THE FELL M A G A Z I N E Your FREE comprehensive guide to life within the NE8, NE9 and NE11 postcodes.
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May / June 2013 - Issue 2
Contents 4.
From The Editor’s Desk
6.
What’s On?
8.
The Song Goes On...
9.
Lyndhurst Early Years
10.
Never Too Old To Rock!
12.
Grow Your Business With Networking
13.
Customer Revolution On The Horizon?
14.
Gateshead’s Great North Tour!
16.
134 Years and Counting - Part 2
18.
John Coatsworth: The Bendy Building Man
21.
Sudoku Puzzle Challenge / Pinball Comic
22.
Competitions
23.
Next Issue
The Fell Magazine May / June 2013
Editor James Tennant
Regular Columnists Jeff Bowron
Jeff Bowron is a local Freelance Sports Journalist who has followed the fortunes of Gateshead FC for over four decades.
Suzanne Whelan Director of www.daisygreen.me and freelance HSE consultant.
Alice Venus
Alice is new to Gateshead, having moved from the South last year, but her family is orginally from the North East. She works as a freelance copywriter.
Want to contribute or suggest an improvement? Saw something you really liked? Want to tell us off for making a speeling mistoke? (Hilarious, we know.)
Contributors
All you need to do is send your comments, articles, corrections and suggestions to info@low-fell. com. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Mark Lockey
Socialise Twitter:
@TheFellMag @Low_Fell
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Moira Fitzpatrick
John Coatsworth Hugh Hedley Ramon Bailey Chris Minnis Robert Boustead Front cover photograph by Bruce Allinson PLEASE NOTE: The Fell Magazine is politically and religiously neutral. Any of the messages or opinions found in the paid-for advertisements do not necessarily represent the views of The Fell Magazine.
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From The Editor’s Desk Wow – time certainly has flown by since the first issue was printed and delivered to your homes. It’s very exciting to be bringing you the second ever issue of The Fell Magazine, which has undergone a few changes since the first issue. Our first change is a pretty small one, but it could be something that you find useful as you flick through the magazine. We’ve labelled each page of content with a particular category, so that you can find the articles that you’ll be most interested in without having to read the whole page (although we hope you do!). There’s a ‘Community’ section that will include stories about the people, places, events and history of the NE8, NE9 and NE11 postcodes. Along with that is a ‘Business’ section (for the 1000 businesses we deliver to), ‘Sport’ section (detailing stories from our local clubs), a ‘Wider World’ section (telling you stories from the North East in general) and a ‘Fun & Games’ section (which is pretty selfexplanatory). The other change is that we’ve brought in a competitions page! Now
we’ll be able to give away amazing prizes (for FREE) every issue! Make sure you turn to page 21 for your chance to win this issue’s prizes! The feedback from the first issue was phenomenal and I’d like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who wrote in, tweeted, emailed and even called to offer their compliments and criticisms. This is a learning process for us and we want to make this magazine as fantastic as possible, so please keep letting us know your thoughts! I’d like to make special mention of two people who have really been a massive help to us here at Low-Fell. Com and The Fell Magazine – Alice Venus and Mark Burdett (of Northern Counties Insurance). Alice has just recently moved to Low Fell and is very much enjoying her time here. She has helped out with editing and writing articles for The Fell Magazine, something I am very appreciative of indeed! Mark has been perhaps the biggest supporter of Low-Fell.Com and The Fell Magazine since the early days.
Advertise with The Fell Magazine Advertising with The Fell Magazine is the best way to promote your business to a large, local audience of 40,000 NE8, NE9 and NE11 residents and over 1000 businesses. That covers Low Fell, Saltwell and The Team Valley Trading Estate among other neighbourhoods too. It’s also not as expensive as you might think. With costs starting from as low as £80 per issue, our prices will suit most budgets. So if you’d like more information about our advertising rates, please use the contact information on the right to get in touch with us. We look forward to hearing from you. Remember, it’s not 1 advert you’re paying for, it’s 15,500! 4
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Without his advice and support, we really wouldn’t be where we are today, so thank you Mark! Thank you very much to you both. OK, onto the issue. What do we have for you this time? Plenty, actually. Jeff Bowron is back with another update on the fortunes of Gateshead Football Club. We also have the second part of the history of Gateshead Fell Cricket Club. John Coatsworth, one of the North East’s most famous artists is featured inside too. We also have a much larger ‘What’s On?’ section, detailing upcoming and regular local events! Keep an eye out for the local businesses featured inside too! Remember, if you’d like to contribute to The Fell Magazine, just get in touch using the contact information below and we’ll get back to you! See you in two months!
