with Dr Peter Wynarczyk

Ukraine, he having been born in what’s known as the Bloodlands of West Ukraine (part of the new Poland after World War One).

Having spent time during the Second World War in a German Labour Camp, he ended up here, as a displaced person coming to the NorthEast, working down the mines and becoming part of a very strong, working-class community.

“I grew up in the towns of Ashington and South Shields,” began Peter, briefly looking back on where it all began.

“The latter is, even now, still pretty much half and half split, between Newcastle United and Sunderland; it’s a rivalry which has deep, historical roots, embedded in it.”

“My parents (his mother was born locally) both believed in education and self-improvement.

“I was the first in my family to go to university, at Durham as an undergraduate, then to the University of Kent, Canterbury, for a Phd Economics.

“I then had a thirty plus year career in academia in Newcastle and London.

“It was during my almost ten year, weekly commute to London, with all that travelling back-and-forth on the train, that I conceived and developed the idea of my debut novel, Players Number Six.

“It also provided plenty to time to continue my interest in poetry.”

Work took him into a lifetime of lecturing in Economics, as an Academic Economist and a Senior University Manager and Business Consultant. It was whilst in these roles he’d had published, academic books and papers, covering that of Economics and Macroeconomics, the latter, co-authoring ‘A Modern Guide to Macroeconomics’ (1994, translated into Polish, Italian, French, and Chinese) – yes, a far cry from his most recent, comedic offering. All that travelling, back-andforth, would take its toll on any man, and so it eventually did with Peter, he going on to take early retirement, around a decade ago, and turn to writing fiction and poetry as one of his interests among many.

“I got tired of London but not of life!” continued Peter.

“I was fortunate to have the means to be able to take early retirement and recognize that life is too short.

“I have always had a wide array of different projects on the go at any time, and believe variety is the spice of life.”

“I spent some of my new found freedom of doing what I wanted, completing writing Players Number Six. “It’s full of your colourful and somewhat absurd characters, partly influenced by my liking for the eighteenth century novelist Tobias Smollett, alongside my favourite novelist Joseph Roth and his focus on belonging and identity.

“I have also added more than a dash of humour in the spirit of the more modern Tom Sharpe.

“They are writers I enjoy, and they tend to bring together differing characters within their works.”

Smollett is a Scottish novelist, critic and playwright of the mid-1700s, works included that of The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748), The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1751) and The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771).

Roth meanwhile, is an Austrian-Jewish journalist and author, was born in what is now part of Ukraine, and was prolific around the 1920s and 1930s with Job (1930) and the saga, the Radetzky March (1932), early, yet major works.

And Sharpe, he’s a satirical novelist from the seventies up to the present day, better known for his Wilt series (1976-2010), and other, earlier works.

“To be honest, it (Players) is part memoir, writing about something which I know and have experienced, but every word is fiction, East and West Shields, come on now, that’s fictitious,” smirked Peter, delving a little more into his psyche, and the tale of, and behind the book.

“You will be able to identify echoes of places in Ashington and South Shields, and even aspects of some of the people.

“I suppose now the book exists so do East and West Shields!

“It does allow to have Cold War going on between West Shields (where Pork and Mutton is located) and East Shields (where the football authorities are).

“This is the 1970’s after all and the reader can identify exactly when by looking at the clues in the narrative of the book.”

“The title, originates from the fact that the depleted pub team go from four players to six by the end of chapter one.

“The added benefit of the title was the connection between the title and Player’s No.6 cigarettes, the top selling brand in the early to mid-seventies, which had one page ads in most football programmes of the time.

“I did have to do quite a lot of research for it though, due to when it was set, as I wanted to make it as authentic as possible and it is easy to forget and let the present overshadow the past.”

His reflections include a time when he himself played football for his College, and Sunday League teams;

“everything was different back then, be it playing positions - no false nines or sweeper keepers, but we were all fantasy footballers believing we were better than we were.

“There were no yellow or red cards, you had only one substitute and two points for a win. Advertising on shirts was unheard of and there were no tattoos.

“Even the Second World War continued to loom large during the 70s and serves to cast its shadow in the book.

“There’s lots of different characters in the storyline and the reader gets to meet the players of Pork and Mutton FC alongside other notable individuals from the other teams they face over an entire 30 game season with full match commentary on every game taking place in a particular year in the 70’s - exactly when, well the clues are there!

“For example, we have their keeper, Owen Bigalow, builder by day and Roy Orbison impersonator by night, who is even crazier than most goalkeepers, alongside the Tripolini brothers, Italian triplets who play in defence, and a Brazilian who can’t play football.

“We even have a wigwearing Australian by the name of Ever Reddy (named not unintentionally like the South Shields motto of ‘Always Ready’ - book has lots of absurd identifiable inferences like that).”

Fictitious, yet funny, comedic, yet informative at the same time; Players Number Six is a must-read for any football lover, or any lover of literature in fact.

“If Barcelona is more than a football club then my novel is more than a football book”, quipped Peter, adding that it has widespread appeal and blends literary and commercial fiction.

