As requested, readers of this site have contributed stories featuring supernatural phenomena. Actor and theatre producer Alison Stanley talked of her experiences. Featured in this story is a medieval castle in Chillingham, Northumberland which is reported to be one of the UK’s most haunted castles.
In the past I’ve been a celebrant at funerals and enjoy doing it. I’ve always been interested in spiritualism. I believe in a next life. We’ve talked about what happens when you die and we’ve mentioned ghosts, spirituality and the like people believe different things explained Alison.
Some say when you die you just die and there is no afterlife. But how do they know for sure? And by the laws of science we are a ball of energy and by those laws it doesn’t die so where does that energy go? The physical body dies and is buried or cremated but what happens to the energy? It’s an interesting subject.
A few years ago we went to Chillingham Castle on a day trip. There was me, my mother, my youngest son and my step dad. It was a grey dark day lashing down with rain. We were driving along the country roads getting near the castle. We turned a corner and saw an old woman in a red coat standing at the side of the road. She wasn’t old as somebody from the 1800s but there was something about her that didn’t look right. We all remarked about this woman who was in the middle of nowhere really.
I looked in my rear view mirror and she was standing looking at the car. Where did she come from as there were no houses around maybe she has dementia? I just wasn’t sure I couldn’t put my finger on it. What really was wrong was she didn’t look wet she was bone dry. But it was lashing down?
We get in to Chillingham Castle and looked at all the artefacts and stuff it’s quite cluttered. On one of the clothes dummies was a lady with a red coat and she had a hat on. It was from one of the women who had worked there as a housekeeper. I swear it was the same coat we had seen.
Another time was 10 years ago. We were sitting in a bar called the Pig & Whistle in Hollywood which is a very theatrical, grand sort of place. I went through a red velvet curtain to the toilet downstairs and after four steps I couldn’t go any further, I stopped because I froze and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. There was no way I could go any further down the stairs.
I came straight back up and told my husband we’re going to another bar for a drink because there is no way on God’s earth I’m going to the toilet here. Later we found out there had been a fire there and there was strong spiritual activity in the pub.
I think if someone is in the next life and they visit you I think it’s a bit of an honour really. They might have plenty to do and they have taken time out of their day to see you – so yes, it’s an honour.
More revelations of supernatural phenomena will feature on this site. If you want to share your experience don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We’re sitting in the Centurion bar at Newcastle’s Central Station where I first met Leah back in 2021 where she talked about learning her craft in North East workingmen’s clubs from the age of 15, working with Bobby Thompson, touring with Ken Dodd in the ‘70s and appearing in panto with David Jason.
Now, after nearly 60 years in the business I was interested to find out just how did you survive in the arts?
This industry has always been tough for working class. I do promotion and acting, I’ve been writing with Alison (Stanley who featured in previous post) I’m busy all the time. When you’ve asked me is there weeks when I have nothing on, well no, I’m always busy.
Like when I started a production company in Jersey about 30 year ago. We would do plays or musicals but if we went on tour I would always play a role in it keeping an eye on things making sure there were no issues. You take on a couple of roles. That’s how I survive.
You can never say I’ll be working 52 weeks a year. But there was a time you’d wonder where you’ll be for summer season. I remember going to Jersey in March and not coming back till October. Whereas now it’s I wonder if I’ll get a summer season.
Some people take shows out to Europe. My niece Hariet has her own production company and she does a lot of work abroad. Although you’ve got to be careful who you work for.
In the 1970s I took a contract for South Africa when apartheid was in full flight. When I look back, I didn’t understand what apartheid was all about then. You couldn’t pick your phone up and read about it.
It was a total culture shock at 19 year old – like wow here we are in Durban. Then I ended up working in Rhodesia – it’s not called that now. The agent asked me to drive from Rhodesia to Cape Town – a very long way and I did it by myself. My mother didn’t know. I look back and think how did I do that and why!
Comedy and singing musical theatre was what I was doing on the Crazy Horse saloon circuit. It was quite unique for a female to be performing on stage, plus there were plenty other English acts going out. I think some British guys had bought into the Crazy Horse clubs and subsequently tapped into the UK club market.
Back then there were hundreds of entertainers plus it was a real show it wasn’t just a few singers getting up we had all the costumes and gear for a proper show.But as I’ve said back then you couldn’t pick your phone up and read about apartheid. I mean, I lived in Benwell all me life.
I remember flying back home and me ma’ and da’ met me at Newcastle airport. ‘I’m home at last’ I said as I flung myself at them ‘You must be the only lass who’s happy to be in Benwell’ said me Da.
