Novel Magazine #03

. nov el

2

art literature &

culture

the creative publication for the north-east

issue 3 /// july / august 2011 /// free

www.novelmagazine.co.uk

Never backing away from controversial material, this issue documents and reports on some of the most subversive aspects, characters and problems in our society. We bring you drug-addiction, Raoul Moat, Verbal Terrorism in the form of anti-establishment hiphop lyrics; we question whether graffiti is vandalism or public art in its purest form and take a look at a temple of hedonism.

Novel is proud to give sub-cultures their platform and to continue outputting material that no other magazine in the region is publishing. We receive no help or funding and continue to duck our phone bills and council tax for as long as possible to give you a magazine we hope you love as much as we do.

Regardless of the theme and the lack of help from funders, the standard of contributions continues to improve and the magazine continues to grow. We would like to thank all of our contributors and not just those who we have published, for helping us release 3 issues of Novel Magazine.

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adjective new or unusual in an interesting way: they hit

on a novel idea to showcase regional talent.

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noun a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at a variance with those of the larger culture.

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. .s ive subver adjective

seeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution.

Contents:

Skate Scene

Destigmatising skateboarding and justifying a creative past time.

Sub-Verse

Hip-Hop lyrics from a Geordie MC.

Burning Car Blues

An absolutely radge short-story.

The Beatle Bubble

Drugs, despair and dependancy.

Unit-44

A little known creative scene unveils itself.

Going, Going, Gone...

Novel interviews one of the most active, prolific and ‘up’ Graffiti’ writers in the North East.

True Will

Aleister Crowley and his temple of hedonism.

The Pit

A man finds solace in, of all places, a mosh pit.

Shock To The System

The Raoul Moat Saga, one year on.

Robert Breer Design Agency

Did that just move? A two floor homage to Breer at the Baltic.

Founded design agency show us some of the work they have produced.

My Town QR Codes: In this copy of Novel there are 3 unique QR (Quick Response) codes printed alongside articles. Go online and download a QR reader APP to view online videos that relate to the articles in print.

Editors

Design

Kerry Kitchin Web-Editor

Ruth Comer My Town’ Editor

Tom Lowenstein

Directory Choice Pick: For those of you who didn’t already know, our website features a directory which hosts the work of a whole myriad of writers, artists, photographers and designers. We also provide links to their respective websites and blogs so you can see more of their work. Holly Exley was our web editors favourite from the last two months and the illustration shown below is an example of her work.To feature in our directory send an example of your work and a short profile to ruth@novelmagazine.co.uk

International street art in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Small-Press Comics

Kerry Kitchin Lee Halpin

Best Online: Often we will receive contributions that are of a high standard, but do not relate to the theme set for the upcoming issue. Rather than disregard the work of talented individuals we publish it on our website. The best recent example of such a contribution comes from Grossi Mathieu.The work is illustrated by Lucy Farfort.

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Novel Magazine emerges emphatically from a profound desire to consume art, literature and local culture, in both an aesthetically pleasing and tangible way. Consumption need no longer be such a dirty word. Much of Novel’s content is timeless, so once read, why have it cast to the landfills? Printed on thick, uncoated, renewable stock, Novel is as textural as it is textual. After all, it is still the palpable pulp we call paper that artists and writers turn to first as a medium for expression. With the majority of Novel being composed from the creative contributions of local writers and artists, it acts as a much needed platform from which talented individuals can build a portfolio, as well as inform the public of their work, websites and upcoming displays or events. Novel plays host to a plethora of art, media and prose, as well as previewing and critiquing upcoming local and cultural events.

Still in its early stages, Novel is sure to transform through time and space, as it becomes even more ingrained into the fabric of the cultural North-East.

We pride ourselves on being a local publication with highly interactive qualities and our website offers you all the chance to comment on the content found within, as well as suggest new topics for upcoming issues and new ideas for features and editorials.

A select choice of up and coming cutural events in the region.

Contributors:

Ben Larthe, Drop Dead Fred, Peter Mcadam, Blush n Shucks, Unit-44, Steven McGarry, Michael Teasedale, Alex Lockwood, & FOUNDED. To contribute to Novel please send your articles, prose, short-stories, artwork, illustrations and photography to contribute@novelmagazine. co.uk. See back page for details on the theme for our next issue.

kerry@novelmagazine.co.uk Editors Corner Illustration: Darryl Ibbetson lee@novelmagazine.co.uk In-House Illustrator: kerry@novelmagazine.co.uk ruth@novelmagazine.co.uk tom@novelmagazine.co.uk

Novel is proud to present our two in-house illustrators for this issue: Alex Hedworth and Mark Bellamy.

www.novelmagazine.co.uk

Twitter: Facebook:

@ novel_magazine /novelmag

Cover Photograph: This image was captured and contributed by Ben Larthe. Read on to see more of Ben’s images of the skaters in Newcastle as well as his article on the underground skate scene.

Skate Scene

Twenty-three year old Ben Larthe provides the photography and text in this passionate defence of his favourite past time.

To view the short video that accompanies this article entitled ‘‘Ben Larthe Cruises Five Bridges’, use your smart phone and follow the QR link on the left or go to http://bit.ly/mJZD1m Video edited and filmed by James Coyle: James@simplewood.co.uk

Born in the warm, sunny climate of southern California, street skateboarding is often misunderstood and stigmatised as an antisocial activity when in reality it’s a productive form of expression that has inspired many people to go on and do something of great note whether it be in business, art or life more generally.As a result of these misconceptions, skateboarding has always been an ‘alternative’ sub-culture or ‘underground’ venture for young people looking to break away from traditional competitive sports and satisfy a more creative side.

On the west coast of America, specifically California the deconstruction of negative stereotypes is happening to some degree as Skateboarding has become a billion dollar industry and evolved into the mainstream whilst remaining sub-cultural in most other parts of the country.

It has given birth to superstars such as Paul Rodriguez who can be seen in Nike adverts alongside Kobe Bryant and Ice Cube, among others - and ‘street’ contests that are broadcast during prime time on America’s premier sports network ESPN. In this country however, its status as an anti-social, stigmatised sub-culture still rings true throughout all four corners of this oddly shaped island.

Newcastle is a perfect example of a post-industrial town whose derelict buildings and wastelands have become the playgrounds in which skaters ply their trade.

You only have to look behind the location of this very publications launch party - The Biscuit Factory (which itself is a reinvented industrial building) to see what I mean. There lies a long-since demolished lead paint factory whose floor has given rise to a makeshift skate park. Built by local skaters using their own money and it provides somewhere for the local community to congregate and practice their tricks before taking them to the streets.

As skateboarders we will accept this and will continue to do what we love through any adversity that we may face.We have been disregarded and moved on like this for as long as our wheels have been rolling and our feet have been pushing. There is constant struggle against authorities who choose to marginalise us and overlook what has helped engender a tight-knit, almost familial scene by bringing us together at places such as ‘The Wasteland’. I hope you can now begin to understand how important places like this are to people like us.

Despite our need for recreational spaces the street will always be the true home of the skateboarder, even if they were to replace areas like ‘The Wasteland’ with adequate training facilities. No matter how stupendous a skate park is it will never substitute the excitement of searching out new spots, hidden away from view that provide innovative subject matter for both photographers and cinematographers alike.

Despite many of these homemade obstacles being destroyed and occasional violent confrontations with local hoodlums looking for trouble, this place known as ‘The Wasteland’, or ‘The Suntrap’ is and has been an important place for the local scene for nearly 10 years. It is however, in danger of being eradicated forever.

It is the underground nature of our pursuit that drives us to find these gems and document them with our various media mediums. The more concealed and unconventional the spot the more magnetic it will be to the beholder. To the untrained eye these places we seek appear dull, serving either no purpose or only the one they were originally created for, but once a skateboarder is brought into the equation they become something altogether different. Back alleys, car parks, warehouses, subways, overpasses and even bumps on the pavement can become places of pilgrimage for the countries skateboarding protagonists.

Talk of more student accommodation on the site has been bandied about for years and no doubt will eventually happen with no compensation or reconciliation for the skaters who have made this place their own.

It is not unknown for these bland yet esoteric locations to be visited by some of the world’s biggest skate ‘superstars’, which only reinforces the doctrine that skateboarding is inherently underground at its core.

scene

These ‘superstars’ could stay at home, skating their numerous perfect street spots and private skate parks but instead they choose every few months to scan the globe in search of new and exciting places that are not on the radar of their peers back home. This is an attempt to get back to the underground roots of skateboarding that have been long since forgotten in large portions of the modern American skate scene.

Whilst a movement towards the commercialisation of skateboarding in this country is beginning to gather a head of steam, many would suggest that it will always be an underground avocation on our shores. Major sponsorship deals are rare for talented British skateboarders who choose not to emigrate to the US and if you’re lucky sponsorship could amount to free products, a travel budget and financial incentives for getting exposure in a magazine. Earning a decent salary as a professional is pretty much unheard of. If this were to change and a fully commercialised industry were to emerge here then the underground roots of our subculture may be lost for good.

Whilst financial gain would be welcomed by the numerous individuals struggling to make ends meet doing what they love, if it were to be at the expense of what we represent as people and skateboarders then a big no thank you would resonate throughout the cities and towns of the British Isles. We as a faction do not wish to be exploited by energy drink companies looking to make a quick buck and will strive to retain our integrity and status as an underground yet influential sub-culture that seeks only to be understood by the society that surrounds it.

Sub-Verse Freddy Phethean aka Drop Dead Fred is founding member of Hip-Hop crew, Verbal Terrorists and former frontman of, The 27 Club. Although The 27 Club sadly parted ways recently, DDF continues to launch his lyrical lambastings in the booth and on the stage. Verbal Terrorists, it was recently announced, are set to record a single with U.S Hip-Hop veterans, Dead Prez! DDF is also performing with new band Backyard Rhythm Orchestra. DDF delivers consistently, heavily politicised, polemical lyrics.

To view the short video that accompanies this article entitled ‘Drop Dead Fred’, use your smart phone and follow the QR link on the left or go to http://bit.ly/kwbFor

All around me I see a sedated nation aslee p, heavily medicated by the bait papers they read.

And fake lies sold as unbiased on state T.V. I’m getting tired of waiting to awaken the beast.

Its V.T. rising up, we’re baking the yeast, the bread for the revolutionaries waiting to feast.

