 |
||
Few, least of all myself, would have thought that after nearly 30 years in the |
||
|
The River Tyne has witnessed many changes through the years from the demise of the once proud fishing fleets and the mighty Swan Hunters to the erection of designer Quayside luxury apartments and the influx of new style progressive businesses and developments. The Red Sword started out as playful meanderings of one summer in 1969, the last summer before the 'gang' broke up and went off in different directions to secondary schools. It was time of innocence and change. Apartheid was very strong and had an iron grip in Shields, and coming from one of the few coloured families in the town that isolation and undercurrent was a major factor in my childhood. The late sixties was a time for change, and when your young and 3 foot odd it seems big and of no relevance to pocket money and comics. Where are my friends now? Who knows? Many may have left the area for good. I once ran away from my foster parents when I was 16 and went to London. But something dragged me back to North Shields. That magnet has kept me here ever since and I'm proud of my small town. I live in Shields with my beautiful and understanding wife Judi, have two children; Rachel who is a Director at Armadillo and keeps me under a strong leash, a son Lewis who from being a cute innocent bundle of fun since turning 15 now just engages in a dialogue of grunts and snorts in-between sequences of Gears of War and Fifa 08. Both grew up in my childhood playground but neither ran with the freedom and the wind on their face like I did many years ago. For that I am blessed. Enjoy. - Berry Burgess For Judi, Rachel, Lewis, Elaine, Vivian and Vera |
||
