SUSPENDED ISLAND PREMIERE

We had a great time up in Newcastle. Bustling with people and activities all around the area surrounding BALTIC, Live Theatre and the river.

The opening party on Thursday night and the GEON premiere extravaganza on Friday night kept us all in a whirl.

I think it was Jane and Louise’s first such outdoor LED screen exhibition and so in particular all the issues around the sound (the headphones, the aps) were of utmost concern, and kept them very busy up until the last minute.

We had a visit on opening night from Newcastle Central’s labour MP Chi Onwurah!! Who loved the installation, and took the time to share her thoughts with Jane and Louise afterwards.

I didn’t get to see as many of the various GEON installations as I would have liked - but the show goes on until September 9th. The highlights for me were the city itself - the architecture by the river, the winking bridge, the Earl Grey Maypole installation which was pretty much completed by the time we left, and much as I wasn’t so impressed with the water sculpture jets, the opening night’s music & lights were great, the drone fireworks show was amazing - I have never seen that done before! But there’s a piece here in the Guardian that describes loosely what was on - although it doesn’t much of anything that was going on in the BALTIC itself - and there was loads!!

Beyond all the film and art, Newcastle and surrounding countryside was beautiful. We enjoyed a cycle ride out along the river Prudhoe Castle and what seemed very important to all was that The Hoppings was on and that we must absolutely go. Where Billiy lives in any case we had to cycle past it and herds of cows through the town moor - which again I just never got enough of (how great to have that in the middle of a city!). And the Tyneside cinema was also a great discovery - as was Dabbawal Indian street food restaurant, and La Petite Crêperie with an authentic Bretonne making us a couple of delicious completes & an excellent flat white for lunch in a beautiful but totally underused indoor market place (Grainger Market - what a shame regeneration needed there).

Fun to bump into Tina Gharavi at the exhibition too - whose film I am Nasrine was showing at the Tyneside cinema this week and was completely sold out!

So lots of reasons to keep going back to Newcastle!

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