And when we get out the oven, we’ll take to the streets, armed with cameras to capture police break ing the peace.

Because now we have a mechanism, to give the press and the state a definite taste of their own medicine.

Upload to youtube and indie media, show the world how they let the MET get so menacing.

There’s always more reporters than black block , they follow the few and portray us all as a mad flock.

All in a snap shot, sensationalize, the public get a shot of the truth and the chaser is lies.

Pigs in disguise wait for a rise and when it kicks off throwing bricks over riot squads is justified.

Some come alive in the clash, some run and hide but the real cowards have shields, bats and visor covered eyes.

You know its lies when they tell you the figur es, the real number of protestors is definitely bigger.

And the noise of the mainstream is like the sound of vultures, picking apart the half dead carcass of count erculture.

Illustration by Mark Bellamy

Macabre, violent and yet funny, this short-story contribution from Peter McAdam is guaranteed to make any quick read in a coffee house or during a commute a lot more interesting.

I part the dirty net curtains and wipe the condensation off the window. Looking down through the drips of water I see the kids emptying a skip all over the street, jumping up and down on a busted settee, dogs snapping at their heels. Looking to my right I see the sunset between the tower blocks then I catch sight of a burning car sailing down the grassy bank - red and orange flames lapping in the air like an infernal cavalcade followed by a bunch of 7-10 year olds screaming their fucking heads off.

Welcome to Benwell, Newcastle, a Class A Utopia full of dead end kids and cars that go nowhere.

I’m in a flat above a Takeaway. It’s a little bland but he has it nice. Benjamin Smith aka Benny Benzedrine, a top pill pusher - them kids playing trampoline down there are probably his next customers being groomed for Prison or the Afterlife. Benny is a first class scumbag, a bearded big broad guy, a tuft of ginger hair hinting at a residue of a quiff and one of those clumsy Indian ink swallow tattoo’s on his lower thumb, a hangover from his teddy boy days.

“Yeah I can just see you in your rock n roll drag, flick knife fights, Benny and the Jets eh?”

I’ve got Old Benny gaffa taped to a red velvet armchair, and his dirty mouth taped up, he looks like a Tracy Emin installation. I should get a fucking Arts Council grant for this - this is real art. His face looks like he’s going to explode, a big red ball puffing and panting, he signals me to scratch something.

I sit back on the settee sip from a Happy Birthday Benny mug. He mumbles and struggles to lift his arms.

I lean over nonchalantly and scratch his forehead, his eyeballs move to the extreme right; I scratch it and look at my fingernails.

“You’re fucking flaking you old bastard”. I lean back and observe his living room. It looks like he’s only here temporarily, the girl, Samantha, is probably one of his many customers, doing a freebie for an ounce.

She’s a kappa slappa, two failed marriages, four kids in care, blonde snake hair and a white tracksuit that’s seen better days. If the soap powder guy from the TV advert knocked on her door she would chin him.

Illustration by Alex Hedworth

This Samantha has been gone twenty minutes; I’ve sent her to a hole-in-thewall to get me some money. Well it’s a perk of the job, after all he’s not going to be using it. Besides, I’ve a temporary cash flow problem. Mind you if she brings anyone back with her I’ll fucking gut her.

He’s struggling to talk so I whip off the tape from his mouth to give him some talk-space. He screams; I’ve just taken half his fucking beard off. After a barrage of expletives he calms down and asks for his inhaler,

ready for unexpected visitors. There’s a pause then she bangs the door like someone has come in with her. I know that delay in time, when someone follows you in before you close the door, she’s fucking brought someone else.

Benny looks up, his eyes are like saucers, he’s speechless, he’s shaking his head as though he knows about my deduction. Clunk-clunk up the stairs. Really heavy, she’s a slim lass and unless she’s gained weight at Barclays...The door parts open, she comes in and says a nervous “Hiya”.

“Nahhh!! It’s all in the mind, you should try meditation not medication”.

“You need medication you sick fuck” he replies with venom.

She moves over to Benny’s side like she’s choreographed her position, she points at me holding the money.

“Forget it.” I finish my tea, stand up and stretch. I look out the window again and then turn to face him.

I drop to the floor seconds before a fucking gun peeks around the corner.

He fires where I should have been standing, quickly he lowers his gun as he sees me lying on the floor, then I shoot, ripping his fucking ankle off. He falls holding his busted leg. Then I give him one in the head. Samantha starts screaming and coming for me, I shoot her between the tits and she falls like a bundle of laundry.

“Know what I’ve just seen? A bloody burning car, waltzing down the hill, some kids must have torched it and pushed it on its way”.

I turn the record up. Benny is shouting over the “She’s my Baby” line with all kinds of curses.

“They should be at school”, he quips nervously and looks at his lo-fi bondage of gaffa tape and electrical flex.

I put my little special bullet in the chamber twirl it around and do a Russian Roulette on the ginger fucker.

“They’re your future customers.”

“You’re dead lumber coz life’s inherently unfair” I say with the gusto of some B-Movie gangster flick I heard out the corner of my ear, somewhere, someday. I hope it was Edward G - he’s my favourite, he always looks like he’s been eating tomato ketchup.

“Ever see Father Ted? You remind me...”

“I’m not religious.”

“I don’t do kids,” says Mr Beelzebub. Fucking liar. The reason why I’m here is my client wants some vindication for his dead and gone heirs.

“You pushed some amphetamines onto two little kids. You know who their father was? I can’t figure out whether you did it on purpose or you’re just fucking dumb?”

I shoot him right in the flaky bit on his forehead, where I scratched earlier.

The blood sprays up like a geyser from the back of his head.

He sighs and drops his head.

“Wooh!! That was cool.” The record sticks sounding like a ‘STCH’. I take in this cool montage. Samantha lying like a crumpled handkerchief. ‘STCH’. The uninvited guest and his tomato head. STCH. Benny looking up to a dead mans lampshade. ‘STCH’. A spray of blood on the back wall like a Jackson Pollock LP cover showing Gene Vincent throwing his leg over a microphone stand.

‘STCH’. The humour bullet laughing all the way to his brains. ‘STCH’ and that beautiful burning car.

“You know it’s sticking in my mind...the burning car, it’s kind of majestic but at the same time destructive - bit like me”

I bend down beside Samantha, grab the £200, well £180, bitch spent £20 on fags and chocolate. I nick them as well..

“Fucking big head” I lean over and menacingly speak into his ear.

I go for the door and turn to see my hosts scattered and inert, like the furniture outside.

“Another word from you and I’ll spoon your fucking eyes out”.

Now he looks pissed.

“Well it’s been a nice party, some good music and a bit of excitement, but if I could speak truthfully, the company’s been shite. Adios”.

He grunts and looks to his left; a photo of Samantha’s absent kids, pauses and turns to look me in the eyes.

“I didn’t know, honest” “Ah-well. Shit happens.” Fucking academic to me.

I saunter around the room, it’s kind of a mix of taste and tat; 70’s wallpaper, half assembled Ikea furniture, a quaint collection of charity shop knick-fucking-knacks, a well worn floral Axminster with carefully positioned tab burn holes, a DVD system and an old gram from the 50’s. Bit of a mix but it works.

I give him a nod of approval but he thinks I’m taking the piss. I crouch down and flip through his record collection, vinyl oldies, a few Robbie Williams CD’s. I look at him in disgust. “It’s Samantha’s” he explains “Kinda ironic...Escapology” I put on one of his, the Mona Lisa of the vinyl: Gene Vincent’s ‘Be Bop A Lula’.

“I’ll give you this old Benny boy, you’ve got some good taste, but you can tell the generation gap. Eddie Cochran vs. Beyonce” “BE BOP A LULA SHE’S MY BABY” The chug a chug groove rings in my ears and it’s got my toes a tapping. Now I feel good, I take out a few bullets, if you look closely one of them has the words “Don’t Take It Personally” inscribed in Times italics. I do it for all my victims, plus they make nice ornaments when not in use. I’m a sucker for detail. A Swiss guy did it for me via the internet.

I turn down the record slightly, don’t want to get carried away.

I hear the metallic grind of the key turning. I move to the living room door,

Illustration by Mark Bellamy

The Beetle Bubble

‘Blush n Shucks’ writes with an intimate knowledge of what it is like to be part of a sub-culture where powder is more important than people.

This poignant, confessionary account of one man’s pitfall provides insight into a dark dependency.

With the comforting crackle and burn of the foil, the therapeutic running of the dark brown beetle up and down…up and down… Until it’s time to say glazed farewells and carry on into the night with private and dipped stashes.

Up and down…up and down… The foil gaining lines like your brow, like the friends you’ve alienated, the years you’ve been subjected to. Finally, gouching into a slumber in whatever awkward position our bodies have ended up in, tooters hanging from mouths like cigarettes in old movies, heads lolling like the dead.

That odd, nostalgic feeling you get upon leaving your house in certain weather conditions is just a foggy memory once you’ve got a habit. With gear it’s a deliberately bubbled existence, a flattening of emotions, the only time they run high being when you run out of it. With any dedicated user this is an eventuality always planned for. On the rare occasions when you don’t have enough for the short overlap from one score to the next, and the dreaded rattle starts to rapidly take hold, a lack of control over anything descends as emotions rise. Nothing is certain apart from the need to force everything back under that thick and hazy covering, to feel like you’re peeping at the world with opiate-pinned eyes, through an upturned telescope, to feel SAFE. You can easily live your life on gear and many people would argue that they couldn’t go about their business without it. There is very probably someone you know who has an opiate dependency, but hasn’t told anyone, never will, and will not let it get the better of them. These people are nowhere near as rare as you think, using in secret because it’s still one of society’s greatest taboos. If you ever want to stamp a conversation dead in its tracks, or set the rumour mill going full-pelt, then just mention your dependence on pills, the foil, or the pin.

Once you’ve spent any prolonged time with ‘bagheeds’ you’ll soon notice the blatant similarities in their personalities – the driving force behind their using.

I’m going to go right ahead and pigeonhole an entire subculture here; you’ll notice any amount of insecurities, anxieties and phobias. Paranoia, doubt and turmoil. Gear will subtly but absolutely change the way you think while you’re under its spell, and this is what’s so attractive and ultimately so destroying for people with the aforementioned traits. It’s by no means just the fact that it’s addictive (that’s the least of your worries as a user), it’s the way the addiction slowly takes hold, and more importantly, why you’ve let it. It’s a very specific kind of person who ends up with a habit. Generally, you have to hate yourself.

