After reading ‘Store Wars’ in the Guardian, I decided that a more localised Newcastle version would be more appropriate within my life. So equipped with a few pennies and my best friend I took to Pink Lane last Thursday evening (September 22) to see what the following two delightful public houses had to offer.
THE FORTH HOTEL
Background: The now laid-back local was once famous for hosting Victorian boxing matches. And the location of the pub was rife with prositution only 50 years ago. However, the atmosphere now could not be more contrasting as the Forth is definitely somewhere to kick back and relax and is amongst the most amazing venues in the city.
First Impressions: It is 9pm and fairly busy for a Thursday. From the exterior the Forth isn’t particularly appealing, rather shabby paintwork and a small door. However, the inside is beautifully decorated. The walls are adorned with art, ranging from Newcastle college students to established local artists. Tastefully draped curtains and fairy lights complete the look of shabby chic between the large mirrors and beautiful fireplaces.
What’s on Offer: Ten speciality beers and ciders, five real ales and tremendous but a little bit pricey pub grub!
Best Buy: My favourite strawberry beer – Fruli. It’s quite expensive at £4 per pint but worth every single penny!
Service: Bar staff were chirpy and charismatic. (I did get ID’d, but took it as proof that my anti-wrinkle cream must be working wonders).
Regulars: Thursday nights are student nights if you know anything about Newcastle nightlife. The Forth offers a nice and sophisticated alternative to necking a treble or a pint of skittles. Mostly packed with stylish males or young professionals, The Forth is certainly a place to go if you’re not wanting to socialise with freshers. If you’re a regular to Newcastle, you might be interested to know that whilst consuming our drinks, we spotted none other than headphone guy (apologies if you have no prior knowledge of him).
Overall Rating: 8/10
An evening well spent, although the fairly pricey food lost the 9/10 that I had originally awarded the pub.
THE TOWN WALL
Background: New to Newcastle’s pub scene, The Town Wall boasts excellent food and a lively bar. A thorough renovation of what used to be ‘CoCo V’, this pub is truly unrecognisable.
First Impressions: Again from the exterior, you would not be blamed if you were to walk past this charming new venue. In a fairly quiet part of Newcastle, the pub is perfectly located away from the hustle and bustle of drunken students on the ‘diamond strip’. Quite dark inside but overall very pleasant and has lots of room for those wanting to sample the food on offer.
What’s on Offer: Wide selection of local Ales, cider, fruity beer and truly scrumptious food!
Best Buy: Both the house white and rose wine were really nice and well priced for both large or small glasses.
Service: There were some members of staff who were a lot more cheerful than others. Also our dirty plates were left on our table for over half an hour, something which I personally don’t enjoy!
Regulars: I noticed there were a great deal more men than there were women in the Town Wall. Again, it’s a perfect place to come for a casual drink and avoid drunken freshers as it’s well hidden. Regulars include a mixture of young professionals, mature students (if they exist?) and large proportion of people on first dates!
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
I couldn’t have a draw, so I have awarded the Town Wall as my winner this week due to the fabulous food which we experienced (the desserts are a MUST, my chocolate brownie was almost bigger than my face).
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Lib Dem Conference 2011- Some Conclusions
After a week of Nick Clegg’s face dominating our newspapers and televisions, it would be rude not to draw some conclusions from the Liberal Democrats’ Conference.
It is evident that Nick Clegg, despite much criticism from the public and even members of his own party, is here for the long haul. On The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Clegg firmly denied claims by the Daily Mail that he promised his wife Miriam that he would be leaving after one term. Clegg exclaimed that he is set to stay “well beyond” one term and will remain a firm part of the Coalition Government until May 2015 elections.
There has also been great confidence within the party that the Liberal Democrats exert real influence within the Coalition. Tory MP, Nadine Dorries, expressed that Clegg was becoming “too powerful” within the Government- some however, would beg to differ. The initial broken promise of scrapping tuition fees was enough to convince many that the Coalition was heading in the direction of the alleged "65 years of the same two parties making the same old mistakes" as Clegg explained in the Lib Dem Manifesto of 2010. To quote Vince Cable, Business Secretary: “The roads to Westminster are covered with the skidmarks of different political parties changing direction” – no party has fulfilled his words moreso than the Liberal Democrats themselves. The Health Bill has recently been re-written, with the Lib Dems taking praise for many of the changes, which suggests that perhaps the party have finally set about exercising more influence on important decisions to avoid criticism.
