Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland
Bio
Long retired teacher from Northumberland, UK
He was a deputy head that taught physics (plus maths and economics) at Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland back in the '70s and early '80s
Now living in Canada, having retired some years ago.
Stories (19)
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Lennon; icon, myth and legend
Few figures in 20th-century culture loom as large or as complex as John Lennon. As a founding member of The Beatles, he helped reshape popular music and youth culture, transforming what a pop group could be. As a solo artist, he expanded the boundaries of songwriting into political and personal realms. As an activist, he leveraged celebrity to challenge entrenched power structures. As a symbol, he remains one of the most recognisable and iconic cultural presences—his face, his round glasses, and his messages of peace echoing long after his violent death in 1980. The legacy of John Lennon is multifaceted: musical, social, political, philosophical, and deeply mythologised. To understand it, one must consider not only the man and his work but also the shifting cultural landscape that continues to reinterpret him.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberlandabout a month ago in Beat
John Lennon recalled
Few figures in 20th-century culture loom as large or as complex as John Lennon. As a founding member of The Beatles, he helped reshape popular music and youth culture, transforming what a pop group could be. As a solo artist, he expanded the boundaries of songwriting into political and personal realms. As an activist, he leveraged celebrity to challenge entrenched power structures. As a symbol, he remains one of the most recognisable and iconic cultural presences—his face, his round glasses, and his messages of peace echoing long after his violent death in 1980. The legacy of John Lennon is multifaceted: musical, social, political, philosophical, and deeply mythologised. To understand it, one must consider not only the man and his work but also the shifting cultural landscape that continues to reinterpret him.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberlandabout a month ago in Beat
David Bowie: Sound, Storytelling, and the Art of Reinvention
David Bowie remains one of the most studied and influential artists in modern music. His legacy stretches far beyond rock history; it extends into fashion, theatre, art schools, and even classroom discussions about identity and creativity. Decades after his early recordings, Bowie continues to shape the way musicians, teachers, students, and creative communities think about self-expression.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Beat
Paul McCartney: The Composer Who Rewrote the Rules of Creativity
Paul McCartney’s musical legacy is often summarised through statistics — the most successful songwriter of all time, a global cultural icon, a performer whose influence stretches across decades. But the deeper truth is that McCartney’s real legacy isn’t held in trophies or chart records. It lives in the way people learn, create, and discover music because of him. His impact is woven into rehearsal rooms, classrooms, choir lofts, and small community studios across the UK.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Education
Jamie Anderson: the saxophonist who built a new kind of classroom
Most saxophonists earn their reputation on stage. A few build it in the practice room. Jamie Anderson did both — and then created a digital classroom that reshaped how people learn the saxophone.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Education
Why we must resist men like Andrew Tate
Why We Must Resist Andrew Tate In recent years, Andrew Tate has emerged as a controversial and influential figure, especially among young men online. With his flashy lifestyle, bold opinions, and confrontational tone, he markets himself as a beacon of masculinity and self-made success. But behind the hyper-confident persona lies a worldview that is deeply toxic, misogynistic, and ultimately damaging.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Education
The link between playing music and dopamine
The author is a retired teacher from Hexham in Britain, spent many years in the classroom encouraging the learning of science. In recent years, he has found a new path in writing, music, and the arts. Today, he uses his experience to inspire others, proving that life after teaching can be just as rewarding and full of new adventures and doesn’t need to take place in the classroom.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Beat
The Glory of New England in Autumn
Autumn in New England is a season that has inspired poets, painters, and travelers for centuries. From the rolling hills of Vermont to the rocky coastline of Maine, the region transforms each September and October into a tapestry of color, scent, and atmosphere. For visitors and locals alike, this is a time when the landscape truly shines, inviting exploration and reflection.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Earth
How to Be Successful on Vocal.Media
Vocal.Media has become one of the most popular platforms for writers who want to share stories, build an audience, and even earn income from their words. Unlike traditional blogging, Vocal rewards quality over quantity and gives writers tools to reach readers who genuinely care about the subjects they cover.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Writers
Peter Drake: Contemporary Artist and Educator in New York
In the world of contemporary art, few figures embody both the creative and educational dimensions of the field as fully as Peter Drake, a Brooklyn-based painter whose work has earned recognition in galleries and public collections across the United States. Known for his vivid compositions and thoughtful exploration of form and color, Drake has established a career that blends artistic practice with pedagogy, influencing a generation of emerging artists while maintaining a strong studio practice of his own.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Art
Peter Drake: A Familiar Face of Australian Television’s Golden Era
During the 1970s and 1980s, Australian television entered a new and distinctive phase. The long shadow of imported British and American programming began to lift, making room for a wave of local drama that reflected Australian voices, landscapes, and sensibilities. Among the actors who helped define this period was Peter Drake, a performer whose screen presence became familiar to viewers of hit series such as Cop Shop, Hunter, and Neighbours.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Fiction
Peter Drake: The Gentle Genius of Nashville’s Steel Guitar
In the long history of recorded music, there are figures whose influence can be heard everywhere, even if their names are not immediately recognised. One such figure is Pete or Peter Drake, the Nashville producer and pedal steel guitarist whose quiet innovation helped shape country, pop, and rock through the 1960s and beyond. His sound was subtle, but once heard, impossible to forget — a warm, bending tone that seemed to sing.
By Retired Teacher from Haydon Bridge School, Northumberland2 months ago in Beat
