logo
Forgotten community magazine relaunched

Forgotten community magazine relaunched

Yahoo19-04-2025

A special edition of a long-forgotten community magazine has been been published after decades out of print.
The volunteer-run Byker Phoenix reported on life in the east end of Newcastle through the 1970s and 80s, covering everything from political events to petty grievances.
Artist and filmmaker Harry Lawson decided to created a new, one-off edition of the magazine after coming across some old copies in an archive, with his contemporary edition interspersing original articles with newly-written pieces about how Byker has evolved in recent years.
The special edition forms part of his exhibition, Stepney Western, at Newcastle Contemporary Art (NCA).
The exhibition is a culmination of Mr Lawson's prolonged focus on Byker.
The Sunderland-born artist filmed an experimental documentary which casts Newcastle's inner city as the Wild West, focusing on group of young horse riders from Stepney Bank Stables who struggle in mainstream education settings.
Alongside a continuous screening of the documentary, the exhibition also features a variety of archive photographs of Byker through the years showcasing what Mr Lawson calls a "frontier narrative".
"It's the idea that all land is up for grabs - and then there's a kind of tussle for that land and the power that comes with that," he said.
"Byker is a place that's had this cyclical change.
"You had this particular moment of change and upheaval in the 70s and 80s with the demolition of terraced housing and creation of the Byker Wall, and now you have a new, but very different kind of change, which is quieter and way less dramatic.
"It's not a unique story, it's a gentrification story."
It was while Mr Lawson was looking for archival photographs at Ouseburn Trust that he came across old copies of the Byker Phoenix magazine.
"I was struck immediately by how genuinely community-focused it was," he said.
The first edition he read included a think-piece about how Finnish photographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen had captured the community with her landmark images, alongside an article featuring a local woman's complaints about the rise in damp on the same page.
"To me, it's funny and brilliant," Mr Lawson said: "If the people of Byker were feeling it, it would go in the Phoenix.
"So then you have these really funny juxtapositions between political commentary and really petty grievances - and I think that's brilliant."
The Phoenix ran in the 1970s and 80s, and had a brief comeback in the early 00s.
Mr Lawson tracked down some of the people behind the original Phoenix publication and asked if he could make a one-off special edition for his exhibition to which they agreed.
Instead of curating an entirely new edition, Mr Lawson's "time-morphing" edition mixes articles and adverts from 50 years ago with new pieces about modern-day Byker and the current Stepney Western exhibition at Newcastle Contemporary Art (NCA).
When choosing the previous articles, he said he was drawn to those "about impending change in the area, and bringing into sharp focus how the community has responded to change over the years".
Mr Lawson also included articles and illustrations which made clear how the Phoenix struggled to keep going, amid financial difficulties and a lack of volunteers.
"There's this nod on the final page, on whether someone is willing to pick up the mantle of the Phoenix.
"It would be amazing if someone did pick it up.
"I think without budget it's a hard task, but it's a little question to the reader."
Stepney Western runs at NCA until 26 April.
Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Metro mural inspired by 1950s film posters
Stepney Western

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Do dogs need people to survive? The truth might hurt.
Do dogs need people to survive? The truth might hurt.

National Geographic

time3 hours ago

  • National Geographic

Do dogs need people to survive? The truth might hurt.