Contact Information Email:
info@low-fell.com
Phone:
0779 205 8918
Address:
6 Denewell Avenue, Low Fell, Gateshead NE9 5HD
Remember to let these businesses know you found them in The Fell Magazine!
For over 30 years Craigielea has served the community of Gateshead, offering first class nursing, residential and dementia care for older people. With excellent facilities and catering, along with a dedicated staff, Craigielea offers high quality nursing and personal care to those that need it. We can provide events, activities and outings at no extra cost to our residents, along with an on-site hairdressing service too! Our fees reflect our not-for-profit, charitable status, and residents who are eligible for funding from the Local Authority towards their fees are fully funded and are not charged top up fees. Telephone 0191 487 4121, or contact us via our website www.craigieleacare.co.uk for further details. CRAIGIELEA – FOR CARE YOU CAN TRUST CHARITY NO. 516997 Visit us online - Low-Fell.Com
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What’s On? PLEASE NOTE: All times and dates are subject to change - please double check times and dates with club/organisation/society separately. Please get in touch with us to promote your NE8, NE9 and NE11 non-profit events for free! 13th Gateshead Scouts 0191 488 8688 Miller Youth Centre Tuesdays 6:00 - 7:00pm - Beaver Scouts Wednesdays 6:30 - 8:00pm - Cub Scouts 21st Gateshead Sea Scout Group 0191 492 2484 Scout Hut, Back of Beaconsfield Road Wednesdays 6:15 - 8:00pm - Cub Pack Fridays 5:30 - 6:30pm - Beaver Colony 6:45 - 8:30pm - Scout Troop Gateshead Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society 0191 477 6924 Joseph Swan School Monday 7:30 - 9:30pm Nightstop Coffee Morning St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Lamesley Coffee Morning with cakes, scones and tombola in aid of Nightstop North East, the Depaul UK organisation which provides emergency accommodation for homeless young people. Saturday 1st. June, 10:00am – 12:30pm Low Fell Singers 0191 487 6431 Hardman Centre Mondays 7:15 - 9:15pm Silver Rock at the Clubhouse 0191 499 8055 Clubhouse, St. Georges Church Silver Rock is an exciting project which gives people over 50 the chance to learn and perform favourite songs from the 60s, 70s & 80s. Times and dates below valid until March 28th. Tuesdays 11:00 - 12:30pm Banjo Group (Tom) 1:00 - 2:30pm Drum Kit (Phil) 1:30 - 3:00pm Bluegrass (Tom) 3:00 - 4:30pm Accompanying From Keyboard Chords (Phil) Wednesdays 11:00 - 12:30pm Silver Sambanistas (Phil) 1:00 - 3:30pm Drum Kit 1:1 Sessions (Phil) 4:00 - 5:30pm Rock Steady (Phil) Thursdays 10:00 - 11:00am Beginner Mandolin (Tom) 10:30 - 11:30am Don’t Fret (Ian) 11:00 - 12:30pm Silver Rock Choir 11:00 - 12:00pm Silver Mandolin Orchestra (tom)
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11:30 - 1:00pm Sing ‘n’ Strum (Ian) 1:00 - 2:30pm Pick ‘n’ Mix (Tom) 2:00 - 3:00pm Beginner Guitar (Ian) 2:30 - 4:00pm Silvers Rock (Phil) 4:00 - 5:30pm Roots Rock (Ian) Fridays 11:00 - 12:30pm Solid Rock (Phil) 11:00 - 12:30pm Beginner Bass Guitar (Ian) 2:00 - 3:30pm Quicksilver (Juliette) 4:00 - 5:00pm Silver Skiffle (Ian) 4:00 - 5:30pm Sound Check (Phil) St John’s Parish Church Gateshead Fell Rev Andrew West 0191 4422463 churchonthefell@gmail.com Our main service every Sunday is at 10.00am. Shipley Art Gallery Events For further information, please contact the Shipley Art Gallery on (0191) 477 1495 Saturday 18 May – The Late Shows: 7pm-11pm Free On Saturday night join us in the Jerwood Open Makers 2013 exhibition to make a make for Gateshead. Work amongst artwork that examines what monuments and public icons mean to us to design your own monument maquette. Live Djs will be playing the soundtrack to your urban exploration.
