Fathom Magazine

fathom©...charting the course of concious life

issu

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hiya, you alright?

Thanks to ...

Blair JohnsonBeth Walker

Micheala ForbesDean James

Emma SaundersJonny WrateGeorge KnoxKaren Knox

Dennis JewittDale Jewitt

Charlotte KentKatie DobsonSuzy PetersDavid MillsRuth Hilton

Ghazaleh Rahimi

...Without you FATHOM would not be the same!

‘A Northern Boy’s Dream’ by Blair Johnson

FATHOM©...charting the course of concious life

All photographs taken by Kyra Jewitt unless otherwise stated.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission from the publisher. The views expressed in FATHOM magazine are those of the

respected contributors and are not necessarily shared by the publisher. Copyright © 2010.

Striving to be unique, normal and relatable. This magazine exhibits a stream of consciousness in everyday life. A collection of images, thoughts, creativity, dreams and observations lie within. The hope is rediscovering the depths of normality. And have a bit of fun while looking.

OK?

erm... yeh

What’s it all about then?

:)

It’s what’sinsidethatcounts

1ContributorsWith great thanks

2‘doodle’Dale Jewitt

3 ‘You’re gonna get stompped on’ 7My OCD BoyfriendBlair Johnson 11A Dream I hadVarious Contributors

19The Forbidden CornerKyra Jewitt

21‘These Pips’Emma Saunders

23David MillsArt and Inspirations

Contents25 ‘Self portrait in Hell’David Mills

26 Dear TypewriterFrustrated Kyra

27The people of Tyneside‘F’ Sign and Questions

32 Tab... taboosA Discovery and Discussion

33‘Molly’ Karen Knox

34‘Priceless Landscape’George Knox

35Suzy Peters talks Her everyday life

39 The Good Old DaysDennis Jewitt

41No Angels - No TrumpetsDennis Jewitt

43The Lying Down Game

48We like BackpacksAn Observation

49 Making Crayon SpectaclesA Crafty Piece

51 The World’s Oldest RailwayKyra Jewitt

53 Well wishes of sucessZandra Rhodes

55An Addition of your own

Please WriteWe want to hear from you at FATHOM magazine.(address on page 58)

Contributorsthe cogs that turn the giant wheel

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As an obvious look-a-like of woody from toystory I am a constant source of inspiration for life itsself. Of course I jest. I am a keen football fanatic and my sporting knowledge is second to none. It would be my weapon of choice in a pub quiz.

My very first camera was one of the ones from Early Learning Centre where you look through the viewfinder and see a giraffe. Then, when I was five years old, my skills progressed to avant-garde shots of people’s feet, on a film camera shaped like a happy tiger..

A mix of right and left brain attributes with the most enjoyment coming from the creative side. From running a boutique to landing a lead role in musical ‘RENT’. I enjoy poetry, discovering other people’s treasures and the controvertial cheese that is Glee.

My talents are photography, talented lying downer, writing (short stories and poetry) and I am a lover of acting as well as running my own funding company to make a living. I constantly annoy those surrounding me due to my ADHD which may or may not have been diagnosed.

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Contributorsthe cogs that turn the giant wheel

‘doodle’ by Dale Jewitt

‘You’re gonna get stompped on’

From the mouths of Newcastle’s inhabitants: We present Heaton’s legendary ‘shoe tree’ alongside the

myths and legends that surround it.

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‘Shoe tree’ in Armstrong Park, Heaton, Newcastle, UK

Kirsten Luckins I got married under the Shoe Tree 2 years ago - we had a wind-up gramophone playing, we tied the knot of one gold-painted shoe each and hoyed them up there - it was beautiful, man...

Paul Falkous Its Heaton’s only landmark or possible tourist destination. Legend has it that the shoes were put on there by ghost who died from standing on a rusty branch because he had no shoes. He stalks the park at night preying on unsuspecting 2 shoed people. Either that or some radgies thought it was funny and the idea caught on. Carole Margaret Barker I love the shoe tree although it is a while since I went to see it!Chris Nawrocki it’s a tree full of memories... and my desert bootsDame Samantha Shotton I’ve had the pleasure to meet the “creators” of the shoe tree, Can anyone remember the little old twin like people who used to sit in the park all day and night drinking? It was them!Robert Thompson Threw my old trainers up into the tree, unfortunately I was still wearing them and now I’m stuck. Help!!!