On the verge of taking on a life of its own – where there is a will, there is a way, Peter is hoping it can provide the fuel for more, literary works to come.

“I guess it’s for the wider market really, and appeals to many people of differing ages, locations, sex, as there’s differing angles to the storyline,” explained Peter.

“It romances the game, at its lowest level, and those things are important to me –it has more twists and turns than George Best does.

“It’s funny, witty, witful, and wistful, which is what people have found.

“The ending of the book (of which there’s 44 chapters, there’s even a reason to that), that’s left things open for a second one, a followup to it.

“I feel, as others do with it, that it’s a tale that lends itself to cinema, television or film, so, getting a good response to this will decide the follow-up, and also the timing of publishing my poetry.

Having regaled with some of his, quite wondrous poetry, Peter provided a little insight into his other works, and what could be in production for later this year.

Wee Shards, that’s the title, Peter saying: “I’ve always written and enjoyed poetry, it’s more of an escape really, ever since I was young.

“Poetry is something which I’ve always done so, it’s not really a great leap for me to take between the two.

“‘Wee Shards’ is a collection of poems, in four parts –‘Whimsy’, which is just me having fun and being silly, ‘Historical Privilege’ which is about how we connect the present with the past, and need to have greater respect, appreciation and tolerance for earlier generations; ‘Owed to Covid’ is his own personal take on that whole episode, and ‘Whoever Heal Thyself’ which is centred around self-help regarding personal issues.

“I’m hoping I can release this later in the year, say the next six months, on the back of and following the success of Players Number Six.”

You can purchase Peter Wynarczyk’s enjoyably funny, Players Number Six: The Ballad of Pork and Mutton FC via https://www. amazon.co.uk/PlayersNumber-Six-Ballad-Mutton/ dp/1915338735 and follow the latest goings-on via his Twitter https://twitter.com/ PorkandMuttonFC

UK’s First National Armed Forces & Emergency Services Event takes place in Sunderland

The Stadium of Light will be the setting for an event first for the UK this month.

The National Armed Forces and Emergency Services Event (NAFESE) will take place on Thursday, April 27, and it will be the first occasion the Armed Forces and Emergency Services have come together to hold a large-scale event of its kind. The University of Sunderland is the main sponsor for the event and will host a number of stalls and activities on the day, which cover everything from workforce development courses, that includes, eSports courses, fully-funded ESF courses, and degree apprenticeships.

NAFESE 2023 is made up of three key sections.

The Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club kicks off proceedings in Quinn’s Bar, alongside the NAFESE exhibi- tion, which will feature zones for recruitment and training and a STEM Village for invited schools and colleges. The event is then rounded off with the inaugural Services Awards - a black tie celebration of the best in service from Armed Forces to emergency to volunteer, which takes place on June 28 as part of Armed Forces Week.

NAFESE sees a number of businesses and organisations come together to back the event idea and these include Veterans in Crisis, The Hygeia Clinic, Sunderland AFC, The Coastguard Association and Pathfinder International magazine.

Over the years, the University of Sunderland has built substantial and enduring links with the UK’s armed forces and is currently a proud holder of the Armed Forces

Covenant Gold Award. The University is committed to ensuring that any service personnel wishing to study for a degree or other qualification are supported to do so.

Sunderland currently has 114 students with connections to the armed service undertaking University programmes. This includes former service personnel on undergraduate and postgraduate courses, foundation programmes, independent learners, and apprenticeships.

Simone Bedford, Associate Head of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, and a Royal Air Force Veteran herself, says: “The University of Sunderland is very proud of our connections to the Armed Forces. We have a dedicated team to support staff and students with the transition from the military into ‘civvy’ street. Our Veterans and Reservists Network engages with staff and students to ensure we offer the best support to the military community at the university.”

Sunderland AFC will be hosting the event and Chief Operating Officer, Steve Davison said: “At Sunderland AFC, we recognise the immense importance of supporting all within our local and regional communities, including our veterans. The North East and the City of Sunderland has proud ties with the armed forces across many generations and that extends to the Club, so it is a privilege to be hosting the first NAFESE in addition to the continuation of our Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club, which continues to support many service men and women.”

Charity Partner for the event, Veterans in Crisis continues to produce great work in the city and founder, Ger Fowler added, “it is such an honour for the city to stage the first event of this nature. The area has great ties with the Armed Forces and our Emergency Services are well respected and so it is an ideal combination to cover both at one event.”

Pathfinder International, an Armed Forces resettlement publication, is also backing the event and editor Mal Robinson echoed Ger’s sentiments. Robinson said, “it is quite a coup for the city of Sunderland to be honest to stage an event of this magnitude. It made sense for Sunderland AFC to be the first location, such is the good work they do with both forces and services communities and having three events in one only adds to the occasion.”

Indeed, Sunderland AFC were the first football club in the UK to stage an Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club and this will be the seventh one to be staged at the Stadium of Light.

The Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club will start at 0900 and also on a day of firsts, blue light veterans are welcome to attend and mingle with the forces veterans.