4 and offer a range of creative activities along with singing and stories. Sessions are £2 per child. Gallery Talk: Jerwood Makers Competition Thursday 23 May 7.30pm (No booking required). A talk about the winners of the Jerwood Makers Competition featured in the major international craft exhibition at the Shipley. This talk is organised by the Friends of the Shipley Art Gallery. Non-members are very welcome. Free entry for Friends of the Shipley, £2 for non-members. Gallery Talk: Ralph Hedley: Victorian Tyneside Thursday 27 June 7.30pm (No booking required). John Millard, art historian and a former curator of the Laing Art Gallery on ‘Ralph Hedley: Victorian Tyneside artist’. Ralph Hedley’s work can be seen in a major exhibition of the artist’s work at the Shipley Art Gallery which opened in March 2013. This talk is organised by the Friends of the Shipley Art Gallery. Non-members are very welcome. Free entry for Friends of the Shipley, £2 for non-members.
Family Fun: Toy Shop, Top Shop Tuesday 28 May 10-12am and 1pm-3pm
Low Fell Running Club 0191 487 0518 WinG (Way Out In Gateshead) The Courtyard (near Whinney House) Tuesday 6:50pm Wednesday 6:50pm
Bring along your teddies and dolls for a spring makeover! Design help and materials will be on hand to give your favourite toy a brand new wardrobe. No experience required. £2 each teddy
Gateshead Older People’s Assembly Get Together Group St Peter’s Church Hall, Kell’s Lane, Low Fell For information, please call Kerry Pattison on 0191 438 1721
Shipley Late - Modernism: A Love Hate Affair Friday 28 June 6pm-9pm Join us to explore our fascination with modernism, with talks, tours and makes. Free Entry to event. £5 for workshop.
Sign in from 1.15pm group starts 1.30pm to 3pm.
Knitting Group 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. 10.30am-12.30am Weaving Group 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. 10am -1pm Lace making Group Thursdays 10am-12am Quilting Group Thursdays 1.30pm-3.30pm Embroidery Group First Saturday of each month. 2pm-4pm Northern Guild of Silk Painting Last Saturday of each month. 10am-3pm.
We host a variety of activities from regular guest speakers, consultation and focus groups to trips and fun and games.
Shipley Scamps Every Wednesday in term time 10.15am - 11.15am Shipley Scamps provides a great opportunity for you and your young family to enjoy being creative in an informal atmosphere. The sessions are suitable for children aged 2 -
The group meets monthly, on the 2nd Monday of the month and is open to anyone over the age of 50. Subs are only £1 per session and this included tea/coffe and biscuits.
Friends of Saltwell Park The Friends meet monthly, usually on Saturday mornings, with guest speakers and visits. Meetings are open to Members of Friends of Saltwell Park. For details of how to become a Member please contact Diane on 07949 267 602 or visit www.ourgateshead.org/FriendsofSaltwellPark to view events and download an application form. 31st Gateshead Scouts For information, please call Jan Askwith on 0191 487 7723 St Ninians Church Hall, Ivy Lane, Low Fell Monday Beavers 6.30pm - 7.30pm Friday Cubs 6.00pm - 7.30pm Scouts 7.30pm - 9.00pm
The Song Goes On...
Community
Hugh Hedley
Readers who were living in Gateshead in the 1950s or earlier will probably remember the imposing Neo-Tudor building that stood on the corner of Durham Road and Prince Consort Road. This was Gateshead Grammar School, built in 1883 as a High School for Boys, taken over by the Gateshead School Board a few years later as a Higher Grade School, and eventually becoming a co-educational Grammar School just after the Second World War. I was one of the privileged 120 pupils who entered the school in 1947. Under the leadership of the respected and benevolent headmaster, Mr GLR Brown, the school was well ordered and academically sound, with a good record of sending pupils on to universities including Oxbridge. A good range of science and arts subjects was taught, but one subject not on the curriculum was music. Fortunately this deficiency was made up for by class singing in the earlier years and a variety of free-time activities including choral singing, opera productions and music appreciation classes. Three teachers in particular dedicated their energies
and free time to these educational ends. Mr WR James formed a girls’ choir; Mr Eric Rimer organised class singing and music appreciation classes and became the conductor of the mixed-voice school choir which evolved about 1950; and the charismatic Head of Mathematics, Mr Sydney Potts, was hugely successful in generating enthusiasm among the older boys for the delights of choral singing. To give the boys a further outlet for their talents, Mr Potts formed a succession of boys’ singing groups who performed mainly local dialect songs, sea shanties and spirituals. It was from one of these, following the tragic death of Mr Potts in 1953, that The Caprians were founded. This new group was put together by Alex Glasgow, later a popular, nationally famous singer-songwriter, remembered particularly for his music for Alan Plater’s play “Close the coalhouse door”. My role in this group was that of accompanist and arranger. After we left school we continued to give small concerts to local groups,
Photo by George Holdsworth & Sons Ltd
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Photo by Charlie Hedley
when we were often joined by girls who had sung in the school choir and naturally wanted to take part. This led to the formation in 1959 of the present mixed-voice choir. Since then we have given hundreds of concerts throughout the North East, including our well-known annual “Christmas Words and Music” performances. Our membership has inevitably changed over the years, with many good singers from outside Gateshead joining us. Nevertheless, there are still eight ex-GGS pupils in our ranks. Audiences enjoy the commitment and discipline of our singing and often comment on our tuneful and varied repertoire. This year we are sixty years old, so on Saturday evening, June 8th, we are giving a special Diamond Jubilee Concert in St Mark’s Church, Gateshead. If you would like to come, just ring Pat Johnson on 0191-389 3156.