Jo-Anna Storey This tree has had little shoes, big shoes, trainers, wellies, sandals, flip flops, high heels, Dr. Martins, Pods, Seasiders, baseball boots, ect.hanging for so many years!!! I remember going to see it when I was little and that was a long long time ago! I’ve taken my own two girls past the tree lots and lots of times and we’ve spend many hours standing under the tree looking at all of the old ,new shoes up there and if the wind had blown a shoe or two down they have spend longer throwing it back up among the branches lol long live the the shoe tree

Kirsty Wharton I love the shoe tree because it is a piece of living art in the truest sense. It is something that has evolved through the community coming to it and supporting it. My most favourite monument in the north!

Craig Bell That shoe tree

has been there since I was a kid and that was years ago, I think we should get one for the living room, Sharleen?

Sharleen French I first discovered the tree when taking an intoxicated walk around the park after a night out. I thought I had been spiked surely it couldn’t be true a tree that bares the fruit of shoes! Joy joy joy! I want one for my garden!

Scott Blench Took a while finding it but in the end me and my friend said bye to our tired old shoes today. Twas a right laugh.

Gemma Branson I see below that someone says that is was started by naughty kids, I was told that it was university students who threw their ‘studying shoes’ up before going into the world of work! The council pronounces the shoe tree ‘dangerous’ every 10 years or so and they cut them all down! But it doesn’t take long for them to be refilled to its former glory.right back up there” i love the shoe tree!

Debbie Borgono Are the birds nesting in the shoes yet?

Dale Jewitt When you walk underneath it looks like you’re gonna get stompped on by lots of angry feet.

Miriam Said The shoe tree, the shoe tree, ah the shoe tree. Started by naughty teenagers years ago, pinching other kids’ trainers from their bags on P.E. day and throwing them up the tree. Fan-bloody-tastic. I’m old enough to have seen it happen.

Rachel-Amy Carmichael I’m always scared when I walk under the tree... What if they fall on my head?! Argh! :o) xx

Jozef Doran It’s a good tree. Some friends and I once took a walk through the park in a, I don’t really

know how to put this, slightly “altered” frame of mind and decided it was the ultimate juxtaposition of culture and nature. Or something. Found and lost god that night too. I miss the toon and I miss the tree.

Gill Ross a police friend of mine just told me that shoes hanging from a overhead telephone line / tree / etc is a sign that there is a drug dealer nearby! Wonder if that is how it started?

Philippa Jackson This tree used to freak me out a bit, like in Big Fish where they couldn’t leave...I love it now though!

Francis O’Hanlon I just went there the other day and sat under the tree reading a book with my girlfriend; it’s one of Newcastle’s hidden treasures!

Stu Garratt I love the shoe tree. A few years back the winning film in the Northern Lights Film festival at the Tyneside was inspired by the shoetree.

Strangely when I was in Ecuador I found a Tyre Tree. What does this mean?

Genevieve Buee I appreciate both trees and shoes....so having shoe trees in Heaton is wonderful thing!

Michael Simpson There was a similar trimming/pollarding incident about 4 years ago, just before I left Newcastle. I assumed that the tree had lost its shoes for good after that. Glad to know that it lives on. I lost a couple of pairs of shoes to the council then.

It’s obviously just the natural order of things. They cut the shoes out, which means there’s a social responsibility to repopulate it.

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My OCD Boyfrienda person who lines up the dishes in order of height,

colour and any other defining characteristic.