Without any intention, users are the truest nihilists you’re likely to come across. There’s a complete rejection of society and its values as gear utterly takes over, and by ruining arms, legs and lives by poking about multiple times a day for that elusive vein, there’s a detached destructiveness for the sake of destructiveness. But at the same time, I’ll defy you to find a more close-knit, caring, selfless group of friends than a group of addicts. I guess when you’re that far removed from society you can’t afford to not be on good terms with the other people brave enough, and stupid enough, to lead this lifestyle.

Dawn close-up as milk floats trundle by. Finally starting to nod as the last beetle of the day runs its tried and tested course. Flagging but still running.

Raking dead air.

Unit -44 Plying the cockney finger tips off Street Artists, Unit-44 gently coaxes them to Newcastle. Article by Novel editor Lee Halpin.

Some of you may have already read about the Stormie Mills and Remi Rough exhibition, as well as the ‘White Walls’ project at novelmagazine.co.uk. For those of you who have not, welcome to ‘Unit-44’. Unit-44 is an artistic collective based in that ever-expanding cultural hub, Hoults Yard. Three individuals, Steven Dunn, Danny Hughes and David Bilbrough have been using their space at Hoults Yard for a variety of artistic endeavours. Graphic design, photography and party’s are amongst the purposes Unit-44 functions as. Their main focus however is Street Art. Back in 2010, Unit-44, along with Charlie Hoult, owner and proprietor of Hoults Yard, began collaborating on a project named White Walls. White Walls has seen some of the biggest, most infamous writers on the international Graffiti/Street Art scene (apologies to those of you who do not like to see those two words used synonymously or even in the same sentence) paint large-scale pieces, here in Newcastle upon-Tyne. This is no small achievement. The writers Unit-44 have got involved in their project are invited and paid to paint in California, Sydney, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Berlin, New York. So why, or rather how, did they end up involved in a relatively small project in the tiny city of Newcastle?

The answer lies in the ethos of Unit-44. Street Art as we know has erupted since Banksy first hit the headlines back in 2000. Since that time galleries all over the world have been cashing-in on the popularity and marketability of this contemporary medium. Most galleries will get an artist in, put a rod to their backs, get them out of there as quickly as possible, produce the prints and sell the work/product. Bish, bash, bosh, money made, on to the next profitable exhibition. Unit-44 is different. As fans and collectors of Street Art the lads at Unit-44 treat their artists with a greater level of respect, allow them time to produce work at their own rate; are not focussed on profiting from the sale of prints and murals at the end of the work. They’re not your typical gallery owners.

Unit-44’s motivation is to try and breakdown the monopoly London has on big artists and big exhibitions and to try and establish Newcastle as an appealing, if not more welcoming, place for writers to visit and paint. White Walls has seen She One, Kid Acne, Insa, and Hush paint in Newcastle. For those of you who do not possess an intricate knowledge of the scene these names may not mean a great deal. But those of you who are writers yourselves and fans of Graffiti will recognise the achievement Unit-44 has made in bringing such legends to rainy, northern Newcastle. The hope is that these writers will leave Newcastle with a positive impression of the city as a hub for artists These guys, along with Charlie Hoult, who also foots half the bill, are paying out of their own pockets to bring these artists to Newcastle. The result is some of the most ambitious and competent Street Art the city has ever seen. The reason I use the term Street Art, as opposed to graffiti, is that these artists have moved away from the letterbased, tag, Graffiti, which was born in New York in the late 1960’s, early 1970’s.

Remi Rough and Stormie Mills were the only artists who produced canvasses to be exhibited and sold. The canvasses sold for between 4-5500 pound, to give you an idea of the sort of money involved in this type of art work. Read more about this event at novelmagazine.co.uk

Stormie Mills and Remi Rough sprayin’, spillin’ chillin’ and killin’ time.

INSA’s contribution to the White Walls project.

Unit--44 office and gallery, Hoults Yard

Photographs courtesy of David Bilbrough of Unit-44

Small-Press Comics Unbeknownst to most, and indeed myself up until not so long ago, this city harbours a close-knit and creatively productive group of small press comic book writers, artists and publishers. They, alongside an ever growing number of fans, followers and aficionados, effectively form somewhat of a ‘comic book scene’, that contribute towards and celebrate the raw and tangible art form where the written word and graphic illustration compliment each other like nowhere else.

In the Travelling Man comic book store on Grainger Street, off-beat dialogue and humorous interjection meet highly intricate and beautifully drawn characters on the pages of self-published and self-funded booklets. This is the hub of many a comic book junkie in this region and one of the few distribution locations for local, small-press comic books. Often with print runs of less than one hundred and profit margins low on the list of concerns, that creator-owned, ‘spirit of self-publishing’ element to what these fellows do appeals to us greatly here at Novel.

So much so that I decided to get in touch with a group I had heard about called The Paper Jam Comics Collective to conduct an interview and find out more about the indie comic scene here in Newcastle. With the help of our web-editor I tracked them down and we arranged to meet on a Saturday afternoon at the Union Rooms on Westgate Road.

So what does being part of Paper Jam Comics Collective entail?

Daniel: Because its a collective, you get out as much as you put in, but essentially we get together, set themes for our next anthology and put out around four issues per year. This has recently slowed down as people have begun producing their own comics. But we just meet up and talk really and some of us collaborate on stuff. Andy: Its got an open door policy. You get a lot of people that just like comics that come along. It’s an excellent meeting place and a place for people with different skills to come together and to pass on wisdom and exchange ideas. Paul: It’s a great jumping off point for everyone’s own project.

And a great place to get feedback on what you’re doing.

What do you do to promote or market the anthologies and your own comics once they are made?

Daniel: For the anthologies there wasn’t much that got done really, no posters or anything like that, just a gig normally. But for my own comics I make pdf’s of the whole comic, make them small enough to email them to people, email them to loads of reviewers, make posters, even if the posters don’t get printed they get put online, tweet about them every 5 seconds, make sure that other people are seeing the tweets, try and send stuff to podcasts and stuff like that. You just have to try and get the word out as much as possible. It’s always a toss up between “should I write the next issue of the comic I’m doing or should I promote the last one” and sometimes you’ve got to just stop and say “I’ll promote the last one because I’ve got a big pile and I don’t want to have wasted all that money and time.” You’ve got to put the work in and get it out there and get it read and talked about. Andy: I prefer to set myself up as an enigma, that people have to find. You see you give it all up for free Daniel, you’re a comics hussy. I sit in the background so people have to find me and say hmm, who’s this mysterious chap? Ha ha. It doesn’t always work though. People still don’t have a clue who I am. That’s the idea... a shadowy figure.

Novel editor Kerry Kitchin meets some of Newcastle’s small press comic publishers to discuss self publishing and the comic book scene in the North-East.

Where are they sold?

Andy: Mine are pretty much exclusively sold online and at conventions at the moment. Paul: If anyone can find me, they can have a comic off me. Andy: You’re even more elusive than me. Daniel: Mine are sold in two shops, Travelling man in Newcastle and OK comics in Leeds. He won’t take anymore off us until he sells them ha-ha. But conventions also.

Is it a labour of love or are any profits made?

Andy: Nobody is in small press comics to make money, but I’ll make sure to never sell at a loss.

In the local comic book scene, is it the mainstream or alternative comics that are the most popular?

Daniel: I definitely feel that there is a stigma towards the mainstream superhero comics. More so in the local scene than the small press scene in England as a whole. This is the feeling I get from some of the people I’ve met a conventions across the country. But personally I’ve always read superhero comics and mainstream comics and probably always will. I like the form that they come in and I grew up with them so its something that kind of influences me and I aspire towards. But aspire to do them with all of the good bits and none of the bad bits ha-ha. Andy: I’ve no stigma against them, I used to read them when I was a kid but I just don’t really respond to them. My tastes changed; I wouldn’t say developed. I read big titles, like Watch Men and stuff like that. Large prints, graphic novels but my tastes hedge more towards American Indie publications, like your Jeffrey Brown’s and so forth. Paul: That’s a good question. If mainstream are Marvel and DC then I’ve never really been bothered

by Marvel or DC, I’ve never really read them. I tended to grow up with 2000AD and I’ve followed some of the writers and artists who worked on that into their Marvel and DC super hero work, like Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol, which is great. But never really read Marvel or DC superheroes just because they are there. I‘ve never followed Spiderman or anything like that. I think I tended to like the grittier British sensibilities. Things a bit darker. Daniel: I think if a story is good then a story is good, doesn’t matter who publishes it or where it comes from. I think even though I love mainstream stuff, at the minute I feel a closer connection with small press, independent stuff from across the country because I know the creators, sometimes personally, so you feel a connection with their work because you can see their personality coming through and you can see the development in their process and skill quality.

Why do you think comics have that stigma of nerdy, ‘basement living’ introverts?

Andy: It’s not entirely undeserved, but there’s just as many nerdy socially inept sports fans. You can go into some stereotypical, science-fiction, super comic geeks room and their walls will be posters, framed artwork and they’ll have toys, but if you go into an equivalent football fans room, they’ll have the posters, pictures, strips etc but that’s socially acceptable, this isn’t. It’s just another thing that people get into, such as films and music. It’s a different outlet for peoples imagination and enthusiasm. But the cliché of the comic book guy does still exist, haha. But also some of the coolest people are into comics as well. Lot’s of comedians. Daniel: Jonathan Ross is the biggest comic geek! Stuart Lee is a massive comic guy. Frankie Boyle too. Every time there’s a comedy gig in Newcastle, we hear that a comedian has been into Travelling Man to buy a stack of comics.

Andy: It’s ‘Geek Chic’ to coin a 90’s term. For a while it became quite cool and socially acceptable for slightly alternative people to be into that kind of thing. You could be into cool bands as well as comics and it still continues today.

After the interview I thanked the boys from the PJCC and walked along to the Travelling Man to have a look at some of the latest offerings in the local-press section. Upon entry I was greeted by the ever charismatic Paul Regan, author of the extremely popular Trenchfoot series of comic books and also a regular contributor to Novel. Whilst at work, I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his comics and the processes involved in bringing them into fruition.

