Ain't it typical? No sooner had I published my latest book, when, lo and behold, there comes to light a really interesting additional source for one of the items featured within. Newbiggin-by-the-Sea's unlikely connection with famous author, John Braine, is the subject matter in question.
Firstly, here's my modest effort in The Great North-East: An English History Tour, vol.2 (click on images for enlarged views):
Then, a few days ago up pops local historian, Dan Jackson, on Twitter ( @northumbriana ) to point his followers in the direction of a fantastic film about the great man and his links to the North-East. It's around 24 minutes long, and follows the dour Yorkshireman on his return to the North-East of England in 1969, where he looks back fondly at his brief spell here in the years prior to his big break in the literary world. Check it out here. It really is quite splendid in its own no-frills - and sometimes rather bleak - way. Newcastle, Morpeth, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Ashington, and Seaton Delaval Hall all feature prominently in this little black and white epic.
Fortunately (and as far as I can tell), none of the details given in the film contradict my little article!
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