I travelled a fair bit. I went to Australia twice a year for six years in the 80s. I just loved their lifestyle. I also performed at the American military bases in Germany. I remember the agent John Rae from Spennymoor here in the North East organised one tour. There were a few of us and he drove us around in a mini bus. He had all the responsibility and the things we done he must have wanted to kill us sometimes.
All this experience of understanding an audience has helped when I’m putting a show together. You see the show differently from actors who only see it from their point of view.
I remember doing Catherine Cookson’s ‘The Cinder Path’. I had Nicky Cochrane in it who played Steve McDonalds brother in Coronation Street. He was playing Ginger Slater, essentially the baddie. I gave myself a character called the fishwife who kept the story going and throwing a few laughs in as it was heavy going.
One show we were doing a matinee at Billingham Forum. I was waiting with Nicky to go on stage for our scene when he turned to me ‘Leah, this is a tough crowd’. I replied ‘Farringdon Social Club was a tough crowd this is a walk over’. A bunch of pensioners on the front row who might nod off would not present a problem.
Club audiences had a reputation for being tough but that was only because they weren’t there prepared to put up with anything. You had to be good. You had to know your stuff. That’s been a great backbone for work that I do now. How to read an audience. They’ve paid their money and tickets can be pricey for a whole family so you have a responsibility. That crowd need to be entertained.
I was brought up in variety but now I only do one variety show a year that’s the Silver Bells Christmas variety show for three nights at the Phoenix Theatre in Blyth. Looking around there were a lot of young people coming up but their take on variety was different from mine. I was old school. I’m not saying it was better in my day just different. So, I thought to keep working I’d just change what I’m doing. I’m going to step up. I went and done panto as well that led me to acting which I really enjoyed.
For the Blyth variety show we do sketches and a few gags a typical show I really enjoy it. I use the pantomime cast so there’s a lot of us on stage and this year it’s with Tommy Cannon who is a good friend. The poster said Cannon & Bell but when it was done large the Bell looked like Ball!
Tommy and his wife were up recently and we got watching some of the old TV shows like Wheeltappers and Shunters Club and yes it was a laugh but we were saying we wouldn’t dare say that type of joke now. Time has moved on. And so it should.
What am I doing now? ‘Dirty Dusting’ written by Ed Waugh is on tour in October. We’ve got my good friend Chrissy Rock (Benidorm) in it with Vanessa Karon and Paul Dunn. Can you believe the show still sells out. It was originally performed over 20 years ago. First time I did it was 12 years ago and it’s been on tour at least twice a year every year.
From late November through December, we have ‘Sleeping Beauty’ panto at Consett Empire with Marcus Collins from X Factor then next year Alison Stanley and I have ‘Tit’s Up’ going out on tour. That play is about the relationship between three ladies as they wait in the Oncology department in hospital.
It’s sharp, it’s funny, we wrote it together. Some of the shows funnier bits are added on the spur of the moment and Alison tells me to write them down for the next show cos ‘you might forget it’. My character is nosey she wants to know everybody’s business, she thinks she’s gone for a day out.
We’ve just done a short tour and it’s done well at the box office. On the first performance me and Alison were nervous because some ladies from the Cancer Society were in the audience.
Mentally and physicaly I feel better now than when I was 40. I’m 72 now but I’ve always been energetic and kept busy and turn up early for work. I’m happy to have made the move from variety to acting. The world has moved on and so it should. Would I ever retire? No chance.
If ya like ya lists these make for interesting reading. There’s been a new welcome addition to the back office stats from owners WordPress. Previously they’ve counted views from each country with the total to date 422,000.
Now they have drilled down further and added the number of views from what regions and cities where the posts are being read. These are from start date February 2017 – March 2025.
Top 10 countries >>>
UK
USA
Australia
Canada
Spain
Germany
Ireland
France
Netherlands
Italy
This list includes countries with ex pats who I think will add views from countries like Australia and Canada. European countries Germany, Spain, Italy, France etc might include followers of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal – I’ve added many posts including North East bands Fist, Raven, Tygers of Pan Tang etc.
Top 10 regions >>>
England, UK
Scotland, UK
Virginia, USA
Wales, UK
California, USA
Northern Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Limburg, Belgium
Texas, USA
Ontario, Canada
This list is harder to summarise – USA regions Virginia, California and Texas in the top ten are a surprise. I have added a few posts with musicians based in America so maybe that’s it really. I can speculate as much as I like about why people are attracted to the site but honestly, I’m just very grateful that people enjoy reading it.
