Tag: featured

American Road Trip Exhibition To Open At Durham Art Gallery

By on 20th January 2016in Entertainment

Visitors to Durham Art Gallery are to be taken on road trip across America as the North East’s Cath Campbell unveils her new exhibition…

 

The artist, who studied fine art at Newcastle University, has seen her work displayed across the world.

But this January, her latest show, Canary Yellow With Royal Blue, will arrive in Durham, leading film fans on a dreamlike journey that follows in the footsteps of beat poets like Jack Kerouac.

“The phrase canary yellow with royal blue is part of a description of the location of the Six Gallery, San Francisco, which in 1955 hosted a poetry reading by a group of radical West Coast writers, who later became known as the Beat Generation,” said Cath, from Newcastle, whose exhibition includes two collections of films, projected onto free-standing screens.

“Each film is about an individual state, and is a collage of clips from amateur travel videos found on YouTube. The dialogue in each clip is translated by Google automatic captions, and the resulting subtitles are full of slight mistranslations that provide a disquieting and poetic quality to the narrative.”

Canary Yellow With Royal Blue, which is supported by Arts Council England, runs from 23rd January until 31st March 2016.

Normal admission charges – of £4.20 for adults, £3.15 for concessions, £2.10 for 4 to 16-year-olds and free for children under four years – apply.

Ramside Spa Offers Exclusive Valentine’s Packages

By on 20th January 2016in Lifestyle

Couples looking to pamper themselves this Valentine’s Day can indulge in a special spa day at a leading North East venue…

The Spa at Ramside, Carrville, Durham, is offering a range of spa packages to help guests to celebrate the most romantic day of the year.

All the Valentine’s packages include full use of the spa facilities and a two course lunch or dinner in the venue’s Fusion restaurant.

Guests can choose from the ‘Spa Struck – Valentine’s Twilight for Two’, which includes a 60 minute Balinese massage, and the ‘Two Peas in a Pod’ package which includes, a Mud Rasul ritual for two, and 45 minute back, neck and shoulder massage.

There is also a selection of packages, such as the Precious Moments Together and the Sheer Indulgence together – which also includes a 90 minute four hands sheer indulgence for two, and exclusive use of the spa’s newest addition, the light relax room and private balcony infinity pool.

“Valentine’s spa experiences are becoming increasingly popular, and what better way to treat your loved one? It’s the ideal gift,” said Jill Russell, spa director at Ramside Hall.

“Our packages have been specially designed to give couples some quality time together, and really help them to relax and enjoy themselves in our state-of-the-art facilities.”

The spa, which is part of Ramside Hall Hotel, includes five heat experiences, an outdoor vitality pool, a 25-meter swimming pool, balcony infinity pool and one of the UK’s largest hydrotherapy pools.

All the packages will run throughout February and March, excluding the Spa Struck package which will run exclusively between February 12th and 15th.

Prices start from £150 per couple. For further details please visit www.ramsidespa.co.uk.

Durham County Record Office Introduces Victorian Prisoners

By on 20th January 2016in In & Around

History fans will this week be taken on a journey back to the Victorian era inside the grim walls of Durham Prison to meet the ‘Guests of Queen Victoria’…

 

The 1851 census listed 226 people as being at her majesty’s pleasure in the city, and a talk this Thursday at Durham County Record Office will explore the justice system that led to their imprisonment, while examining some of their stories in detail.

Dawn Layland, education and outreach archivist at Durham County Council, said: “The Victorian justice system is fascinating, and this talk will take a look at it through the eyes of the people who were caught up in it right here in County Durham.”

The event is the first in a series of talks taking place on the third Thursday of January, March, May and August.

Future talks will feature topics including highwaymen and striking miners; letters to George Bowes; dirt, death and disease in Durham City in the 1900s; and “a bit of a historian and a philosopher: the Teesdale Hermit.”

Dawn said: “These talks are an easy and enjoyable way for local historians, or anyone with an interest in history, to find out more about our county’s past.”

The Guests of Queen Victoria talk takes place from 12.30pm to 1.15pm on Thursday 21st January.

Tickets, which cost £2, must be booked in advance by calling 03000 267626.

Tyneside Restaurants Reveal Loved-Up Valentine’s Day Menus

By on 19th January 2016in Lifestyle

Restaurants across Tyneside have the recipe for romance, with Valentine’s Day dishes for loved-up couples…

On Sunday 14th February, The Runhead, Holburn Lane, Ryton and Scalini’s, at Osborne Road, Jesmond and Great North Road, Gosforth, are offering a range of special starters, main courses and desserts.

