News for Arth

I took Arth and Aggie to Newcastle today so that Arth could see the orthopaedic surgeon for a review. He listened carefully to the problems we are having and said that the likely problem is the patella. X rays were performed and, as expected, the joint replacement if fine. The patella didn't look too bad, but we have agreed that surgery to resurface the patella is the better option. The alternative is to do nothing.

I'd like to be more comfortable and do more walking if possible. The op will be in the summer.

Since I was in the city, I popped down to the Quayside to go to The Side Gallery. This is a wonderful photography gallery with a great history.

There are three exhibitions at the moment. 

The first is Rena Effendi's Waiting for Winter, which documents "the back-breaking chores of farmers working the land in a traditional, almost medieval , fashion, in meadows and hills in Romania, Azerbaijan and Chernobyl."

The second is Tessa Bunney's "Otherwise Unseen":
"For over 25 years Tessa has photographed rural life, working closely with individuals and communities to investigate how the landscape is shaped by humans. From hill farmers near her home in North Yorkshire to Icelandic puffin hunters, from Finnish ice swimmers to Romanian nomadic shepherds her projects reveal the fascinating intricacies of the dependencies between people, work and the land."

Both were fascinating.

My favourite by a whisker was the project Shipbuilding on the Tyne. 

Here a class of Year 5 pupils of Carville Primary School, Wallsend made a "creative exploration"– inspired by the challenge of documenting their community’s shipbuilding heritage with the help of former shipyard workers during the summer of 2019. They were taught how to interview, use still and video cameras. One of my local friends, Rob Halliburton, is in the credits for teaching the children. Great job, Rob.

The film was 32 mins long and worth seeing all of it.

Back home, we watched Last Tango in Halifax and after dinner I'm off to see The Lighthouse  which is part of the Tyne Valley Film Festival.

Horrid windy and wet weather today, except on the quayside. 

PS I did not see the reflection of the bridge until the image was on the computer screen.