Community
LYNDHURST EARLY YEARS Robert Boustead
INTRODUCING LYNDHURST EARLY YEARS @ CLEVELAND HALL Gateshead Cleveland Hall Community Association Plans for the Future Gateshead Cleveland Hall Community Association, based at the Old Lyndhurst School, will shortly welcome a new generation of children into its building. The Lyndhurst Adult Learning Centre is due to close in July due to Council cutbacks, after which Gateshead Cleveland Hall will accommodate the early years centre currently based at the adult centre. A £45,000 refurbishment programme is currently underway inside the building in an area that used to house the club gym equipment and store rooms.The money was part of a successful bid made by Gateshead Council from central government fund The new centre is due to open in September and will be called LYNDHURST EARLY YEARS @ CLEVELAND HALL. It will be registered to take nursery school children from two years old. Gateshead Cleveland Hall was founded in 1955 and moved to its current home at the Lyndhurst Centre in 1999. It was the first communitybased voluntary group to enter into a partnership agreement with Gateshead Council and recently signed a new 25-year lease that secures its tenancy until 2038. In recent years with the help of the Football Foundation, Sport England, The Lyndhurst Fund, The Community Foundation, Gateshead Council and the clubs own fundraising the site has increased its asset value by more than £500,000 In recent years the organisation has achieved major success with sporting achievements both on and off the field. In 2011 the club won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK. In the same year it was awarded Durham Football Association Club of the Year for the second time.
Gateshead Cleveland Hall is well respected for its football achievements and in recent years has won county cups at 14 and 16 year age groups. At present we have over 20 teams in the 6-16 year age range. The club also runs five keep-fit/self-defence/karate groups and two of our Taekwon-Do members recently competed in trials for the Great Britain team. Despite the excellent support provided by our 40 voluntary members of staff the club is still urgently seeking new coaching staff to cope with the increase in membership. We welcome help from anyone, particularly ex members, who would like to become involved in in either a coaching or administrative capacity. As part of our agreement with the Council we are responsible for the maintenance of our playing fields . In order to maintain the playing surfaces the club has invested over £40,000 in providing first class equipment. so if like working in a healthy outdoor environment we have the ideal activity for you!
If you are able to support us please contact one of the following: Gateshead Cleveland Hall Community Association - Bob Boustead 07986 033022 Lyndhurst Early Years @ Cleveland Hall - 07913 607258 Taekwon-Do - John Smith 07880 594921 Aikido - Ray Mcarty 07905 162631 Kensho - Victoria Swanson 07896001506 Adult Keep Fit - Scott Garrett 07795 274665
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Never Too Old To Rock! Chris Minnis
Silvers Rock at St George’s Clubhouse is an opportunity for those over 50 in Gateshead and beyond to pick up instruments and play the songs of the 60s, 70s and 80s – welcoming anyone who sings or plays/wishes to learn guitar/ bass/keyboard/drum kit. The group members themselves renovated the Silver Clubhouse that they now have as headquarters – putting in over 1000 volunteer hours in the process! Since moving into the Clubhouse at St George’s Church, the project has grown to accomodate 250 participants playing in 22 different groups – and the oldest participant is 84.The group perform regularly at the clubhouse and beyond – including a series of Silver Rock Cafe performances at The Sage Gateshead. Phil Davids, the Project Leader of Silver Rock, said “Silvers Rock is open to absolutely anybody from 50 years old upwards at any ability level – what I really love about our project is that whether you’ve never played before and want to learn, or have been playing for fifty years, we offer a huge range of sessions, different bands and genres”. Silvers Rock is part of The Sage Gateshead’s wider Silver Programme – offering the chance to join in with many different music sessions whatever your past musical experience. Sessions include ukulele ensembles and singing groups, Samba drumming, mandolin, guitar, steel pans and recorder. For more details, visit thesagegateshead. org/join-in - and look out for free performances from Silver groups at The Sage Gateshead if you want a flavour of what to expect.