Finally, much talk has been of the “difficult” year that the party have had to deal with; coming bottom of opinion polls for months. However, the Lib Dems should be instead considering the difficult years ahead for Britain. Clegg explained that the further cuts that are to be implemented in the near future are the “right thing” for Britain’s economy. This goes against advice from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) suggesting that further cuts will take Britain back into a double dip recession. Good one Clegg, roll on 2015.
It is evident that Nick Clegg, despite much criticism from the public and even members of his own party, is here for the long haul. On The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Clegg firmly denied claims by the Daily Mail that he promised his wife Miriam that he would be leaving after one term. Clegg exclaimed that he is set to stay “well beyond” one term and will remain a firm part of the Coalition Government until May 2015 elections.
There has also been great confidence within the party that the Liberal Democrats exert real influence within the Coalition. Tory MP, Nadine Dorries, expressed that Clegg was becoming “too powerful” within the Government- some however, would beg to differ. The initial broken promise of scrapping tuition fees was enough to convince many that the Coalition was heading in the direction of the alleged "65 years of the same two parties making the same old mistakes" as Clegg explained in the Lib Dem Manifesto of 2010. To quote Vince Cable, Business Secretary: “The roads to Westminster are covered with the skidmarks of different political parties changing direction” – no party has fulfilled his words moreso than the Liberal Democrats themselves. The Health Bill has recently been re-written, with the Lib Dems taking praise for many of the changes, which suggests that perhaps the party have finally set about exercising more influence on important decisions to avoid criticism.
Finally, much talk has been of the “difficult” year that the party have had to deal with; coming bottom of opinion polls for months. However, the Lib Dems should be instead considering the difficult years ahead for Britain. Clegg explained that the further cuts that are to be implemented in the near future are the “right thing” for Britain’s economy. This goes against advice from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) suggesting that further cuts will take Britain back into a double dip recession. Good one Clegg, roll on 2015.
Friday, 2 September 2011
Darling's memoirs set to cause a stir
ugh Darling’s memoirs are not to be published until next Wednesday, a few extracts have been leaked today to the left-wing blog Labour Uncut. Alistair Darling rarely showed emotion to the public, which is why his memoirs should prove to be an extremely interesting read. Even Labour ministers are likely to pick up the revealing book as the reserved former chancellor rarely spoke out about grievances or concerns.
Back from the Brink: 1,000 days at No 11 is set to expose the supposed ‘brutal and volcanic’ behaviour of former PM, Gordon Brown. The memoirs go into great detail about the mutual disagreements between the two men; and set straight the rumour that Brown tried to sack the Chancellor in 2009.
The book exacerbates claims of deep divisions within the Labour party, with factions between Blairites (Blair supporters, mostly focused on New Labour) and Brownites (Brown supporters, mostly in favour of more traditional Labour policies) being discussed throughout the memoirs. Like Blair in A Journey, Darling alludes to apparent blackmailing by Brown. He is also reported to have singled out Ed Balls as a key ally of Brown, accusing him of running a parallel Treasury operation during their time in office.
Alas, Brown is not the only victim of Darling’s criticism with the book reportedly describing Mervyn King, Bank of England governor, as ‘amazingly stubborn and exasperating’ whilst discussing the financial crisis of 2008.
Darling’s memoirs will not only be excellent bedtime reading for Labour ministers but Conservative and Liberal Democrats alike. Sayeeda Warsi, Conservative party chairman, explains that the claims illustrate Labour’s tendancy to put internal divisions above the national interest. She also suggests that the memoirs “should give Ed Miliband some concerns about Ed Balls’ suitability to be Shadow Chancellor”. She exclaimed “no wonder Labour left the nation’s finances in such a mess when they put party political plotting above the national interest”.
Atlantic Books, the publishers of the memoirs, have yet to comment on the accuracy of the revelations as they have secured a deal with a Sunday newspaper.
Back from the Brink: 1,000 days at No 11 is set to expose the supposed ‘brutal and volcanic’ behaviour of former PM, Gordon Brown. The memoirs go into great detail about the mutual disagreements between the two men; and set straight the rumour that Brown tried to sack the Chancellor in 2009.
The book exacerbates claims of deep divisions within the Labour party, with factions between Blairites (Blair supporters, mostly focused on New Labour) and Brownites (Brown supporters, mostly in favour of more traditional Labour policies) being discussed throughout the memoirs. Like Blair in A Journey, Darling alludes to apparent blackmailing by Brown. He is also reported to have singled out Ed Balls as a key ally of Brown, accusing him of running a parallel Treasury operation during their time in office.