Top 10 cities >>>
North Shields, England
London, England
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Manchester, England
Edinburgh, Scotland
Washington, USA
New Silksworth, England
Sheffield, England
York, England
Birmingham, England
Few things popped out of that list – New Silksworth is only a small suburb of the city of Sunderland so a big shout out to the Silks whoever you are! Washington, the capital of America, is not to be confused with Washington near Sunderland because when I checked on the list the stars and stripes are next to the name.
Outside the top 10 the next most international cities viewed are Menlo Park in California, USA, Maasmechelen in Belgium, then Lincoln in Nebraska, USA, next is the Australian city of Perth and then Dallas in Texas, USA.
Big thanks to all the readers it’s much appreciated that you check in to the site from wherever in the world you are. New posts have slowed up lately so why not do a quick search on the archive to see who or what is there – you might be surprised – and why not pass the link on to a friend.
If you’ve got a story to add why not get in touch.
The incredible true story of Harry Clasper is set to tour the North East in February. The one man play ‘Hadaway Harry’ stars Jamie Brown who won a NE Culture Awards Performing Artist of the year.
Harry Clasper was born in 1812 in Dunston, Gateshead, at two year old he moved to Jarrow where he fell in love with the water watching ships coming up the Tyne. Education was limited for Harry, he couldn’t read or write and signed his marriage certificate with a cross. He started work at Jarrow Pit but unfortunately that didn’t work out so his next stop was an apprenticeship at Browns Boatyard.
‘That’s where he got clued up about boats. Harry revolutionized boat racing and boat design, innovations that became part of boat racing then are still employed in boat building today’ explained Jamie.
‘By shaving the boat they made a gun barrel shape instead of a square bottom and pointed the front of the boat. That increased the speed rather than drag through the water, and they made a scooped shape oar’.
‘It was like the time during the 2012 London Olympics when cycling became really popular, they had lightweight helmets, handlebars were shaped to create more speed – huge innovations just like Harry Clasper done for boating in the 1800s’.
‘Rowing was the main sport then, people would sit on the bank of the river and watch the race. Bets would be placed and there would be sponsors – even in those days. There would be stories of men employed to drill holes in the boats of opponents or tempt the oarsmen with alcohol the night before. There was even a case of someone’s food being poisoned. One of the first cases of boat tampering was with the part of the boat called the scull. The term skulduggery comes from that’.
‘The writer Ed Waugh has a desire to shine a light on people or events that have gone under the radar. We’ve done plays about North East musicians and singers Ned Corvan, Joe Wilson and Wor Bella about a ladies football team plus at the end of last year was The Cramlington Train Wreckers’.
‘These extraordinary stories about the working class, are told so they go unforgotten. There is a thirst for these stories, people responded well to them with standing ovations and sold out shows’.
pic. by Local Historian, Steve Ellwood
The Hadaway Harry shows in 2015 and 2017 eventually got Harry Clasper some recognition as a blue plaque was fixed onto the base of the High Level Bridge in Newcastle. There is also a pub called the Harry Clasper in Whickham, Gateshead.
‘He came from a big family – he was one of 14 and had 12 children himself. His ancestors are still around today, they’ve been to the shows and are very proud of his achievements’.
‘But his story wasn’t straight forward, it’s not looking back with rose tinted spectacles as he suffered personal tragedy and professional disappointments, there was plenty of hardship and personal dilemma’.
Later in life Harry became a publican in Newcastle but sadly died in 1870.
‘Over 120,000 people lined the streets for his funeral the procession was only a few miles but took over 12 hours. His coffin was put on a boat and sailed down the Tyne to Whickham where he was buried’.
The North East has stories of talented people achieving great things – we talked about the footballer Paul Gascoigne, coincidentally also born in Dunston where Harry came from.
‘Before Association football the sport of the people was rowing and Harry Clasper has been likened to the David Beckham of the day. I think, as many people do, he should have a statue next to the river Tyne. His achievements were fantastic. Do you know he won the world championship 8 times in 12 years’.
‘It’s been a privilege telling his story, but sadly this will be my last time on stage doing the Hadaway Harry show. I’ve loved doing the show but in the second half of the play it is hard rowing and narrating the story as a one man show plus I’m 40 in February so it can be a bit exhausting’.
‘So, this is me hanging up my oars but the play will go on and maybe a younger actor will take on the role. This is why on the tour schedule after about three nights we have a day or two off where there is time for rest and recovery and then for the next show I’m ready to be able to give 100%’.