The NAFESE exhibition begins at 0930 along the floor in the Montgomery Suite and adjoining areas and includes a recruitment zone for both those looking to join the forces and services and those leaving the forces and services and embarking on a new career.

In addition to this, a STEM Village is also on show with several schools and colleges invited to attend on the day with engagement teams from the likes of Sellafield present.

Exhibitors for the NAFESE exhibition include: Forces Pension Society, Sunderland Software City, Tyne & Wear Fire Service, Cleveland Police, Red Sky Foundation,

MedCover, Timoney College of Chiropractors and many more with over 40 in attendance.

Completing the event series is the 2023 Services Awards with awards categories for the best in service for the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Police, NHS, Volunteer Services and Fire Service. For information on how to register for the exhibition and Services Awards information please see the official website at www.nafese2023.com or search Eventbrite using the term “Armed Forces and Emergency Services Event”. For any schools and colleges wishing to attend and for general exhibitor enquiries on the event, please contact the NAFESE team at hospitality@ nafese2023.com

Legendary Love Train returns to its native Teesside for long awaited homecoming show this May

Disco legend ‘Brutus Gold’ to bring the world’s best & longest running disco event back to its hometown

The show has earned plaudits from the likes of Tina Turner, Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller and MTV!

The legendary Brutus Gold & The Love Train is returning to its native Teesside to offer up an immersive disco experience at The Crypt, Middlesbrough Town Hall on Saturday 20th May.

Fronted by the disco legend Brutus Gold, believed to be from Puerto Rico (or is it Puerto-Clarence?), The Love Train has gained an international reputation for its interactive, vibrant, and utterly unique disco show that beams its audiences back to the nightclubs of the 1970s. Now, Brutus Gold is back by popular demand, bigger and better than ever before, to the town where it was born.

Get ready to ‘get down’ with the greatest Disco party in the world complete with an all-star cast of crazy characters and spectacular production – and, of course, the best music from the grooviest decade.

Speaking ahead of the show at Middlesbrough Town Hall, Brutus Gold said: “Hey Midddellllssssborrrrrrooo, it’s been a long time since COVID 19-76 … but I’m back in my favourite town and can’t wait to get my groove on… so get ready to ‘dance, dance, dance’ and ‘do the hustle.’ Get your tickets to Disco Heaven now, Boogie Woogie!”

Since its beginnings in 1989 on Teesside, the Brutus Gold Affair has been wowing audiences across the world with its meticulously crafted sets, authentic retro costumes and flawless se- lection of disco classics, including ‘Stayin’ Alive’, ‘Boogie Wonderland’, ‘Le Freak’ and many more.

Following a disrupted calendar due to Covid-19, The Love Train is thrilled to be back and performing on the big stage for their legions of fans.

Gold added: “I can’t wait to get back on the big stage and play in front of a home audience. You don’t need to get depressed, all ya need’s a hairy chest. Get set for the ultimate super-sonic Disco-tonic.”

“We’ll be playing all of your favourite tunes, dancing all of your favourite moves and wearing the famously flamboyant attire of the golden era of disco.”

Now in its 34th year, The Love Train has entertained more than one million people and over the years, has received plaudits from the likes of MTV and an impres- sive list of international stars.

Since its inception, Brutus Gold and his talented troupe have performed privately for celebrities that include Tina Turner, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Wilson described the show as “totally awesome”, whilst Turner claimed she “danced all night” to the sounds of Brutus Gold’s selection of genre-defining records.

Featuring fully authentic retro scenery, stunning sound and dazzling lights, Brutus Gold and his team of gifted dancers, performers and musicians are set to take their audience on an A-Z tour through the music, fashion and dance moves that defined the era.

Audiences can expect an array of disco throwbacks, dance-offs and a cast of crazy characters who embody the eccentricities of the disco dance floor. Disco kid Alberto Balsam, Berni Inns, Chad Valley, Carlito, Disco Dick, Camp David, Ana Glypta and the outrageous Polly Ester are all expected to appear for one of the touring company’s very first live appearances since the pandemic hit last March. This is not one to miss!

Come dressed in your finest vintage threads and get ready to ‘Do the Hustle.’

‘The Love Train’ Disco Show will take place on the 20th of May 2023 at The Crypt, Middlesbrough Town Hall.

General Sale Early Bird tickets for The Love Train event start from £19 per ticket.

Tickets for The Love Train at The Crypt, Middlesbrough Town Hall are on sale now. To buy tickets, head to Gigantic via this link: https://rb.gy/sedewr

The Carpenters Story

This highly acclaimed production continues to captivate audiences across the UK with its spectacular celebration of the classic songbook that made The Carpenters a legend in the world of popular music, selling over 100 million albums and singles.

This brand new show for 2023 once again features the outstanding vocal talents of Claire Furley, with Musical Director Phil Aldridge leading The Carpenters Story Orchestra as they re-create Richard Carpenter’s original orchestral arrangements.

