Boro Soup will be celebrating its 50th event on the 29th September. A live crowdfunding supper where members of the public are invited to listen to live music, eat great food and support community groups, charities and individuals who will pitch for funding to support community-led projects across Middlesbrough.
The movement, first started in the USA, has grown massively in Middlesbrough since its inaugural event in 2017. Held at Gutsy Girl & Co on Marton Road, up to 3 pitchers are given the opportunity to talk about their idea or project to the audience who then donate to the projects they would like to support, with each donation match funded. The event also includes live music from a local artist, a local business stall as well as free soup which is served up to everyone after pitches.
Boro Soup has now supported over 100 local projects and has raised almost £30,000. Organisations and projects that have been supported through the crowdfunder include clothing banks, activists and artists to name but a few. Ruth Greenwood from the clothing bank project said the money raised “went a long way and made a difference to many individuals and families who were really struggling in 2017 as sanctions to DWP benefits left thousands of claimants in the Teesside area without any benefits for weeks and in some cases up to 6 months.” Ruth went on to say “Boro Soup was a wonderful experience from the point of view of community cohesion and networking. We met some lovely people from other local community groups who we are still in touch with today.”
Emily Treadgold, Boro Soup organiser said “Boro SOUP is something I am really proud to be a part of: it brings people together, supports amazing local projects (no matter how small) and creates a welcoming community that feels empowering to be a part of.
Events like these are something that I feel a lot of people including myself want more of, to strengthen connections between people and projects in our area and to see Middlesbrough thrive.”
Boro Soup is held every 2 months and the 50th event will be held on the 29th September at Gutsy Girl & Co on Marton Road from 5.30pm. The event is free to attend and no booking is required. Guests will be treated to live music from Andy Jones, delicious soup provided by Gutsy Girl and Co and a look back to the past of the many inspiring projects Boro Soup has supported since its launch as well as hearing from 3 inspirational pitches doing good in the local area.
Until 1881, the Ship Inn had the dubious distinction of also being used as the local mortuary for victims of drowning. Regular occurrences of bodies being washed up on the beach – which had to be accommodated at the Ship Inn whilst awaiting post mortem – prompted the need for a mortuary. This was eventually built for Brotton Local Board, the key being available at Mr Temple’s house! The Saltburn Local Board had apparently declined to contribute to the cost of building the mortuary.
The Mortuary was one of three buildings on the site, the nearest to the Ship Inn being the Lifeboat House and sandwiched between that and the Mortuary was the Rocket Brigade building.
Today only the Mortuary remains standing as the Lifeboat House and the Rocket Brigade house were demolished in a road widening scheme.
The Mortuary is a Grade II listed building. Internally many original features are intact. The building had been used in more recent years as a wood store and before that as a photographers studio. Tees Valley Wildlife trust had used the building since the mid eighties until recently. In September 2007 Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and English Heritage opened the Mortuary to the public for four days.
The tiny room, 12ft x 18ft, became a mini museum which received over 1000 visitors eager to visit the last resting place of dozens of individuals during its working lifetime. The future of the building is as yet uncertain but a friends group has been formed and is working closely with the local authority to try to ensure that the
Mortuary will remain standing as a sentinel for many years to come. It has been suggested having a glass door on the front of the Mortuary with a light inside (two small skylights provide the only lighting in the building) and appropriate signage until such time as a scheme for the whole area is agreed upon and is able to be carried out.
It would seem that the general impression about the Mortuary is that it was only used for bodies washed up on the beach and rocks. This was not so. Until the early 1970’s when Cleveland County was formed, all persons who died as a result of “sudden death” were taken to the Mortuary on the authority of the Cleveland Coroner who had an office in Guisborough. “Sudden death” was in fact apart from accidental death, when a doctor could not state the cause of death or the person had not seen a doctor in the last fourteen days.
The body was then removed by the Coroner’s Officer, who was the local policeman on duty and the undertaker. The Coroner would then decide whether a post mortem was necessary or if the body could be returned to relatives for burial or cremation. On this basis the Mortuary was used regularly on what we would today term 365/24.
Those days came to an end when Cleveland County was formed, and full time coroner’s officers were appointed within the whole of the County and bodies were removed straight to the pathology department at Middlesbrough General Hospital.
Project Middlesbrough is looking to try organise a tour of the Mortuary with a local historian , if this is something you would be interesting coming along to please send us an email to projectmiddlesbrough@gmail.com
Project Middlesbrough earlier this week caught up with local Teesside based business ,That Design studio to find out the story behind this local Saltburn based craft business.
Tell us little a bit about you?
I love a good piece of cake and living by the sea! I’m a big fan of pattern and colourful things as well as 60s & 70s design. I studied graphic design and photography at The Northern School of Art and Leeds Arts University, before working in printing for several years. Now, I work around my toddler and am slowly working on THAT. design studio with my own designs and freelance work.
What’s the idea behind your business how did it start?
Earlier this year I started designing cards focusing around parenting and babies, but had lots of other ideas that I wanted to explore. After a brilliant opportunity to collaborate with Northern Power Garms, designing two hoodies, I decided to start working on THAT. design studio as a platform for these ideas and freelance work.
How did you come up with your name?
I liked the idea of referencing my toddler somehow – her favourite word for quite a while was “that”, so I thought it would be great to use it as the name for the business.
Can you tell us how you come up with your designs ideas what are inspirations ?