Alas, Brown is not the only victim of Darling’s criticism with the book reportedly describing Mervyn King, Bank of England governor, as ‘amazingly stubborn and exasperating’ whilst discussing the financial crisis of 2008.
Darling’s memoirs will not only be excellent bedtime reading for Labour ministers but Conservative and Liberal Democrats alike. Sayeeda Warsi, Conservative party chairman, explains that the claims illustrate Labour’s tendancy to put internal divisions above the national interest. She also suggests that the memoirs “should give Ed Miliband some concerns about Ed Balls’ suitability to be Shadow Chancellor”. She exclaimed “no wonder Labour left the nation’s finances in such a mess when they put party political plotting above the national interest”.
Atlantic Books, the publishers of the memoirs, have yet to comment on the accuracy of the revelations as they have secured a deal with a Sunday newspaper.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
NHS Cuts - are the Tories really to blame?
The Conservative Manifesto of April 2010 was filled with hopes of a prosperous NHS and spoke with an authoritative tone toward the increase in spending provisions towards the organisation. However, today Labour accused the Coalition government of trying to conceal the telling figures (lost within a Treasury document) which illuminate that NHS spending was curbed by over £1.5 billion to just £101 bn. Whilst achieving their initial aim of combating the deficit, it must be noted that the Conservatives have turned almost 180o on their Election pledge of increasing health expenditure each year they are in power.
Despite much criticism being pinned upon Cameron and his Conservative Party, one must not forget the prominent role of the Liberal Democrats within the Government and therefore they must also hold responsibility for the Tory-led government cutting spending on the NHS in its very first year. The Liberal Democrat election campaign was focused upon the ‘broken promises’ of not only the Labour government, but those of the Conservative party in the years previous. Shadow health secretary, John Healey, accused Cameron of breaking his ‘NHS pledge’, and that apparently the reorganisation proves that you ‘can’t trust the Tories with the NHS’; however he, also, is forgetting that it is a Coalition government not solely Conservative.
Granted, the Tories NHS section to their 2010 manifesto read ‘We will back the NHS. We will increase health spending every year’. However, Osborne suggested that it is a ‘massive own goal from Labour’ as his spending plans for the financial year 2010-2011 were simply continuing the 2007 Labour spending review as he came into office one month into the financial year. The chancellor reminded the nation that NHS spending fell under the Labour government and that ‘under this government’s spending plans it is projected to rise- people can draw their own conclusions about who they trust on the NHS’.
Regardless of the NHS spending, this is another example of the Coalition government acting and the Conservative Party getting the brunt of the criticism. Nick Clegg also went against his election pledges to put an end to ‘broken promises’; the deputy Prime Minister seems to be acquiring a fairly hefty list of his own.
Despite much criticism being pinned upon Cameron and his Conservative Party, one must not forget the prominent role of the Liberal Democrats within the Government and therefore they must also hold responsibility for the Tory-led government cutting spending on the NHS in its very first year. The Liberal Democrat election campaign was focused upon the ‘broken promises’ of not only the Labour government, but those of the Conservative party in the years previous. Shadow health secretary, John Healey, accused Cameron of breaking his ‘NHS pledge’, and that apparently the reorganisation proves that you ‘can’t trust the Tories with the NHS’; however he, also, is forgetting that it is a Coalition government not solely Conservative.
Granted, the Tories NHS section to their 2010 manifesto read ‘We will back the NHS. We will increase health spending every year’. However, Osborne suggested that it is a ‘massive own goal from Labour’ as his spending plans for the financial year 2010-2011 were simply continuing the 2007 Labour spending review as he came into office one month into the financial year. The chancellor reminded the nation that NHS spending fell under the Labour government and that ‘under this government’s spending plans it is projected to rise- people can draw their own conclusions about who they trust on the NHS’.
Regardless of the NHS spending, this is another example of the Coalition government acting and the Conservative Party getting the brunt of the criticism. Nick Clegg also went against his election pledges to put an end to ‘broken promises’; the deputy Prime Minister seems to be acquiring a fairly hefty list of his own.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
50p coin
This afternoon I came in from work to find my dad looking disgruntled, more so than usual. I thought that it was my floordrobe which had caused him discontent or perhaps that I had managed to break my windscreen wiper on my car for the third time this week- it turned out to be neither. It was in fact that I had not only stolen his "special" 50 pence piece from the kitchen bench but that I'd given it to my Blueline taxi driver to pay for my drunken journey home.
