“The vision of a young boy of his home city revisited many years later – a 38 year ambition realised!”
Mike McCoy
What is the book about?
In brief, this is a tour of “my” Newcastle but initially written in 1977 with significant and important landmarks around Newcastle such as; the North East Coast Exhibition, the Castle Keep, the Bridges, the Old Hospitals as well many more also with recently constructed buildings.
We then added some extra short stories such as; an amusing conclusion to a visit by Queen Victoria in 1850, a harrowing story of witch trials in the middle ages, a couple of poems and a couple of unusual “what if” fictional stories attached to important chapters – these in itself makes this a rarity I believe among local interest books of the region to create a “unique” view of our fair city of Newcastle upon Tyne!
For more information please visit the ABOUT page or get in touch via ncleoldnew@gmail.com
These are two of my favourite picks from my Newcastle Old and New book of the Quayside but look like two completely different places on “earth” let alone of Newcastle…
On the left, courtesy of John Moreels is of a working Quayside in 1952.
On the right, a more recent shot through the Millennium Bridge care of Julian Nash who also provided that stunning image for the front cover (see above).
I used these to great effect towards the end to show a classic “Old and New” of the Quayside, these may divide opinions to some on the loss of our ship building, pits, engineering etc but whether we like it or not life has to move on and instead of to mourn the past let’s look to the future. Newcastle has recovered into a very attractive, cleaner, more cosmopolitan city full of life and great respect from the world over for its culture, entertainment, architecture and tourist attractions. I for one am proud of our city and how it has transformed itself..
We’ve got a range of products in our shop, on top of the book, including mugs, prints, and cushions.
A book that you can’t help picking up again and again.
Great job Mike.
Well done Mike for a fantastic book and would highly recommend it to anyone. A great story of our old and new “New-Castle”…