At The Runhead, diners can choose either smoked mackerel pâté or Portobello mushrooms stuffed with goat’s cheese, followed by rack of lamb, pan-fried Dover sole or mozzarella roast vegetable stack, with a dessert of strawberry mess or tiramisu.

At Scalini’s, Jesmond, starters include antipastos and roast pear salad, while main courses feature dishes such as chargrilled T-bone steak, pan-seared king scallop and tiger prawn skewers and heart-shaped pasta parcels filled with mozzarella.

Dessert is a sharing platter of strawberry-filled meringue, chocolate orange truffle, warmed caramel brownie, lemon pannacotta torte, ice creams, fruit coulis and chocolate pencils.

And, for those planning to celebrate the occasion with a group of friends, the restaurant is also offering a free bottle of house wine for tables of six or more.

At Scalini’s, Gosforth, diners can choose from crab and Welsh rarebit toasties or sharing platters of antipasto fritto misto or pulled beef brisket nachos, main courses of a pork board to share, 10oz ribeye steak or pan-seared scallops and desserts, to be announced on the day.

Those who can not wait until 14th February, can celebrate Valentine’s Day early at the Sandpiper, Cullercoats, which is serving its special menu on 13th February, in order not to disappoint Sunday diners keen to enjoy the venue’s popular carvery.

Romantic diners on 13th February will be able to choose either North Sea fishcake or ham hock terrine, followed by pan haggerty, seared cod, chorizo and bean stew or sirloin steak, followed by sticky toffee pudding or lemon posset.

Valentine’s menus are available throughout the day at each venue, and further information can be found at www.scalinisrestaurant.co.uk, www.therunhead.co.uk and www.thesandpiperbar.co.uk.

Durham Exhibition To Tell Untold Story Of Gypsy Holocaust

By on 18th January 2016in In & Around

The harrowing – and often unheard – story of the gypsy holocaust during the Second World War will be told at an upcoming exhibition…

Durham County Council is hosting the Gypsy, Roma Traveller Service’s display entitled Porrajmos: Through the Eyes of Children.

It tells the widely unknown story of the deaths of hundreds of thousands of gypsies at the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War.

The Porrajmos, translated as ‘the devouring’, is the term used to describe the genocide of Europe’s Roma and Sinti (gypsy) population between 1934 and 1945.

Up to 500,000 Roma and Sinti were killed or died as a result of starvation or disease, and many more were imprisoned in forced labour camps and subjected to forced sterilisation and medical experimentation.

Despite the atrocities, however, the story remains largely unknown.

The free exhibition, which will be held weekdays between 19th and 29th January from 9am until 4pm in the Durham Room at County Hall in Durham City, and will coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January, aims to change that.

It will include a short educational documentary produced by the Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council/Devon Learning and Development Partnership, as well as additional information about the genocide.

 

The aim is to play a part in helping to ensure that lessons are learned from the past in terms of exclusion, discrimination, racism and hatred of other religions, beliefs or ways of life.

The Porrajmos exhibition is part of the Safer Communities Awareness event, and staff from the Safer Communities team will be on hand to provide information about wider community safety issues and support to those who need advice or assistance.

Cllr Joy Allen, Cabinet member for safer communities, Durham County Council, said: “This important exhibition will tell the story of the Romany victims of Nazi persecution.

“We hope the event goes some way towards promoting community cohesion and encouraging visitors to reflect on the impact of unchecked discrimination and racial hatred.

“There will also be an opportunity to find out more about wider community safety initiatives and access advice and support from partners.”

A separate exhibition organised by the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Education Service is being held at Durham Cathedral from 25-29th January during opening times, and will be staffed on 27th January.

It is being hosted by pupils from The Hermitage School in the Chapel of Nine Altars, and will explain the genocide to other secondary school students from the area. There will also be a speech by holocaust survivor Zdenka Fantlova.

Tyne & Wear Museums Announce Groundbreaking Creative Technology Workshops

By on 18th January 2016in Lifestyle

Do you know a Future Maker?

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums has teamed up with Manchester-based digital art organisation FutureEverything to deliver an exciting new programme of creative technology workshops at museums and galleries across Tyneside.

The Future Makers programme is a series of events that will enable children – and adults – to use new technologies for design and making.

From Minecraft sessions at Arbeia Roman Fort to a coders’ ‘hackathon’ at Stephenson Railway Museum, Future Makers seeks to inspire a new breed of creatives whilst challenging preconceptions of what museums and their collections mean in the digital age.

