The Newcastle Drop 🎡 - June 20, 2025
Hoppings in the city, heatwave in the city, Hollywood in the city - it's all going down in Newcastle right now...
Good morning Newcastle - it’s nice oot! Here’s today’s Newcastle Drop.
🎢 The Hoppings funfair will open today, with thousands of visitors expected over the next 10 days. Hot weather is forecast at the event for its first weekend at least. - Adam Forster, Northern Echo
🧟 Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle was in Newcastle last night for a gala screening of his new film 28 Years Later. The zombie movie was filmed in the North East last year. - Barbara Hodgson, ChronicleLive
🚌 Staff at two bus depots in Newcastle are being balloted on potential strike action. The ballots at the Busways Travel Service sites in Slatyford and Walkergate could hit Stagecoach services in the city. - Owen Younger, ChronicleLive
⚽ Newcastle United will start their 2025/26 Premier League campaign with a trip to Aston Villa on August 16. The release of fixtures this week also revealed that the Tyne-Wear derbies will take place on December 13 and March 21. - Sky Sports
The Stack development near St James’ Park has been granted a five-year extension by city planners. The mix of bars and food outlets will be in place until at least 2031. - Simon Duke, ChronicleLive
In the city: Danny Baker is appearing tonight at the Tyne Theatre with his show Aye Aye! Ahoy Hoy! And Josie Lawrence’s improvisation What Next? is at the Live Theatre tonight and tomorrow
⚖️ A police officer who told a woman he could "get away" with groping her because of his job has been given a suspended prison sentence decades later. Newcastle PC Albert Jardine was found guilty of an historic count of indecent assault dating back to 2002. - BBC
🥣 The daughter of People’s Kitchen founder Alison Kay has visited the charity as it prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Allie Goddard paid tribute to the centre which provides hot meals to homeless people throughout the year. - Owen Younger, ChronicleLive
🏨 A historic building on Newcastle Quayside has been snapped up in a £14.5m deal by French investors. French investment fund Iroko Zen has swooped for Exchange Buildings, which includes a Premier Inn and a Slug & Lettuce bar. - Coreena Ford, BusinessLive
🏃 Hundreds of runners raised money for the Sunshine Fund charity with the annual Sunshine Run on Newcastle’s Quayside. Groups from a number of city centre firms, plus club runners and other supporters of the charity, took part. - Owen Younger, ChronicleLive
👨⚖️ Two drug dealers who used encrypted messages to communicate have been jailed after French police decoded their messages. Michael Armstrong and Steven Brownless have received sentences for conspiracy to supply cocaine. - Rob Kennedy, ChronicleLive
🎸 A guitar signed by Mark Knopfler is going up for auction at Anderson and Garland in Westerhope on June 25. The sale also features Beatles memorabilia. - Chris Cordner, Newcastle World
Everything Is Black And White collates coverage of Newcastle United in one easy place, with the best news and views compiled on the mighty Magpies. It’s brand new and also on Substack, like this newsletter. Check it out here.
🍾 A popular Newcastle match day bar has been snapped up by a growing hospitality group. Leisure operator Sayturk Group has bought city centre venue Bar Loco. - Coreena Ford, BusinessLive
📖 A scheme that will give thousands of babies and children free books has been launched. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library will see Newcastle City Council working with the country singer’s charity over the next five years. - Emily Gray, ChronicleLive
🚑 Three people have been after a crash on Benton Road. A large number of emergency services vehicles responded to the two-vehicle collision. - Daniel Hall, ChronicleLive
A cyclist was also taken to hospital after a crash near the Great North Road yesterday morning.
🚗 Newcastle has recorded a “significant” drop in air pollution in the last year, following the introduction of a Clean Air Zone. But hotspots remain around the Corner House junction on the Coast Road and at Percy Street. - Daniel Holland, Local Democracy Reporter
✝️ Tributes have been paid to a much-loved hospice chaplain. Rev Janet Jackson spent 13 years as chaplain of St Oswald’s Hospice in Gosforth and helped set up the Light up a Life services and celebrations. - Daniel Hall, ChronicleLive
🚬 Evidence of the permanent impact of smoking on people’s teeth has been uncovered by researchers at Northumbria University. The findings have been published in the scientific journal PLOS One. - Northumbria University
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📌 Male suicide prevention charity James’ Place, which is based in Summerhill Street, has received a grant of £37,500 from The Squires Foundation to set up a peer support group for men who have used their service.
📌 LGBTQIA+ choir Northern Proud Voices will be performing at Newcastle Cathedral on July 4. More details are available on the cathedral’s website.
📌 Jesmond Community Forum and the Friends of Jesmond Library have launched a photographic competition and want entries on the theme of ‘togetherness’. Entry forms and more details are available at info@jesmondfestival.org.uk.
The 100 best things in Newcastle
Number 18: The Hoppings
It’s back! Europe’s large open-air fun fair will open today as a huge Geordie institution marks its 142nd year. Originally held as a Temperance Fair, the Hoppings is now a bit more untamed - and very much still a key fixture in the city’s social calendar.
In each edition of the Newcastle Drop I’ll be sharing one of my favourite things about Newcastle. You can see the previous selection here. I really haven’t got all 100 worked out yet so while I’m doing that, feel free to make suggestions on what I should include. You can get in touch with your particular favourites.
Thanks for reading The Newcastle Drop - a new newsletter that aims to bring together all of the news and community events from around our city. It’s brought to you by Graeme Whitfield, editor of The Journal and long-time resident of the city.
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