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Community
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Business
Grow Your Business With Networking Ramon Bailey
Business owners are constantly looking for ways to increase sales and profit - but running a company is often a full-time job. Most of us rarely get the chance to analyse how successful our business generation activities are and work out if we could spend our time more effectively. Many small businesses cannot afford dedicated sales, marketing staff and the high cost of advertising, so rely on their reputation and word of mouth to grow sales. While happy customers who tell their friends are always your best ambassadors, networking allows you to spread the word yourself, at little or no cost, and brings a personal touch to your business. “I don’t have the time” is always a good excuse, but many networking groups, like 4N, hold events during the early morning, at lunchtime and also in the evenings. Events are usually informal and relaxed with the focus on socialising and meeting new people, discovering new opportunities and finding out about services that can help promote your business. Networking is not just about promoting your business; there’s so much more to it. You have an opportunity to discover people and services you probably didn’t realise could help develop and improve your whole approach. Many companies from the same industries can and do work together, and old philosophies no longer need hold you back from the potential growth you could enjoy as part of a networking group. Sometimes it’s good to re-evaluate how productive your marketing is and Networking is one of the many strategies you need to succeed these days. Time constraints need to be carefully checked, as everyone is guilty of not being productive 100% of the time - we are all human after all. This is when fitting in a meeting can give you new direction and motivation to change the way you do business. 12
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Top Tips
Successful Networking
Relax, be yourself, and remember that people are as keen to meet you as you are them.
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Strike up a conversation with anyone who is happy to talk – they will probably introduce you to others which will help get you started. Get to know people before you start telling them about your company – and when you do, keep it brief – what you do and how it benefits customers. Any more at this stage might find them heading for the door!
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Be enthusiastic – successful people love their work.
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Take lots of business cards and give them to everyone you meet – even those who are not potential customers at this stage.
Don’t be discouraged if no one seems to need your services - you need to sow a lot of seeds before you reap the harvest. Never pressure anyone – it’s a recipe for disaster.
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Rely on your knowledge – you’re the expert in your field. Have some fun – it’s also a social event after all. Meet new friends!
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Photo from Dell’s Official Flickr Page
Business
Consumer Revolution On The Horizon? Moira Fitzpatrick
Who today does not have at least one loyalty card in his wallet or gets discounts through various coupons? For many years now, discounts and loyalty cards have been a successful sales tool and are simply now a part of business. These tools are, however, much easier for large businesses to use than for smaller independent traders. It’s an attractive prospect to carry a loyalty card for a mega-store where you will make many different purchases, but would you really carry a loyalty card for your local electrical goods store, where you may only make a purchase once a year? Superstores can use their huge budgets to advertise their current discount offers, but how does your local baker let her customers know that her cakes are half price this week? Local networks of independent businesses using loyalty card schemes seem to be springing up everywhere as a means of trying to redress this imbalance, and traders turn to social networking style discount deals to try and reach new customers. These are great ideas and work very well for many businesses, and customers love them too. According to a KPMG study “Price portals, couponing, social networks – the impact of current online trends on buying behavior” from the year 2011, over 41% of respondents use online discounts. What if you could bring these ideas together into one scheme, and also use mobile phone technology to give added benefits? I run a small Yoga Studio in Whickham, and a freelance bookkeeping business. I have used social network style discount offers, and have a loyalty card for my customers. What I saw when I looked at FlexKom International was a scheme that can do both of these things, and a lot more besides, without it costing a small fortune.
High streets all over the country, like the one in Low Fell, are losing business.
This scheme means that you have a loyalty / cashback discount card which your customers can use with other FlexKom registered traders – they actively look for places where they can spend the money they build up on their cards they get when they take up FlexKom discounts. When you have a discount to offer it is advertised immediately on the FlexKom website, and any FlexKom cardholder who is in the area at the time (and has expressed a preference for your type of goods or services) will, within a matter of seconds, receive a text message telling them about the deal. So not only does this scheme keep your existing customers coming back to you, but attracts new customers too! Further than this, FlexKom also generates an additional income stream for your business. If you issue a FlexKom card to a customer, you will get a commission payment every time they redeem their discounts, whether the card is used in your business or not!
