A quick hello…

Well hello and come on in to Only In Newcastle which exists to celebrate, signpost and shout about the very best of the independent scene in Newcastle and Gateshead, and all the other amazing stuff you can’t find anywhere else in the world.

Sam Wonfor, founder and editor of Only In Newcastle

Sam Wonfor here, and above here, here, here, here, here and here – founder and editor… sounds pretty grand, eh? I’m also the tea-maker, chief strategist, top tidy upperer, head of marketing and advertising while also being in charge of buying toilet paper and satsumas.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be adding more and more places and people to the website – and we’ll also be filling up this very blog, which will allow me and others to write boatloads about the lovely stuff we’re lucky enough to have going on right on our doorstep.

Couldn’t be happier to have my old boss and Culture Mag mucker, Dave Whetstone being the first to contribute. Hope very much to see and hear lots more from him as we go along.

The thinking behind Only In Newcastle is that we only feature the places, things and people who we think are pretty terrific – so if it’s on the website, you can take that as a glowing recommendation from us.

There will be independent reviews on the blog as well of course and previews of things that we’re excited about and more than a little interested in too.

Just to give you a bit of background on me, up until last spring, I had been a senior writer at The Journal, its award-winning Culture Magazine and ChronicleLive for 16 years.

I have also had the big and beautiful pleasure of being the creative producer of The Journal Culture Awards for more than a decade, so I’m well versed in shouting about the cracking array of food, drink, entertainment, shops, attractions, people and events we have to choose from.

Please feel free to give me a shout if you’d like to find out more about the plans for Only In Newcastle… or would like to recommend your favourite independently run haunts in Newcastle and Gateshead for inclusion on the website.

And finally, we’d love you to follow and like us on Facebook and Twitter and help us spread the word that we’re up and running.

Right then, let’s get cracking.

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