I’m inspired by lots of different things, from the lovely North to retro design. I like to keep a notepad or my phone handy to scribble down any little sketches or phrases as I have ideas. Then, once I can take time to sit down and go through them, I spend a while considering the ideas more thoroughly, and exploring how they might work on a finished product.
Can you tell us a bit about some of current products you sell any upcoming ones in have in line?
Initially, I’ve been focusing mainly on cards, but I’m happy to have started adding some Northern keyrings and mugs. As well as this, I’m going to start applying my love of patterns to other products, which is exciting. I’ve also enjoyed designing commissions for The Indie Midwife and Independent Teesside. It’s fab to work with other Northern businesses and hope to grow this area of my work more. I think it’s important to look for more environmentally friendly options where possible for my products too, as I add to my product range. Rather than cellophane bags I use bags made from a biodegradable/compostable material. I’ve sourced UK manufactured card blanks and envelopes, with recycled content too.
Where can people find your products to purchase ?
At the moment, my items are available in my Etsy shop, plus I’m also starting to stock some products with some local independent retailers (House of Foliage for cards and Light up North for mugs).
Many of designs are themed around the local area can you tell us a bit more about that , what does the area mean to you?
I’ve always lived up North, and feel that it’s a lovely place to be. We have some amazing coastline and beautiful countryside. I think it’s great to celebrate local foods, traditions and landmarks – it’s all part of loving where you live.
Before the 1800s the town was little more than a truck stop for travelers and traders moving up and down the country in search of better things. The earliest recording of the town’s name is ‘Mydilsburgh’ which alluded to the town’s middle-journey status on the famous Christian Durham to Whitby route. In 1801, there were no more than four farmhouses marking the territory of the town.
In the early 1800s, one very forward sighted entrepreneur, Joseph Pease, decided to nurture Middlesbrough’s much overlooked potential. Pease used his influence to establish a rail connection from Darlington and develop Middlesbrough as a port for coal. He famously predicted that “Yarm was, Stockton is, Middlesbrough will be”. Indeed, the motto chosen by the first body of town councillors was ‘Erimus’; Latin for ‘We will be’.
Joseph Pease (22 June 1799 – 8 February 1872) was involved in the early railway system in England and was the first Quaker elected to Parliament.
Pease joined his father Edward and other members of the Pease family in starting the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company. Pease was married to Emma Gurney, daughter of Joseph Gurney of Norwich in 1826. They had sixteen children, amongst them was Arthur Pease (1837-1898). Pease’s ninth child, Elizabeth Lucy married the agricultural engineer and inventor, John Fowler. Fowler was a pioneer in the application of steam power to agriculture.
In 1829 Pease was managing the Stockton and Darlington Railway in place of his father. In 1830 he bought so many of the collieries in his area that he became the largest owner of collieries in South Durham. That same year Pease, Joseph Gurney, and some other Quaker businessmen bought a large tract of land at Middlesbrough. They turned it into a port for exporting coal. In December 1830 a new railway line was opened on the Stockton and Darlington to Middlesbrough to get Pease’s coal there.
In 1832 Pease was elected as a Member of Parliament for South Durham. As a Quaker, he was not immediately allowed to take his seat, because he would not take the oath of office. A special committee considered the question and decided that Pease could affirm, rather than swear, and he was accepted into the membership of the Parliament. He was also unusual in that, like most Quakers of the day, he refused to remove his hat as he entered the House of Commons.
Pease supported the Whig governments of Earl Grey and Lord Melbourne. He joined Thomas Fowell Buxton in the anti-slavery movement. He supported the removal of bishops from the House of Lords. He was also in favour of shorter Parliaments and the secret ballot. He retired from politics in 1841.
In 1860 Pease became the president of the Peace Society, a post he held until his death.
Middlesbrough Football Club has played a central part in the wider town’s history dating back to the club’s origins in the 1870s.
From an early nomadic existence that included matches in Albert Park, to nurturing local stars who went on to represent England including Wilf Mannion, Brian Clough and Alan Peacock and the modern era at the Riverside, the story of football in Middlesbrough has been closely intertwined with places and people at the heart of the town.
Inspired by material from the club’s archives, oral histories, podcasts and a range of personal collections, a new ‘From Ayresome Park to the Riverside’ trail will be launched this Saturday, October 30, as part of the Discover Middlesbrough festival.
The digital walking trail – designed by Peter Hinton Design and curated by Heritage Unlocked’s Dr Tosh Warwick and FMTTM editor Robert Nichols with support from Middlesbrough Council Public Health – will be available through the Huntee website and will be launched with a guided walk taking place before the next home match against Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Boro-inspired trail will take in a route from Middlesbrough FC’s home of 92 years Ayresome Park and lead supporters on a journey through the club’s history en route to the Riverside Stadium, home since 1995.
The trail combines visits to a number of familiar, fascinating and perhaps unfamiliar places that have played an important in part in Middlesbrough’s football history.
These will include the pitch puddle installation by celebrated sculptor Neville Gabie at Ayresome Park marking the spot from where Pak Do Ik famously struck his winning goal against Italy in the 1966 FIFA World Cup – a sculpture thought to be the only public artwork outside of North Korea to be recognised by the DPRK government and considered a National Historic Monument.
The trail also takes in Albert Park – the club’s first home – and the statue of Boro legend and managerial colossus Brian Clough, who famously used to walk through the park en route to Ayresome Park from his home in Valley Road.