Whilst it is very powerful on a local level, the technology it uses means that local businesses will be supporting each other globally. To me this is the right idea at the right time. We cannot turn the clock back to old style High Street shopping, but we can use new technology to our advantage in levelling the playing field, bringing online and offline business together to keep our profits in our own pockets, rather than allowing the multi-nationals to continually drain cash out of our local economy. You can find out more via my website: www.flexkom-northeast.co.uk If you are interested in learning more about FlexKom, either as an independent business owner, or as a FlexKom Franchisee to help build the network, please get in touch. We have regular local seminars to explain FlexKom – just let me know if you would like to attend by calling: 0191 488 5070
FlexKom is a German idea which has been very successfully trialled and is being rolled out across Europe, soon to be worldwide.
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Gateshead’s Great North Tour!
Sport
Jeff Bowron
The 2012/13 season has been one of the most traumatic in Gateshead Football Club’s rollercoaster existence since the original club was formed way back in 1930. Not only traumatic but unprecedented as the regions leading non-league club were forced to stage home games at EIGHT different venues. Chronic pitch problems saw the International Stadium written off in the New Year forcing The Heed to play half their home games at neutral venues. While appeals to the big two, Newcastle United and Sunderland, fell on deaf ears the rest of the clubs in the region all rallied around. None more so than Hartlepool United who came to the rescue by staging seven of Gateshead’s Blue Square Bet Premier games. Victoria Park became a home from home for The Heed and their hardy band of fans and chairman Graham Wood paid tribute to Hartlepool. “Hartlepool United could not have been more helpful,” said Wood “it was a great gesture to stage seven of our games and we are extremely grateful. “Chairman Ken Hodcroft and Chief Executive Russ Green bent over backwards to help us in a season which has been difficult for Hartlepool on the pitch. “The Vic is a well appointed ground and we enjoyed playing there but the loss of home advantage hit us hard in the second half of the season.” Hartlepool weren’t the only club to come to Gateshead’s aid with the final game of the season against Ebbsfleet staged at Middlesbrough’s impressive Riverside Stadium. Carlisle United, York City, Boston
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United and Blyth Spartans all staged Heed ‘home’ games while the FA Trophy 3rd round home tie against Barrow had to be switched to Cumbria.
Gateshead’s plight caught the attention of both the local and national media with both local TV stations covering the story in depth.
Drainage problems on an International Stadium pitch that was re-laid in the summer intensified during the winter rendering the surface unplayable.
National football magazine Four Four Two has given four pages over to Gateshead in their May edition and there has been other coverage.
That forced Gateshead to lead a nomadic existence for the second half of the season, an unsatisfactory situation that impacted on and off the pitch.
While it is claimed there is no such thing as bad press Gateshead are hoping the 2013/14 season will be remembered for their exploits on the pitch only.
With Hartlepool 30 miles away, Carlisle 60 miles, York, 80, Middlesbrough 40, Blyth 20 and Boston 150 miles Gateshead lost at least two thirds of their fan base.
“This season has been the season from hell,” added Wood “it has been tough on everyone at Gateshead Football Club, the players, staff, Board and fans.
Some attendances dropped to below 300 and thousands of pounds were lost in match day revenue and sponsorship alone while travel costs spiralled.
“It has been a nightmare and I would like to pay tribute to the six clubs who helped us out and to the fans who dug deep to travel for our ‘home’ games.
Not surprisingly performances and results on the pitch suffered, the side forced to play a gruelling five games in ten days during March. Defiant fans proudly sported ‘The Heed Army Great North Tour’ T shirts that detail all the towns Gateshead have played at in this most strange of seasons.
“Their support and backing was invaluable in what was an unprecedented situation and a problem not of our own making. “Hopefully next season will see the International Stadium pitch restored to what it was meant to be this season after the work last summer - a Premier League surface.”
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134 Years and Counting... Part 2
Sport
Mark Lockey
The end of WWII in 1945 was followed by the most successful period in the club’s history in the 1950’s. The club secured its first league championship in 1952 before having to settle for runnersup in 1953.
helped them to 18 victories and was not out batting in eleven of them. Playing 86 test matches for the West Indies, scoring 5,949 test runs (16 centuries) and captaining the side between 1991 and 1995, Richardson is undoubtedly the most high profile player ever to have graced Eastwood Gardens.
