Not an entirely random name for a blog, but close. I am not a goat herder - in the usual meaning of that word; nor does the Urban Dictionary definition apply to me either (for a decade at least): an extremely drunk male who having lost all self-respect and standards, loses his powers of discrimination when pulling females. It is said that Gateshead derives its name from a settlement near an early Tyne crossing where goats once roamed. The goats are long gone, but me - I like to roam these parts - or rather run - exploring new places, rediscovering old ones in and around Gateshead and Newcastle when I'm out jogging. This blog is a collection of my photos, thoughts, observations, rants, loves and hates about Newcastle and Gateshead.

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Newcastle Vintage Aerial Shot - Guess the Year



Goat Herding on the Tyne: Newcastle Vintage Aerial Shot - Guess the Year: I posted this picture on a Facebook group "Old Photos of Newcastle" to see if anyone could come up with the year the photo was taken.  From the responses I got, the most likely date seems to be 1983.  For me, the main clue has to be the date on which the Tuxedo Princess arrived on the Tyne.  It opened as a floating nightclub in December 1984, but I have no idea how long it had sat on the Tyne before it opened.  The former owner of the Tuxedo Princess, The Michael Quadrini Group, bought the boat in 1982.  In 1983, it was renamed Tuxedo Princess (having previously been called Caledonian Princess - a car ferry operating in Scotland until was retired from service in 1981).

Other clues:
  • Manors Metro station opened in 1982 - seen here as the pristine white square building on the upper right hand side of the picture.
  • NCP Car Park on John Dobson Street - not yet built but the land has been cleared for construction
  • Planning permission for the car park given in 1981&1982
  • Further planning permission sought for alterations in 1984 (so the car park had to have been built by then).
Interesting fact: while trying to find out information on the Tuxedo Princess, I found out from Wikipedia that the famous revolving dancefloor in the night club was originally a turntable for maneuvering the cars on deck - the Princess was a roll-on/roll-off car ferry, but it only had a rear set of doors.

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