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Of all things Dr Martens and the North East

I've been on Nana duty this week.  Lovely week spent with my daughter, her partner and two beautiful girls age 6 years and 4 months doing lots of exciting things - baking, painting, building, reading, lots of laughing and smiling and I haven't really had much time to consider my new brief. But now I have packed them back onto the coach home and reality, peace and relative normality resumes so time to to consider my next assignment.

We are to explore design motifs for Dr Martens boots which could represent Newcastle or the North East. Apparently the Dr Marten central UK office is in Ouseburn hence the interest.  My partners father worked for many years in the shoe factories that manufactured Dr Martens before production moved to cheaper workforce in China and Asia.  I have always been a fan of Docs and have lost count of how many pairs I have had over the years.  Currently I'm wearing red or black boots tied up with ribbons, but I've had flowery, shocking pink patent leather ones, purple, green, red, tartan - a massive array of Docs!!!  Basically I have tiny feet and when docs became very fashionable for younger people my children had them and their friends had them and kids grow so fast they were going through docs like hot dinners and all the hardly worn pairs were all past to me - at one time I had about 20 pairs... in various designs colours and state of repair!

5min continuous line Docs..
Its interesting to think what the NE means to me, I don't know Newcastle at all, apart from college I've only been into town about a dozen times and then only to the same venues, Some brief disapointing visits to the Baltic, more interesting forays into the other galleries, the Laing and the Shipley - Observatory talks at the Vermont (worth a visit) and quick shop down Northumberland Street (not me at all!!) and a couple visits to music venues. Moving to the NE was more about its coastline, the sea, the dunes, beautiful beaches, lighthouses, interesting small fishing towns.  Moving out of the city was a big change but definitely for the better.  If I'm asked to sum up the North East it would be windy, sunny, empty and glorious.  Full of lovely beach finds, interesting sea going vessels, lobster pots and fishing nets, walks round the harbour and along the beaches and now I have to think of a way to convey this with appropiate imagery....  I'm off down the harbour and Marina to take some photographs..


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