Roundabout Publications

Community magazines for local advertising in Monkseaton, Tynemouth, and Whitley Bay

HEALTH: Phobias

Incy Wincy spider climbed up the water spout

Down came the rain and washed poor Incy out

Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain

So Incy Wincy spider climbed up the spout again.

For some of you, the above is just a children’s nursery rhyme; for those of you who are afraid of spiders or have full blown arachnophobia it doesn’t bear thinking about. Even the word ‘spider’ can send some arachnophobes into a high state of anxious arousal.

Phobias can seem totally irrational to those who don’t have them. They can become a source of jokes and ridicule. The thought of someone being afraid of balloons, pigeons, buttons, vomit or flying seems strange and weird to those who don’t respond in the same way. According to the NHS Choices website there are an estimated 10 million people in the UK who have a phobia. There are simple phobias, such as fear of flying or fear of spiders, and more complex phobias, such as social phobia where someone does not go into social settings or avoids being with groups of people.

What are phobias and how do they start? Technically a phobia is an anxiety disorder. At first the person may just not like to be near the stimulus (e.g. the spider) then they may start to avoid going into rooms or other places where they think they might come across the stimulus. Over time they become more and more anxious if they think they’ll come into contact with the stimulus and then start to avoid situations, places and people.

Phobias are formed in different ways. They can be learned. Many who are frightened of spiders learn to be afraid of spiders when they are young from another family member or close friend. When you are young you don’t know any other way of reacting, so what you see is the norm and just how things are done in your family.

A phobia can be formed as a result of a specific event: perhaps you were bitten by a dog or were in a turbulent flight and were frightened. The physical symptoms of fear (sweaty palms, heart beating faster, short breathing etc.) can be very uncomfortable and people then fear those unpleasant sensations. People then focus on the awful feelings and try to avoid ever experiencing them again and so a phobia is born. Whatever the origin of the phobia, the more people avoid a situation the less likely they are to learn that they do come through it and survive the situation, even if it is unpleasant.

Treating phobias can be done in a number of ways. Counselling, psychotherapy and cognitive behaviour therapy will help people explore their behaviours, thoughts and feelings, and help them start to change those to a more balanced way of thinking. Desensitisation to the stimuli will often be used to help the person become more comfortable. This allows the person to be introduced to the stimulus in a planned way so that they gradually overcome their fear. Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and hypnotherapy also have useful techniques that can help people overcome their phobia.

Whatever the phobia, those suffering from them can be helped to overcome their fears and lead a more ‘normal’ life.

by Anne Morrison © 2011

Anne Morrison, MBSCH, Clinical and Cognitive Behaviour Hypnotherapist, lives in Whitley Bay and works in North Shields. She is also a volunteer therapist at Hospice Care North Northumberland providing support to patients and their relatives. She can be contacted by phone on 0191 300 0933 or via her website www.annemorrison.co.uk.

LOCAL HISTORY: King’s School

King’s School at Tynemouth is a co-educational, independent day school with a roll of approximately 800 pupils aged between 4 years and 18 years.

The school is a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference and has a Christian foundation as the largest member of the Woodard Corporation, but will accept pupils of any religious background.

Founded in Jarrow in 1860, the school had moved to its present site in Tynemouth by 1865. It was originally known as Tynemouth School and provided private education for local boys. In the 1960s the name was changed to that of King’s School, and was chosen in reference to the three ancient kings buried at Tynemouth Priory: Oswin, Osred and Malcolm III. Consequently, there are many student myths as to the correct position of the apostrophe in the name (King’s, rather than Kings’).

The school expanded and grew considerably during the latter part of the twentieth century, when it began to admit girls to both the Kindergarten and the Sixth Form. The school became fully co-educational in 1996, following the initial decision in 1992.

King’s originally occupied a large house on Huntington Place (Tynemouth House) and the adjoining terraces. This was later extended with the addition of the Nicholson Building (Nicholson’s) in the 1920s, and the Ellison Block (Ellison’s) in the 1960s. Further expansion occurred in 1991 with the addition of the design, technology and art block (the Provost building.) This continued in 1999 with the addition of the Chapter Building, comprising many new classrooms, along with the lecture theatre and 700-seat King’s Hall. In 2008, the school continued its development with the addition of the Oswin’s building, which houses: a new sports hall; dance studio; drama workshop; indoor climbing centre; a music school with recording studio; a cafeteria and all-day coffee bar; new Sixth Form study centre and social space; a new library; and classrooms for English learning support, French, Spanish and PE. The building replaces the former music school, gym, changing rooms and cafeteria.