For information about tour dates and venues contact the official website >>>
Working in media and entertainment can be a risky business and after Covid it only increased. Picking up a couple of jobs but then nothing for a while has been a regular pattern for me these past few years. It’s a struggle but I wouldn’t change it for the world, I’ve loved every minute of it since my first video commission in January 1997.
I remember the day well. I was in a community centre in Hetton le Hole, Durham talking to a group of former miners who were interested in making a video when someone burst into the room with tears in her eyes “You never guess what’s happened?” We all turned around thinking the pipes have burst, there’s been an accident, someone’s died, what’s happened? “Kevin Keegans left Newcastle United”!
South Shields theatre producer Ed Waugh
I was interested how others working in the creative industry have managed so I got in touch with South Shields playwright and theatre producer Ed Waugh. Ed is part of the North East based Wisecrack team who use theatre to document working class history. I asked him about his past year.
‘Where did 2024 go? The whole year passed like a whirlwind. We’d come off a busy 2023 but from January 1 we were focused on Wor Bella, which was transferring to the wonderful Newcastle Theatre Royal in April. If that wasn’t enough to organise, we did a pre-show run in London to get the production on its feet’.
‘Wor Bella is about North East women footballers in WW1 and the interest was massive. We had full pages in The Guardian and Daily Telegraph as well as tremendous coverage in other national publications. The upshot was London sold out’.
‘Coming home to the Theatre Royal was magnificent – three sold-out houses and just as in London standing ovations after every performance. It was my fifth show at the most prestigious venue in the region, a record for a local writer, so you can imagine how it swelled this Geordie’s heart with pride’.
(Link to interview with actress Catherine Dryden who starred in ‘Wor Bella’).
‘I’m just so honoured to be working with a top-class, professional and dedicated Wisecrack Productions team. We have director and actor Russell Floyd and other brilliant actors, technicians and hugely important people behind the scenes who allow us to put excellent stories on stage. It’s a true team effort’.
‘We’ve now sold around 800 Wor Bella scripts, so that’s canny. Many more thousands of people now know the story of these selfless working class women who saved the WW1 war effort’.
‘My book Geordie Plays Volume 1 has also almost sold out – the last few remaining first editions at Newcastle City Library are now officially collectors’ items’.
‘2024 ended with a triumphant tour of our play The Cramlington Train Wreckers. It’s about the General Strike of 1926 and how miners in Northumberland inadvertently derailed the Flying Scotsman during the nine-day strike before it was sold out by the TUC and Labour Party leaders. Word of mouth – the only marketing that really matters – was phenomenal and every venue sold out’.
‘We’re looking to get The Cramlington Train Wreckers out again in May 2026 to mark the centenary of the 1926 General Strike – the biggest rupture in British society since the civil war in the 1640s’.
‘In February 2025, Hadaway Harry – produced by and starring Jamie Brown – is touring the region. Hadaway Harry is about champion Tyneside rower Harry Clasper who was a forgotten Geordie legend’.
‘When he died in 1870, 130,00 lined his funeral procession in Newcastle. It will be the play’s 10th anniversary. I can’t believe a decade has gone by!’
‘Then in June, Carrying David will play Newcastle Theatre Royal. My sixth show there. Carrying David is about Glenn McCrory’s rise to becoming the first North East world boxing champion. It is being produced by and stars Micky Cochrane. Don’t miss these plays, you’ll be spellbound!
(It’s worth checking out both ‘Hadaway Harry’ and ‘Carrying David’ reviews on Google).
Actress & Theatre producer Leah Bell
Dirty Dusting, of course, continues to tour nationally – and internationally – and that play is touring venues in the UK in October under the guidance of the inimitable Leah Bell’.
(Link to interview with actress & theatre producer Leah Bell from July 2021)
‘The old warhorse Waiting For Gateaux – written, like Dirty Dusting with Trevor Wood – will be performed in New Zealand this year. Having these four plays produced in 2025 by other people means I can take the year out to write. I’m working on a few new ideas that will hopefully see the light of day in 2026 and beyond’.
ITV news readerIan Payne & former BBC journalist & presenter Jeff Brown
‘I’ll also be doing my talks throughout the region, which amounted to around 40 last year, and I’m producing a series of talks with Ian Payne and Jeff Brown … “the two lads off the telly”. They are happening in April and May’.
‘We’ve done four of these ‘Evenings with’ before, and they sell out quickly. The lads are always good crack and the event is great fun. Loads of other stuff but I was only allowed 500 words for this post and I’ve used up over 600 already! Have a great 2025’.