I initially thought that his anger was staged but he was actually outraged that in my inebriated state I had somehow managed to confuse the "special" coin for a nondescript average 50 pence piece. (Please see below for a picture of such coins).
Upon confronting him what was so special about the coin, he seemed to lack any justification in his answer, just that he wanted to keep it. I said I'd give him 50 pence to replace it but apparently it's not the same. (Except it is?) Then I thought about it, there are hundreds and thousands of these "special" coins which exchange owners everyday. Yet people feel the need to keep them, hoard them in fact, but for what reason? They're not the Princess Diana £5 that my grandma gave me when I was younger and didn't understand why my mam wouldn't let me buy a £5 mix up with. They're just coins which are worth 50p, and even if they have some pattern on them, the pattern would look awful once all the coins were collated together due to the fact that 50p pieces don't tesselate. And who wants to put loads of coins together to make a pattern anyway? Hopefully my Blueline taxi driver.
I initially thought that his anger was staged but he was actually outraged that in my inebriated state I had somehow managed to confuse the "special" coin for a nondescript average 50 pence piece. (Please see below for a picture of such coins).
Upon confronting him what was so special about the coin, he seemed to lack any justification in his answer, just that he wanted to keep it. I said I'd give him 50 pence to replace it but apparently it's not the same. (Except it is?) Then I thought about it, there are hundreds and thousands of these "special" coins which exchange owners everyday. Yet people feel the need to keep them, hoard them in fact, but for what reason? They're not the Princess Diana £5 that my grandma gave me when I was younger and didn't understand why my mam wouldn't let me buy a £5 mix up with. They're just coins which are worth 50p, and even if they have some pattern on them, the pattern would look awful once all the coins were collated together due to the fact that 50p pieces don't tesselate. And who wants to put loads of coins together to make a pattern anyway? Hopefully my Blueline taxi driver.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
last of the english roses?
Pete Doherty returned to Newcastle last week, as part of his first solo tour since reforming The Libertines last year. The two support acts, comedian Raymond Mearns and singer Alan Wass, were jeered off stage by an impatient crowd, and gave way to Doherty who eventually arrived on stage at 10pm.
Despite the seemingly long wait, Doherty did not disappoint. Renditions of classic Libertines' songs such as Don't Look Back Into The Sun set the crowd into a period of disorder with many fans being removed from the crowd and a large proportion of the 2000+ fans' underwear being thrown onto the stage.
The stage itself was simple; a table consisting of gin, cigarettes and two candles set the ambience of Pete's performance exquisitely. Two ballerinas accompanied Doherty for the more emotionally intimate songs, perfectly complimenting the acoustic set.
The hour-and-a-half long set proved a hit with the crowd, who were left begging for more after his final piece (a rendition of the Beatles 'Twist and Shout' followed by a beautifully reinterpretation of Fuck Forever) instigated a sense of hysteria amongst his fans.
Although singing along throughout, I can't help but feel that I have outgrown Doherty. In a 2004 interview with Garry Mulholland (of the Guardian), Peter assured fans that he was going to 'knock crack and heroin on the head' and complained of how he was 'fucking bogged down in being Peter Libertine: The Rehab King'. Yet almost 8 years on, Pete was jailed for possession of cocaine only last week - 22 May 2011 - after numerous charges of possession of Class A drugs. Mulholland described Pete as an 'outstanding singer-songwriter and charismatic poet-vagabond', none of which can be disputed, but his hope of Doherty leaving his ironic libertine lifestyle behind him is well and truly non-existant.
Despite the seemingly long wait, Doherty did not disappoint. Renditions of classic Libertines' songs such as Don't Look Back Into The Sun set the crowd into a period of disorder with many fans being removed from the crowd and a large proportion of the 2000+ fans' underwear being thrown onto the stage.
The stage itself was simple; a table consisting of gin, cigarettes and two candles set the ambience of Pete's performance exquisitely. Two ballerinas accompanied Doherty for the more emotionally intimate songs, perfectly complimenting the acoustic set.
The hour-and-a-half long set proved a hit with the crowd, who were left begging for more after his final piece (a rendition of the Beatles 'Twist and Shout' followed by a beautifully reinterpretation of Fuck Forever) instigated a sense of hysteria amongst his fans.
