a WPC at Carnival

pictures of a WPC at Carnival

Drums and pan at Carnival

Drums and pan at Carnival

more Carnival pictures

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Notting Hill Carnival, Monday 27 August

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Notting Hill Carnival, Monday 27 August

Notting Hill Carnival Sunday 26 August

Notting Hill Carnival Sunday 26 August

today's photos by Jasmine

Lagos Wedding

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A Lagos Wedding

the engagement ceremony in Ijebu:

Lagos from the skies above Ikeja en route to Port Harcourt

and a reminder of home:

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un universo de objetos cotidianos

see: http://www.setespaidart.com/

for my Valencian friends

Independence Day and the North-East

The younger daughter of the family will celebrate this 4th July working in the Land of the Free, not far from the small town in Indiana which was home to her Geordie grandmother for many years.

It was from the small town of Washington, then a village,in County Durham, that the ancestors of George Washington, the first President of the United States, emigrated to Virginia in 1657; and it was Washington who led the American Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War aka the American war of Independence (1775–1783)

So quite clearly the north-east of England played a significant role in the founding of the USA, a country that once welcomed, and was home to, the Matriarch and daughter, who schooled in Virginia, and which now plays host to the baby of the family. And she, no doubt, will recognise this bell in a clearing somewhere near Detroit.

Great Uncle George, the Lusitania and the U-20

pic. RMS Lusitania

In 1915, whilst grandfather Charles was in France with the Northumberland Fusiliers, his elder brother George was working for the Hudson Bay Company in Canada, but his decision to return to England in May of that year was to put him right on the front line in an unexpected way.

George's route home was via New York City, leaving from Pier 54 on 1 May 1915 aboard the Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania. She and her sister ship the Mauretania were the fastest liners of their day.

Tragically, the Lusitania was never to reach her destination as she was hit by a torpedo from a German submarine, the U-20, and sank at 2:28 pm on 7 May, 8 miles off of the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland.

Of the 1,962 people on board only 761 survived, including Great Uncle George who was treated in Ireland for a broken rib before returning home, via London, to Newcastle upon Tyne.

Brighton Breezy

Brighton, Sunday 29 April

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A Botticelli, a Rhino and the Portico Quartet

Sunday on the Embankment

http://www.myspace.com/porticoquartet

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Easter: an egg, a blasted beach and a Roman soldier

To Tyneside for a delightful long Easter weekend

an egg by Susan:

a sand blasted beach and Bamburgh Castle

and at a Roman temple near Hadrian's Wall a lone legionnaire

in quiet contemplation:

Tyneside and the Abolition of Slavery

This weekend marks the bi-centennial anniversary of the Slave Trade Act 1807.

Unlike the Atlantic ports of Bristol and Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne owed most of its prosperity to the blood and toil of its mining communities rather than the appalling trade in human cargo from Africa, and it was a Northumbrian, Prime Minister Charles Grey, who was responsible for steering the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave Trade through the House of Commons.

The 1807 Act however did not end slavery within the British Empire as slaves could still be owned but not sold. The abolitionist movement continued to campaign against the institution of slavery and in 1827 the Anti-Slavery Society was founded. Like many others around the country, the good ladies of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead petitioned for Abolition:



and on 23 August 1833 the Slavery Abolition Act outlawing slavery in British colonies was passed.

Martins nets two on International Women's Day

Obafemi Martins scored two goals in an exciting UEFA Cup match at St James Park this evening



Newcastle 4 AZ Alkmaar 2

BIrthday Girl

Key to the Door

siblings meet at airport


Happy 21st Birthday to someone very special in the family.

Volume of Snow hits the New River

a welcome reminder of old-fashioned winters arrived last night

Cedar Tree

Geese in search of food


so that's what Timberlands are for

Volume on Tyneside

According to a recent report about urban noise in the UK, Newcastle upon Tyne is the noisiest city in England, topping a traffic noise table with 80.4 decibels recorded.

Well that's what happens when you locate the sound sensors in the Bigg Market on a Saturday night.