Hopefully, February won’t bring us the weather shown on this month’s front cover – though we did enjoy building our ‘snow rabbit’ in wintry weather a few years ago!

I always keep an eye on the forecast in the run up to our monthly magazine deliveries, as bad weather can also cause delays in distribution, with snow and ice making delivery particularly perilous.

Fortunately, we’ve rarely been caught out by poor weather conditions, and on the few occasions we have been affected deliveries have only been delayed by a day or two, typically thanks to the sterling efforts of our distributors.

Continuing on the topic of distribution, I wonder if some of you may be able to help me? We’ve always done our own checking to make sure our magazines are being delivered where they should, and have a reliable team of local people we contact every month to make sure their copies have arrived. However, we don’t cover absolutely every street we deliver to, so if you don’t mind replying to an email from us once a month to let us know whether you’ve received your magazine, we’d really love to hear from you,

If you can help, please send an email to us at info@roundaboutpublications.co.uk. The only information we need from you is your name and the street you live on – we don’t need your house number. I promise you it is not an onerous task, and your help will be very much appreciated!

We also always welcome feedback on the articles we publish, or indeed on any aspect of the magazine, so if you have any comments then do please get in touch – call us on 0191 253 7608 or send an email to info@roundaboutpublications.co.uk.

by Carol Robinson

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve enjoyed the festive season and are feeling refreshed and ready for whatever 2014 brings. Let’s hope it’s a good year for all of us…

We’re still in pantomime season at the moment, so let me remind you that Whitley Bay Pantomime Society are celebrating their 50th Anniversary by performing Aladdin at the Playhouse in Whitley Bay.

The show runs from Tuesday 14th to Sunday 19th January, and you’ll find details of performance times and ticket prices in our community events here. I should point out that there was an error in last month’s entry and advert, and there is no evening performance on the Sunday. This promises to be an excellent pantomime by local performers so why not book some tickets while they are still available?

The New Year is often a time when we decide to improve our health, and with that in mind I’m delighted to welcome back local writer Katherine Wildman who has recently taken up yoga and is waxing lyrical about the benefits – see her article here. For those who prefer the great outdoors, our walking expert, Geoff Holland, offers an alternative approach to fitness here, with his description of a bracing walk to Carey Burn Linn.

I’m also grateful to Charlie Steel for this month’s history articles about Monkseaton Garage – see here – and Tynemouth Amateur Swimming Club – see here – and to Terry Took for the latest excerpt from his adventures Down Under, which is the first part of the story of his trip to the Australian National Park of Kakadu – see here.

We always like to hear from our readers, so if you have any comments then do please get in touch – call us on 0191 253 7608 or send an email to info@roundaboutpublications.co.uk.

by Carol Robinson

Welcome to our December issue, and I hope you like our suitably festive cover. I particularly like Santa’s traditional toys – not a smart phone or i-product in sight!

I’ve been so busy recently that I am not my usual organised self – I’d normally expect to have all the presents bought and possibly even wrapped by now. I really do need to get a move on…

I will, however, be making time for some of the local events taking place in the run up to Christmas to help get me into the festive spirit. There’s plenty going on, including the St Nicholas Festival in Whitley Bay from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th December, which includes the ever-popular Christmas Fayre at the Spanish City Dome on the Sunday – an event we always enjoy.

For those who enjoy music, there will be a Carol Service to accompany the annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Tynemouth Village Green on Thursday 5th December, and there are Christmas Carol performances by Whitley Women’s Choir on Sunday 8th and Saturday 21st December. In Accord Choir are giving a Christmas concert at North Shields Methodist Church, also on the 21st.

Looking ahead to the New Year, Whitley Bay Pantomime Society celebrate their 50th anniversary by performing Aladdin at the Playhouse from 14th – 19th January, so grab some tickets while you can!

You’ll find more details of all these and other events in our community pages here.

We always like to hear from our readers, so if you have any comments then do please get in touch – call us on 0191 253 7608 or send an email to info@roundaboutpublications.co.uk.

Merry Christmas!

by Carol Robinson

The days are getting shorter and there’s a definite chill in the air which can only mean one thing – winter is on its way and thoughts are turning to Christmas!

For many retailers of course, Christmas has been with us since 1st September (apart from the recent diversion to Halloween), and my children have kindly kept me up to date with the number of days to go for well over a month now.

I’m glad to report that we’ll be able to enjoy Christmas with our new extension now complete, that is with a new kitchen to replace my 30 year one, a lovely dining space and central heating that reliably warms the house. It’s been a long wait but finally the work (and the dust) is over with, and we’re very happy with the end result, as well as with the excellent service we’ve received along the way from the local tradespeople and businesses we’ve used.

I’ll also be celebrating being a few pounds lighter than I was last year, thought quite where I’ll be after the festive season is another matter. You may recall I mentioned during the summer that I had begun a diet and I’m happy to say it has worked – though not as well as it has for my husband, Mark, who has managed to lose over 10 pounds! And he’s not smug about it at all, of course…

There are plenty of events under way in the run up to Christmas in our community pages – find out more here.

We always like to hear from our readers, so if you have any comments then do please get in touch – call us on 0191 253 7608 or send an email to info@roundaboutpublications.co.uk.

by Carol Robinson

This month sees the end of British Summer Time, so don’t forget to set your clocks back by an hour on Sunday 27th October – or you could be early for work the next day!

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month and as in previous years there will be a number of events in our area to support this worthwhile cause.

Over the last five years the local community has helped our Ambassador for the Breast Cancer Campaign, Shirley Hallam, to raise almost £20,000 towards research into metastasis at Newcastle University, and Shirley is keen to improve on that total by asking for your help again this year.

One event in particular takes place on Saturday 5th October, when Waves Leisure Pool will turn pink thanks to the support of North Tyneside Council. Enjoy a family day out with pink waves at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, the pink café with cupcakes and a ‘pink scorcher’ milk shake, a tombola stall and activities for children, as well as the return of the ‘Water Walkers’! Last year this event raised over £300 for the charity and it would be fantastic to improve on that this year.

Other events are still being finalised, and as soon as we have the details we’ll make sure they are listed here, so please check there to find out more.

If you would like further information, can offer raffle prizes or even if you have an idea to share with Shirley, call her on 0191 252 5352 or contact her by email at shirleyhallam@madasafish.com. And, thank you for any support you can give!

As ever, we welcome feedback on the magazines, so if you have any comments then do please get in touch – call us on 0191 253 7608 or send an email to info@roundaboutpublications.co.uk.

by Carol Robinson