A miniature dachshund survived in the wild for 529 days. Could your dog? Experts say it depends on these traits. A group of dogs greets their human family on a farm. Photograph by Kendrick Brinson, Nat Geo Image Collection In late April, a miniature dachshund named Valerie was found healthy and alert on Kangaroo Island, just off the coast of Adelaide, Australia—after she had been missing for 529 days. Surprisingly, Valerie, who had become separated from her family during a vacation to the island in November 2023, had even gained about four pounds in the wild. 'She went out as a skinny little sausage dog and came back as a rippling mass of muscle,' says Jared Karran, a director at the nonprofit Kangala Wildlife Rescue, who released footage of Valerie's rescue. 'Just the healthiest dog you'd ever want to see—perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect skin.' During her time in the bush, Valerie became somewhat of a celebrity, and fans rejoiced when they learned she had reunited with her family in May. But some wondered how she did it. Was she just lucky, or can pet dogs—animals that have lived and evolved alongside humans for thousands of years—really survive without us? Well, it depends on who you ask. From scuba diving to set-jetting 'I don't think that [the story] is that outrageously surprising or amazing,' says Jessica Pierce, a bioethicist who focuses on the human-animal relationship. Pierce wrote 'A Dog's World,' which delves into what might happen to dogs if humans disappeared from Earth. 'It is amazing that she did this because she lived the first part of her life as a pampered pet dog, so really hadn't developed the skills that she would have needed to survive on her own,' Pierce clarifies. 'But obviously those were instinctually intact.' Vanessa Woods, the director of the Duke Puppy Kindergarten at the Duke Canine Cognition Lab, and author of 'Genius of Dogs,' isn't so sure. 'I have a dog right now who would probably not last a minute in the wild,' she says, adding that she believes some dogs would adapt while others would sit and wait for their owners to rescue them. 'I think some dogs would be great and some dogs would die.' Children play with puppies outside the town visitor center in Seymour, Indiana. Photograph by Andrea Bruce, Nat Geo Image Collection Pierce and Woods agree that certain characteristics would make an individual dog more apt to survive without people. First off, Valerie would have needed a pretty high IQ to protect herself from predators, secure food and water, and shelter herself from the elements, Pierce says. 'Figuring those things out in a new environment is something a lot of humans would find challenging,' she adds. Luckily, there probably weren't any large predators for Valerie to deal with on Kangaroo Island, Woods says, but she likely would have had to dodge serpents like the venomous tiger snake and pygmy copperhead. 'She kind of had a natural aptitude,' surmises the Australian-born Woods. 'But then she also would have gotten lucky because let me tell you, there are parts of the Australian bush where she would have lasted about two days.' In most places, dogs with stronger hunting drives would generally fare better, Woods says. For instance, a Jack Russell terrier that's been bred and trained to use this skill regularly would be more successful than a show husky that hasn't honed the art of catching prey, she notes. 'You don't really want dogs to hunt and kill every living thing in your neighborhood, including a neighbor's cat,' she says. 'So there would be some dogs [where] the skills that would help them survive have been watered down, really bred out of them.' However, Pierce emphasizes that these instincts have never truly disappeared. 'Even a pet dog who's never had to hunt for food, but always just had a bowl of kibble placed in front of her twice a day, still knows how to hunt,' she says. 'Those instincts are still there.' Dogs bred for extreme traits, such as short legs or long or large bodies, might not do well either, Pierce hypothesizes. For instance, it's generally harder for short-legged dogs like dachshunds to run long distances. Plus, these extreme traits can eventually lead to genetic health issues like hip dysplasia and chronic pain, she says. On the other hand, smaller dogs like Valerie could have more of an advantage in some settings, Pierce adds. 'They're not going to be quite as visible and easy to spot for a predator,' she says. Plus, small dogs need fewer calories and could potentially survive on small insects like grasshoppers instead of relying on taking down larger prey, she explains. In general, dogs also possess a few traits helpful to wilderness survival. For instance, they 'can and will eat anything they can get their paws on,' Pierce notes. Plus, their behavior is flexible, making them more adaptable to new environments and situations. But Valerie's success could have also come down to personality. 'It's hard to put your finger on exactly what it is about her, but she obviously has this belief in herself,' Karran says. 'Nothing seems to faze her.' So, do dogs need us? Stray dogs, which number around 200 million worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, live fairly independent of humans. 'A relatively small slice of the world's dogs live as pets, as captive animals,' Pierce says, noting that stray dogs use their instinct to survive in the wild. But Woods says life isn't easy for these free-ranging pups. For one, young strays have a high mortality rate—one study from India found that only about 19 percent made it to reproductive age (which is generally around 6 months old). Still, Pierce believes that if humans disappeared from the planet tomorrow, dogs would do just fine. 'Dogs would have a pretty good shot because of how adaptive they are,' she says. 'They'd have, I would say, as good a shot as any other animal in making it without us.' Woods questions, though, how long they would make it without our waste to pick at. After all, early dogs survived by scavenging trash around human settlements, and that's how most feral dogs make it today. 'The last 14 to 40,000 years, that's what they've been surviving on, basically,' she says. But regardless of whether dogs could survive without us, would these social animals miss our companionship? 'I think a lack of any social interaction would probably be felt as something missing,' Pierce says. 'I'm not sure there would be loneliness, but there might be.' However, she says dogs don't need humans to meet their social quota. They can also bond with other dogs and even other animals. Still, 'your dog who's curled up next to the couch with you would certainly miss you,' she says. 'But dogs as a species…would be okay without us.' This paradox might be best summed up by the way Valerie—a dog who did just fine for herself in the wild for nearly a year and a half—warmed up to her family immediately during their reunion. 'It just took a split second and you could see her recognize each one individually,' Karran says. 'She was so happy; she jumped up on them licking them, cuddling them, running around. It was just such a beautiful moment.'