Information on Clough’s career at the Boro features alongside other Boro players memories of Albert Park, including those of legendary forward Alan Peacock who used to play in the park as a child before sneaking into Ayresome Park when the gates opened to allow fans looking to make an early exit!
The walk will continue into the town centre and take in the sites of former Boro grounds, buildings closely associated with Boro history and will revisit stories of Victorian trophy processions and 1980s promotion celebrations – all supported by a rich array of photographs and historic material.
Heading to the Riverside Stadium, statues of Boro greats George Hardwick and Wilf Mannion will also be visited along with a number of historic plaques and memorials telling the story of the club and players through the ages – including those who lost their lives during the First World War.
The new digital trail will also provide an opportunity for supporters to share their own Boro memories, stories and souvenirs with view to updating the trail regularly with new anecdotes and information about Middlesbrough FC from a fans’ viewpoint.
It is hoped the ‘From Ayresome Park To The Riverside’ trail will also be used as an education and tourism resource so younger supporters and visitors to Middlesbrough can explore the history and heritage of the club and town.
· Join Dr Tosh Warwick and Robert Nichols at The Holgate (TS5 6BX) – opposite the Holgate End Wall at 1pm on Saturday, October 30.
The walk will take approximately 90 minutes allowing enough time to arrive at the Riverside Stadium for the match.
This blog piece is very different to my usually Project Middlesbrough work it’s about my experience of being a woman what I feel is wrong with society’s attitudes towards women’s safety, in regards to sexual harassment or sexual abuse rape,murder of women.
Dear
to my fellow women out there this is open letter to you in relation to the recent events in the last few months just how I been feeling about the whole situation, you course would know I am speaking about the tragic deaths of Sarah Everard most recently Sabina Nessa two women just simply walking who were tragically lost their lives.
We seen last week Sarah’s killer was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole meaning he will die in prison can only be some justice to the horrid crime the individual committed, yes, I will not be naming his name in this piece don’t even feel his worth any space. The Sentence can only give some level of comfort to Sarah’s family and women across the UK some justice for Sarah and knowing the monster will never be released from prison.
Question that’s on my mind is how a serving police offer was allowed to even do this, I know people will say you can’t stop someone doing something yes that’s very true even I admit. To hear there were reports a week before the murder it was reported he was accused of flashing to other women, how was this individual allowed to be still serving and keep his warrant card, something that is very questionable.
What’s even more sad to hear is people’s comments regarding the murders instead questioning why the killer would commit such a horrid crime, we seem to always blame the victims like somehow its their fault, they could have somehow helped stopped this from happening to themselves. I will give you an example Sabina Nessa murder first thing I heard people say was she was out alone that time of night really or London is not a safe place for a woman. The same with Sarah’s death I heard why she got in the car with him, or did she not question him first.
Suggesting somehow both women are partly at fault with what happened to them lets get this clear it doesn’t matter whether a woman is walking alone at 3 o’clock in the morning or midday in a crowd of people this should never have happened, blaming the victim is part of the issue with attitudes towards women I hear both genders make these comments I’m basically stating don’t blame the victim. Women should have the right to walk alone anywhere at any time without being stalked having sexual comments made towards them, be sexual assaulted raped or killed.
Sexual harassment now I’m going to be speaking from my own personal experiences how many times do you hear when a woman is raped or murdered, this a very rare doesn’t happen much I hear them type of comments all to often even about sexual harassment. I’m 26 years old I been subject to sexual harassment three times I am sure most women reading this have themselves experienced some form of sexual harassment its far too common today. Most people are totally unaware that being touched on the breasts, grabbed between the legs, or squeezed on the bottom could constitute as sexual assault many women see this behaviour as normal would never think to report it to the police. When I was younger going out first experiencing night life and adulthood on one or more occasions, I was subject to being touch in a private area without consent, thinking nothing of it remembering thinking it was acceptable behaviour it was part of lad culture, at the time I was only in my early 20s looking back wish I reacted differently I was not educated or ever told this was not okay behaviour. Today I feel this type of behaviour is still seen as acceptable by most people as seen as normal as just part of people being drunk, and the lad culture lets face the fact its not okay at all being touched in a private area without consent when I experienced this it was by three individuals I did not know.
I always been a very confident women in my youth and early adulthood you’re most probably wondering what I mean as in it would never bother me walking around my area alone in the evening or walking home from the bus stop after I finished work after a 8/9 o’clock finish, I never thought nothing of it. I would always have them comments made towards me should you be walking home alone at that time plenty of more, somehow making me feel I was committing some crime and doing something wrong. I always been a keen traveller took group trips gone solo being on flights alone let nothing stop me get in the way of travel goals, I again heard comments “you fly alone”you shouldn’t go to that country on your own your asking for trouble” always making me feel I done something wrong even other women telling me I’m brave for doing the things I do , I simply see it as enjoying my life and yes I am sensible of course there’s some places I will not travel to . I have the right as a women to walk home alone and travel alone without being harassed or sexual assaulted or attacked shouldn’t have even think about many women do because somebody else has urge to behaviour in a disgusting way towards me.
In regards to women being stopped by solo male police officer we heard the head of the police in London state women should flag a bus down if they felt unsafe about going in a car with male police officer or phone 999 to make sure there a police officer don’t even know what you can say to that advice except no women should have to feel that unsafe when in presence of a police officer , my message to the MET police is make sure your officers aren’t sexual monsters , we hear another officer in Sarah’s killers unit was convicted of rape this week , please make sure your putting the right people on the streets to protect us instead of making it our issue.