Featuring all of the Carpenters hit songs including (They Long To Be) Close To You, Yesterday Once More, We’ve Only Just Begun, Superstar, A Song For You, Rainy Days & Mondays, Goodbye to Love and many more!

Rhythm Of The Dance

Rhythm of the Dance has brought audiences around the world to their feet for over two decades and is returning with a brand new production.

Rooted in Ireland’s rich culture and heritage, the show takes a different perspective on all things Irish. Featuring world class live musicians, vocalists and champion dancers, the show will be a completely immersive experience.

Join us on Friday 7th July 2023 for a journey through Ireland’s history from the ancient, rich in legend and myth, to the modern, urban Ireland that we see today, bursting at the seams, now more than ever with talent. For tickets and info visit https://www.playhousewhitleybay.co.uk/events/all/

Wednesday 3rd May 2023

Friday 16th June 2023

With essential 80s clobber from Fila, Sergio Tacchini along with your usual brands like Pretty Green, BOSS and Lacoste, plus more new stock arriving daily so make sure you pop in store or keep checking the website’s LATEST PRODUCTS

Hypnotherapy, but what is Viking Hynotherapy?

Viking Hypnotherapys’ business motto is having “The Strength to Conquer Anything”. Wherever you are today this is just a situ ation you’re in now, this is not your life, we all have the power to change our lives and I am basically your guide for this. Utilising the power of positive suggestion to bring about subconscious change to your thoughts feelings and behaviours. NLP is an approach to communication, personal devel opment, psychotherapy and also Life Coaching.

How different is Hypnotherapy compared to a hypnotist, is it the same thing or is it completely dif- physical conditions.

Have these comedy hypnotist shows, where they put you under and then get you to do silly things

The Midnight Live at Manchester Academy.

Music really is a very powerful thing, it can transport a person to a specific moment or time in an instant, it can cheer you up or it can really play with the emotions. Not many things have that power, not the way music does. So when you connect to a band or a song, it stays with you, you become passionate about it. The Midnight are one of those bands. Listening to them really has hit me on an emotional level with several of their songs, so getting to see them perform live, WOW, now that is taking it to a whole other level. These guys were incredible, they had the sold out crowd going crazy, like putty in their hands, singing the words back to lead singer Tyler every single time he pointed the mic at them, it gave me goosebumps!

My love for The Midnight started a few years ago when my good friend Ryan Tabone introduced me to them. Both Ryan and myself are big music fans and we often share tracks via messenger in the hope of introducing each other to new bands and songs. During lockdown he sent me three YouTube links…the first to a song called “Sunset”, the second was “Explorers” and the third “Lost Boy”. This was my introduction to The Midnight, safe to say I was literally hooked from the very first song. It was like being transported back to the 80’s, I even replied saying “the start of explorers literally is my childhood hahaha”.

Fast forward three years and I am now on such a comedown after getting back from one of the best gigs I have ever been to…and I have been to lots of great gigs, so that says something! With the release of the latest album “Heroes” and the announcement of a UK tour, it was a no brainer I would be going, thankfully this time the shows didn’t clash and so tickets for Manchester and the Academy were snapped up about thirty seconds after going on sale.

As always I tried my luck to see if I could get an interview with the band as I really wanted to spread the love for The Midnight, as it really bugs me how few people I talk to have actually heard of them, which now sounds crazy to me as these guys really are amazing and everyone should know their music. Tim and Tyler have somehow managed to hook me with their songs on such an emotional level, so I had to at least ask for an interview. Sadly it wasn’t meant to be (this time at least…hint hint), as they had such an insane schedule, but I have to give a big thanks to one of team, Justin, who got back to me and sorted out a photo pass instead, Justin, you are an absolute legend, so thank you.

Now I am not going to lie, I’m not a professional photographer, but I have covered a fair few events in my time, so getting a photo pass was a great chance that I most certainly wasn’t going to pass up on. Typically I had a nightmare with my camera deciding to stop working the day before the gig and not enough time to get a lend of one, so I did what anyone else would do in that situation…I worked with what I had, my crappy old Iphone 7. Did I look out of place… yes, would my pictures be good… not really, did I care…hell no! Because I got free reign to snap away at a band I love during the first 3 songs, being within touching distance, it really was an incredible experience for a fan to be in.

I did get chatting to one of the ACTUAL photographers that was covering the show, a young talented lad called Ben Redshaw, who very kindly offered to let me use some of his images in this review, as I genuinely did not know how mine were going to turn out. Thankfully they were not too bad, which was a bonus. But a big thanks goes to Ben, please show him some love folks, he has some great images from The Midnight and other gigs.

Trying to be professional and capture some good images was a pretty hard task, as I could easily have got lost in the moment, those vocals of Tyler really do mesmerise you. The band were on fire from the off, coming straight out with the new albums title track “Heroes to a Manchester crowd that really were up for a great night! Tyler had the crowd from the off, but the interaction between him and the crowd during “Gloria” was insane; I have not heard a crowd sing a song back as loudly as the fans did in Manchester that night.