Although singing along throughout, I can't help but feel that I have outgrown Doherty. In a 2004 interview with Garry Mulholland (of the Guardian), Peter assured fans that he was going to 'knock crack and heroin on the head' and complained of how he was 'fucking bogged down in being Peter Libertine: The Rehab King'. Yet almost 8 years on, Pete was jailed for possession of cocaine only last week - 22 May 2011 - after numerous charges of possession of Class A drugs. Mulholland described Pete as an 'outstanding singer-songwriter and charismatic poet-vagabond', none of which can be disputed, but his hope of Doherty leaving his ironic libertine lifestyle behind him is well and truly non-existant.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Geordie Shore
I have never been an enormous fan of reality TV shows. The first few series of Big Brother were more than enough for me. However, when a program about my own region was to be broadcast on MTV, I decided it would be simply ignorant not to indulge. Having never been a victim of the illustrious Jersey Shore- on which Geordie Shore was based- my expectations were fairly ambivalent.
The first program, however, was worse than anyone could ever have envisaged. Eight of the fakest human beings that I have ever laid eyes on entered the Geordie Shore house, with expectations of getting their 'tash on' with fellow housemates (translation=kiss). The four girls spoke of their desire to have sex with seemingly anything that moves. And the four male specimen (although perhaps Greg, less so) were on the prowl for something to 'bang' or to 'smash' - not leaving a lot to the imagination. Overall the show portrayed Newcastle in a horrendous light, giving the impression that 'Geordie' girls are, to put it quite simply, just interested in getting drunk and having sex, nothing more, nothing less. The 'true Geordie' males on the other hand, seem to have no occupation nor aspiration to do anything except apply fake tan and buy protein shakes with their dole money. The apathy of the cast towards anything which doesn't involve "getting on it like a car bonnet" infuriated me and the program further echoed my distaste for reality TV shows. I thought Cheryl Cole was embarrassing enough for our region, but apparently not. I can't begin to imagine how proud their parents must be feeling right now.
The first program, however, was worse than anyone could ever have envisaged. Eight of the fakest human beings that I have ever laid eyes on entered the Geordie Shore house, with expectations of getting their 'tash on' with fellow housemates (translation=kiss). The four girls spoke of their desire to have sex with seemingly anything that moves. And the four male specimen (although perhaps Greg, less so) were on the prowl for something to 'bang' or to 'smash' - not leaving a lot to the imagination. Overall the show portrayed Newcastle in a horrendous light, giving the impression that 'Geordie' girls are, to put it quite simply, just interested in getting drunk and having sex, nothing more, nothing less. The 'true Geordie' males on the other hand, seem to have no occupation nor aspiration to do anything except apply fake tan and buy protein shakes with their dole money. The apathy of the cast towards anything which doesn't involve "getting on it like a car bonnet" infuriated me and the program further echoed my distaste for reality TV shows. I thought Cheryl Cole was embarrassing enough for our region, but apparently not. I can't begin to imagine how proud their parents must be feeling right now.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
unlucky nick clegg
it's nice to see that people of britain aren't as foolish as they might have seemed during may when david cameron and nick clegg ended up ruling the roost. in a recent opinion poll (carried out by the guardian last week) we see the lib dems gaining only 10% of the vote and labour recieve 41%, with the tories just slipping behind them with 39%.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
if i were a boy
if i was a homme i'd probably most definitely dress exactly like these bad boys. especially loving the pork pie hat
http://streetetiquette.com/
http://streetetiquette.com/
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
China: Who is David Cameron?
There were articles yesterday flying around claiming that most Chinese people aren't even aware of who David Cameron is, people were responding with 'Churchill' when asked who is the British PM. Today he seems to be pussyfooting around the issue of human rights in China, after his visit in 2007 where it seemed that was all he banged on about, it seems he's changed his tune. His carefully calculated speech will state: "The rise in economic freedom in China has been hugely beneficial to China and to the world. I hope in time this will lead to a greater political opening because I am convinced that the best guarantor of prosperity and stability is for economic and political progress to go in step together." Which translates simply to "Hello China, our economy is in ruins and we are getting desperate. Please trade with us?". Although not expressing it in such terms, all of the British press are aware and explaining the real motives behind his falsely advertising speech. As English is a language commonly spoken within China, I am more than certain that those intelligent and academic folk with whom Cameron is speaking with will be able to get their hands on some form of British website or newspaper which explains Cameron's real motives (obvious economic trade issues and worries of them becoming a super power to rival the US) and explain the truth behind his riddles of pro- British politics. Why would China aspire to be like Cameron and the mess behind him that is Britain?
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