This is not an attack on men to any male readers this is not attack on you, I am not someone who believes that all men have these attitudes I know vast majority of men do not share these attitudes towards women.
We have so far to go as an society to change attitudes towards women and making women feel safe to live there lives freely without being subject to any form of abuse, my message to all the women out there don’t be afraid to live your life, it’s not fair for any of you to feel unsafe.
Let’s stop sexual abuse towards women, try changing attitudes by educating people, stop blaming women for sexual abuse.
There’s an odd stereotype about our LGBT+ community on Teesside: that we don’t really exist.
It’s not true, of course – our LGBTees network alone has over two hundred members, and this is just a fraction of an estimated 13,400 LGBT+ people across the Tees Valley. We’ve always been here – but how much of our history can we read about?
Instead, what we can read is a lot of commentators saying Teesside couldn’t possibly be a place for LGBT+ people. As with most dodgy opinions, you can find examples of this on Twitter. When the government announced it was going to hold a global LGBT+ conference, the Spectator journalist Jonathan Miller tweeted that it would be irrelevant to ‘everyone in Hartlepool.’ Before that, in February, a man called Anthony tweeted that ‘traditional voters in Redcar’ dislike ‘gender identity politics’. The same view about ‘voters in Redcar’ was tweeted out by a bloke called Michael the year before, and the journalist Helen Lewis the year before that. The problem with all this is that Helen is from Worcester, Anthony is from Norfolk, Jonathan is from France, and Michael is an expat from Yeovil who now lives in Turkey. None of these people, as far as I can tell, have ever even been to Teesside. Their average distance from us is about 760 miles, although I imagine Michael’s doing most of the legwork there.
The challenge here is that for decades, we haven’t been able to tell our own story. It’s been written for us, mainly by those who Jeff Stelling might describe as guacamole-eating latte-drinkers. The truth is that there is a rich, diverse history across Teesside; we’ve had feminist pioneers like Marion Coates Hansen, Alice Coates and Red Ellen Wilkinson, all the way through to Mo Mowlam or Steph McGovern. We’ve had anti-racist campaigners from the Stockton trade unionists through to today’s activists like ‘Chief’ Bradley Mafuta or Georgina Chinaka. So too have we had generations of LGBT+ folk.
That’s why, as we prepare for our post-pandemic Pride, it’s a good opportunity to take a look at just some of the LGBT+ Teessiders left out of our history.
Esmé Langley (b.1919)
Guisborough is a quiet East Cleveland town, perhaps best known for its beautiful ruined priory, home to monks during the 12th century. But in 1919, a woman was born in Guisborough who would go on to lead a less-than-monastic life.
Esmé Langley had a happy childhood, and moved south at the age of sixteen. After working on cyphers at the War Office during WWII, she became a writer and publisher. She had a strong desire to fight for minorities, and in 1963 she founded the UK’s first lesbian group, the Minorities Research Group. Her first task for the MRG was to set up a new publication – Britain’s first lesbian magazine.
In spring 1964 the first issue of Arena Three was published, and Langley took on the sole legal and financial responsibility for it. The magazine provided a lifeline for lesbians and bisexual women across the country; the former secretary of the Homosexual Law Reform Society, Antony Grey, later wrote that Arena Three was pivotal in ‘breaching the public wall of silence and bringing lesbianism into the arena of public debate’. Esmé risked loss of employment, abuse and ostracization from family to do it.
Arena Three ran until July 1971, before morphing into a new publication called Sappho, first published in April 1972. Sappho was the dominant means by which lesbian and bisexual feminist voice was developed in the UK, until its final issue was published in 1981. The two publications were directly responsible for establishing key LGBT+ organisations, such as the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard and KENRIC, the UK’s longest-running lesbian social group. But indirectly, the impact of Esmé’s work was in huge strides of social progress for lesbians and bisexual women. By the time she passed away in 1991, homosexuality had been partly decriminalised and Stonewall were amassing public opposition to the Conservatives’ vicious Section 28 legislation.
That progress circled back to Teesside. A Teesside Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) group was founded in November 1970; by 1972 there were three separate CHE Groups across the Tees Valley. Under Labour’s Mike Carr in the 1980s, Middlesbrough Council set up its first equal opportunities committee and donated £750 to fund a lesbian telephone helpline. The council was branded “Looney Left” for doing so, and the Evening Gazette published a whole page of complaint letters. That didn’t stop the community from growing. A small LGBT+ scene started to emerge in Middesbrough, and older folks in the community will remember a tiny club called Paradise in the 1980s, as well as gay nights at The Grand Astoria, The Hog’s Head (now a Tesco) and Centrefold (now being turned into flats).
Reverend Christopher Wardale (b.1946)
Esmé had been born in the midst of a post-war baby boom – and 27 years later, there came another one. From the rubble of the Second World War came the NHS and the modern welfare state, and a new generation came with it too. Two and a half million babies were born in the years directly after the Second World War; one of those babies was Christopher Wardale.
Christopher was born in Saltburn in 1946; his father was the boss of Saltburn Motor Services, a major bus company in East Cleveland which ran 44 vehicles transporting I.C.I. workers, builders and tourists. This upbringing allowed him to go to university to study fine arts. At 30, he was accepted for training to the priesthood.