Tyler even said Manchester was always a special place for him as his best ever gig was Manchester from a few years ago. The crowd really did not disappoint, they joined in with every single song, the atmosphere was unbelievable.

The whole band were tight, really giving everything to an eager crowd who lapped up every song, but special props has to go to Justin Klunk on Sax, every time he stepped forward to give an unreal sax solo the crowd went mental, I swear he had the place hypnotised, even Tim got out from behind the drums to applaud Justin during one of his sax solo’s. He has a set of lungs on him that’s for sure, he was outstanding! Lelia Broussard and Royce Whittaker where incredible too, both showing some unreal skills, Royce played some crazy solo’s and Leila on the bass was equally as impressive as her stunning vocals. They all played together as one, belting out hit after hit, with new track “Brooklyn Friday Love” really getting the crowd going, that song was meant to be played live!

My personal favourite was “Comeback Kid”, that song gets me every single time I hear it, the lyrics really hit home with me on a personal level, so hearing them perform it live was the highlight of the show for me, plus I don’t mind admitting, I had tears rolling down my face as they sang it. It is one of those rare songs that you just connect with so deeply and emotionally, that it makes you cry and you feel every single word deep within your soul, it is a thing of beauty. Something I was lucky enough to be able to thank Tyler for personally after the show. That is a memory that I will treasure forever, hearing that song live really did blow me away.

No review will ever get across how good or bad a band really is, all I can say is if you are a fan of The Midnight please get to a future gig, you need to see them perform live, they really are incredible. Some bands just play and go through the motions, these don’t, they connect with the crowd and bring some magic to their performance. If you have not heard of them before then please give them a look up on Spotify or youtube, honestly you will not be disappointed.

Lastly, thank you to Tyler, Tim, Justin, Lelia and Royce, not only did you put on an epic show full of anthems, but you took to time to chat with us outside after the gig, sign some autographs and pose for pics, you really did make our night by doing this. Though I am so glad Tim forgot his charger and went back for it, if he hadn’t we wouldn’t have gotten to chat as much, every cloud. https://www.themidnightofficial. com/

Ben Redshaw Photography

Website: benredshawphotography. co.uk

Instagram: @benredshawphography

Hazlerigg’s Pro Fitness Infusion Fitness Studio, with Michael Johnson and Louise Coates at the forefront, are helping push getting youths off the streets, and promoting ‘Knives Down, Gloves Up,’ alongside it.

Michael, who comes from a fourdecade long boxing background himself, is enthused by the challenge presented, but also delighted by the support in which has already been afforded the programme now in place.

Although just twice a week at the Infusion Centre, they’ve already enlisted, voluntarily, support from two, fully qualified, England boxing coaches, meaning that there’s five coaches for a set of kids that’s already past thirty getting involved.

“I was taken under the wing, back in my childhood, by an old coach over Blakelaw,” explained Michael, who now lives in the area having moved from the West End a few years back.

“I was eight-years-old back then, and it totally changed my life, giving some forty years to the sport, and the people in it.”

That support, it’s included Les

Welsh at the nearby, Empire School of Boxing, and Spennymoor Sports, as well as a recent visit from a certain, Mr Joe Egan, among others.

In utilising his contacts, and with the exposure ascertained, the programme is already gathering some momentum in what, in the modern era, is a vast change to that of years gone by.

“Myself, and my partner, Louise (Coates) suggested between us really, that we put on free boxing classes,” explained Michael.

“We’re only doing it twice a week, but it’s to help get the kids, not just off the streets, but also off of their computers, their mobile phones. “Kids, they don’t do what we used to anymore, so we just thought we’d do something, and see what happened.

“There’s not really crime here (Hazlerigg), more people that are opportunists, from elsewhere, during the night.

“And the kids, they aren’t bad really, it’s just a case of giving them a chance, getting to them first, and giving them other opportunities, especially when I know, first hand, what boxing has done for me, my entire life.”

Although an adult gym, something which they were originally set up to be, and a bookings-only one at that, the addition of these types of classes has meant that they are having to look at fundraising, in order to facilitate the right equipment, for the youths to utilise.

That also included a surprise donation, of £1,000, from one of their gym member, Darryl Chana (The Luxury Loft Company), someone who’d been training at the gym for the past two years plus; in doing so he stated how he’d like to help them purchase their much needed equipment. Someway to achieving that goal, it’s a process that could take time as well, but Michael, Louise, and their fellow coaches, are certainly committed to the cause.

“We’ve got kids desperate to get in, so this, what we’re doing, is certainly a good thing,” added

Michael.

“There’s 30+ already, and attracting the two, England boxing coaches, who are giving their time to us, is great.

“I’ve satisfaction to what we’re doing here, what we’re achieving, but, in being an adult gym, we do need to cater for these kids as well.

“The donations thus far, the exposure, it’s amazing and, if anyone does shine, from what we’re doing, there’s certainly places in which they can go to progress.”