Daniel Clifford has been making comics for two years now. He started off doing strips in an anthology with the Paper Jam Comics Collective.This went on to him producing an anthology piece himself and then his own comic with artist, Gary Bainbridge, called Sugar Glider (pictured above) a costume crime fighter, coming of age story based in Tyneside. It’s a mix between independent slice of life comics and mainstream superhero comics. (Find on Facebook under Sugar Glider Comics)

So you don’t have any involvement with the PJCC? No. It’s not that we are against any comic scene at all but we just kind of want to do things exactly ourselves. We’ve set up our own comic label, OG Comics to put out things that all tie into one universe, much in the same way that Marvel and DC do. I guess we’re being maybe overly ambitious, but sometimes you have to do that.

Can you summarise Trenchfoot?

It’s an ongoing soap-opera slash comic about supervillains living and working in the lake district, because if you have superpowers you can work in a hotel and do the work of twenty Polish people.

So you have these three supervillains who are hiding out there for reasons unknown, which will be explained as the story goes on and a lot of angry polish people are out of work, giving them shit, you know. That’s the initial premise, but then you wonder, why are three guys with superpowers working and hiding in a hotel?

So all this is to come out in later issues?

Yeah, I mean, we’ve had three issues out and it’s already started going into elements of the past and why this happened but yes, it’s all to come.

Andy Waugh has been doing comics since 2003, mostly on his own. He has released an autobiographical comic called Melancomic and a follow up called Coupledome (pictured above). Recently he’s focused more on fictional based stuff, a joined showcase comic called Show and Tell. He’s also been in a few UK and US international small press anthologies including Paper Science. As a freelance illustrator, Andy has also done work for local music magazine Narc, as well as Alan Moore’s Dodgem Logic. (www.thismeanswaugh.blogspot.com)

Paul Thompson is the author and illustrator of Tales of the Hollow Earth. (pictured above) Having always been fond of comics, Paul got into the local comic, small press scene two years ago after having somewhat of a Harvey Pekar-esque moment in which he realised it was perfectly legitimate for him to start making his own, as well as contributing to anthologies. (www.hollowearth.co.uk)

What do you do to promote your comic?

Well it helps working here, haha.

And how many copies have you sold?

For all three issue of Trenchfoot we’ve sold in excess of 500.

How does the process of producing your comics work? Obviously you’re the writer and you come up with the story and script.

Yeah, it’s a bit like a film script almost. So I’ll say, page 1, panel 1, he’s looking in the fridge, he looks pretty mean and menacing and you put in the speech bubbles. Then you give the whole thing to the artist, and it’s nice because they surprise you and make the whole thing look better than it was in your description.

You’ve written some prose for Novel in the form of ‘An almost fictional account of my life thus far’, but what is it about comics that appeals to you?

I’ve loved comics since I was 11 and started reading Spiderman, but in terms of writing it’s a lot easier in the sense that when you finish writing a novel, it’s done and it has to stand on its own merits, but with a comic you write it, then give it to the artist and it becomes something else and its never finished. So it’s easier in the sense of finishing and tying up. Although what does constrain you is that you have to think of what you can realistically expect someone to draw and how long it might take to draw that.

Do you make any money from comics?

Anything we do make, which is marginal, just gets ploughed back into printing.

Paul Regan and his creative partner Gavin McPhail have set up their own publishing label known as OG Comics. From this label they launched an ongoing series called Trenchfoot which has been very successful.They have recently brought out a spin-off comic called The Blood (pictured above) which like Trenchfoot is available to buy in the Travelling Man. (www.myspace.com/ogcomics)

Do you see it as portfolio building then?

Well most comic companies, at least Marvel and DC, the two big ones, do not accept submissions of scripts because if you send something to them and they look at it, even if they don’t want to use it, you could sue them if the same idea is used in one of there comics. So the only thing they are going to look at is original comics that you could pass to an editor at a convention. So its good, when down the line we feel a bit more comfortable to try an post these to comic companies and we say look, this is what we can do and get some feedback and advice.

Gone 161 is the current alias of one of the most prolific and revered graffiti writers currently active in the North-East. He began spray-painting in his early teens with friends he met BMXing and his ten year career has taken him travelling to paint all over the UK and Europe. Novel Magazine’s Tom Lowenstein tracked him down late one night to chat about the most subversive of art forms.

How would you describe your style of graffiti?

That’s a tough one. It’s a bit of a mixed bag of things I like really, but it’s an odd one. When I think about the graffiti writers that I like my work is nothing like theirs so I’m not even sure if I paint the style of graffiti that I like. A lot of it just comes naturally, certain shapes and letter forms that you find yourself repeating. You would have to list influences to go into a real style analysis, but I guess first and foremost it’s the people you paint with and who you watched get up around you. And the people you hold in high esteem - I like a lot of French graffiti, a lot of Scandinavian and Italian graffiti styles too.

You got into graffiti through BMXing. Do you see them as part of the same subculture?

Graffiti doesn’t really go in the same bracket as an extreme sport like BMXing because there’s not really a sporting element to it, but then again I would argue there’s not really that much of a sporting element to BMXing either really, especially with street riding and that sort of thing.

They’re both hobbies but there’s a lot more to it than that too. They’re lifestyles. I guess there’s an element of danger to both which compels people to push themselves and to get more involved in it. It’s quite empowering, when you risk a lot for something it becomes quite worthwhile in a way.

Do you think the empowerment comes out of rebellion and a rejection of social norms?

I guess a little bit. I never liked football when I was growing up and really disassociated myself from it because of the rivalry and everything that it brought with it where I grew up. I was always looking for something else and had a lot of energy to be used so BMXing and then graffiti as a follow on from that were natural progressions. Riding a BMX you were always looked at as a bit of a freak and it was the same with graffiti; it was a bit of an oddball thing to do and that was nice. There weren’t as many clean cut rules to it so you had to find your own path in a way and that was exciting.

Given the massive risks involved, what are the rewards that make it worthwhile?

The rewards are really an inner thing. There’s a lot of satisfaction and feeling of self achievement. You know you haven’t wasted another night drinking where you’ve just spent all your money with no memory of it.

You’ve been out and done something constructive. You can get a photograph and document it. If you know you’ve pulled off what you planned then you can get a deep sense of reward.

Obviously if you’re painting for your peers and an older, respected writer turns around and says they’ve seen what you did and it’s good then you get a little buzz inside but really you’ve got to be motivated for yourself.

The people who come and go early on are the ones who are painting for their peers. The ones who stick around are the ones who are doing it for themselves because it’s what they love and it’s what they want to do with their spare time really.

magazines and be praised for that and have that as your niche and be very happy with it. On the other side though there are always going to be the people who are only going to do illegals, who will go out and perhaps stir things up a bit and maybe they don’t have the same access to materials and that sort of money, who are limited to the paint they can use and the time they have. I think there is going to be a cleaner divide between artistic graffiti and the more vandalistic side of it.

How do you feel about the public perception that graffiti is nothing more than ‘pissing on lampposts’?

‘Pissing on lampposts’ sort of brutalises it a little bit but it is a brutal thing in a way. It’s a very selfish thing. Graffiti writers certainly don’t ask for any permission or approval. You do it for yourself and for other graffiti writers so in a way it becomes your own language. Tags are never going to be understood by anyone who’s never done them before because to the untrained eye they’re not very aesthetically pleasing. Once you get into it it’s like learning to read another language. You can read it and understand it and you can see how it’s been achieved, the materials used, the people - perhaps from different countries - who have done them.

You can literally see how people have moved, who’s passed through a certain part of the city centre that weekend and it’s a really addictive thing. Personally I really find it adds to a place. I’d never want to see a tag on the side of a beautiful piece of architecture, but at the same time there’s nothing worse than a grey wall. If that grey wall is covered in graffiti, whether that’s by children or activist students or graffiti writers or whatever, that’s better than a grey wall in my opinion.

It seems like the quality of graffiti getting painted has declined over the years, what do you think?

It’s a problem with the buff (graffiti clean-up crews) essentially. There were pieces that were there for ten or fifteen years, maybe done when there was a lot more time to work cos security wasn’t as tight so they could spend all night there painting and they were pieces that I think everyone came to love in some way shape or form. But now the buff is so efficient that walls literally get cleaned on an almost daily basis, so no-one is going to invest the time and effort in doing a 30 colour piece to see it cleaned off within four or five days. That would be madness.

That’s what the buff has brought unfortunately. The graffiti still gets done but it’s brought the quality down to chrome and blacks, throw-ups and tags. These things have replaced the beautiful full-colour pieces we used to see. It’s city economics really.

Is it easier to be a graffiti artist these days than it used to be?

There are as many pros and cons for someone who is coming up these days. All of the paint is there, the quality is so much better so you can paint quicker and easier than anyone would have imagined ten years ago.

At the same time the levels of security have risen with things like CCTV, motion sensors and DNA technology. The game is constantly advancing. It is as much as a battle as before. For every step the graffiti market makes to make the products better the technology as far as the law goes are advancing as well. Especially in England I feel that we’re seeing the tail end of serious graffiti and that we’ll be one of the first countries to eradicate it completely.

So is graffiti in a sense a game?

It’s definitely a game and I don’t think anyone is clearer with that than the authorities themselves. It’s cat and mouse, though I’m not sure exactly who is the cat and who is the mouse.

Where is the Newcastle graffiti scene at now?

A lot of people would comment that the scene is dead, that it used to be so much better and there did used to be quite a strong scene in Newcastle. It took a bit of a dive but of late I’ve seen it start to perk up a bit and there are a lot of young guys out there doing good stuff.

There’s a bit of a divide now coming between who is a writer and who is an artist. It’s an easier thing to do now, you can go and paint various permission walls and put your photos on the internet or send them to

The general idea is to present a variety of natural objects in such form and colour as is most antipathetic to their qualities. All we see depends on our senses: suppose they lie to us? Remember that as soon as you perceive the actual conditions of consciousness, there is no such thing as TRUTH… What we call ‘god’ may be only our diseased deliriumphantom and his reality the one-eyed rotten-toothed petrifaction of Malice shown in the picture.

True Will Steven McGarry’s second contribution to Novel looks at the ultimate subversive character, Aleister Crowley.