“I never thought of myself as a priest who ‘happened’ to be gay,” he would later write. “I was called by God as a gay man to be a priest.”
After being ordained in 1979, the Reverend Wardale became an energetic, pioneering leader across the North East – turning around churches from Boldon Colliery in Tyneside to Cockerton in County Durham. He served as the minister of Holy Trinity Darlington for 14 years from 1992. It wasn’t always easy; he was spat at and called the ‘anti-Christ’. But his ability to preach with joy, fun and compassion led to his description in The Northern Echo in 2006: “respected by many”.
In the late 1980s, Christopher met his long-term partner Malcolm, an academic at Northumbria University. After twenty years together, the couple celebrated their civil partnership in 2005. They were among the first civil partnerships in the country, and although the church nationally didn’t approve, their local church held a thanksgiving celebration service where the former Bishop of Durham blessed the couple.
After his 60th birthday in 2006, Christopher retired. Hundreds of local well-wishers turned out at his church in Darlington, and even the Mayor came along to give Christopher and Malcolm three cheers. Since then, Christopher and Malcolm have continued to work to change attitudes in the church across the UK and Ireland. Same-sex marriage is currently not allowed in most Anglican churches, although change is coming; the Scottish Episcopal Church approved equal marriage in 2017, and the Church in Wales this year. In July, the Methodist Church also voted to allow same-sex marriage, following the United Reformed Church and the Quakers.
Elisha Lowther (b.1966)
By the time Christopher retired, the community across Teesside was starting to thrive. Local LGBT+ bars included Annie’s, The Oak, Cassidy’s and Desirez in the 1990s and early 2000s – predecessors to today’s clubs like Tiny and Sapphire’s. In 1997, the Rainbow Centre community group was established, which became Hart Gables in 2005. Several local support groups started to emerge, and at the heart of at least five different support groups was one woman, Elisha Lowther. I interviewed Ellie last year.
Ellie grew up in the 1960s in a mixed-race family of six, living in a tiny two-bedroom terraced house in the centre of Middlesbrough.
‘I remember when I was a kid,’ she recalls, ‘there was one person on my street who got ridiculed all over the place for “dressing like a woman”, in the standard of then. Where we are now, we’ve made so much progress.’
‘The youngsters today, who don’t fit into the binary, they’re going to take a baseball bat to all these ‘-isms’. The youngsters see a sense of urgency in making the world a more inclusive and cleaner and fairer place.’
Elisha founded a wide range of local support groups, including Middlesbrough Survivors, Teesside Survivors, Cleveland Transgender Association and Trans Aware. Trans Aware operated the “Our House Project”, which provided a safe living space for trans Teessiders, as well as an online peer support group. The oldest person to receive support from Ellie’s group is 80 years old.
‘I’ve had transphobic people come on my sessions. And at the end of the session, they’re not transphobic any more. They actually understand it. They understand the sandpaper feeling of dysphoria. They understand where it comes from, they understand how it interacts. So I think in that way, bit by bit, we’re changing things.’
‘For me, it’s about being in the position to make change… and I think the change is coming. We were born to make history, every one of us.’
Making history
There are hundreds of stories like these, going back to Teesside’s very beginnings.
There was the Bainesse Gallus, a gender-non-conforming Roman priest who lived in North Yorkshire in the 4th century. There was Anne Lennard, daughter of the Duchess of Cleveland, who had a lesbian relationship with the Italian mistress of her father King Charles II. There was William Metcalf, an elderly resident of Sir William Turner’s Hospital in Kirkleatham who was expelled for ‘sodomy’ in the 1770s. There was Sir Edmund Backhouse, an eccentric bisexual scholar from Darlington who alleged he’d had affairs with Prime Minister Archibald Primrose and the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi. There was Harold Macmillan, MP for Stockton and future Prime Minister, widely considered to have been bisexual. There was Harry Coen and David Thornton, flamboyant gay journalists in Redcar in the 1970s who were arrested for organising an illegal 3,000-person gig for the Edgar Broughton Band, fresh from playing the Keele student occupation. There was Denise Mosse, a trans woman who grew up in Skelton in the 1960s and became Redcar’s chess champion. There are Victorian accounts of Saltburn fishermen dressing in drag to catch unsuspecting seals, sixty years before New York’s drag balls took off in the 1920s. There are LGBT+ veterans of North East mining communities, like Bob Bell, who can tell stories of the queer encounters some had while waiting for seams to be blown. Later, during the miners’ strikes in 1984, the Gay Scotland magazine published a letter from ‘Lance’, a 21-year-old North Yorkshire miner.
‘I’m gay,’ he wrote, ‘but some don’t believe it! Why should I keep quiet? I have as much right as anybody else to express my feelings!’
LGBT+ Teessiders have always been here, and we aren’t going anywhere. It’s as Middlesbrough’s motto says: Erimus. We shall be.
There’s another motto that exists on Teesside, of course: ‘Progress In Unity’. These were the words stitched into Teesside’s crest of arms more than fifty years ago, emblazoned in red beneath images of ships and seahorses and billowing wreaths in silver and blue. The message was simple: that only together can we move forward.
It was an unlikely idea, borne out of the hopes of generations of workers and families who had put differences aside to build a place they could call home. Less of a motto, and more of a promise: a vow to their children and their childrens’ children that one day it would be real. Teesside has not always lived up to this promise. But throughout the stories is a common thread of hope. We may come from different places, look different, and carry different identities with us, but for all of us this little corner of the world is home. That’s who we are – and who (Erimus) we shall be.