For some it may be challenging times but Wisecrack continue rolling on. For further information, tour dates & video contact the official website >>>
WordPress, who run this publishing site have a statistics page where all the viewing numbers, countries, dates and comments are gathered and crunched. A new addition to the stats is the percentages from what device the site is being read from – currently it’s mobile 63%, desktop 32% and tablet 5%. We are entering nerdsville territory so some people’s eyes will glaze over but stick with it, the stats can bring up some interesting surprises.
I remember back in 2017 posting an interview with former Angelic Upstarts guitarist Mond Cowie and noticing views from the Bahamas – who’da thought punk would invade the tropical paradise!
The site kicked off in February 2017 with first year views of 15,478 quickly rising to 79,850 in 2020 with most people staying at home during the Covid pandemic. It was March of that year that hit the highest monthly views with 9,700.
2021 reached 77,259 with a high of 8,400 in February that year with a small dip back to a total of 51,482 in 2022. This year has experienced a sharp upturn in numbers, so after eight years you can say ‘it’s daein’ canny’. For non Geordies and Mackems that means ‘it’s doing fine thank you very much’.
2024 has hit over 53,000 views with nearly 3,000 this month. December readers from the UK and USA are high with an unexpected spike in numbers from Belgium. So, yep its daein’ canny. All the best for 2025!
Since starting in February 2017 hundreds of stories have been posted on this site. The last few months has seen a mix from the navy, radio, folk singers and a magician. Here’s a taste.
First up is Tyneside comedian & magician Robert Reed…
‘Being an outcast gave me more time to focus on myself, to perfect my act. I’m glad I never fitted in at school, cos this has worked out well for me in the long run’.
‘A person to take me under his wing was a teacher called Mr Obee at St Joseph’s. Every break time we would talk about magic and jokes, he would loan me magic books, then he would show me a different trick each time which I would perform for the other kids’.
‘His motto was ‘work hard and be nice’ which I’ve always followed. It was helpful propaganda about putting the hard work in. He told me that every hour you aren’t working on your dream someone else out there is’.
‘I stopped sleeping 8 hours a day and cut it to 6 so I could get extra hours at work. It became all about maximising the time I could work it out. I became obsessed with it, it’s the most important thing in my life – I want to be entertaining people’.
Northumberland Radio presenter Keith Newman talked about his passion for music…
‘The show not only gives me the chance to play the music I love but to meet my heroes. The one that got me really nervous was with Marky Ramone. I first saw the Ramones in 1980 at Newcastle City Hall and bought the t-shirt from the gig which I never took off’.
‘Next day I was going to a corner shop to get me ma’s tabs – yep we could in those days – and I could see a coach outside. As I got near it pulled away. I went in the shop and the assistant said ‘eeh see those lads on your t-shirt – they’ve just been in here. They were Americans asking for milk and cookies’. I couldn’t believe it I ran outside but the coach was away up the street’.
‘For years I wondered if it really was them so when I talked to Marky I asked him about it and he told me Johnny Ramone had OCD and after every gig he had to have milk and cookies’.
Another story came from Tyneside based Karen Taylor who remembers her time in the Royal Navy…
’The Falklands war was on when I was based at HMS Vernon in Portsmouth in 1982. I remember when the first ship was hit on 4th May. We were in a disco and everybody was up dancing when the music suddenly stopped and an announcement was made’.
‘I knew one of the chef’s whose ship was one of the first hit and sunk. He told me afterwards they were getting in the lifeboat and someone shouted ‘that’s typical, it was a really good scran tonight’. The Navy use humour to get out of any situation’.
‘The fact of not knowing who was alive or dead brought on a lot of mental health problems after that war. It must have been really scary what they went through’.
This from Wearside folk song collector Eileen Richardson…
‘The first song I found was The Old Wife’s Lament to the Keel Men of the Wear and it was all around historical events about the keel men and it was written in dialect. That set me on the road to researching the history that went with the song’.
‘There a lot of songs about death and tragedy, mining disasters and shipwrecks but there are songs that tell light hearted stories. The Durham Militia pokes fun at things, it’s like the 1800s version of Dad’s Army, with lyrics like ‘You’ll march away like heroes – just to make the lasses stare’ and suggesting that the only battles they will fight will be in the pub’.
Tyneside songwriter Rosie Anderson dropped in to tell a few stories. Here’s one…
‘I can’t just decide to sit down and write a song – some people do and I applaud them for the discipline but I have to wait until they come’.
‘When I was a kid I lived at Chapel House Estate in the west end of Newcastle. One night me, my mother and a friend went for a walk. This woman came out of her house in her dressing gown, she wasn’t in control of herself, didn’t know what time or day it was. I had never seen that behaviour in an adult before. Now I believe she was having a nervous breakdown’.