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I like to smell things

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I like to taste things

monday 22ndwhen I washed the dishes today my girlfriend commented on my organisation. it’s a given: dishes in order of cups/glasses/plates/bowls and cuttlery. then colour of cups. height of cups and glasses, highest to the back next to the window. I parked in the same section as always in st james’ car park ready for uni. furthest away, bit of a walk but quiet, 40p an hour and familiar.

tuesday 23rdgot mad at the cupboard - labels weren’t all facing forward so took everything out and started again. colour, brand, height. I put the spices in a different cupboard that is shallower. parked in the usual spot at work in the coach car park. gave myself 15 mins to walk in slowly before starting.

wednesday 24thworked on my tennis serve and its rhythm. ball in triangle, rock back and forward three times raise ball with left hand and release. back and forward three times raise ball with left hand and release.

thurday 25thleft car parked on the main road through the estate because of the snow. locked the door with

my key, checked the driver door and boot were locked asked my girlfriend to check the passenger door was locked. then I checked it myself to be sure.

friday 26thon way into uni today saw a dead cat at the side of the road. I looked at the sky and counted to 20 to show my respect. is this ocd or am is this just my wierd way of being respectful? later could smell brian had been cooking downstairs. I went down and checked the gas was off.

saturday 27thI didn’t think I had done anything particularly on the ocd side today until I remembered got out of my bed at 1.34am after just settling to check the front door again. but doesn’t that class as sunday?

sunday 28thI had to run outside in my boxers in the snow to double check all the car doors were locked. mams was. dads was. didn’t check brians. mine was. mams back window was a little bit down so i got her keys, put the window up then checked the car was locked by testing the handle with three tuggs. I only checked the driver side door this time.

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I like to taste things

A Dream I hadCollating the dreams of those surrounding me and having a giggle

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I had a dream my new iPhone got ran over by a car the day after I first got it.

Oh wait... that actually happened *cries* :’(

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dale age 20

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The Forbidden Cornerthe magical treasure trail in the yorkshire dales

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Only in the north could such a magical and secret world exist. Set outdoors in the breathtaking surroundings of the Yorkshire dales, ‘the forbidden corner’ is an escape from normality. Appealing to the masses it’s a family adventure, entertainment for friends or a couples romantic exploration.

The immediate feel is that you’re a character in a myth or fairytale. On arrival the map depicts your quest - a treasure hunt of creatures, unusual sights and artistic carvings finding them through a series of tunnels, pathways and mazes. It is impossible to let yourself leave without spotting and exploring every inch of the corner. Mines, secret passages, waterfalls, water fountains and surreal creations make up the space as well as it being synonymous to the imagined Secret Garden of Frances Hodgson Burnett. Human senses are heightened while trawling through dark tunnels or peering into coves and once visited the simple scent of lavender in the maze, brings back the memories of the entire day out.

Remember to prepare yourself to get at least a little wet unless you are unbelievably cautious and observant. It is a place where everyone can just enjoy life for it’s little treasures and the scenery within (and the journey there) is of sheer beauty where your gaze can travel for miles of just green, peace and serenity. It is very much a therapeutic and fully warming experience with teamwork and navigation being key to the success of the day.

Only the superhuman won’t lose their bearings at least once. It is an inspiration for more of the same. A thoroughly entertaining day out, which is both unique and unchallenged in its concept and design.

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words and pips by Emma Saunders

My practice is concerned with religious doctrine and scientific progress. I believe that the former becomes increasingly irrelevant as our knowledge expands with the latter. My main interest lies in their faults and fractures, and there are things that I like and dislike about both. I create art in order to make sense of them in my own non-religious, non-scientific way.

Religion has inspired some wonderful art and my favourite architecture has to be that of Gothic churches and cathedrals. I won’t go into detail about what I don’t like about religion incase of offending readers. It’s a personal thing, religion, and I see myself as a victim of its ways, as do many people. Science on the other hand has always been my topic of choice, even above art, but I was never very good at it practically. I’m more of an appreciator of science, an enthusiast. Nothing is more exciting to me than discovery; of new species, of the workings of our DNA and of this universe. I also understand the dangers of this kind of knowledge, but I think that people often make mountains from molehills, be it for exciting headlines or a genuine misunderstanding of the work. Take the ‘Black Hole Machine’ for example, also known as the ‘Large Hadron Collider’. It’s been running for nearly a whole year now and it comes as no surprise to anyone that there has been no catastrophic black hole based events, and Earth is still spinning merrily.

