Places – Raven on the Wing

Never say, “Never again!”

“Never again!” I’ve said that loads of times. I’ve said it at Christmas when I’ve watched the same movie for the umpteenth time; I’ve said it every single time I’ve driven down south on holiday and been stuck in traffic jams, and I’ve said it way too many times when deciding that I should giveContinue reading “Never say, “Never again!””

White and wild

Back in 2013, I realised an ambition and finally made a pilgrimage to a North East relic that I’ve been meaning to see for years. In fact I made two such pilgrimages that year. The first was to Durham to see the Lindisfarne Gospels which were on loan there from the British Library for threeContinue reading “White and wild”

Away with the fairies

I had always regarded a trip to Middlesbrough as being a bit like a visit to the dentist, you dread the thought of it but it usually turns out not quite as bad as you expected. More recently though, thanks mainly to my wife’s ardent defence, I’ve seen a different side to “The Boro’”. AddedContinue reading “Away with the fairies”

Wild Teesside

What do you think of when you think of Teesside? A “Smoggie Land”, where a vascular system of metal pipes provides the life blood for tall, steaming towers? A multicultural metropolis, where the parmo is the entrée for modern art? I bet you don’t think of wildlife, but you should; Teesside has more wildlife thanContinue reading “Wild Teesside”

The Lost World

“Last Chance to See”, the Hartlepool countryside events programme said, shamelessly plagiarising Douglas Adams. It did the trick though, as some two dozen people turned up for the advertised five-mile walk, hoping for a glimpse, perhaps their first, or maybe their last, of a Red Squirrel. Hartlepool still surprises me with its contrasts and conflicts,Continue reading “The Lost World”

Twin Towns

“A good name”, the good book says, “is better than riches”, but in my book a bad name definitely travels further. Some years ago now, I was doing a prospective university visit with my son at Warwick University in Coventry. This was our sixth university and lunch followed the familiar pattern of being decanted aroundContinue reading “Twin Towns”

A thin place

Maybe its just the ozone blowing off the waves but there is something intangible, almost ethereal, when you stand on certain parts of the north east coast; something that reaches inside of you and makes you contemplative and elated almost at the same time. Some would go even further; I once heard Lindisfarne, with itsContinue reading “A thin place”

Bridge over turbid water

A few years ago I watched an interview with Sting, where he talked about growing up on Tyneside, with the River Tyne and the ship yards right at the end of his street. This was the inspiration for his debut musical, “The Last Ship”. We had a river at the end of our street to. Continue reading “Bridge over turbid water”