For many, the name Aleister Crowley rings out in popular culture as a name synonymous with the esoteric and the wicked. Known perhaps to some merely as a face on the front of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (top row, second on the left, if you’re looking) or as an interest of Jimmy Page, or even as the Crowley-inspired character Mocata in Dennis Wheatley’s novel The Devil Rides Out. But Crowley’s influence and the impact his life and work had on the counterculture movement of the 1960’s and on New Age philosophies can be regarded as a work that has influenced aspects of modern subversive thought. The examples of such can be found throughout Crowley’s life and writing, however, it is the period of 1920-23, when he founded the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu, off the northern coast of Italy, which gives the best scope for further analysis.

Having climbed his way through the ranks of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, (of which the poet W.B Yeats was also a member and frequently clashed with Crowley on various issues) the adept Crowley continued to study and master the black arts, culminating in Crowley’s most well known work entitled The Book of the Law. The book was dictated to Crowley by Aiwass, a messenger of the god Horus, (although it has been suggested that it was simply Crowley’s unconscious mind) while he and his scarlet woman Rose Edith Kelly were in Cairo in 1904.

Crowley wrote down everything Aiwass told him over a period of three days. The book declared what would be the cornerstone philosophy of The Abbey of Thelema: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

The maxim of ‘Do what thou wilt,’ referred to the idea of discovering one’s true will above all other endeavour, discovering from deep within the unconscious ones ultimate destiny, and perusing it above all else.

Crowley identified True Will as being the true nature of the individual.

The same idea may be applicable in Nietzschean philosophy, where Nietzsche expounded the premise of the will to power. The will to power is the striving to the mastery of the self and existence, to extend the self beyond the conditioned limitations of imposed morality and that the goal of society should not be in the masses, but in the individual. In Beyond Good and Evil Nietzsche writes, ‘Even the body within which individuals treat each other as equals ... will have to be an incarnate will to power, it will strive to grow, spread, seize, become predominant — not from any morality or immorality but because it is living and because life simply is will to power.’

For Crowley and his disciples, those attempted journeys to further shores were made manifest in the private sanctity of the Abbey. The abbey, set up as a magical commune was given the name: ‘‘Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum’’- a college of the Holy Spirit.

The interior of the Abbey reflected the inspiration of Paul Gauguin, as Crowley painted extensive murals on the walls and doors. The bedroom that Crowley shared with his Scarlet woman of the time, Leah Hirsig, was given the title “Le Chambre des Cauchemars”- The Room of Nightmares. Crowley painted a montage here of unbridled sexuality, blasphemy, magic and poetry. In a pamphlet promoting the abbey, Crowley offered elucidation to his painting:

Crowley’s manifesto was for himself and his disciples to endure ‘the ordeal of contemplating every possible phantom which can assail the soul,’ by spending a night in the Chambre. Through secret initiation (most likely involving a concoction of various drugs including opium, ether, heroin, laudanum, hashish and anhalonuim), the effect of the terrifying figures became animate. Crowley described the self- purgation as pursued in the abbey: Those who have come successfully through the trial say that they have become immunized from all possible infection by those ideas of evil which interfere between the soul and its divine Self. Having been forced to fathom the Abysses of Horror, to confront the most ghastly possibilities of Hell, they have attained permanent mastery of their minds. The process is similar to that of “psycho-analysis”; it releases the subject from fear of Reality and the phantasms and neuroses thereby caused, by externalising and thus disarming the spectres that lie in ambush for the Soul of man.

Pushing his disciples further, Crowley devised a ‘Seth ceremony’ which involved the sacrifice of a virgin goat. Prior to the sacrifice, the goat was to have intercourse with Hirsig, although the goat refused to comply.

Crowley proceeded to slit the goat’s throat, (the horns of which were to represent Aiwass) then to copulate with Hirsig himself. Further acts of supposed animal sacrifice included the decapitating of a cat that frequented the abbey. Crowley had instructed a disciple, Raoul Loveday, to sacrifice the animal as Crowley believed it to be an evil spirit. A bowl captured the blood that spewed forth form the poor creature, which Crowley instructed Loveday to consume. These incidents had found their way to the tabloids in England through Crowley’s former disciple Mary Butts. To further the notoriety, Loveday fell ill at the Abbey and subsequently died (a physician determined he had died form enteric fever through drinking water from a local spring). Loveday’s wife and a disciple of Crowley’s, Betty May, was interviewed by the Sunday Express (who had also denounced Crowley’s 1922 novel Diary of a Drug Fiend) upon her return to England following Loveday’s death. A further article claimed: ‘This man Crowley is one of the most sinister figures of modern times. He is a drug fiend, an author of vile books, the spreader of obscene practices.’

In 1923 Crowley was headlined as “The Wickedest Man in the World,” claiming that on a Himalayan expedition (Crowley was a keen mountaineer) he had killed and eaten two of his native porters. The legend of Crowley from this point became infused with myth and reality. To Crowley, these as well as many other tabloid expositions about him, whether true or false, were ideal to assisting in the furthering of his career, and to promoting interest in his work. It has been suggested by some writers on Crowley that this legend of mixed truth and potential fallacies involving his supreme wickedness, animal sacrifice and cannibalism, serves to separate those true individuals who encounter his work from those simply drawn in by the gothic legend. This can still be seen today, with every other black metal band touting Crowley’s name and ideology about in order to have some pseudo-connection to the macabre.

The 1923 revelations led to the Office of the Commissario in Cefalu to assert that all the members of the Abbey were to leave. Later, in a piece he wrote for the Sunday Express Crowley stated that his departure from Cefalu at the hands of Benito Mussolini was, ‘quite simple and unsensational… Several people who were my guests at the abbey made imaginative copy out of their visits. Then the fascists came into power and some foreign newspaper correspondents were asked to leave. And so was I.’ The Abbey of Thelema still stands today, albeit in ruins. The film maker Kenneth Anger, who was also a disciple of Crowley, documented the abbey in his (now lost) 1955 film Thelema Abbey. However, many photographs of the art work that adorned the walls of the abbey have since been uncovered and can be viewed online. A good selection by can been seen at: http://abbeytoday.blogspot.com/

Illustration by Alex Hedworth

Illustration by Mark Bellamy

I was twenty-one when I first discovered its existence.

This was back in the late nineties. Before the era where smoking bans left nightclubs as half-empty noise holes, their clientele sent chattering out onto the pavement to shiver in the cold as they sucked the life from a Marlborough light.

The Pit Hate fake tan, tight v-necks and, well, the Bigg-Market?

So does Michael Teasedale.

My first exposure came on the back of an endlessly dull series of work events, social gatherings and entirely forgettable birthday parties. It hadn’t taken me long to realise that I hated that whole scene. From the fake orange tans that exploded up the legs of the under dressed girls who wobbled uncertainly from one bar to the next, to the gym pumped, £200 shirt clad, buzzcut charvers I loathed in equal measure. I hated the nightlife, but most of all I hated the music; the pounding, monotonous, hard house, techno trance that was utterly alien to me.

As a child of the eighties, raised in an era where heavy metal was pumped into my veins through a cherished collection of vinyl, I longed for an alternative; a place where I could be myself; an anathema to the jumped up fakery I perceived in the dominant social culture.

Then, on a rainy Saturday night I stumbled down Market Street and stopped in front of a building tucked between an office block and a police station. If the mainstream was the sickness then this place was the cure. Its name was Cuba Cuba. It was, to quote the late, great Ronnie James Dio, ‘a rainbow in the dark’.

I can still recall the curious look given to me by the girl who sat by the door, and who stamped my hand with a mark that left an indelible purple imprint I was unable to wash off for days. From the moment I stepped past her I felt the difference. Music, unlike anything heard in the clubs and bars that littered trendy Newcastle, came storming over the PA. The DJ, a man I would later come to recognise as Tyneside’s legendary Little Jeff, was playing Metallica’s stomping, head banging polemic ‘Don’t tread on me’ at ear blistering levels.

I was home.

Beyond the immediate difference in musical selection there was something else that stood out about this place. It was black, very black, but at the same time I had never seen so much vibrancy and colour. At a time when bars still observed outmoded dress codes, denying entry to folks like me, the residents of this secret underground not only broke the mould, they shattered it and everything that sprang from its stuffy conventions and identikit requirements.

Here, punks with eight inch mohawks mingled with long haired rockers, clad in denim and leather. A group of face-painted demons by the bar channelled Gene Simmons as a PVC clad woman in metallic red New Rocks wandered past and into to the colourful hub beyond. I stood drinking in the music and the atmosphere, the piercings and the tattoos. Yet most of all, above everything else, there was the complete absence of pretention and superficiality.

The smiles here were genuine.

As the song ended the beat changed and the distinctive intro to Disturbed’s hard rock anthem ‘Down with the sickness’ began to resonate over the PA. I watched from the balcony as something strange and exciting began happening below. Bodies poured down into the dense, closely packed dance-floor.

Circling each other, grinning; they held a secret that was about to reveal itself as David Draiman’s now iconic “Ooh-Wah-ah-ah-ah” signalled the chequered flag they had been waiting for. Transfixed, I looked on as skinheads collided with long haired goliaths in face paint; as a man in what appeared to be a black evening dress and combat boots barged into a girl with green dreadlocks who responded by thudding him in the chest with both hands and sending him spilling into a guy with a towering red mohawk who, shrugging him off, merely laughed and continued to pogo. In any other place in town, a dozen, knuckle dragging, shaven headed bouncers would have descended on the pit within moments, issuing headlocks and banning orders faster than you could ask ‘who ordered a sex on the beach?’

Not here.

Here there were rules and they were quietly and carefully observed by everyone from the revellers to the bar-staff to the bouncers on the door. This was not about violence or disorder. It was something more deep seated and tribal than that. I put down my drink and descended, giddy and enraptured, into the warm, sweating mass just as the tempo lulled and Disturbed were replaced by Rage Against The Machine’s classic ‘Killing in the name of’.

Down in the pit I felt their eyes feeling me out as we bobbed and circled, slowly weaving among one another, the tempo and beat of the music getting heavier and more aggressive until finally the song reached its throaty, “fuck you” climax and the circling stopped as the pit charged and collided as one.

There was a brief flurry of hands and arms before something cannoned into my upper back sending me bouncing off the man with the enormous mohawk, ricocheting back into the girl with the dreadlocks and finally tumbling to the ground where I thoroughly expected to be trampled to death.

