Men of the Tyne

A taster of the 'Men of the Tyne' documentary. Snippets of some of stories being told by the men who worked on the Tyne and in the shipyards. The four month project commissioned by The Customs House involves Tom Kelly, a local poet and playwright, Andrew Hagan, a local filmmaker and the team from The Customs House. The project is documenting men's memories of life working on or near the River Tyne and the changes they've seen over the years. It involves delivering workshops across North and South Tyneside and interviewing the various ex-workers of the Tyne from Fishermen and Tug boat pilots to Designers and Welders who manufactured the ships, and chronicling their stories to produce the documentary.

Ghosts on the Tyne
Lyrics by Tom Kelly
Music by Ian Ravenscroft

Filmed and Edited by Andrew Hagan
Additional photography by Peter Dixon

Tales and Pictures of the Tyne is the culmination of a project where Ray Spencer will perform monologues based on men's memories of working on the River Tyne. The show will be part of a two hour cruise on the River Escapes Cruise Ship 'The Fortuna' which will start at The Customs House.

Men of The Tyne
Date: 12-14 Oct 2011 Time: 1.30pm
Price: £7.50 (includes tea and cake)
Venue: The River Tyne

Website http://www.customshouse.co.uk/

See http://www.tomkelly.org.uk/men-of-the-tyne-3/

Writer Tom Kelly said "I am really excited about the project as it is important we remember that the Tyne led the world and never to forget our great shipyards - I will always remember the Esso Northumbria in 1969 dominating Wallsend streets.

"So much of my writing has been taken up with the Tyne, from Kelly the musical written with Alan Price, to the decline of the yards.

"I am really looking forward to working on Men of the Tyne."

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Capturing+history+of+river+men+in+project.-a0258285779

Men of the Tyne

By Kay Pryer

A project launched by The Customs House has already gained worldwide support – despite being less than two weeks old.

The Men of the Tyne is a photography, film and creative writing project that will see local writer Tom Kelly and filmmaker Andy Hagan capture the stories of former river workers memories of life working on or near the River Tyne and the changes they have seen over the years. The project, which is being delivered in partnership with, Age UK North & South Tyneside, and North and South Tyneside Council, will commence with workshops taking place from June to September across North and South Tyneside.

Kay Pryer, Cultural Development Project Manager at The Customs House said: “We've had interest from America and Australia from former shipyards workers who have moved away. The local interest has been huge and Lord Donald Dixon, who is a member of the House of Lords and a former ship worker is very keen to get involved. It's a very positive start to the project but there is still plenty of time to get involved. We want as many people as possible from all areas of working on the river to get involved.”

Men of The Tyne will culminate with a tour of the river lead by Ray Spencer where the men's stories will be narrated on Thursday October 13.

http://www.customshouse.co.uk/newsletter/31.html#men-of-the-tyne