David Mills

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fathom the verbosity of this article!

Recently I have found my work becoming increasingly misanthropic and nihilistic. I’ve abandoned my whimsical synaesthesia based work for a more political and philosophical line of study that’s focused on the state of humanity and of the planet. It’s quite dark and intense, and is often difficult, humiliating or upsetting for the viewer. This is deliberate. I like my work to engage with peoples emotions; I want them to contemplate the subject of my work and not just take it at face value. If an art object is enjoyable, people usually see it only on an aesthetic level. If they find it upsetting or frustrating they tend to question its purpose, its meaning. I aim to meld aesthetics with poetry and provocation.

I don’t like to be too restricting media-wise. I paint, I draw, I sculpt, I install. I’d be tempted to say that my strongest work is usually two-dimensional, but the work I find most exciting is the three-dimensional stuff. I tend to find that if I stick to one discipline for too long I get frustrated quickly, but in the end the media I choose is always down to the concept. It’s about using the format that has most impact, that best expresses the idea.

My inspiration is great and varied. I’m not just inspired by art and artists, but also literature, the natural world and human endeavour. My greatest inspiration comes from the likes of artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Francis Bacon and Caravaggio, as well as lesser known contemporary artists like Colin Chillag, Nick Fox and Sarah Sze. The Bible is a big inspiration in my work, but for all the wrong reasons. I see it is an anthropological text, not a Divine one. Also, figures such as Alan Turing, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Carl Sagan and David Attenborough were and are immeasurably inspiring people. There are too many to list here without getting boring, but you get the gist of it.

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‘Self Portrait in Hell’ by David Mills

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Dear Typewriter, Your ribbon is annoying me considerably. Why wont you work? Why wont the ink transfer to the paper. I have given you a red ribbon and a black ribbon yet you give me nothing back. I only ask that I can hear the sound of your keys.... tap... tap... tapping.

You used to work, we used to be buddies. Have I done something wrong?

Write back soon

From your one and only faithful.

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Fathoming the people of Tyneside

Who are you, what are you doing and what’s the best thing thats happened this week

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...on the streets28

Who are you?Bethany Walker

What are you doing?Walking home through

Whickham Village

What is the best thing you’ve done this week?Had my brace removed

after months of smiling with my lips together

Who are you?Micheala Forbes

What are you doing?Waiting for the 97 bus on

Whickham Highway

What is the best thing you’ve done this week?

My friends mum shaved a bit of my hair

Who are you?Katie Dobson

What are you doing?Checking out a mini

exhibition at Northumbria Design School

What is the best thing you’ve done this week?Got a sneaky Christmas pressie for my boyfriend

from an antique shop at the bottom of my road.

Who are you?Vicky Holland

What are you doing?On the way to refilling the

parking meter in Newcastle

What is the best thing you’ve done this week?What a rubbish week but I

had the best cup of tea ever today!

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...at work 30

Who are you? Graeme Robson

What are you doing?Making teeth in my second

floor lab


Witnessed Newcastle Beat Liverpool 3-1.

Who are you?Lesley Kelly

What are you doing?Skiving serving breakfast to

have my photo taken


Moved into my new house

Who are you?Rob Gibbons

What are you doing?Copying and printing a load

of artwork


It’s been a crap week but I’ve been promised a load more

work coming up

Who are you?Dennis Jewitt

What are you doing?Watching the pound fall

against the dollar with delight


Recovered from a spectacular bambi-like fall on the ice

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tab... taboos

A great find. Nuns, nudity and taboos are the pull in these cigarette adverts for John Players Special Brand. I came across these slides in a quaint little red and white box in the darkest corner of my fittted wardrobes, amongst horded memorabilia and photographs belonging to my mother. These adverts are filled with history and some are bordering on politically incorrect. Particuarly in today’s world - they push the boundries of acceptability or are we just ‘PC gone mad’?

on 80s cigarette advertising

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‘Molly’ by Karen Knox

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‘Priceless Landscape’

I glance into a fire of resplendent eyes,

leading me to a palace immersed in dreams,

as I sweetly sip pure ecstasy

of sacred love.

you paint my memories with gentle strokes of affection, swelling my empty landscape

as we dance in rains of chilling watercolour.