Giuseppe Garibaldi, the 19th century Italian patriot, sailed into Tynemouth on 21 March 1854 and was said to have stayed at Tynemouth House whilst in exile. During his stay, a meeting was held at the house with British political and industrial leaders and he addressed them on his plans for a unified Italy. Garibaldi’s portrait was painted on this visit and is now displayed in a museum in Sardinia. A blue plaque situated on the outside wall of the school building commemorates his visit, and the room where he is purported to have slept is named the Garibaldi Room.

by Charlie Steel © 2011

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, local historian Charlie Steel has lived almost all of his life in Monkseaton. His books “Monkseaton and Hillheads” and “Inns and Taverns of North Shields” are published by Tempus and are available in all good book shops.

All Charlie’s articles which are featured in Roundabout Monkseaton can also be found on his website www.monkseaton.info. Charlie also writes articles for Roundabout Tynemouth.

If you have any old pictures or photographs of Monkseaton that you would like to share then please e-mail Charlie at charlie@monkseaton.info.

TRAVEL: York – history and good food on your doorstep

There was a buzz in the air as I stepped off the train at York Station. The glorious arched ceiling was filled with barely contained excitement and something else – smoke! Walking over the footbridge I saw the source of all the shrieks and pointing fingers. A shining Stanier Class Black Five loco (No. 45305) stood in a cloud of smoke at platform six surrounded by smiling men holding large cameras.

York is a city that is full of unexpected surprises. The glorious spires and gargoyles of the Minster that tower over the skyline from the city’s ancient walls are shocking in their enormity as you emerge from the shadows of the Shambles. The Minster looks like it would be perfectly at home in Paris or Belgium instead of at the end of a narrow street in Yorkshire. Inside the enormous church, gorgeous stained glass windows glisten in the sunshine, showering the faces of the hundreds of people who wander up and down the aisles with a kaleidoscope of  colours.

Tourists roamed the streets of York with cameras and wide eyes, taking in the beautiful architecture and the window displays of the decidedly independent shops. Delicious smells wound down the streets from the York Sausage Shop, lengths of ribbons like rainbows lined the walls in the artfully named ‘Dutton’s for Buttons’ and it was only the sheer length of the queues inside The Fudge Kitchen that saved me from gluttony.

Tucked away behind the Shambles is a marketplace buzzing with stalls selling Fedora hats, Indian incense and piles of ruby red cherries. Medieval wattle and daub houses decorated with bright hanging baskets make the scene look like something from many years gone by.

Deciding to join in with the tourist vibe, we joined the queues outside Bettys Café and Tea Rooms. The tearooms are beautiful inside with polished wood panels and mirrors lining the walls, a design inspired by the magnificent Queen Mary Cruise liner. The café displays are like works of art with delicate pastel coloured macaroons sandwiched between jewelled strawberry Pavlovas and glossy chocolate mousse cakes. Attentive waitresses in white lace trimmed blouses and aprons served our lunch and guided us expertly through the offerings of the dessert trolley.

There is almost too much to do in one weekend in York. We didn’t have time to visit the art gallery or the museum or even to take a boat trip along the Ouse that seem to me to be the perfect excuse for a return trip!

by Katherine Wildman © 2011

Katherine Wildman is a freelance copywriter and photographer based in Cullercoats who is currently studying for an MA in creative writing at Northumbria University.

She can supply quality written copy and photography for websites, sales letters, press adverts, email campaigns, press releases, brochures and articles.

Contact her by email at kewildman@me.com or on Twitter @skinnycap.

LOCAL HISTORY: The Black Horse Inn

The original Black Horse Inn was built in 1793 and stood on the north side of Monkseaton Front Street, on the same site as the present building.

The inn was originally a two-storey stone structure, which was remodelled some years later to include a third floor; as a result the building almost dominated this part of Front Street.

For many years during its life it was regularly used as a public meeting place, the earliest example of which was indicated in the Newcastle Courant dated 1798 in an article which read: “At Gawen Watson’s sign of the Black Horse, a meeting of the creditors of Timothy Duxfield will be held on the Twenty Fourth day of September 1798.”

An old document dated 1815 describes the premises as being in the possession of a Peregrine Henzell, an innkeeper of Newcastle, and Reay Johnson Archbold, late of Morpeth. The building was described as: “A messuage or dwelling house, used as a Public House, with a yard and a garden behind the same.” (The word messuage is derived from Anglo-French and means a dwelling-house with outbuildings and adjoining lands.)

In 1827 and 1828 the proprietor is recorded as a Thomas Yellowley, followed in 1834 and 1841 by a John Duxfield, and in 1845 by a Henry Whitfield.