Article by Luke Myer is a writer and campaigner from Redcar & Cleveland who runs LGBTees, a Teesside LGBT+ network with over 200 members.
This is a letter open letter to my beloved hometown Middlesbrough so here it goes.
Dear Middlesbrough you give me so much in my life in my short 26 years of life so far of living, I didn’t know for a long time how much you made me the person I am today in 2021. In my teen years and early 20s I did nothing but disrespect you, I mean if I’m being honest every opportunity I had I did look back how much I would speak negatively of the place I always called him I would see now its like looking at a different person in the mirror.
I often think and wonder how have I gone being 5 years ago traveling around Europe aged 21 speaking nothing but negatively about my beloved hometown to now 5 years on aged 26 running this blog celebrating positive stories and events happening here.
My started the blog back in late 2018 Project Middlesbrough is about to celebrate its 3rd of running which I can’t believe one I first launched. I thought it would last few months I never thought end up with nearly 40,000 visitors to my website nearly 5000 followers on the Facebook page and now even being radio presenter on a local station.
Your most probably wondering what my blog and being on the radio has to do with my hometown shaping me as a person, that’s just it there would be no Project Middlesbrough without Middlesbrough. With no blog there would never have been the opportunity for me to work in radio , write and have published be paid by other online platform’s to write pieces something I would never dreamt a few years ago, being paid to write articles for other people have some of my pieces been read by more than 2000 people. Even more so suffering from dyslexia yes I do struggle time to time with it without my blog I would never had achieved any of these thing, 2 years ago appearing on BBC News and appearing on national radio stations talking about my hometown all these amazing things which have happened to time in the 2 and half are down to my hometown Middlesbrough, none of this would happened if it wasn’t for you.
I grew so much as a person in the last few years through starting my blog , I can’t thank nothing more than my hometown without you I would never achieved my dreams , discover my passion working in radio.
Yes I know there are many issues in Middlesbrough; I think many people who read the blog think I am blind to this I know as much as the next person there’s many issues in our town I see every day. I can see when walking through the town centre there are many businesses closes there’s much work to be done to try and make our town a better place, I know a lot has gone wrong there’s much to be corrected, I feel many towns as there issues where just one of them, with hard work our town will grow and get better progress into a stronger and better place to live.
Project Middlesbrough is here to highlight positive stories happening in our area , so much negative media attention on our town this is a space for positive stories those positive voices derisive a place to be heard.
I have like many people who live here or live nearby have had a love to hate relationship with the area wanting to move away go somewhere with more opportunities ,speaking badly of the area when on my travels ,been ashamed of my Boro accent.
You’re not perfect Middlesbrough sometimes I question why I’m still here , but thankyou for helping me to become the person I am today.
From 30th September – 3rd October 2021 Middlesbrough Art Weekender (MAW) returns with work by artists around the theme of Infra-structure – visible and invisible, above and below, hard and soft.
Middlesbrough Art Weekender (MAW) and MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, are seeking applications for work by artists based in the North East or who have a connection to the area for an exhibition that forms part of MAW21. The selected artists will display their work in a group show or in appropriate interventions across Middlesbrough. The selection will be made by curators from MAW and MIMA and previously selected artists Penelope Payne and David Reynolds.
What to submit
A short description of the work, alongside a brief artist bio and contact details.
For 2D and 3D work, up to 5 still images (links or images). For video and sound work, performance, documentation etc please provide links to work online.
For large scale works and extensive installations please contact us prior to applying. If you are submitting work for a specific intervention, additional contextual information can
also be submitted.
Applications can be made via video & audio. If you would like to apply with an alternative format then please contact us before doing so.
Access statement if required.
What we offer selected artists
Exhibition: A group exhibition that forms part of MAW’s core programme
Artist Fee: £500
Professional Development: Virtual studio visit with Elinor Morgan, Head of Programme (MIMA), and a group crit with Elinor Morgan, Chris Clarke, Senior Curator (The Glucksman Museum, Ireland) and MAW curatorial team.
Who’s involved in selecting the artists?
Elinor Morgan is Head of Programme at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. Since 2008 she has curated residencies, exhibitions, public education programmes across the UK and has led and supported public art projects and developed freelance projects. She co-edited ‘The Constituent Museum’ (Valiz, 2018), a reader on how arts institutions might work differently with their publics. Elinor enjoys writing and editing essays, articles and reviews.
Helen Welford is Assistant Curator at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. She specialises in the management of the Middlesbrough Collection held at MIMA and on the development and production of large-scale exhibitions. Helen’s research interest include feminist practice and representations of queer identities.
Penny Payne is an artist working on the North East coast, through sculpture and installation her practice considers and brings attention to overlooked women’s histories. Penny has shown work at M.A.W in 2018/19 and is currently showing her sculpture ”Unwoven” at Cheeseburn Sculpture Garden. She will also be presenting new work that combines research and traditional practice as part of the exhibition ‘Sonia Boyce: In The Castle Of My Skin’ at MIMA in 2021.
David Reynolds is an artist and researcher based in Newcastle upon Tyne who’s practice is concerned with world building and queer futures
The Middlesbrough Art Weekender selectors are Liam Slevin, MAW festival Director and co-founder of The Auxiliary, Middlesbrough, and Kypros Kyprianou, MAW curator, artist, filmmaker and tinkerer.
