For an interview in October this year with seventies rock band Fogg, I met North East musicians Dave Robson and Bob Porteous in North Shields Heritage Centre near the fish quay  – hey its al’ rock n roll my friends!

Afterwards I went over to see Fiddlers Green, the sculpture by Durham artist Ray Lonsdale which was unveiled in 2017. I was reminded of Seaham’s ‘Tommy’, who featured in the last blog, as Lonsdale again presents us with a lone figure deep in thought.

The fisherman, at ten foot tall and weighing in at two ton of steel – have the locals named him yet? Sits guard over the entrance to the River Tyne and the fish quay with its fishing boats, row of cafes, restaurants, fresh fishmongers and the aforementioned Heritage Centre.

I was interested where the name Fiddlers Green came from, so got in touch with Joyce Marti who is team leader at Discover, the Local Studies Department, North Tyneside.

I first met Joyce in 2014 when researching a documentary I made looking at the connection between North and South Shields.

Joyce explained “The memorial site was given the name Fiddler’s Green, a term that originated in 19^th century maritime folklore. It was a mythical afterlife location for sailors and mariners who served their time at sea. There is said to be a fiddle that never stops playing, dancers who never tire, and drink which flows freely”.

“The sculpture was funded by North Shields Fishermen’s Heritage Project and North Tyneside Council who wanted to see a permanent memorial to North Shields fishermen lost at sea”.

On the back of the sculpture the plaque reads…

Directly across the river, South Shields has its own sculptures connected to the sea with the Conversation Piece.

Placed near the Groyne pier at the entrance to the River, are a large group of ‘weebles’ – the local name for the 22 bronze figures, which are in small groups talking to each other and checking the time waiting for their men to return home from sea.

The figures were unveiled in 1999 from an idea by Spanish artist Juan Munoz. He must have created a number of these pieces as a couple of years ago I saw some fenced in behind a cage near the beach in Barcelona.

Word is, another sculpture is planned near Fiddlers Green, that’ll be one more pinned to Lonsdale’s map of the North.

Joyce Marti added “The group who raised the initial funds for Fiddlers Green have now commissioned Ray to start a ‘Herring Girl’ statue to be placed on the Western Fish Quay, North Shields”.

A list of locations can be seen on the official website at:  Two Red Rubber Things – Home   

Alikivi    December 2022