What happened next was the most surprising event of the night and the one that made me fall in love with this place and its community forever. From all around me, goths, metallers, punks and skinheads of various ages and genders, some largely undetermined, stopped moshing, bent down and scooped me up from the dusty, drink strewn floor of the pit, hauling me back up to my feet. After a brief reassurance that I was, in fact, okay, the crowd happily returned to their activities as if nothing had ever happened; they didn’t show concern because there was no need to; they presumed I already understood the rules. It was an unspoken measure of trust as well as one I would later find resonance with in a lyric from the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys:

‘It doesn’t take a big man to knock somebody down, just a little courage to lift him off the ground.’

The pit was anger and the pit was raw and the pit was wild and violent and uncontrolled, but the pit was also bonding and friendship and a sense of belonging and the pit looked after its own. Taking a step back and with both arms extended I launched myself into that first magnificent shove; feeling the weight of the contact and at the same time feeling all the anger and frustration begin to dissipate just a little, begin to weaken and crack with every thrust of my arms and spring of my calves. I understood now; that this was the place you went with your pain, the place where you came when all the anger and the rage and the feeling of objectionable impotence against the pressures of the nine to five world became too much. It was a release; an outlet that embraced you and confronted you and ultimately helped you to achieve that missing oneness with your hostility that couldn’t be ratified in the sensible calm of ordinary daylight existence. The music was an enema flushing out your anger into a display of beautifully controlled, perfectly orchestrated aggression that focussed on everything that had been building up and threatening to destroy you.

I fell many more times that night and each and every time they picked me up and put me back on my feet; dusted me down and left me with a little bit less of the frustration and rage that I had previously clung to like a child’s security blanket.

Cuba Cuba is gone now, its venue renamed and rebranded as something else entirely. Its DJ, Little Jeff, slipped through the never in 2006, his funeral packed with hundreds of mourners. The scene has moved on and now survives in other venues waiting for a new generation of disenfranchised young rockers to find meaning in its madness.

I guess I’ve moved on too, my anger has largely gone and Newcastle only ever seems to be a temporary home for me as work and personal life moves me from place to place. Still, there’s a part of me that still burns to be back now, and again. To smell the dry ice once again and feel the tingle that first crept up my spine on that first magical night. I cherish the memories but also the knowledge that wherever I may roam that little rainbow in the dark will still be waiting for me, somewhere, that’s never too hard to find; welcoming me back as a prodigal son. A secret corner of Tyneside; forever down with the sickness.

Shock to the System Exactly one year since Raoul Moat died, Alex Lockwood reflects on a manhunt that enraptured and divided the region.

A Taser looks like a cross between a 12-gauge shotgun and a brightly coloured water pistol. It uses an electric current to submit an individual to ‘neuromuscular incapacitation’ or, to you and me, a bloody fierce electric shock.

At around half-past midnight on 10th July last year, two Tasers were fired

by Northumbria police in an attempt to ‘incapacitate’ Raoul Moat, who had been on the run for almost exactly a week. As a result Moat shot himself. It is inconclusive whether or not this was suicide or the result of involuntary muscle spasms caused by the 50,000 vault charge from the stun gun, that prompted Moat to involuntarily pull the trigger.

His death brought to an end the manhunt that began at 2.40am the previous Saturday when Moat, a former doorman at a nightclub in Newcastle’s Bigg Market, found his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart at home with a new boyfriend. Moat had been released from prison two days earlier, having served a sentence for assault. Samantha had told Moat she was dating a policeman (a lie), and didn’t want to see him anymore. He shot them both, killing the boyfriend and injuring Stobbart. It emerged that he’d overheard the couple making fun of him. Later Moat did shoot a policeman. PC David Rathband was blinded.

For seven days Raoul Moat held Britain, the North East in particular, hostage to an unfolding tragedy. Its events offered a glimpse into the crises afflicting two of Britain’s most powerful institutions—the police and the media—and to its largest population group, the white working class.

Thrown together in a slow news month, this made for a potent cocktail of power, myth and rage. The police, the media, and the white workingclass became beleaguered minorities: each criticised and attacked the other; each claimed victim status; and each took ever more damaging actions to protect its own. How did they come to see themselves as the besieged? Or had it been like this for a while, and just needed Raoul Moat to bring things into the open?

During the weeklong manhunt, Moat became an anti-hero. People laid flowers at the spot where he was finally shot. His hunting-down touched many who feel pushed around by the British political and judicial system.

As Lee John Barnes, a British Nationalist blogger, put it: “No-one gives a shit about the White English and British Working Class anymore...There are now hundreds of thousands of Raoul Moats out there on our streets.”

This is rhetoric, of course, a recruiting slogan for the English Defence League and the defunct and defeated BNP: insinuating that it is white British values that have become the subculture in multicultural Britain. That to be a good, pure white Briton is to be subversive.

It isn’t, of course. Figures will be updated, but in the 2001 Census 92% of the UK population was white. In the British Social Attitudes survey 57% would say they’re working class. That makes them (us) the largest group in Britain. They are 42-times less likely to be stopped-and-searched than young Asian males. They are over-represented on television and in advertising.

So the hunt for Moat, his Rambo-like image and his demonization by a police force unprepared for such a major incident, touched a nerve. Facebook groups sprung up to defend him. His story—the spurned lover (the Geordies are nothing if not romantic)—was all too familiar. His ranting tapped into many people’s rage at the unjust world of the jobless and hopeless post-Crunch economy.

There are many things wrong with Britain’s class system. However, the white working class do not suffer the greater prejudice. But that doesn’t stop them feeling as if they do. Much blame has been directed at the media. The film-maker Brett Gerry says the white working class “are grossly misrepresented […] Programmes like Misfits, Eastenders or Shameless are constructed by liberal middle class graduates without sufficient research into the lifestyles of those they portray. The working class in this country are expected to swallow this scenario without question: in Raoul Moat, they have found someone who wouldn’t.”

The two electric Taser shocks and the content of a shot-gun cartridge that ended the hunt for Moat were fired in Rothbury, a village outside Newcastle, where the gunman had gone into hiding. Popular myth had it Moat was a trained survivor, living off the land. In reality he stole tomatoes from an allotment. His accomplices did a weekly shop— including a camping TV set so Moat could monitor the news. Moat became angry with the media’s representation and particularly of how he treated children. Moat issued this warning: “For every piece of inaccurate information published I will select a member of the public and kill them.”

Northumbria Police issued a DA-Notice to the media not to report this for fear of causing a panic. The media took a momentary look at itself, agreed, yet continued to provide blanket coverage. As journalist Martin Robbins has argued, Moat would likely have seen his mother, Josephine Healey tell the press: “Now when I see him I don’t recognize him at all. He would be better off dead. If I was to make an appeal I would say he would be better off dead.”

North East music radio stations took unprecedented decisions to provide rolling news. The BBC and Sky asked locals what they could see of the final moments of Moat from their bedroom windows. The Gazza interview on Real Radio was played again and again for secret laughs.

As Lee Hall, editor of the Newsgrind.com put it: “The Press turned the whole thing into an episode of 24.” In America, AOL picked up on the Newsgrind’s satire about Moat as if it were real news. “A central joke of the Newsgrind is the voraciousness of media outlets in the 24-7 news era,” said Hall. AOL didn’t even bother to fact check.

And finally there was the live broadcasting of his death. Moat’s brother believed his mother’s interview “signed Moat’s death warrant” and that Raoul’s televised end was ‘a public execution’. As Robbins asks: “Can those journalists sleep at night knowing it led to this?”

Phoning radio talk shows, watching the news and reading the papers, people believed Moat was bullied by the police, an increasingly draconian law-unto-themselves. The hunt for Moat was seen as an overzealous police force using maximum resources to track down one dangerous but hurting individual. People mentioned Moat in the same breath as Charles de Menezes, mistakenly shot after 7/7; and Ian Tomlinson, pushed over and killed by G20 riot police (never mind Moat shooting his former girlfriend, her boyfriend and PC Rathband).

The police were seen to collude with the media. At press conferences they appeared naïve, asking journalists what it was they could provide, rather than control the flow of information. The Chief Constable of Manchester Police, Peter Fahy, criticised Northumbria’s handling of the event. How could the officer in charge be doing his job if he was concerned with how it was looking on TV? Somewhere in all this is the surreal idea that Moat was watching his own last moments on that camping TV set.

And there was the use of that Taser. Regardless of whether or not it was accountable for the death of Moat himself, it was responsible for one death. Two months later, former police officer Peter Boatman committed suicide. Boatman was director of operations for the firm which supplied the Tasers—it turned out they’d provided them without the government’s permission, so their use was illegal. In what seems a callous act of shifting blame, Home Secretary Theresa May re-

voked the firm’s licence to provide weapons to the police. Colleagues said the ban and the subsequent media coverage had ‘destroyed’ Boatman. He could not deal with the shame—he was only trying to help.

The overreaching of powers and the use of illegal force by the police seems to be a crisis as large today as institutional racism was in the time of Stephen Lawrence. It turned an already sceptical public firmly against the police. The family of Chris Brown (the dead boyfriend) criticised the police for not doing enough.

Walter Benjamin famously described shock as inherent to an overcrowded cosmopolitan modernity. For the poets (Benjamin was writing about Baudelaire) shock became integral to their creativity. But for

Illustration by Alex Hedworth

others—the rest of us—the external world is constantly threatening to over-stimulate us. Instead of giving us access to the world, the body puts up its shields. The principle shield is consciousness, but, as lecturer in 20th century literature Will Slocombe argues, it’s not so much of a leap to recall Marshall McLuhan’s definition of media as ‘extensions of man’; but inverted, so the media no longer protect, but deliver those shocks.

The Raoul Moat case has shot a giant Taser at Britain. What did we do wrong? Unlike Raoul Moat, Peter Boatman and Chris Brown we’re still alive. Unlike David Rathband, we still have eyes to see what happens next. But what will we see? We’re still stunned.

Robert Breer, born Detroit 1926, following in the footsteps of such influences as Piet Mondrian, moved to Paris in 1949. As an admire of neo-plasticism he studied abstract art. His work from the outset experimented with free movement and free floating lines. Throughout his career these themes have remained paramount to him. Breer’s latest exhibition partly consists of sculptures, or as he prefers to call them, ‘Floats’. Breer’s Floats are currently on display on level 4 of the Baltic as part of a two floor homage to an artist whose work spans seven decades. Novel Editor Lee Halpin reports on the exhibition. (left) Two of the many animation films on Level 3. These frenetic films drill 24 images per second at our over-stimulated retina; it is impossible to observe 24 images per second. As Ute Holl puts it: ‘One must simply let the brain run with it, see what happens subliminally below the threshold of conscious perception.”