John Coburn, Digital Programmes Manager for Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, explains: “We’re thrilled to be working with the internationally acclaimed creators and thinkers FutureEverything on this programme.

“Our nine museums and galleries showcase collections that were the work of pioneering inventors, artists and designers. With Future Makers, we want to invoke the spirit of these creators by using our museums as spaces for playful experimentation and creative thinking.

“It’s about ingenuity from the past inspiring people to imagine and create new futures.”

Drew Hemment, Artistic Director and Founder of FutureEverything, adds: “It is an absolute pleasure to be working with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on this brand new programme, inspiring the next generation of makers, creatives, collectors and visitors within some of the North East’s best galleries and museums.

“FutureEverything are always looking to bring innovative creative technology to a wider audience, helping to imagine bolder, smarter, futures.”

The programme gets underway at Gateshead’s Shipley Art Gallery on Wednesday 17th February with the Gadgets: Adventures in Design day for 7–11 year olds. Using the gallery’s outstanding collection for inspiration, children will design wearable objects for the people of the future before getting hands on with materials and the starter electronics kit Little Bits to realise the creations.

The main event for adults follows on Sunday 21st February at North Tyneside’s Stephenson Railway Museum. Railway Codes is a 10-hour hackathon for developers, makers, engineers, data scientists, artists and train enthusiasts.

Participants will follow in the footsteps of Robert and George Stephenson and join a team of 30 to experiment with historic data from both the museum collection and the UK rail network before creating new digital prototypes and artworks.

New Inventors on Saturday 27th February takes place at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum, home to some of the region’s most celebrated inventions, including the world’s first lightbulb. This event brings together two fun introductory electronics workshops for 7–11 and 12–14 year olds. The younger children will experiment with conductive dough, bringing it to life with light and sound, whilst older kids create electronic sounds by building their very own synthesiser.

Young fans of the phenomenally popular computer game Minecraft won’t want to miss the TimeCraft event at Arbeia Roman Fort, South Shields on Saturday 23rd April. In this workshop for 7–14 year olds, they will recreate Roman ruins in Minecraft, and imagine what it was like to live in a fort like Arbeia. They will also get to play digital architect and archaeologist and transport themselves 2000 years into the past with the technology of today.

Places for Future Makers events are limited and should be booked in advance via www.twmuseums.org.uk/future-makers.

A further private event exclusively for Newcastle University students – The Museum as Medium – will see the creation of novel sound and visual digital artworks using data from the Great North Museum: Hancock’s vast natural sciences collection. This takes place on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th March.

Lumley Castle Host Murder Mystery Afternoon Tea

By on 16th January 2016in Entertainment

Can you guess whodunit and why?

 

Amateur sleuths and budding Miss Marples are invited to an afternoon of cake and crime at an historic North East hotel.

On Sunday 7th February, 600-year-old Lumley Castle, Chester-le-Street, will provide the setting for a Murder Afternoon Tea.

Following the discovery of a body, guests will be invited to turn detective and unmask the murderer, before settling down to a traditional afternoon tea of hand cut sandwiches and freshly baked cakes and pastries.

As the story goes…

“In the early 1970′s, a murder took place at Lumley Castle. Lord Marcus Lumley, the aristocratic but impoverished owner of Lumley Castle has been found dead. He appears to have had a heart attack, despite the fact that a recent check up found him to be in excellent health. Lord Lumley spent his last evening in the company of his wife, a family friend and a clairvoyant that he had invited to the castle. Was his death due to natural causes, or did one of his companions have a motive for murder?”

Tickets for the Murder Afternoon Tea, which begins promptly at 2.30pm, cost £20 and can be booked by calling 0191 389 1111, emailing info@lumleycastle.com or visiting www.lumleycastle.com.

Northern Youth Fashion Show Secures Big Name Guests

By on 15th January 2016in Lifestyle

Organisers of a special North East fashion show with one of the industry’s biggest names have announced the entertainment line-up for the event…

The Northern Youth Fashion Show, which will be attended by Anna Wintour, the Editor-in Chief of American Vogue and Artistic Director of Conde Nast, will take place on January 29th.

The event, which will be held at the University of York’s Central Hall, will include a live performance from 17-year-old Billie Marten from North Yorkshire.

The folk singer, who will open the show with an acoustic set, has been nominated for BBC’s Sound of 2016, a competition designed to identify the music industry’s rising stars, which has previously been won by Adele, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, HAIM and Years & Years.

