Produced for Newcastle City Council a child’s-eye look at what it is like to live in the city as well as learn more about the councils environmental management systems from recycling, energy efficient housing and the use of electric vehicles to public transport. The film features the then Lord Mayor of Newcastle Peter Thomson riding a rickshaw past the Newcastle Civic Centre. Title: Nations in Bloom In a classroom a teachers ask her pupils to say a little about themselves and where they...

Produced for Newcastle City Council a child’s-eye look at what it is like to live in the city as well as learn more about the councils environmental management systems from recycling, energy efficient housing and the use of electric vehicles to public transport. The film features the then Lord Mayor of Newcastle Peter Thomson riding a rickshaw past the Newcastle Civic Centre. Title: Nations in Bloom In a classroom a teachers ask her pupils to say a little about themselves and where they live. A boy, Dean Logan, stands and states he from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. A montage around the Quayside with Dean providing some details on the city’s history as well as pointing out the many bridges crossing the River Tyne. A fireworks display featuring the Tyne Bridge as a backdrop with crowds watching along the Quayside. Standing on a reconstructed section of Hadrian’s Wall as well as on a section of the original reconstituted wall along the West Road Dean provides details on the area’s Roman past. Standing in the front garden of his home Dean asks, ‘what’s for tea?’. Inside he sits at the kitchen table eating beans on toast while his mother stands at the sink sorting through the kitchen waste picking bits for composting and recycling. On his dad’s allotment Dean pushes a wheelbarrow towards a compost heap, nearby his father digs up a cabbage. At a Newcastle City Council composting site, a wheel loader fills its bucket from a larger steaming compost heap. An aerial of Newcastle quickly changes to Dean standing on the balcony of the Byker Wall. He explains how the local council wants all new building like these to facing the sun to be as energy efficient as possible. Carrying a pair of garden clippers, a council worker enters the Walbottle Community Orchard and begins to prune a shrub, in the near distance volunteers at work looking after the orchard. In a large greenhouse two men walk past carrying several potted plants placing them on a long metal table, on another nearby table dozens of other potted plants. A man cycles along the Newcastle Quayside changing to colourful and decorative flower beds around the Haymarket Bus Station, Northumberland Street and on Sandhill across the road from Bessie Surtees House. A Newcastle City Council electric vehicles comes out of a car wash, Dean is sitting in the passenger seat. Lettering stencilled on the bonnet reads ‘Flower Power’. A quick montage of Dean visiting the three cathedrals of Newcastle; the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas at St. Nicholas Square, the Catholic Church of St Mary’s on Clayton Street West and St James Park where Dean sit in the stands next to the team mascot wearing a Newcastle United shirt. A brief aerial of St James Park changes to Dean kicking a ball through some posts in nearby Leazes Park changing to the ball being caught by Newcastle United player Alan Shearer possibly inside the Newcastle United Academy. The two of them briefly play catch together. On Northumberland Street more decorative flowerbeds and hanging flower baskets changes to a Tyne and Wear Metro car arriving a Jesmond station, Dean gets onboard. Back on Northumberland Street he goes with two members of Newcastle City Council’s ‘Newcastle Knights’ to an information booth nearby. A brief speeded up montage of Newcastle changes to traffic passing a road sign for Washington New Town. Sitting on the Jimmy Carter Stone outside Newcastle Civic Centre, Dean talks about the visit by the United States President to Washington in 1977. A council car pulls up outside the Civic Centre and the Lord Mayor of Newcastle Peter Thomson riding past on a rickshaw with Dean sitting in the back. Inside the Civic Centre Peter Thomson and Dean come down a set of decorative stairs with the Lord Mayor speaking to camera about how the city handles environmental management. Speeded up views of the Newcastle Castle Keep and Theatre Royal on Grey Street. Deans stands beside the city wall near Chinatown changes to an aerial of the Town Moor with cattle roaming on it. Dean walks through Exhibition Park changes to crowds enjoying the many rides at the annual Town Moor Hopping’s. Dean stands on Armstrong Bridge overlooking Jesmond Dene Park below, in the park itself children and families walk around Pet’s Corner with one child feeding a goat with straw or hay. Back in the classroom Dean briefly stands beside a display of photographs relating to Lord Armstrong changing to operators working inside a Newcastle City Council call centre. Inside the Civic Centre other coucil workers deal with public enquiries. At a table during a meeting two men listen intently; at a public meeting an older couple sit in chairs listen to what is being said. Around Newcastle more decorative flowerbeds and baskets changes to speeded up footage of crowds watching a crane lowering the Millennium Bridge into position across the Tyne. A brief phantom helicopter ride along the Tyne changes to several street sweepers cleaning the cites streets and gutters. Back at home Dean sits at his computer looking at various pages on the Newcastle City Council website. During the Tall Ships Regatta a flotilla of small ships moored along the Tyne changes to the Millennium Bridge being lowered into position during construction. The film ends back in the classroom with writing appears on a whiteboard that reads ‘We do not inherit the work from our ancestors we borrow it from our children’. Dean appears and talks about the future. Title: Newcastle A Reel Eye Opener Title: For Newcastle City Council Credit: Presented by Dean Logan Written by Tony McKenna, Linda Norris Title: Special thanks to Newcastle United Football Club and Alan Shearer Credit: Postproduction Imagine Camera Operators John Stephenson, Rick Smith Editor: Viks Patel Assistant Producer Linda Norris Directed by Rick Smith End title: Produced by TTV Facilities © MM