In helping 9-16-year-olds, through that of the ‘Knives Down, Gloves Up’ campaign, is certainly helping the current generation of youths in and around the Hazlerigg area. To get involved, check them out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profitnessinfusion and their website via https://profitnessinfusion.ueniweb.com/

To donate, visit their GoFundMe via https://gofund.me/d2052d9a

Back in December we were lucky enough to be invited to the launch night of Four Quarters Newcastle, which is an incredible retro arcade bar filled with original arcades, games consoles and a phenomenal choice of beers and cocktails. Since then the bar has went on to run themed nights and other events. So it was great to finally get to chat with co-founder, Francois…who believe it or not, actually hails from the North East

So why don’t I give you some background about what we are? So I mean, I grew up in Seghill, and as a child, you know, I used to just gan to Whitley bay all the time. So the Spanish City and the old Whitley Bay was, you know, key to my sort of experience growing up. And I spent so much time in the arcades, I mean, sometimes you would ride your bike there, you’d have to make that decision whether you’re going to eat anything, or whether you were just going to put more coins into the game. Fast forward my life and I got this opportunity with some people I met in London, to actually finally be able to put together this concept of like retro arcade games and craft beers and cocktails. And so we started in 2014, and I’m a co-founder, and the whole ethos was just like, how do we bring these wonderfully authentic experiences of video games to a modern audience in a place where they’re meant to be enjoyed, right? They’re meant to be enjoyed with friends. They’re meant to be enjoyed with a drink. You know, they were designed that way. And I think it just created this wonderful counterpoint to what I feel more than video games or as a whole, modern video games, which feel like a very insincere experiences, even though they are multi-player, it’s all very much put a headset on and stay in the house and play at home. And so for us it was all about how do we find games that are fun to play, easy to play, and can be enjoyed, like in a social environment. I mean that is everything about the ethos of the business from the very start, and it was, it was a fun and successful venture, even though it took us absolutely ages to get up to Newcastle. So we started in 2014…and I’ve only just got home. You know, it just makes me super proud of it, you know, we were the UK’s is first arcade bar. Yeah. So the idea is you can choose from 16 lines of craft beer, you know, lots of it is local on all of our sites, you can get extremely well made cocktails, so the quality that you would get in a proper cocktail bar. You can also come and eat as well, we do pizzas.

So we can do a lot there, in fact we cater for a lot of birthday parties, work events, anything where people want to gather, we’ve even hosted weddings in our other venues, because people just love the idea of the quality of the food and drinks and the retro videogames, which, everyone wants to relive their youth. That’s the thing, is that everyone wants to relive their childhood and obviously, the likes of Stranger Things is really helping with stuff like that as well, I mean even The Last Of Us has just had an episode with an arcade thing going on?

The thing is like you cannot beat playing a real arcade. You can play Pac-Man on any device, but It’s not the same, it isn’t the same experience at all, because it’s got a control mechanism that is designed expressly for it. Even though it’s just a four way joystick, It is perfect for the game. There’s just so much more of a feeling that you get from standing in front of the machine. I mean, our Pac-Man that we’ve got it in Elephant and Castle actually, the guy called Billy Mitchell who was like the 1980’s World Champion of video games, and was subjected to some controversy and notoriety. He starred in a documentary called the King of Kong, which was all about who was the best Donkey Kong player in the world. But he came to our site at Elephant and he did what you call a perfect Pac-Man where he completed the entire game eating every single power pelett and every ghost until the game crashes which takes about 10 hours. He did it on a live stream, so from an authenticity angle we have like ties with things like that.

We’ve taken on an amazing historical basement space that has stood derelict for 10 years and we’ve turned it into this awesome arcade bar, it’s a space that I think people don’t know is even there! People who have since come in have all said “the space is amazing, the drinks are amazing” and I believe that to be very very true! Some people don’t even know what Four Quarters is in Newcastle!

As a brand, we have got all of the authentic original arcade games in their most perfect form, we swap the games around every now and then. So the game won’t be the same forever, you know, so every few months, we’ll take two or three out and bring two or three new ones in, because we have got a huge hoard of them. But then we also have console games. And I think what’s really important to understand is like, again, what are we? We’re definitely like a neighbourhood Bar Style vibe. So you can come in, we like our people are locals. That’s what we have in other sites, you know, there’s comfortable areas of the bar where you can come and sit, we’ve got little areas, like the Nintendo versus Sega zone, which is really cool, where we’ve got a Megadrive and a SNES. It’s all when you see it, you’ll be like, Oh, I get it. You know, so it’s a nice place to come and hang out, and you can just turn up. So, you know, it’s not like the crazy golf kinds of things that people like, those experiential things to do these days, right? So we do sit in that same sector because we are experiential. However, you do not have to book. You can come and you can hang out all night If you like. Whereas with the crazy golf, you have a time slot, you go in, you play your through and ou come out at the other side. Whereas we are much more just kind of come and hangout for the evening. All that being said, if you want to play Goldeneye on an N

64, you can book you can, you can have that space. And you’d be like, I’ve got six people coming in, we want to book a table for, you know, whatever time. And we’ll make sure that you’ve got that console. That’s kind of the other thing that we do. We don’t run any emulation. So all of our consoles are absolutely original with original disks, cartridges the lot. Yeah. It’s a little bit costly, sometimes troublesome to deal with, but it’s all authentic.