What happens if you aren’t selected for the North East Open Call?
Whilst we can only fund a small amount of artists with this particular opportunity, we are
always keen to hear from artists for potential future partnerships. Please indicate if you are
also happy for us to keep your contact details on file for future opportunities from both
5th July: Shortlisting and artists selection made by MIMA, MAW, Penny Payne and David Reynolds
11th July: All artists notified
July/August: Professional Development: Virtual studio visits with Elinor Morgan, Head of Programme, & Helen Welford, Assistant Curator, MIMA
13th September: work at the venue in Middlesbrough (TBC. Please note, all artists are responsible for the shipping/transport of work to and from MAW21).
During the festival (date TBC): Group social with Elinor Morgan, Chris Clarke and MAW curatorial team.
NE Volume Music Bar is host to a variety of musical entertainment to suit all tastes in Stockton-On-Tees. Co-Owner Lee approached Abby+Owen to produce an original mural. The entertainment venue on Yarm Lane hosts a variety of talent and the mural features musicians with a link to Teesside, bands include Glass Caves, Charlotte Grayson, Alistair James, Maximo Park, Young Rebel Set and Komparrison.
NE Volume Music Bar owner, Lee Allcock, commissioned Abby+Owen (Abby Taylor and Owen Smith) for the original artwork, the creative duo behind the towns social distancing signs.
Abby Taylor said ‘We tore the names of the brands directly from past copies of NE Volume magazine and scanned them in to blow up and add to the mural’ Owen added ‘We’re delighted to have been able to create this piece celebrating the vibrant local music scene”.
Lee Allcock said ‘We are elated to unveil this stunning original artwork by Stockton creatives, Abby+Owen! It’ll be a key feature outside the venue for years to come. We hope you love it just as much as we do.
Submissions invited for a selected prize exhibition to be held at 2B Hill Street Centre, October – November 2021
Dimensional works in any painting or drawing medium, which can include collage. Prints and photography not included .
Any size considered but must be able to be hung using our system (strung,not mirror-plates).
Subject: Works relating to Teesside. These can be landscape and cityscape or people, and can also be works of social/political/ historical interest. Should have been created within the last two years Judges to be appointed.
Cost of submission, £5/per work. Up to 3 works may be submitted. There will be a Judges Choice prize of £250, two further prizes of £50 each and the opportunity to exhibit your work at 2B where it will be available for sale. (Terms and Conditions apply)
The exhibition is open to any amateur or professional artists over 18 years of age, with connections to Teesside. Work will be judged on imaginative content, interest and innovation as much as prior artistic ability or skill.
Work should be delivered in person to 2B, Hill Street Centre, Middlesbrough TS1 1SU during the week from Monday 13th until Saturday 18th September from 9.30am until 4pm, at which time payment will be received.
Please contact Miranda on 07392521801 or email 2bcreativehealth@gmail.com if you would like more information and for details of submission requirements.
For a long time, the residents of Camden Street would only venture into their alleyway to quickly get rid of their bin bags.
Blighted by fly-tipping and overrun with vermin, the back alley was unsafe and a target for anti-social behaviour.
But Kasper Czarnocki and his wife Kinga had seen enough – and decided to take action, contacting Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston on social media to see what they could do.
The family rallied neighbours and volunteers and, with funding and support from Middlesbrough Council’s Amazing Alleys project, they transformed where they live.
Now, the alleyway is a true community space, adorned with original graffiti artwork and decorated with dozens of colourful hanging baskets of flowers.
“This was a place that you would avoid, it was disgusting, we had real issues with fly-tipping and rats,” said Kasper (above, left), 36, who is originally from Poland but has lived in Camden Street for 15 years.
“We’ve never had a space for the kids to play or for us to get outside, and after the year and a half we have had we thought ‘enough is enough’.”
With the help of the council’s Amazing Alley project and mural artist Dan Walls (above, right) of Illumination Wall Arts in Bishop Auckland, the alley’s tired and dirty walls were completely overhauled.
Joined by neighbours, volunteers and Mayor Preston, the alleyway was cleared and cleaned, painted and decorated over a four-day period during the May bank holiday.
“What a fantastic day it was, everyone got together and it has brought us as neighbours much closer together,” continued Kasper, who said his son Kajtek, five, has now made friends with neighbours and can play out for the first time.
“We’re very grateful for the support and help we got from the council, but I have one message – if you want to do something, then do it. Nobody will come and do it for you. We decided to take responsibility and it’s turned out brilliant.”
Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston said: “Kasper and Kinga and everyone who got involved in the amazing transformation of their alleyway are the best of Middlesbrough.
“They were sick of the mess and anti-social behaviour and took matters into their own hands to do something about it.
“With support and money from Middlesbrough Council and the help of some incredible volunteers, they’ve produced this stunning space with artwork, flowers and seating.
“It’s really brought the community together and provided kids with a safe and clean place to play.
“More communities across the town are pulling together in similar ways to transform their alleys with the backing of the council.
“Sadly, fly tippers and bin rummagers are constantly leaving our alleys in a disgusting state, impacting on the lives of decent people. The only way to stop these criminals is to catch and prosecute them – so we’re investing more money to install even more CCTV cameras across the town to catch them red-handed.”
Neighbour Sheila Singleton has lived in the area for 50 years.
“You used to just run out and throw your rubbish in the bin, it was disgusting,” said Sheila, 73.