The best of English soccer star Poppy Pattinson in images
The best of English soccer star Poppy Pattinson in images

USA Today

time4 hours ago

  • USA Today

The best of English soccer star Poppy Pattinson in images

The best of English soccer star Poppy Pattinson in images Poppy Pattinson is a veteran player of the Women's Super League in England. The left-back plays for Brighton & Hove Albion. She has also spent time with Sunderland, Manchester City, Bristol City, and Everton. Pattinson has more than 165,000 followers on Instagram and is one of the more popular players in the sport. Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson

Lawyers for R. Kelly claim wrongdoing by prosecutors, say imprisoned singer's life in danger
Lawyers for R. Kelly claim wrongdoing by prosecutors, say imprisoned singer's life in danger

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Lawyers for R. Kelly claim wrongdoing by prosecutors, say imprisoned singer's life in danger

Lawyers for imprisoned R&B superstar R. Kelly claim they have uncovered evidence of government wrongdoing and that the Chicago-born singer's life is in danger. Kelly's legal team said in a news release Tuesday they will be filing an emergency motion in Chicago federal court documenting their allegations and seeking Kelly's immediate release from a federal penitentiary in North Carolina, where he's serving a 30-year sentence for sexual misconduct. The motion, the lawyers say, will be 'backed by concrete evidence and declarations that expose a disturbing pattern of government corruption and criminal misconduct' by federal prosecutors in Chicago and New York as well as officials with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The news release claims the officials unjustly manufacture charges against Kelly and are trying to cover it up. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago could not immediately be reached for comment. Kelly's lead attorney, Beau Brindley, and other members of his office plan to hold a news conference outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago this afternoon. Kelly, 58, was convicted in 2022 in Chicago of child pornography for making explicit videos of himself and his then-teenage goddaughter, who testified at trial under the pseudonym Jane. He also was convicted of inappropriate sexual relations with Jane and two other teenage girls, 'Pauline' and 'Nia.' The jury acquitted Kelly and two co-defendants on charges they conspired to retrieve incriminating tapes and rig his 2008 trial by pressuring Jane to lie to investigators about their relationship and refuse to testify against him. Kelly was also found not guilty of filming himself with Jane on a video that jurors never saw. Prosecutors said 'Video 4? was not played because Kelly's team successfully buried it, but defense attorneys questioned whether it existed at all. Brindley represented Kelly's former manager, Derrel McDavid, in that case, but has since been hired by Kelly. Meanwhile, Kelly was also convicted in federal court in New York in 2021 of racketeering conspiracy charges alleging his musical career doubled as a criminal enterprise aimed at satisfying his predatory sexual desires. He's serving his time in a medium-security federal prison facility in Butner, North Carolina, and is not eligible for release until the year 2045, records show. Kelly also has a pending lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons alleging a former employee leaked his jail calls and other information to a video blogger. jmeisner@

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store