So what we are saying to people is we have a lot of options for you. One, you can book table with us for something specific. Two, you can just turn up and play at any time day or night, or even just pop in for food and drinks without even playing a game. Three, we cater for parties and functions, so it’s just letting people know that they can do all of these things. The hard part is letting people know that families are welcome during the day. But we are a bar so in the evening, there’s no kids. There’s this issue of like, you’ve got to make sure it doesn’t turn into a cresh. Because that also puts people off as well. So I always love it when I see a parent and a child come into our bar and play games together, It’s amazing. My daughter just had her 11th birthday party in our bar at the Elephant and Castle and it was absolutely awesome and we played blindfolded Pac-Man, if you’ve ever played that before? It’s so much fun. You have teams or two, and then one person puts a blindfold on and controls the joystick. The other person just shouts up, down, left, right, right. And then you swap over, then you add the other two scores together. And then you have a bunch of teams doing that. The team with the best score wins! We also have themed nights going on, like our Hot Ones Quiz Night. So it’s a quiz with questions on pop culture and video game knowledge, but it’s punctuated by slices of pizza with increasingly hot hot sauce on. That has become quite popular as it’s something very different.

We’ve had a Superbowl event, we’ve had a WrestleMania event staying open all night over the WrestleMania weekend showing a bunch of old wrestling matches with The Undertaker and the likes and then we showed WrestleMania in the evening.

As Four Quarters, that is what we do. It’s, it is a retro arcade it is beer and cocktails, but it’s also these kinds of thematic events that are a little bit out of the norm. You know, we’re not going to be showing the football, you can go to any bar for the football, but not Wrestlemania. So it ties in with the retro aspect of things…and I love the football, but it’s just not what our crowd is.

So there you have it folks…the UK’s original Arcade Bar is finally here in the North east, so make sure to check them out on socials and the website (as they have other sites around the UK, not just London), more importantly, pop in, play, have fun, just make sure you share the love and let people know all about Four Quarters Newcastle. https://fourquarters.bar/location/ newcastle/

Images by Charlie Pearson

The North East’s “Queen of Comedy” Miss Rory returns to The Tyne Theatre & Opera House

Friday 12th May 2023

Newcastle’s own Miss Rory will take to the stage at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House on Friday 12th May 2023 for a high flying, globe trotting adventure. Expect tan lines, good times and plenty of surprises along the way! After the sell-out spectacle Land of Hope and Rory in 2022, Miss Rory returns to the Tyne Theatre & Opera House this May with her high-flying new one woman show – WINGING IT!

Critically acclaimed, adored by (most of) the public and often hailed as ‘A Tyneside Institution’,

Rory’s razor sharp wit will have you laughing until you cry as she departs on a surprise filled, globe trotting adventure in a characteristic no holds barred critique, taking in the whole world as she goes!

Theatre Director Jo Johnson commented: “You never know what to expect from Miss Rory but you can always guarantee she’ll put on a hilarious and spectacular performance! We are delighted to have Miss Rory return to the Tyne Theatre and Opera House as her performances are always well loved by audiences. She joins our growing programme of comedy events for 2023.”

Tickets are priced at £33.50£27.50 and can be bought from: www.tynetheatreandoperahouse. uk/events/miss-rory-winging-it/ Please note that this show is for audiences 16+.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Winners

come to Newcastle with new show Slay Queenz

Tuesday 17th October 2023

The latest RuPaul’s Drag Race winners take the stage at Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre and Opera House for an exclusive spectacular of side-splitting laughs, jaw-dropping vocals and eye-popping outfits. This show is starring Krystal Versace (Series 3 Winner), Danny

Beard (Series 4 Winner) and Blu Hydrangea (UK vs The World Winner) as they sashay on down to Newcastle for One Night Only!

Crowned at the mere age of 19, Krystal Versace is the youngest Drag Race Winner! Krystal has since appeared as a guest on TV shows like Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and has guest starred on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 4.

Danny Beard won Drag Race UK

Season 4 and was also a contestant in 2016 on Britain’s Got Talent where they reached the semifinals. Danny has even made a cameo on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks! Blu Hydrangea became the first Northern Irish Drag Queen to win across the franchise, when they won RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World. Blu has since released the hit song ‘Champion (Ru x Blu)’ alongside RuPaul, as part of their win.

Set to be a dazzling show, Slay Queenz will have you on your feet and ready to party along with some of the UK’s best Drag Queen talents.

Theatre Director Jo Johnson commented: “We are thrilled to have the show Slay Queenz come to our theatre! It is sure to be a fun night full of exciting performances and our audiences love nothing more than a top class drag show”. Don’t miss out your chance to meet the stars themselves, at £76 not only will you get the beast seats in the house, but your ticket will include a Meet and Greet opportunity with the fabulous Queens!