The Fell, captained by Handy, had a batting line-up to be revered featuring Jack Adamson, Ted le Jeune, Peter Carr and George Lamb (who devoted his life to the club). The club also had two exceptional bowlers in Nevison Loraine and Pat Robson. For the 1957 season off-spinner Ron Aspinall was signed from Durham City and, together with exceptional youngsters Derek Cowell, Tom O’Conner and Charlie Lamb (son of George), was the final piece to a young championship side. 3 years later in 1960 the club decided to resign from the Tyneside Senior League and joined the Durham Senior League (“DSL”). A new league was not the only change to the club at the beginning of the ‘swinging sixties’, as a new cricket pavilion was opened in 1960. The club’s previous pavilion had resembled nothing more than a small hut in the corner of the ground. The new pavilion however was a far larger structure with George Lamb, the club secretary at the time, stating “the pavilion, in addition to being a club-house, is to be developed as a social centre for various groups, organisations and parties who may wish to avail themselves of its amenities”. To the horror of club members, the new pavilion was severely damaged by a fire in 1962. However 8 weeks after repair work commenced, the new pavilion was re-opened by Mayor of Gateshead, Counsellor T Wilkinson, in the presence of over 500 people. As well as repair work, some improvements were made from the initial pavilion. The improved pavilion has stood the test of time and remains 16
The Fell Magazine
Richie Richardson
largely the same (save for some decorative changes) nearly 50 years on. After over a decade without silverware the Fell won the DSL league title in 1970. The side included local professional Stephen Greensword, left arm opening bowler Bill Errington and all-rounder Doug Hudson. With an impressive pavilion and improved playing facilities, the Fell hosted a minor counties game between Durham and Staffordshire in 1978, which was televised live on ITV. In 1985 the club pulled off a major coup by signing the then West Indian test batsman Richie Richardson as their overseas professional. Richardson arrived in Low Fell still fresh from playing for the West Indies in the ‘World Championship of Cricket’ held in Australia, where (against Sri Lanka) he had to retire hurt having been hit in the face from a delivery from Ashantha de Mel. Richardson took 27 minutes to get off the mark on debut however went on to score more than 1,000 season runs. He returned to the fell in 1986 (again scoring more than 1,000 runs) Over the two seasons he was at the Fell, he
Although no silverware was won, the next major on-field Abbot Ale National Club Knockout Cup, just one game game short of a dream trip to play at Lords. But it was the quarter final fixture against Widnes CC in Cheshire which still remains firmly in the memory of club members to this day. Batting first, Widnes racked up a massive 277 for 5 off their 45 overs. However the Fell’s batsmen remained confident and openers Nick Trainer (who later went on to open the batting for Gloucester) and Durham 2nd eleven batsman Graeme Weeks scored 58 and 84 respectively. Wickets well at crucial times, but with five overs remaining the fell required 62 to win. A quick fire 24 from wicketkeeper Paul Smith took the fell within touching distance and 24 off 2 overs became 10 off 1 as several hundred spectators watched on in anticipation. The fell picked up one’s and two’s so that with one ball remaining the scores were tied. Fell captain Phil Dicks was on strike. The bowler started his run-up only to stop, start again, and then stop halfway to the wicket! There were jeers from the travelling Gateshead Fell members; however Dicks remained unfazed and duly smashed the final ball for four to send the Fell through to the semi-final against Chorley. Unfortunately there was no repeat of the quarter final heroics and the Fell lost, with Chorley going through and becoming eventual winners at Lords... (to be continued)
John Coatsworth The Bendy Building Man
This striking image of Saltwell Towers has been painted by popular North East Artist - John Coatsworth. He’s come to be known affectionately as “the bendy building man”, in reference to his many cityscapes painted in the ‘curvation’ style he pioneered. Turn over to find out more about him! Win a signed print of this painting! Go to page 22 and find out how!
The Man Behind The Paintings
Wider World
John Coatsworth
become so famous for. Affectionately referred to as ‘bendy’ by his friends, John continued to paint using that new style. He contemporized many of the scenes used in his traditional work including the cityscape of Newcastle and the River Tyne (as shown in the two images on this page).