‘That always stayed in my head and another one was about 30 years ago I went on a blind date in Newcastle with this very nice bloke. He said I need to tell you something before we go any further… ‘When I was working in Canada I had a nervous breakdown in the car park of a Burger King’. It was hard to concentrate on anything else after that’.
‘But I remembered those incidents and those people are lodged in my heart for their own traumas. They gave me the song’.
Tyneside storyteller & folk singer Tony Wilson talked being a professional musician and how far it’s taken him…
‘Around 2009 I got an email. The message was ‘would you like to tell stories in Argentina?’ I wasn’t sure it was kosher at first but I received a phone call a few weeks later confirming it was. I was given contacts of previous storytellers who recommended it’.
‘Me and my wife went out and ended up over the years going to about 15 countries for six weeks at a time. They were international schools where the kids had already learnt English but mostly from American cartoon shows and they wanted them to hear colloquial language, more English. With my accent, I knew I would have to speak a bit slower – and there’s nothing worse than a posh Geordie!’
‘To accompany the lessons it was helpful to use British sign language or borrow a guitar. I always took a banjo with me as it was such a different instrument for them to hear. Once the banjo was broken en-route but we found the only banjo repairman in Bogota in Colombia’.
‘We’ve been to Uruguay, China, South Korea, all over – loved it. Sometimes I look back and think how did that happen – you’ve got to seize every opportunity’.
‘When I was young I watched a production of Blood Brothers and it just blew me away, I was so engrossed and moved – from that day I was hooked’.
Alex Tahnee from Newcastle has been acting since she was 11 year old…
‘I fell in love with theatre playing Young Catherine in Tom and Catherine, a musical about Catherine Cookson’s life at The Custom’s House, South Shields. I love the idea of telling stories and love the feeling of being on stage’.
‘Since then, I’ve worked with many brilliant people in the North East including various shows playing Alice in Alice in Wonderland at Northern Stage, playing a military wife in Magnolia Walls, and most recently playing a female Marc Antony in Julius Caesar, an absolute bucket list role’.
Next up for Alex is a play by South Shields writer Ed Waugh (Dirty Dusting, Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry, Carrying David). The Cramlington Train Wreckers is another forgotten story about the North East.
‘I play Erica, she’s a journalist interviewing Bill Muckle, one of the eight men imprisoned for derailing a train in the 1926 general strike. Bill has a fascinating tale to tell, and it resonates eerily with political issues we face today’.
‘Bill is played by the wonderful Micky Cochrane (I, Daniel Blake, Carrying David, Billy Elliot), and the piece is directed by Russell Floyd (The Bill, Eastenders, London’s West End), who also multiroles throughout as various characters in some glorious buffoonery’.
‘Bill tells the story of the general strike, how it came about, who was involved, the lies and propaganda that were spread and how it ended after only 9 days. Also, how it came to be that 8 young men from a mining town in Northumberland were imprisoned 100’s of miles away from their families and hailed as heroes upon their return’.
‘People are fascinating to me and theatre is like putting them under a microscope. Like Bill in this play, he was a real person who was so gregarious and engaging you can’t help but listen to him. There are incredible stories in every nook and cranny and theatre lets you explore them, what better job is out there?’
‘My hopes for this play is that this piece of local history is known by new generations for not only its regional importance but also how politics has a profound impact on individuals and communities across the world’.
‘I believe by using the first-hand account of one person in the past we can highlight the relevance of the same messages and themes still affecting us today’.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers opens on 7th November at Cramlington Learning Village and continues around the North East until 16th November 2024.
For tickets & full list of venues contact the official website >>>
New play by writer Ed Waugh (Dirty Dusting, Wor Bella) & directed by Russell Floyd (The Bill, Eastenders).
Royalties from over 20 professionally produced plays including Dirty Dusting,Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry, Carrying David and The Great Joe Wilson, plus financial support from Arts Council England allows playwright Ed Waugh to focus on what he loves best: working class history, in particular forgotten North East working class history.
South Shields-based Ed and the team behind this important work have unearthed another forgotten story about the North East.
“This is an incredible story, full of drama and tension, an almost forgotten story, despite the incident making headlines nationally and internationally.” explained Ed. The subject of the new play is The Cramlington Train Wreckers which premieres in November and tours the region.