Tickets are priced from £28-£76 and can be bought from: https:// www.tynetheatreandoperahouse. uk/events/slay-queenz/

Historian Lucy Worsley shares stories about Agatha Christie at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House

Thursday 28th September 2023

Following a sell-out tour in 2022, the Queen of History, Lucy Worsley, is heading back out on the road to share stories from the fascinating life of the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie. For these unique, live illustrated talks, Lucy will present one most elusive and enigmatic figures of the twentieth century. Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was ‘just’ an ordinary housewife, when she clearly wasn’t? Agatha went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness. So why - despite all the evidence to the contrary - did she present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure?

Sharing her research based on the writer’s personal letters and papers, Lucy will uncover the real Agatha Christie – the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman. This promises to be an entertaining and enlightening evening, emphasising not just Agatha’s unique gifts as a storyteller but her revolutionary qualities as a determined, successful, and thoroughly modern woman.

Lucy is Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and a hugely popular writer, broadcaster and speaker. Her recent TV series include Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley (BBC One) and Lucy Worsley Investigates (BBC Two). Lucy has an OBE for services to history, and her series Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley won the BAFTA. ‘One brilliant woman writing about another: an irresistible combination.’ Antonia Fraser Theatre Director Jo Johnson commented: “We’re thrilled Lucy is stopping at our Theatre as part of her tour sharing stories about Agatha Christie. The show is set to be very interesting and engaging, and audiences will learn a lot from the night as well as enjoying it! We have a wonderful programme of in-conversations lined up for 2023 and we’re delighted to add Lucy to this fabulous selection of shows.” Tickets are priced at £37 - £31 and can be bought from: www. tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk/ events/lucy-worsley/

Newcastle’s Local Hero Alan Shearer comes to the Tyne Theatre and Opera House for an exclusive one-night event

Thursday 23th November 2023

Footballing legend Alan Shearer comes to the Tyne Theatre and Opera House in Newcastle on Thursday 23rd November for an exclusive live on stage ‘Evening with’ event.

Football fans need no introduction to Alan Shearer. The top icon in English football and muchloved patriot of the United Kingdom, Alan has a fan base that stretches worldwide – especially in his hometown Geordie land. Arguably one of the most passionate players of all time, who always left everything out on the field in a commitment to himself, his manager, his teammates, and the fans. Alan is one of the best players England has ever produced and was a fan favourite throughout his career. Listen how Alan came from a working-class family to become a true footballing legend, role model to the younger generation and a respected ambassador of the game.

Come and join Alan Shearer as we take a trip down memory lane.

From Southampton to Blackburn to the black and white stripes of Newcastle United alongside the England Football team and being live on air most weekends as our favourite sports pundit. This exclusive show will see a twopart live and unscripted interview with Alan Shearer, reminiscing about those glorious football memories old and new. A fantastic opportunity to get a real-life insight to one of the best players to ever light up the football world. Who knows what will happen when Alan Shearer takes to the stage to give you his ‘off camera’ stories.

Theatre Director Jo Johnson commented: “We are delighted to have

Newcastle’s own Alan Shearer for this special evening event. Our Theatre is just down the road from Newcastle United’s iconic St James’ Park making it the perfect venue to host this fantastic event for football fans. Alan joins our superb line up of in-conversation events for 2023.”

Tickets are priced at £42.50£303.50 and can be bought from: www.tynetheatreandoperahouse. uk/events/an-evening-with-alanshearer/

To check out more recently announced shows, head over the Tyne Theatre & Opera House website: https://www.tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk/whats-on/

Bank holiday Monday saw all of the Geeks and Nerds all come together and join forces for a fun day at Newcastle’s Boiler Shop for another packed Nerd Fest event. This time the two Michael’s (yes, both organisers are called Michael), decided to change things around and brought in a special guest in the form of Ian Whyte, who if you don’t know, is a rather tall gentleman (he’s 7’1” tall) best known for playing Wun Wun in Game of Thrones (just one of the GOT charcters he has portrayed), the Predator in the AVP film series, various characters in the Star Wars franchise, and many more films, basically, if you need a very tall person, he’s your man. So it was great to see him delighting fans with photos and autographs. Other new additions were Johnny 5, the robot from the Short Circuit films; Transformers very own

Bumblebee and the DeLorean from the Back to the Future series, all giving fans unique photo opportunities. If that wasn’t enough, Simon Donald returned to delight fans with his stories and of course his commission drawings of his infamous Viz characters. Plus if that wasn’t enough, there were loads of stalls selling everything a geek could ever want, from toys to collectables, art to clothing and lots more in-between. You also had the Nerd Arcade room where people could test their skills on various retro arcade and console games. There was a mix of costumers and cosplayers representing every fandom going, anime, star wars, superheroes, they were all present and happy to pose for photos.

Make sure you follow Nerd Fest on social media to keep up to date with announcements for their next event, Nerd Fright Fest, which takes place on Sunday 22nd October at the Parks Sports Centre in North Shields. For more retro gaming follow Nerd Arcade.

Images by N J Dunn Photography