Sunday, May 29, 2005
French Market
French Market
On a weekend when hoards of people are being ferried across the Tyne to North Shields to visit the WOW (Window on the World) Festival, South Tyneside Council decided to throw caution to the wind and provide a little competition. This came in the form of a "French Market" in our delightful old Market Place. There was a small turnout of French traders, about a dozen stalls, selling such wares as cheeses, dried fruits, cured sausages, jams and preserves, crepes, and other hot dishes. There was also a small fairground ride for children.
The traders would have had a long journey from France, at a considerable cost, particularly for those bringing their cooking equipment with them, so naturally some of the prices were a little higher than we might be used to in the delicatessan counter of the local supermarket, but trade was relatively brisk with queues forming at some of the stalls.
Further entertainment was provided in the afternoon with live music from a band called "Shake Your Tailfeather" fronted by Shieldsman Dale Meeks (aka Simon Meredith of Emmerdale).
Click pictures to enlarge
Simon's band which he described as a "seven piece mess" was a fairly tight blues outfit, drums, bass, lead, 2 x rhythm guitar, sax, and vocalist. They churned out some solid blues classics and my favourite was Meek's rendition of Otis Redding's "The Dock of the Bay", it seemed to me that at last Dale had found a song which sympathised with his voice.
Don't give up the day job mate! :o)
All in all, the day made a decent diversion and may have prevented some people from getting on the ferry, there really was a good crowd in the Market Place during the afternoon.
Which goes to prove my contentious theory that we need to do everything that we possibly can to persuade the organisers of the WOW Festival to give up on North Shields and bring the event to our side of the river. Their event has outgrown it's venue, and at times the crowds have been dangerously dense on the fishquay. We have far more space available on our side of the river, from the Littlehaven Hotel to the New Crown Hotel, two parks, a fairground, the "Dragon", the Market Place, "the lights" in King Street/Fowler Street, all offer ample opportunities for the erection of stages and musical events. Start the whole event with a parade and finish it with a fireworks display and we could have hundreds of thousands of visitors descending on the town and spending their money here.
The Mouth of the Tyne Festival on 9th. and 10th. July is a great step in the right direction, at least we have persuaded North Tyneside to work alongside us, we just need to push that much harder and drag the whole WOW thing over here, and hope that future festivals like "The Mouth of the Tyne" will compensate North Shields' dissapointment.
_________________________________________________________________
On a weekend when hoards of people are being ferried across the Tyne to North Shields to visit the WOW (Window on the World) Festival, South Tyneside Council decided to throw caution to the wind and provide a little competition. This came in the form of a "French Market" in our delightful old Market Place. There was a small turnout of French traders, about a dozen stalls, selling such wares as cheeses, dried fruits, cured sausages, jams and preserves, crepes, and other hot dishes. There was also a small fairground ride for children.
The traders would have had a long journey from France, at a considerable cost, particularly for those bringing their cooking equipment with them, so naturally some of the prices were a little higher than we might be used to in the delicatessan counter of the local supermarket, but trade was relatively brisk with queues forming at some of the stalls.
Further entertainment was provided in the afternoon with live music from a band called "Shake Your Tailfeather" fronted by Shieldsman Dale Meeks (aka Simon Meredith of Emmerdale).
Click pictures to enlargeSimon's band which he described as a "seven piece mess" was a fairly tight blues outfit, drums, bass, lead, 2 x rhythm guitar, sax, and vocalist. They churned out some solid blues classics and my favourite was Meek's rendition of Otis Redding's "The Dock of the Bay", it seemed to me that at last Dale had found a song which sympathised with his voice.
Don't give up the day job mate! :o)
All in all, the day made a decent diversion and may have prevented some people from getting on the ferry, there really was a good crowd in the Market Place during the afternoon.
Which goes to prove my contentious theory that we need to do everything that we possibly can to persuade the organisers of the WOW Festival to give up on North Shields and bring the event to our side of the river. Their event has outgrown it's venue, and at times the crowds have been dangerously dense on the fishquay. We have far more space available on our side of the river, from the Littlehaven Hotel to the New Crown Hotel, two parks, a fairground, the "Dragon", the Market Place, "the lights" in King Street/Fowler Street, all offer ample opportunities for the erection of stages and musical events. Start the whole event with a parade and finish it with a fireworks display and we could have hundreds of thousands of visitors descending on the town and spending their money here.
The Mouth of the Tyne Festival on 9th. and 10th. July is a great step in the right direction, at least we have persuaded North Tyneside to work alongside us, we just need to push that much harder and drag the whole WOW thing over here, and hope that future festivals like "The Mouth of the Tyne" will compensate North Shields' dissapointment.
About Me
Curly Born in 1956
Sanddancer
Sunderland fan
Male
Retailer
Former Borough Councillor
View my Profile
Contact
Email Curly
south-shields AT
blueyonder DOT co DOT uk
Got a story?
Got a tip off?
Got some scandal?
Let me know!
07941386870
Search
Search this site
Comments
How do I make a comment on this blog?
Links
Curly's Corner Shop website
Curly's Photoshop
My Message Board
Shields photo gallery
RTG Message Board
Sunderland AFC Blog
Site Feed
Blogroll Me!
Past
December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007