To maintain their profits, coal owners told miners they had to take a 40 per cent cut in wages. Stanley Baldwin, Conservative prime minister in 1926, also said every other section of the working class had to take pay cuts ‘in the national interest’. A General Strike was called and Northumberland miners were ready to challenge the establishment.
Ed explained “The intention was to stop a blackleg coal train that the miners felt was undermining the strike. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, they accidentally derailed a passenger train, the carriages were part of the Flying Scotsman”.
“The upshot was eight Cramlington miners were sentenced to a total of 48 years’ imprisonment for their part in the derailment”.
Most of the 281 passengers were treated for shock and bruises with only one person slightly injured, fortunately there were no deaths.
“Although largely forgotten, the story is an important part of British history. With the centenary of the General Strike rapidly approaching I felt it was important to assess the events in an informed, dramatic and entertaining manner. Were they terrorists or workers defending their jobs and communities?”
A North East tour in November 2024 includes South Shields Westovian Theatre, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Alnwick Playhouse, Hexham Queen’s Hall, Cramlington Learning Village Theatre, The Glasshouse Gateshead, Playhouse Whitley Bay, Bishop Auckland Town Hall and Barnard Castle Witham.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers is supported by Arts Council England.
Flicking through TV channels I landed on BBC police drama The Cops. I remember when it was first broadcast in the late 90’s it was like watching a Ken Loach film on steroids. No surprise when it walked away with two BAFTA awards.
Executive producer was Tony Garnett, you might not know the name, but his pedigree is second to none. He and Loach pulled off some groundbreaking, influential work on Kes,Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home.
Written by Jimmy Gardner (The Bill, This Life, Inspector George Gently), The Cops is a gritty fictional drama which deals with the chaotic lives surrounding criminals and cops. Even everyday mundane events are served up on a shovel.
The script is sharp, the pace unrelenting, the hand-held fly on the wall documentary camerawork increases tension and keeps the viewer locked in to the authentic voices. The working class voices. And they don’t shy away from difficult situations, some scenes are far from being an easy watch.
After binge watching series one and two I switched on the third and sadly the final season, I recognised one of the characters, Michael McNally, who featured on this site 28 August 2018 (link bottom of page).So I got in touch with Michael to find out his story behind The Cops.
I’d watched the first two series and it was my favourite programme on TV said Michael. When I started watching it, I thought it was a fly on the wall documentary it took me 10 minutes before I realised it was a drama. I was totally hooked.
My favourite directors are Mike Leigh and Ken Loach – The Cops is somewhere in between their methods, the way they work with actors or non-actors in some of Loach’s films. In the programme there were two of the best actors I ended up working with, and that’s including working with Gary Oldman, there was Katy Cavanagh and John Henshaw – absolutely fantastic actors and people.
Some of the stories they told, drugs, robberies and coppers beating people up – how did they get away with showing this? I found it really brave, fascinating and refreshing to watch, I never imagined I would have an opportunity to get on it. I remember watching a BAFTA awards programme and it won beating a show called This Life which was also excellent TV.
Michael in the back row behind Katy Cavanagh and next to John Henshaw.
How did I get on the show? I remember I was just about to get on a train from Durham, I was living back in the North East then, I was excited about going down to London for an interview and read for a part to play alongside Robson Green (fellow Geordie actor, Soldier Soldier, Wire in the Blood).
When my agent called me up ‘Don’t get on the train, you’ve had a recall’. Three weeks earlier I’d had one interview for The Cops, I’d met the cast and was introduced to an incredible actor called John Henshaw (Early Doors).
At the interview it was all improvisation, there was no script, we were set up in different scenarios, like an acting workshop. I was nervous but got through it and think I done alright but never heard anything so was disappointed I’d missed out on this fantastic show.
Then a few weeks later another call from my agent ‘Get in your car and drive to Bolton’ – that’s where The Cops is filmed. It was great meeting up with all the cast again, the casting session was videoed, but again after a good session a few weeks had passed and no word. I’m thinking what’s going on? I missed that reading with Robson Green for this.
Then I got a call to go back down to Bolton they said they would pay my expenses so that was fine. This time it was more specific and the actors were working well together. I went back home and a week or so later they asked me to come down for a day and that’s where they said I had the job.
I stayed in digs in the town, one of the camera men had a small flat I rented off him. During the week I was there in my police uniform, at the weekend I was still playing in a band in working men’s clubs in the North East. That was 23 years ago, a great experience, PC John Martyns was my character.
Martyns was an ex professional footballer, based on a David Batty type player (1990s/2000s Leeds United, Newcastle United, England) an aggressive little player who made a bit money in the game then came out of it and ended up a copper – like some do in real life!