Records indicate that by 1855 the Black Horse had been closed as a Public House, though it still retained a licence to sell ales and spirits. It was occupied at this time by a George Davidson, a local blacksmith and cartwright, and was used as a venue for winter assemblies which sometimes involved dancing until the early hours.

In 1869, the premises were sold to a John Elliott, and by 1887 they were being run by a Joseph Bell. In 1897, the landlord is recorded as a William Hills, who died in 1908 – but strangely enough, he was still recorded as the licensee in 1910.

The inn thereafter came under the ownership of Robinson and Anderson, a company who applied to the Whitley and Monkseaton Urban District Council to demolish and then rebuild the premises to a new design on the same site.

This application was approved in March 1936 and demolition work began almost immediately, including the removal of some of the adjacent cottages on Coronation Row. The Black Horse was immediately rebuilt on the same site to the  design we are familiar with to this day.

by Charlie Steel © 2011

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, local historian Charlie Steel has lived almost all of his life in Monkseaton. His books “Monkseaton and Hillheads” and “Inns and Taverns of North Shields” are published by Tempus and are available in all good book shops.

All Charlie’s articles which are featured in Roundabout Monkseaton can also be found on his website www.monkseaton.info. Charlie also writes articles for Roundabout Tynemouth.

If you have any old pictures or photographs of Monkseaton that you would like to share then please e-mail Charlie at charlie@monkseaton.info.

NORTHUMBERLAND & BORDER WALKS: The Upper Breamish Valley

The adrenaline seems to rush through my veins when I first set off on a long walk and the temptation is to burst out of the blocks like an Olympicsprinter. However, with the prospect of 13 switchback miles ahead of me I was determined, on this occasion at least, to ease slightly more gently into the day.

The neat farmstead of Hartside lies at the end of the public road through the Breamish Valley and is a popular starting point for walkers visiting the aptly-named Linhope Spout waterfall or the loftier Hedgehope Hill. I had no intention of visiting either. Instead, I left the buildings behind, headed west across an expanse of windswept heather moor to Rig Cairn, a tiny green island in a sea of August purple, and then on to the grass-covered High Cantle. The views reached out in every direction. To the north, the high tops of Comb Fell and The Cheviot caught the eye whilst below me the walking pole-straight Upper Breamish Valley cut a deep trench through an endless array of steep-sloped hills.

From this airy summit a knee-jarring descent rapidly delivered me to the valley bottom and the tranquil banks of the beautiful River Breamish. I ignored the recent replacement footbridge, crossed the river via the adjoining shallow ford and followed the route of the ancient border-crossing Salter’s Road over Nagshead Knowe. I was now in full flow and before long I was standing on the edge of the Uswayford Forest with less than one mile to go to the summit of the sixth highest hill in the range. However, with 142 metres of sporadically rough ascent between me and the boggy top of Bloodybush Edge I first needed to fill up my lungs.

In the event, the summit-crowning triangulation pillar was reached at a canter and, as I was keen to keep the momentum going, I continued on to Cushat Law, two boot-squelching miles away. Known affectionately as ‘The Monarch of Kidland’, this hill is a mere 14 metres higher than its neighbour and sports a fine shelter cairn. I needed no persuading to take a break in this delightfully isolated location.

After a leisurely lunch a long descent over the shapely, grass-carpeted Bush Knowe ultimately led me to the heather-mottled south western slopes of Shill Moor and another brief encounter with the Salter’s Road. From here there are a number of ways I could have returned to Hartside. I chose the most strenuous, straight over the top of Shill Moor from where I enjoyed, for the umpteenth time, the outstanding 360 degree panorama.

I then left the high ground behind and made my way sharply downhill to the single track Alnhammoor road and the mainly level trek back to Hartside. Along the way I made a short detour to Meggrim’s Knowe to visit the tiny 2009-erected memorial to 24 year old Pilot Officer Martin Walter Rivers who, on the 25 April 1941, was killed when his Hawker Hurricane stalled and crashed during a solo training flight from RAF Ouston. I felt fortunate to be on my way home.

by Geoff Holland © 2011

Geoff Holland is the author of four books of self-guided walks,  ‘The Cheviot Hills’, ‘Walks from Wooler’, ‘The Hills of Upper Coquetdale’ and  ‘Walks on the Wild Side The Cheviot Hills’ ,   is a  regular contributor to ‘TGO (The Great Outdoors)’, ‘Country Walking’ and ‘The Northumbrian’ magazines and is the operator of the highly acclaimed website www.cheviotwalks.co.uk. His books are available online from www.trailguides.co.uk or from all good bookshops and he can be heard reading a selection of his poems on www.listenupnorth.com. He has lived in Monkseaton for almost 40 years.