The fashion show will give fashion students from across the UK the chance to showcase their designs in front of Anna Wintour, who will give a talk on the evening.

There will also be a Q&A session with Ms. Wintour led by Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian News & Media.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have Billie on board for the fashion show,” said Ellie Wintour, one of the event organisers.

“It’s fantastic to have such a rising northern star showcase their talent whilst also raising money for some really important causes too.

“So far, the event has been unbelievably popular. We only have one last batch of student tickets. We’re just beginning to see all the students’ designs. It’s incredibly exciting”

Friendly Fires and Metronomy, who have never collaborated together before, are creating a piece of music especially for the show. The piece will be placed during the final section of the show, which is based on the incredible future of northern talent.

Proceeds from the event will be split between Refugee Action York, which helps to integrate refugees into the local area, and the Xavier Project, which delivers mentoring schemes, offers job opportunities and runs schools for refugees across the world.

The show will include designs by students from the University of York, Leeds College of Art, Newcastle College, Hull College, University of Central Lancashire, Liverpool John Moores University and Leeds Beckett University.

Tickets to the event, which is being sponsored by a number of well-known organisations including train company Grand Central, makeup brand Bobbi Brown, and Yorkshire Living Magazine, are £30 per person.

The Students have also secured the hair brand Milkshake to sponsor the event. Milkshake will be leading a team of stylists backstage.

There is also a “Ticket And A Tin” option, which has now sold out. The tickets include a donation of a tin of food to go to York foodbank.

To buy tickets, visit www.yusu.org/tickets.

Katherine Jenkins To Perform In Sunderland This Summer

By on 14th January 2016in Entertainment

One of the UK’s most popular classical singers is the first performer to launch a series of exciting concerts in Sunderland planned throughout the summer…

Katherine Jenkins has not only made classical music popular to a wide audience, but has also appeared in TV shows ranging from Pop Star to Opera Star and US hit show Dancing With The Stars, along with performing to audiences around the world.

And now the singer will be taking to the stage alongside The National Symphony Orchestra, at Sunderland’s Herrington Country Park on May 6th, giving North East music lovers the chance to see her in a stunning outdoor setting.

The show is the first to be staged by The Northern Sessions, a division of events company Sunderland Live, with plans to bring a number of top acts to the city throughout this summer, with a number of other big names to be announced in the coming months.

“It’s a massive coup for The Northern Sessions to start off its programme with a singer of the calibre of Katherine, who has such wide appeal,” said a spokesperson.

“We think this will be a fantastic event which should attract people from around the region and beyond.”

Tickets for Katherine Jenkins supported by National Symphony Orchestra are £33 each and will be available for sale at 10am on Monday January 18th. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.thenorthernsessions.co.uk.

Since debuting in 1998, Katherine has become one of the most popular classical-crossover artists of all time, selling more than four million copies of her ten studio albums.

The Sunderland concert marks the most northern of several UK performances confirmed for Jenkins in 2016, including a celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday at the Royal Albert Hall.

For more information about this and all further Northern Sessions announcements, visit www.thenorthernsessions.co.uk.

Mr And Mrs Winter Exchange Wedding Vows As Snow Falls

By on 14th January 2016in Lifestyle

Meet Mr and Mrs Winter – a North East couple who exchanged their wedding vows just as snow began to fall…

As bride Rebecca Thompson walked down the aisle at 600-year-old Lumley Castle, Chester-le-Street, to marry 31-year-old civil servant, Michael Winter, morning rain had turned to sleet.

And by the time the happy couple, from North Shields, had exchanged their wedding rings, the ancient castle was crowned with snow, giving their Winter’s tale a truly story book ending.

“It was magical, really,” said Rebecca, a 28-year-old recruitment consultant. “Michael’s surname was the inspiration for us having a winter wedding in the first place, but we never dreamed it would actually snow.”

Around 100 friends and family members attended the wedding in the four-star hotel’s Garter Suite, followed by a reception in the Baron’s Hall for 140.

“We’d chosen William Shakespeare’s play, The Winter’s Tale, as our theme,” said Rebecca, “and our table centrepieces were copies of the play.

“Lumley Castle is a story book setting at the best of times, but the snow turned it into a fairy tale.”

“A very great deal of thought and care went in to planning the wedding,” said Lumley Castle’s wedding coordinator Claire Sanderson.

“But, of course, no one can plan the weather – and it couldn’t have been more perfect.”

To book your own fairytale wedding at Lumley Castle, call 0191 389 1111, email reservations@lumleycastle.com or visit www.lumleycastle.com.

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