“If you just sit out on your doorstep on your own you feel stupid, I’ve felt lonely.
“Now, I’m never away from here – it’s changed my life. I’m sitting outside all the time and I’ve met loads of people.”
Kinga, 43, also mum to daughter Kaya, eight, and a fashion design student at Teesside University, agreed: “It’s so nice to feel part of the community.
“We spend an hour every day watering the flowers but we just love being out here.”
Dan said: “As soon as Kasper got in touch, I knew I wanted to get involved.
“We want to expand this now and help other people transform their community.
Local Author Helen Scarlett visited Chapter One Loftus todayas part of Indie Bookshop week to meet customers and sign copies of her book, The Deception of Harriet Fleet which was published in hardback by Quercus Publishing in April 2021. Helen signed copies of her debut novel which is set locally in Teesside. The Deception of Harriet Fleet is dark and brimming with suspense, an atmospheric Victorian chiller set in brooding County Durham. Set in an age of discovery and progress, the Wainwright family, residents of the gloomy Teesbank Hall (locals will know it as Preston Hall in Egglescliffe) in County Durham the secrets of the past continue to overshadowtheir lives. Harriet would not have taken the job of governess in such a remote place unless she wanted to hide from something or someone. Her charge is Eleanor, the daughter of the house, a fiercely bright eighteen-year-old, tortured by demons and feared by relations and staff alike. But it soon becomes apparent that Harriet is not there to teach Eleanor, but rather to monitor her erratic and dangerous behaviour – to spy on her. Worn down by Eleanor’s unpredictable hostility, Harriet soon finds herself embroiled in Eleanor’s obsession – the Wainwright’s dark, tragic history. As family secrets are unearthed, Harriet’s own begin to haunt her and she becomes convinced that ghosts from the past are determined to reveal her shameful story. For Harriet, like Eleanor, is plagued by deception and untruths.
‘It was great to welcome Helen to the shop as part for Indie Bookshop Week especially given the novel is set locally in Teesside. It was also amazing to have customers in the shop who were able to chat with Helen and have books signed personally for them. As is becoming our new custom, Helen sat in our big green chair and took away some local products including cakes from the Willow Cake Shop in Loftus and Chapter One Loftus Bookshop Blend Coffee by the Roseberry Coffee Company said Paul Jones-King, Helen also confirmed she’s working on her second novel’
Chapter One Loftus
Chapter One Loftus is and Independent Book Shop, based in the Market Place in Loftus, situated between Grimwood Estate Agents and Lloyds Pharmacy, in what was the old Carole Louise Hair Salon. Paul, Chris and Dexter opened Chapter One Loftus on the 2nd November 2020 just two days before the second lock down and whilst we are based on the High Street in Loftus we have been well supported by customers across East Cleveland and North Yorkshire Coast. After being open for only two days we moved to an online shop www.chapteroneloftus.co.uk offering free local delivery from our High Street Shop. We are proud to be one of the new indie retailers in Loftus serving the wider local communities of East Cleveland and the North Yorkshire Coast and Moors, who have supported us with the #choosebookshops #shoplocal and #indieloftus on social media. Chapter One Loftus was recently included in the top 12 of the UK’s best independent bookshops, chosen by Guardian readers.
Helen Scarlett
Helen has a BA (hons) degree from London University and, after a brief flirtation with the world of finance, has taught secondary English for over twenty years, most recently in a sixth form college. In that time, society has become much more open in talking about mental health issues and this formed the starting point for her novel. She lives and works in the North East of England, a region which holds endless fascination for her and whose influence can be felt throughout her writing.
Her debut novel, The Deception of Harriet Fleet, was published in hardback in Spring 2021.
Independent Bookshop Week is part of the Books Are My Bag campaign and run by the Booksellers Association, and seeks to celebrate independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland. We do this with events, celebrations, reading groups, storytelling, author signings, literary lunches and face painting! Your local bookshop will have their own way of celebrating, and we encourage you to visit to celebrate with them.
If you’re not a Teessider and you’ve ever wondered what some of the words mean, here’s a brief guide to the words and meaning behind them:
As – used to emphasise a sentence Av’it – An instruction to enjoy your self Battered – Confused, worn out Beck – Word for stream Berra – Better Coz – Because Canna – Can I Claggy – Sticky Cadge – Borrow Chuffed – Well pleased Croggy – Lift on someones bike Dunno – Don’t Know Down Town – Visiting Middlesbrough Centre Gadgie – Man, male (possibly older) Gunna – Going to Goosed – Shattered, really tired Heavin – Really busy Hacky – Dirty Howay/Awayy/Owayy – Come on Laffin – Nice one, that’s good Lemon top – Ice cream with a tangy lemon top from Redcar Like – Add emphasis to a sentence
Mam – Mum, Mom, Mother Mint – Very good Me – End a sentence that starts with ‘I’ (I like that ‘me’. I wouldn’t do that ‘me’) Nor – No Nowt – Nothing Necta – Amazing Naff – Nothing Our Lad/Our Lass – Other half, partner Our ’ouse – My house Parmo/Parmesan – A breaded chicken escalope dish originating in Middlesbrough Proper/Proppa – Very much Pilla – Pillow Scuzzy – Not very clean Tarzy – Makeshift temporary rope swing Tret – The way someone has been treated Worra – What a (Worra load of rubbish)
Project Middlesbrough 