Another element of Breer’s Floats exhibition are ‘Rugs’ constructions covered in black, silver or gold foil. For Breer, they hold a special place among the floats: ‘they don’t just move around; because of their inner movements they appear to be much more animated and alive than the other Floats - almost breathing’. Unlike the other Floats the Rugs can also be heard, crackling, crunching and, as with all the Floats, alter the dynamics of the room, in this case, by playing with the light.

Three years after he had begun experimenting with abstract film, Breer, obviously obsesssed by now with kinetic art, produced Image par Images. In a sense flipbooks work like films in that successive, still images result in the the impression of movement and it is easy to see the appeal for Breer of this medium, which in 1955 was a fresh and exciting concept.

One of Breer’s most innovative flipbooks, ‘Mural Flip Book’ is installed on the wall with sheets of wood, metal and paper comprising the materials used.

Tank, 1966. Made from painted metal, styrofoam, motor and wheels.

Two photographs taken at a 5 minute interval are superimposed onto each other to capture the slow movement of Breer’s Floats.

Not actual image of wall at Baltic.

To view the short video that accompanies this article entitled ‘Robot Wars on Xanex’, use your smart phone and follow the QR link on the right or go to http://bit.ly/ljDteG

Design Agency A company or institution’s branding can be key to its success. A brand is a company’s face to the world and should communicate and visually express what that company represents, while at the same time attracting attention consistently.

There is more to branding than simply a logo however. There’s logo position, colour schemes, photography and illustration style. Even the manner in which marketing literature is written and presented is all part of brand identity.

To find out a bit more about branding and design and to look at some of the work being produced by a local design agency, we contacted FOUNDED who operate from the magnificent Stephenson Works, situated behind Central Station.

For this issue, and subsequent issues of Novel, we have decided to take a look at some of the work being produced by design agencies in the region. Here we focus on FOUNDED, an agency that boasts an office space almost as impressive as its portfolio... help each other out as and when required.

What makes good branding and how does it differ from other design work?

Good branding instantly gives you the ‘wish I did that’ feeling quickly followed by ‘the bastards! I can’t believe they thought of that’ feeling. Lots of elements go into good branding but overall you need a design savvy client, a lot of effort and a little bit of luck.

What is it that sets FOUNDED out from the crowd?

We always aim to produce work to our highest standards and believe it is important to never let anyone down. As a general rule we don’t do a lot of free pitching, preferring to spend our time on actual client’s work.This keeps our clients happy and our standards high, which in return, helps to attract other clients or so the plan is.

How many people do you have working here on a day to day basis?

4 designers and 2 project managers.

What projects do you currently have in the pipeline?

We typically have a real mix of work at any one time. At the moment alongside our normal day to day workload we have a few identity projects in the studio and a couple of large web sites.

A few of interest are an ID and website for a USA based Gallery, a café branding project for BALTIC and TheTate. Plus a website for a privately owned country estate based in the midlands.

What does the majority of your work entail?

Talking, listening and solving problems.

Which completed projects are you most proud of?

The next one.

Are projects usually taken on by individual members of the team or do you work on them collectively?

Both, depending upon the project and schedule. Typically if the project is straight forward and for a regular client, one designer will be allocated to the project with direct communication with the client. If the project is more complex we’ll allocate a team with a lead designer.That said, given the set up of the studio everyone knows what work each other is working on and tend to

What advice would you give to all the young designers out there who are looking to forge a career in a design company such as yours?

The day you can’t see a way to improve your last job is the day you stop improving.

As a design agency, what is your mission statement?

To develop design which is reasoned and inspiring.

(www.wearefounded.com)

Wide angle image of inside Stephenson Works; spacious office for the FOUNDED team Factory Nights Events Catalogue , designed and produced by FOUNDED FOUNDED are responsible for the Baltic’s branding including marketing literature, advertising on and off line, the Baltic shop and web site which is currently in the process of being redesigned.

Nara wooden plaques. These were a limited edition alternative to a standard exhibition leaflet and were part of an artist pack.

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Galleries The Baltic Mariah Robertson 25 June 2011 - 30 October 2011

Side Gallery Kanaval by Leah Gordon 4th June - 30 July 2011 An exhibition of Photographs and Oral Histories.

Each year, Jacmel, a coastal town in Southern Haiti, holds pre-Lenten Mardi Gras Festivities. Troupes of ‘performers’ act out mythological and political tales in a whorish theatre of the absurd that courses the streets unshackled by traditional parade.

Highly aware of our technology-saturated world, New York-based Mariah Robertson bridges photography, painting, film and sculpture with images that, at first, hark back to the slower, semi-pre-digital arena of her youth. Working in a darkroom using analogue techniques now in their demise, Robertson manipulates photographic materials to reveal their strengths and fallibilities. Her hands-on approach sees chemical mishaps ‘paint’ the photographic surface, and an array of objects exposed directly on the paper or obstructing the enlarger.

Theatre

Hatton Gallery Revolution on paper: Mexican prints 1910 – 1960 23 June - 14 Aug 2011

Live! Theatre Short Cuts: Poetic Licence Thursday 7 & Friday 8 July, 7.30pm

A British Museum tour This exhibition focuses on the great age of Mexican print making in the first half of the 20th century. Mexico was convulsed by the world’s first social revolution between 1910 and 1920 which resulted in a new left wing government. Print making became the main way of communicating political messages to people of all levels of society and education.

Do you like theatre that’s short and sweet? So do we! That’s why Short Cuts celebrates the art of the short play. Short plays can be as funny, as poignant and as thought provoking as any full-length theatrical epic. This season writers are challenged to create a new short play inspired by their favourite poem: will they pick a sestina, a sonnet or a limerick? The best entries will be performed alongside dramatic poems and poetic plays from around the world.

Hatton Gallery Mexican Printmaking Course 23 July, 30 July & 6 August 3 day course which will run on 3 consecutive Saturdays: 10.00am- 4.00pm Cost : £40 for all three sessions Please telephone Hatton Gallery on 0191 222 6059 or email hatton@twmuseums.org.uk

Live! Theatre Donna Disco Friday 29 & Saturday 30 July, 7.30pm Presented by Chicken Pox Fox Productions and Live Theatre

Work with artist/printmaker Erika Servin to create Mexican imagery and photo-lithography plate printing.

Focus on creating Mexican inspired imagery that will be used to provide light sensitive aluminium photo plates.

Following on from the sell-out success of Girls on the Verge in October 2010, don’t miss this hilarious and moving tale as it returns to Live Theatre as part of a regional tour sponsored by Arts Council England/National Lottery.

The Shipley Art Gallery Cloud Nylon: The Jewellery of Nora Fok 18 Jun - 06 Nov 2011

Live! Theatre The Ginge, The Geordie & The Geek Pre Edinburgh Fringe Festival preview

This is the first ever solo exhibition by the extraordinary jeweller, textile artist and 3D designer Nora Fok. The artist has established herself as a pioneering maker, transforming organic forms into wearable, ethereal sculpture. Her delicate, intricate forms are woven from nylon microfilament. A spectacular chance to see this wonderful jewellery in Gateshead. www.cloudnylon.com

Friday 22 July, 8pm

The Laing Colin Booth: Institute of Play 2 July - 2 October 2011

Live! Theatre The 24 Hour Digital Shoot-Out Saturday 13 August, 7.30pm

Coming to Newcastle is Colin Booth’s Institute of Play, a sculptural installation specially commissioned by the V&A Museum of Childhood.

At high noon on Friday 12 August seven teams will meet a pair of actors and be given a top secret location at an unusual space on the Quayside. They have just 24 hours to devise, write, shoot and edit their film, working through the night to deliver it by high noon on Saturday 13 August. The seven films will be screened and the evening will culminate in an award ceremony announcing the winning film.

Made from thousands of wooden blocks, it resembles a miniature city scape and reveals how simple geometric objects and shapes - and a sense of playfulness inspire children, artists and architects alike.

After selling 3500 tickets at last year’s Edinburgh Festival, the sell out sketch sensation returns to Live to preview their new show. Jam packed with brand new silliness, surrealism and 80’s anthems, it’s a truly uplifting family friendly good laugh.

For all your legal requirements - 0191 232 1800 - www.geoffreylurie.com

KK Joinery & Building Ltd. established since 1981 All types of building work undertaken, including loft conversions and refurbishment.

07802672411 - 01914877768

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Theatre Royal Studio TRY FESTIVAL for 17-25 YEAR OLDs Mon 25 - Sat 30 Jul £105 per participant TRY is the Theatre Royal’s Performance Festival which is ideal for anyone aged 17-25 years with a passion for performing arts.This lively week offers you the chance to work with professionals in drama, acting for radio, physical theatre and puppetry. In addition to these daily classes you’ll work with a director to devise a performance which will be showcased on the final day of the Festival.There are 50 places available for the Festival, which is one of Theatre Royal’s most exciting and creative events of the year.

Northern Stage Summer School 2011 Show Sat 30 July 7.30pm Northern Stage’s Summer School gives 50 young people the chance to experience the magic of making theatre. When Summer Schoolers meet on Monday morning, there’s only an idea and 50 enthusiastic young people aged 11 to 20.

2011 will be Northern Stage’s 5th Summer School and their show at the end of July gives you the chance to support the dynamic and enthusiastic young students as they showcase their talent.

Cinema Star and Shadow Cinema Jacques Tati Season 10 July – 31 July One of cinema’s greatest comedians, French director Jacques Tati has produced some of the most beautiful, inspired, light, funny and poetic comedies ever.Very little dialogue and a lot of visual creativity, reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, these are perfect, light little gems for the summer months!

Festivals

The Ouseburn Festival July 23rd and 24th The annual festival in the heart of the Ouseburn Valley is always great fun and a brilliant showcase for the regeneration that has taken place in the former industrial area on the edge of the Tyne.The Ouseburn’s thriving creative community always pull off a brilliant and diverse festival that has something for all ages and this year’s is no different.

Offerings include a whole range of workshops and activities at Seven Stories centre for children’s books, Northern Print and 36 Lime Street Studios. Horse riding and pony parlours at Stepney bank stables. Martial arts and Indian belly dancing performances.A poetry slam hosted by the Poetry Vandals and loads more too.