Your passion of red drips gleefully across my sharp blue eyes,

merging into Technicolor thoughts, exhibiting sweet pictures

in my mind.

yet when we part, the spectre of emptiness

excavates his grave of nothingness through my heart,

as rains wash away our colours and transform our masterpiece

to a canvass of white.

oh my landscape craves your colours Come to me

my beautiful artist,

paint my life again….

George W Knox

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A modern day dolittle by day and costume designer for TV and Film by night. Hampstead habitant Suzy lives a rather obscure everyday life so we asked: Where are you from? Where have you been? Where are you right now? And where are you going?...

Fellow readers of Fathom. My name is Suzy, my age: probably the same as most of your Mothers or a tad older. That seemingly useless piece of information will help you decide who is the dullest, maddest or coolest between your Mam and I by the end of this article.

First things first, Q&A from the Editor.

Where am I from? RAF brat born, Fassberg, West Germany. Attended a motley collection of educational establishments, worst one being Weston-S-Mare Secondary Modern. Later, was able to make my own choice at Cardiff College of Art Dip AD ceramics where head and heart swiftly turned to performance art (under

Suzy Peters

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the same roof). Thus commenced a raggedy 3 years of fun, fartyartyness and frolics…..and an unmentionably crap grade!

Where have I been? Difficult to admit without sounding smug but many fantastic places through work and holiday via, boat, train, car and plane and some simply walking, like the Inca trail... best trip EVER, though pitching my own tent in the Masai Mara was pretty mind blowing too. Oh the bugs around the toilet at night... well you just did NOT want to switch the torch on!

As for my Career? A cross, these days, between gardening (about to end with the onset of winter). Sewing (building up with the run up to Christmas) and Costume Design for film/TV. Why I use capital letters on the latter mystifies me since it earns me the least amount, though that wasn’t always the case. But more of that in later editions should I be invited back!

And life being full of surprises, I’ve just had what seemed like a very good interview at Saddler’s Wells with this Theatre company www.theatre-rites.co.uk. It involves a run at the Barbican, a tour of the UK and a week in Salzburg which is where I was when the Berlin Wall came down. Anyway I’m putting out the vibes and keeping fingers crossed that the universe is kind to me.

Where am I right now?Tucked up in bed with a glass of wine, left over Hershey bars from Saturday’s dinner party, electric blanket blasting away and Warfie, my beloved cat stretched across my legs, growling every time I reposition myself. God she’s a grumpy tits but always forgiven everything.

My open plan flat is frigging well freezing with the heating switched off... Well listen, I’ve saved nearly £80 this month on gas and if I were a shoe fanatic that would be a pair of red killer

heels for Christmas. As it is I can get a radiator for my lodger’s room, which means I can get a lodger... who can pay my gas bill. And you thought I was just mean and weird!

Where am I going?Oh please, anywhere… as long as it involves hurling myself down mountains and drinking lots of hot wine!

I’ve been London locked for 2 years bar 3 weekends in Norfolk, Somerset and Cardiff, my travel bug having been badly infected by lack of funds. But it only needs a sterling injection to dust off the passport and my current cleanish carbon footprint can take another hammering, as well as my poor under exercised legs. Well a girl’s gotta have some fun and I’m extremely vigilant on the recycling/saving energy score. My utility bills for example, and the fact I’ve only spent £145 ALL year on clothes, makeup and hair products so put THAT in your pipe and suck hard (well I can’t encourage smoking now can I?).

