had it in her as a former winner at the Pride of South Tyneside Awards, but how many of us saw Perrie Edwards coming through? I wonder too, how much of an influence “Mark” was in Jade’s success?

Winning the X Factor is no guarantee of fame and fortune, and the winners see little of Cowell’s £1m contract, it is rumoured that they are advanced as little as £150000, and must spend the rest promoting an album on behalf of Cowell, however some are now reckoning that the four girls could be in for a huge windfall as advertisers, and promoters see the marketing opportunities presented by a bunch of young vibrant girls put together as much for their looks as well as their singing prowess. They have already featured in a Marks and Spencer’s advertisement, and will no doubt be signed up to promote hair and beauty products at home and in the UK as Cowell looks to exploit a gap in the market. Little Mix could be on the verge of reaping rewards running up to £10m. Don’t begrudge them this success, they will see very little of their home towns or families over the next 12 months, they will need bags of strength and enthusiasm to cope with Cowell’s demands, there will be travel and sleep deprivation, their lives will no longer be under their own self control – they now belong to Simon Cowell.

What does it mean for this region though?

We become seen as a nursery for talent, others may become inspired to emulate this level of success, we get a little more national press attention, and sometimes it may not be for the best of reasons as personal lives become laid bare to reporters, our youngsters may become seen in a more positive light too. Most importantly, we may see young entrepreneurs in business and commerce become more emboldened and self confident as they follow their own dreams. They may be inspired by the competitive attitudes of girls like Little Mix, and we may find that other more diverse young talents on Tyneside succeed in building bigger contracts that lead to some growth in our regional economy, the experience of the hard knocks that eventually lead to a winning position might hopefully rub off on many of Tyneside’s teenagers, upon whom our future relies.

Damian Rice’s Cannonball, great song, would not have been my choice for the winner’s single.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Vorsprung durch Technik

In a week which has been full of further austerity packages both in the UK and Europe, yes folks the coalition government is failing to meet its own financial targets and must do more of what their EU masters demand, it is good to see that South Tyneside Council is about to help out the employment situation of the Germanic peoples by investing in a new car for the borough’s mayor. The old Volvo, on a “55 plate” with less than a reported 20000 miles on the clock has been sacked,  rather like “agent Bruce” and replaced in a jiffy by a model already regarded as experienced, with a good track record,  and up for the job. Just a shame that we couldn’t have gone for a luxury Nissan model and support the jobs of hundreds of South Tyneside men and women, it need not have been one of these perhaps one of the models made in Washington might have sufficed – better than exporting jobs abroad again.

Inside sources tell me that the new black Audi A8 is currently being prepared for use at Middlefields in South Shields, receiving the custom livery and coat of arms that a mayoral car must have whilst the poor old Volvo will be sent for auction “somewhere”. By my reckoning someone will be getting a real bargain as the leasing company releases this asset onto the market.

Of course the cars are leased – yes……surely?

Vorsprung durch Technik for Geordies.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::