Leave Me Here Festival 12th – 14th August Barnard Castle, County Durham. £49.50 incl. Camping A very special, intimate boutique festival in a beautiful setting. If you’re interested in nonmainstream music and the arts then this is the festival for you.

An amazing line-up of live original music across two stages along with the usual festival lark. Fabulous food, independent stalls, creative workshops, holistic therapies, performance art and loads of other fun activities for all the family.Tickets are limited so get on it pronto if you’re interested.

GONG Festival 2011: 1 - 18 July Gathering Of the Northern Gamelans is a summer celebration of Indonesian Gamelan music and Indonesian culture.

One for the whole family and the community of North East England, GONG Festival 2011 brings the beautiful and resonant Indonesian Gamelan Instruments to exciting venues in Gateshead and Durham.

The interactive GONG Festival Workshops include learning how to play in a Gamelan Orchestra and taking part in an Indonesian Singing (Gerong) Workshop.

Visit www.gongfestival.co.uk for more information.

Literary

¡VAMOS! Festival 4th June - 10th July 2011

Oxfam Newcastle BOOKFEST 2011 July 9th

¡VAMOS! Festival returns to the North East in 2011 for its 5th year and this time has increased its programme to a fantastic 5 weeks of lively and inspiring events from Spanish and Portuguese speaking cultures.

On Sunday 10 July, Fuel Fandango perform at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival in Tynemouth and RumbaNe and Burundanga at the South Shields Amphitheatre for an eclectic mix of traditional musical styles from South America accompanied by live music and dancing.

Organised by Newcastle’s two Oxfam Book and Music stores, Bookfest is an annual fundraiser for Oxfam that celebrates all things book.

During the day there will be a book fayre with a whole bunch of lovely books to buy while local history walks around the Ouseburn Valley will be taking place .

An Evening of live music will follow from The Fire Maidens From Outer Space, Skylark Song and Is Shepherd (solo).

All events are free. Local history walks are free, ticketed events. Contact the Jesmond branch of Oxfam Books and Music for details.

The Cumberland Arms - Summer Ale and Cider Festival Friday 15th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July

The Cumberland Arms New Writing North and Hexham Book Festival present: The Spark: Your True Stories, Live with Compere Gary Kitching Thursday 14th July, 8pm

The Annual Cumberland Summer Ale and Cider Festival takes place over the weekend of the 15th, 16th and 17th July and this year’s festival theme is ‘The Cumberland’s Tour of Britain’.

With 40 beers and 40 ciders as well as a selection of traditional regional foods, the festival aims to represent each of the 40 English counties in some delectable form or another as they take a tour across the British regions to celebrate their individual traditions and flavours.

The Spark is true story telling, live. We want to hear from people from all walks of life who are willing to prepare a true story on a theme and perform it unprompted. To get involved you need to prepare your story, turn up on the night and put your name in our hat. If you are picked you get the chance to get up on stage and do your thing.A judging panel made up of audience members will score each story according to The Rules. The winner will get a huge heap of love and glory.

What’s on at The Cumberland Arms in July and August on all our gigs and news

For more info c, Love Beer, Love Cider, Love Food, Love Live MusiT he visit www.thecumberlandarms.co.uk x Love Bed and Breakfast, Love Summer... Love Cumberland Arms

July Events Ignite Books Gala Night Friday July 1st 8pm £6+bf from wegottickets.com It s not every day that a Newcastle pub plays host to a writer shortlisted for the Orange Prize, but that s exactly what will happen when the Ignite Books Gala Night rolls into town with award-winning author Joolz Denby.

Alumínio Roots

Saturday 2nd July 8pm £9/£7 adv./conc.

The Brazilian reggae star returns to Tyneside with his upbeat rhythms and vibes - roots rock reggae!

Dharma Banana Open Mic Night Sunday 3rd July 8pm £FREE Hosted by the Dharma Banana bunch, just turn up on the night for your chance to perform at The Cumberland's monthly open mic night.

The Cumby Quiz

Monday 4th July (and every other Monday) 9pm 50p per person Join legendary quiz masters Eric and Steve as they steer you through questions about anything and everything.

¡Vamos! Roots Rhythms

Thursday 7th July 7.30pm £5 A live showcase of fresh global beats as Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia gets together to present Latin American dance and music as part of the ¡Vamos! Festival.

Three Sheets T’ Wind + Support Friday 8th July 8pm £4 adv, £5 otd Three Sheets T' Wind play a well oiled set of original and traditional material with reckless abandon, creating Punk influenced Folk music or Folk influenced Punk music, whichever way you fancy.

Baghdaddies

Sunday 10th July 1pm £FREE Playing a free gig in The Cumberland’s beer garden The Baghdaddies’ return with their Balkanistic boogie music for a summer afternoon’s knees-up.

Morris Dancers Gathering

Thursday 14th July 6.30pm £FREE All of the local Morris Dancing teams – including Hexham Morris, Hexhamshire Lasses, Newcastle Kingsmen, Tyne Bridge Morris – descend on The Cumberland Arms to dance and drink.

The Cumberland Arms Summer Ale and Cider Festival Friday 15th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July £FREE The Annual Cumberland Summer Ale and Cider Festival takes place this year over the weekend of the 15th, 16th and 17th July.

As ever, there is a festival theme and this summer's is 'The Cumberland's Tour of Britain'. With 40 beers and 40 ciders as well as a selection of traditional regional foods, the festival aims to represent each of the 40 English counties in some delectable form or another as we take a tour across the British regions to celebrate their individual traditions and flavours.

With help from the 16 CAMRA branches across the country we hope to have as many of the CAMRA regional prize winners represented as possible to compliment the huge selection that will be on offer.

With our usual garage bar being brought into action for another summer's adventure, this year we'll also be putting a second outdoor bar into operation while live gigs will be happening across the weekend to make it a truly special summer festival.

Dexter Dexterous and The Fingersmiths with support from Madam Arthur and Pikey Beatz Friday 15th July 8pm £5 before 10pm, £6 after Dexter Dexterous’s surreal and funky ska shenanigans embraces all aspects of theatricality in a brimming blend of hillbilly-folk, funk and reggae.

Ping Pong

Saturday 16th July 7.30pm £3 gets you in and gets you a bat!

Have a dance, drink some beer and play some ping pong. Welcome to the world of Party Ping Pong.

Sunday 24th July 12pm Outdoors £FREE Every year as part of the Ouseburn Festival The Cumberland Arms hosts The Cumberland Reel, a day of live music and dance celebrating the more traditional side of our local music scene.

We’ll fire up the BBQ to help with the munchies, and of course we’ll put on some fantastic beer and ciders for you to enjoy.

See you there!

Take Ten

Thursday 28th July 7.30pm £3 Ten artists each with ten minutes to entertain the audience, featuring spoken word and acoustic music. This month Take Ten will be featuring spoken word artists Amina Evans, Yvonne Young, Radikal Queen, Ian Williams and King Ink, plus many more.

The Suggestibles

Friday 29th July 7.30pm £9/7 (concessions) Off-the-cuff and off-the-wall improvised comedy in a two hour joy-ride that's different every time. The hot-fast and hilarious team reacts to audience ideas at breakneck speed to create new and hysterical situations.

August Events

The Tea Pad’s Sunshine Medicine Show Featuring: The Kentucky Cow Tippers + Alex & The Wander Band + Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra + Room Full Of Mirrors Sunday August 7th 12pm Outdoors £FREE A summer afternoon of entertainment, food and drink in The Cumberland Arms' garden with live acts playing, Swing, Country, Gypsy Jazz, Old Time, Rhythm & Blues, Folk, Reggae and more. DJ's spinning summer grooves and a BBQ from The Cumberland Arms' delicious kitchen!

The usual Miracle Cures, Potions and Medicines will be available from the bar.

Summer Ale and Cider Festival Closing Party: Nick Pride and The Pimptones + Richard Ping Pong Dawson + The Cornshed Sisters Saturday August 20th 7.30pm. + Gypsy Dave Smith + More £3 gets you in and gets you a bat!

Have a dance, drink some beer and play TBC some ping pong. Welcome to the world Sunday 17th July 12pm Outdoors £FREE The last day of the Festival is always a

New Writing North and Hexham great party outdoors in the beer garden with a bunch of great local bands and Book Festival present: musicians from across the spectrum The Spark: Your True Stories… coming down for a day of live music.

Live With Compere Gary Blackbeard’s Tea Party + Slake Kitching + Chloe & Chris + Star & Thursday 14th July 8pm £3 The Spark is true story telling. Live! We Shadow Rapper want to hear from people from all walks of life who are willing to prepare a true story on a theme and perform it unprompted.

To get involved you need to prepare your story, turn up on the night and put your name in the hat. July’s theme is ‘Dancing’.

The Cumberland Reel at The Ouseburn Festival

Friday 22nd July 8pm £7 adv./£8otd/ £5 conc.

For the past two years Blackbeard’s Tea Party have been reviving and re-inventing the long since sidelined genre of Folk Rock, playing traditional and contemporary folk songs, dance tunes and sea shanties.

of Party Ping Pong. Based on the world famous Dr. Pong’s in Berlin, everyone plays at once round the table, beer in one hand and bat in the other.

Take Ten Thursday August 25th 7.30pm £3 Ten artists, each with ten minutes to delight, entertain, and sometimes shock you.

The Suggestibles Friday August 26th £9/£7 Off-the-cuff off-the-wall improvised comedy in a two hour joy-ride that's different every time. The hot-fast and hilarious team reacts to audience ideas at breakneck speed to create new and hysterical situations

How to find us James Place Street is at the top of Byker Bank just behind The Big Optician, You can get a bus to Shields Road or the Ouseburn or hop on the Quay Link 2 bus.

Contact James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE6 1LD Email info@thecumberlandarms.co.uk or telephone 0191 2651725 www.thecumberlandarms.co.uk www.facebook.com/thecumby follow us on twitter @thecumby

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Novel is first and foremost a platform for the writers and artists of the North East to have their work published. Whether you’re an established, famous figure or a nervous, first time contributor, we will publish your work if the quality and the talent is apparent. We publish the work of academic, doctorate holders and plumbers who ‘fancied a go’. If you wish to see your own work featured in Novel then send to: www.contribute@novelmagazine.co.uk