Let’s face it ladies, shopping is very pleasurable but a disease nonetheless. We simply do not need all that crap we keep crammed in our cupboards and drawers. Have any of you really considered how much energy is used in making, shipping, selling and then buying all that ‘stuff’ only to be discarded minutes/days/weeks later? And then there’s all that wasted food thrown in the bin. Oh don’t get me started, it’s such a hugely important subject and there’s SO much we could do. And it’s something I really want to learn more about, to help my environment, not destroy it. And suddenly, there is the answer to this question of where I’m going…

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It’s not just a destination but a hopeful destiny. There’ll be more to come as well... If you’ll have me! Oh and by the way. I got the job! Yey!Suzy x

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Film crew

set up camp in S

uzy’s front room in her ground floor garden flat in H

ampstead

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In the Good Old Days after the war ended in 1945, everyone was poor. There were very few cameras around (not like today where there is one in every pocket). Some out-of-work people of the time tried to make a few bob by trailing the streets taking photographs for those parents who wanted them.

This little boy asked his mummy if he could get his photograph done like his friends but mummy said ‘No’ as she thought it might be too expensive.Disappointed, the young lad waited until the photographer and his assistant (who’s shoe you can see in the picture) were in the next street and ran after them shouting that he wanted his photo taken. After asking him if his parents had given him permission - which he confirmed – they duly took the picture showing his sullen, wilful determination to have his own way! After processing and printing the photo the guys showed it to the surprised parents, taking one look - how could they NOT buy it?

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The Good Old Days

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No AngelsNo Trumpets

Sometimes I seeNo angels, no trumpets but black

Black as a spectreAn enclosing shroud of completeness and night

Comes about

Comes about as a mudA black, shifting mud

That gurgles and screamsThat giggles and tortures and kills

All but meAll alone

In a honey-filled abyssAnd black...

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Captain of the university rugby team, studying chemistry and psychology, the author wrote ‘No Angels - No Trumpets’ for a bet. It was the first poem he had ever written and was entered into a poetry competition for Durham University’s famous student paper, ‘The Palatinate’ in 1960s. It was published and won an award for best poem submitted by a student who was not reading for an English or Literature degree. He then was justified in boasting to his friends and claiming, ‘anyone can write poetry’.

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The Lying Down Gamenew game has swept the nation by word of mouth and social networking

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rules:> must be faced down

> must have arms by you side> must be in a random place where you wouldn’t normally

be lying down.

warning: this game is highly addictive. not to be entered

into lightly.

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F.

We like Backpacks

Spotted @ Graduate Fashion Week 2010

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How to make Crayon spectacles ...

you will need: 1 pair of old glasses + 38 crayola crayons + multi purpose glue = fun for all

1. Stick eight crayons together by their edge with the logo facing outwards and allpointed edges facing in one

direction. Repeat four times.

2. Stick crayon panel together as pictured and stick to glasses frame.

3. Finish with sticking a few crayons to the legs of the glasses to complete

the look.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re going to be able to see through these bad boys unless you’re very strategic with your sticking tactics.

What else could you use?

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The World’s Old

est Railway

Tanfield Railway on the outskirts of Newcastle in the North East of England

Only in the North could you find the ‘The World’s Oldest Railway’. With history dating back to 1725 no other in the world comes close to Tanfield Railway.

Steam trains run from Sunnyside in Gateshead to Tanfield in Stanley in a picturesque setting. Only 20 minutes from Newcastle the trains run on the 6 mile round journey every Sunday and Bank holiday. It has also been voted as the North East’s #1 picnic spot.

Compeltely stunning. A quaint little day out in the North.

The World’s Old

est Railway

Tanfield Railway on the outskirts of Newcastle in the North East of England

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From zandra with love

We bumped into Zandra Rhodes in Gateshead’s Metrocentre and she wished us luck for the launch issue of Fathom (We just had to get it in here somewhere). She signed a postcard and even managed to give us the ‘F’ sign to seal after stretching those fingers out on the desk. Thanks Zandra x

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An addition of my ownWhat can you add that you have seen, dreamed about, imagined or written.

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What can you add that you have seen, dreamed about, imagined or written.

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SEND IN YOUR WEIRD AND WONDERFUL AND EXTRAORDINARILY ORDINARY FINDS, LETTERS AND

PHOTOGRAPHS TO

FATHOM MAGAZINE73 Howard Street

North ShieldsTyne and Wear NE30 1AF

please write

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