Blaydon Races 9 June

Today, 9 June, is Blaydon Races day. You might just think it's just a world-famous Geordie song, but the races at Blaydon actually took place in the 19th Century and the last race was in 1916. It started again in the '80s as an athletics race along the route described in George Ridley's narrative song. Here's a painting of the event from Shipley Art Gallery.

As well as being a Geordie anthem it's a bit special to me since I grew up a few miles from Blaydon. I vaguely remember the old town of Blaydon before the centre was pulled down and re-developed into a shopping centre. In the mid-70s I worked part-time in Laws Stores, one of the two supermarkets at Blaydon. It made me feel very grown up as a young teenager.

My Granda lived in Blaydon in the last few years of his life and he used to take me to the local club and buy me too many drinks while he told me about *his* granda who was a navvy and changed the course of the River Tyne at Blaydon. My Uncle Ted and Aunt Rhoda lived in Blaydon all their married lives and both died there - my cousins still live there.

There's not much to shout about in Blaydon these days but it does have a pub called The Geordie Ridley in honour of the writer of the song, 'Blaydon Races'. To celebrate the day, here's the video to the latest version of the song that Jimmy Nail, Tim Healy and Kevin Whately recorded to raise funds for Sir Bobby Robson's cancer charity - go on, download the song and make a donation.