John Coatsworth is a popular North East artist. He was born in Newcastle and is also a Freeman of the same City. Self-taught, his main interest has always been fine art. His first job was in Turner’s the photographers where he was a Craftsman Printer. On leaving there he attended Newcastle Art College where he took a foundation course in Graphic Art. After College he worked for six moths at the Hancock Museum designing and illustrating displays. Before painting professionally he worked eight years for a local newspaper doing visuals, illustrations and cartoons. Since 1986, John Coatsworth has painted full time. John painted various commissions for the likes of the Catterick Army Garrison and Durham University Business School, as well as The Evening Chronicle and The Journal. 1997 would be the most significant year in John’s artistic career. All of John’s paintings up until that point had been done in a traditional style, but John was trying to find something different, something unique - like most artists do. In his own words: “I was doing a small line drawing of St. James’ Park, the home of Newcastle United. It wasn’t like anything I had done before; quite graphical and contemporary. I was pleased with the outcome and decided to take it a stage further and produce a larger painting of the famous football ground.” That new style turned out to be the famous ‘curvation’ style that John has 20
The Fell Magazine
John’s work grew steadily in popularity when outlets such as Fenwick of Newcastle, the Newcastle Tourist Board and the memorabilia shop at Newcastle University started to sell cards and prints. John’s list of clients has grown and grown over the years and such stars as Kylie Minogue, Peter Kay and Coldplay have all been recipients of his work. John’s had an amazing career and, as he says, he has “enjoyed every minute of it.”
To see more paintings from John’s collection, and to learn more about him, please visit www.bridekirkfineart. co.uk and search for John Coatsworth. You’ll also find John on Twitter, so go and follow him and connect online! @JohnCoatsworth.
Fun & Games
Sudoku Challenge Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the 3x3 squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9. Good luck!
There are prizes to be won on the next page!!
Pinball Comic!
To learn more about Stephen and his work, please head over to pinballcomic.deviantart.com. Visit us online - Low-Fell.Com
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Competitions - Win Free Stuff!
Fun & Games
Win a signed print from John Coatsworth! ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
This stunning print of Saltwell Towers is up for grabs for one lucky reader. It’s a really fantastic prize and we can’t thank John enough for donating it to us. Below are instructions on how to enter.
How To Enter:
It couldn’t be easier to win this prize. Simply email us or write to us and let us know your name and whether you live in the NE8, NE9 or NE11 postcode. We’ll pick a winner randomly.
Win some chocolate tea from Choclateas! /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Choclateas have created some amazingly tasty products and one of you lucky readers could end up winning the entire range of choclateas (picture on the left)! All you have to do is enter the competition. Find out how below.
How To Enter:
Again, it’s super simple to win this fantastic prize. All you have to do is go online and follow BOTH @Low_Fell and @Choclateas on Twitter. Yup, that’s it. We’ll pick a winner randomly. We’ll announce the winners in the next issue of The Fell Magazine, so make sure you keep an eye out for it! Also, if you have a cool prize to give away to our readers, just get in touch and let us know!
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The Fell Magazine
Next Issue July / August 2013 The second issue is complete! By the time the next issue comes out we’ll hopefully be enjoying a fantastic British Summer! Here are a few things to look forward to in the next issue of The Fell Magazine -- More competitions! That’s right, we’ll be giving away more great prizes, all for FREE, so make sure you keep an eye out for your copy of the magazine! -- The Summer will be here, but that doesn’t mean an end to the sport stories in The Fell Magazine. We still have part 3 of the history of Gateshead Fell, and perhaps there’ll be some news coming out of Gateshead FC too! -- Anthea Lang will be back with another article that delves into our
local history. -- And we’ll be bringing you more of the latest events going on in your area too! I hope you’re all getting excited for your Summer holidays (and the next issue of The Fell Magazine, of course!). If you’re staying in the North East for the Summer, let us know where your favourite holiday spots around here are - maybe we’ll feature a top ten list in an upcoming issue!
Hold Onto This Magazine! The Fell Magazine is full of useful information about local events and about great local businesses, not to mention there are one or two special offers inside as well! You might need this information at some point, so make sure to hold onto the magazine until our next issue hits your doorstep!
Please let us know if you have a story you’d like to contribute to our magazine and also let us know about any events that we can include in our ‘What’s On?’ sections. Email: info@low-fell.com So thanks again to everyone who contributed, thanks to our advertisers too and thanks to you for reading it!
See you in two months!
On The Website Every week we bring you local stories and local news on the Low-Fell.Com website. Make sure you check back every day to read all the latest posts and keep on top of all things NE8, NE9 and NE11! If you’d like to contribute to the website, or advertise on our website, then please just get in touch and enquire. We look forward to hearing from you! Below you’ll find a couple of the latest and most popular posts on our website. Please head over to Low-Fell.Com today to check them out!
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Amber Wilson - Teenstar Area Finalist!
Say No To Low Fell Car Park Charges!
Amber Wilson is just one step away from playing live at the O2 Arena in London! Check out the story online and find out how you can support her.
We’re still running the petition. There has been plenty of support so far, but we need more! Go online and sign the petition today!
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