For me it was a really exhaustive process, there were lots of actors up there for the same parts. It was also one of the most exciting processes I’d been in because every time I went there it was nothing like any interview I’d had for an acting job before.
All the actors had a hunger for success, it was like they hadn’t achieved their full potential yet and they wanted to be part of something special. I went in on the back of the two series so felt a bit under pressure.
We were based in an old run-down school transformed and fitted up into a Police station. In rehearsals every Director you worked with would just give you tiny bits of information to work on then leave you to it.
They would give you a scenario like going into a bar where there are two attractive ladies, you are arrogant full of yourself, you don’t know what they are like, and you have to chat them up.
You would get three or four different situations like this which would last five or ten minutes. You’d think is anyone going to say stop – you were really out of your comfort zone. It was all about staying in the moment and it prepares you for the actual filming.
My first night filming I was given a script but told the filming might start before the script and might go on after – you just have to wait until somebody shouts ‘cut’. So, the script was just a guide, the general public were unknowingly involved in some of the scenes.
One of my first scenes was with Danny Seward, a lovely talented guy, also another singer and songwriter. I was sat in a police van on Friday night 11pm on Bolton High Street with a walkie talkie. The general public are walking up and down the street, in our scene we had to arrest someone.
Two actors were having a fight in the street and we got the message to go, so on with the blue flashing lights, pulled up and jumped out of the van – it wasn’t a closed set like on some programmes. Some of the general public were trying to defend the actors and others were encouraging us to get in there and sort it out.
We didn’t know where the cameras were we just heard someone say stop, so we got back in the van, re-set and done the scene about four or five times.
Same happened when responding to a fight in a bar, we had to pull people out and the general public in the bar didn’t know what was going on! There was an element of choreography for the fight, we didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
After that first night the cast got together afterwards for some pub grub and a karaoke. Most of us were unknown actors so mixed in with the general public without any hassle. Every member of the cast got up and sang, mine was Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash – it was a really good night. We were all getting in taxi’s later because it was filming the next morning.
Michael Caine’s masterclasses in acting were a real influence when they were shown on TV. Caine learnt you about film technique, camera angles and using your eyes.
I didn’t go to drama school like most actors I’ve met, I was a law student who first acted in a Channel Four film Accounts and moved to London. I remember everything Caine said, but The Cops was like chucking it all out the window.
You just had to be truthful to the moment, trust the guys who were filming and don’t be worried about their job just fully concentrate on being truthful and honest about the scene.
When the cast were socialising in a hotel bar the production team would watch who we would gel with and if there was any tension, or the one’s not making any eye contact, things like that. I’m sure they were aware of this and then put us together in scenes.
The police organisation weren’t too happy about some of the scenes because we were exposing bad behaviour inside the force. So, we had a couple of weeks training by officers from the London Met where we turned up in uniform, learnt how to read people their rights, how to deal with challenging situations, they told us loads of stories – really fascinating stuff.
The producers also sent us off to Doncaster, undercover with coppers. I remember over a weekend sitting in the back of a cop car with two uniformed officers watching how they made arrests and calmed situations down. On one occasion we spent two hours chasing a horse!
Production team and cast of The Cops.
Because it was so refreshing to do that work in The Cops, in a way everything else felt a bit of a disappointment. I thought would I be happy to do some of the jobs I’d done before?
After finishing on The Cops I got an interview for a regular place on Emmerdale. I’d already been in Crossroads, and soaps have their place rightly so, but coming off the back of a challenging show to a light fluffy programme – well I wasn’t sure about that.
After talking to my agent, I went along and done an improvised scene with an actress, but I got that feeling of I don’t want to be here. I must have given that impression because I didn’t get the job. I talked to my agent about it and sort of felt relieved.
What did I do after The Cops? Unfortunately, I went through a divorce then picked up working again, this time in education. I was a Drama teacher for young offenders in the Prison Service in Barnard Castle. I felt I was doing some really effective theatre work with the prisoners and some of them loved being involved. I done that for over 12 years.
What am I up to now? I still teach music and my next project is for PRS Inclusion Services, it’s for people with disabilities. I’ll be developing a choir from four community groups with a performance at the end, I’m looking forward to that.
I’m missing acting so I’ve been looking if I can get back into doing some again. Here in the North East I’ve been involved in a few performances and still playing music, also just been down to London and got some new photographs taken with the aim of getting a new agent. I think at my age I will be a lot better now with more life experience, and it means so much more.
You’ll find all 24 episodes, three series of The Cops on BBC iPlayer.
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK CULTURE 