Mixing The Pits With The Hits
Sun Herald
Sunday November 25, 2007
Steve McKenna heads to Billy Elliot country and discovers a region of contrasting fortunes.
Spending an afternoon ambling through the gritty village of Easington, where the locals are as tough as old boots, it's hard to imagine any male here would ever have the guts to dress up as a fairy and prance around like a girl. Today, as the pensioners head to their tea-dancing sessions, the bairns seem to be playing it safe by indulging in more traditionally masculine pursuits, like kicking a football about, hanging around aimlessly on street corners or stuffing greasy chips down their gobs.None look like budding Billy Elliots to me, although you never know what goes on behind the closed doors of the terraced houses that line the cobbled streets. In the 2000 movie, our Billy (played by Jamie Bell) craftily eschewed the boxing ring for ballet halls, angering, bewildering, then partially inspiring a community ravaged by the British miners' strikes of the mid-1980s.The highly acclaimed stage version of the film is currently in previews at Sydney's Capitol Theatre and officially opens on December 14. Yet while the musical is shrouded in glitz and glamour, as well as a touch of hilarity and even a little schmalz, back in Easington, site of the film's fictional village Everington, it's business as usual. Or no business as usual, as it happens.In the words of the locals, there's nowt much doing here. I hate to add credence to the lazy stereotype that it's grim up north, but unfortunately it's hardly bright and breezy here.A once-thriving village is now a pale shadow of its former self and although male unemployment has halved since the early 1990s, a large number are still out of work, unable - or unwilling - to find new jobs, while the next generation are hardly faring much better.Dubbed a ghost town and a war zone by some residents, in truth it's not quite as bad as that and local authorities have launched a regeneration project to build modern housing developments and new schools with state-of-the-art facilities.However, despite these silver linings, the cloud hovering over Easington still lurks large. Granted, there is a handful of nice old churches, including St Mary the Virgin - which was an important Christian place of worship during medieval times.And there is also a restored 13th-century listed building, Seaton Holme, which was once used by Queen Elizabeth I to decree that two local rebels who had signed allegiance to Mary, Queen of Scots, should be put to death. But, for me, the most interesting thing about Easington today is wandering around the areas where the movie was filmed and trying to spot some of the stars of the show (about 400 locals were used as extras).I'm sure I spotted a few, although their attire - and demeanour (gloomy rather than fiery) - is a tad different now to what it was on the cinema screens. I wasn't sad to leave Easington, not only as it's pretty bleak, but also because it's surrounded by some absolutely lovely scenery. The lush green hills offer something of a pastoral idyll and the countryside looks even better now that it's not being mined. It must also be said that a short drive from the village is an undoubtedly picturesque, and largely deserted, coastline.While Easington and its brotherhood of former mining villages have seen better days, Durham, the capital of County Durham, is experiencing a real boom just 20 kilometres from Billy's doorstep. Even back in the mid-1990s, when its neighbours were in dire straits, Durham was feted as an unheralded gem in Bill Bryson's best-selling Notes From A Small Island.Stopping off at Durham, Bryson wrote that he intended to poke around for an hour or so, but instantly fell in love with this perfect little city.He was moved by the friendliness of the people and absolutely smitten by the cathedral - a masterpiece of reddish-brown Anglo-Norman-Romanesque architecture that sits proudly on a hill next to a huge 11th-century castle and is surrounded by the River Wear.The best cathedral on planet Earth, gushed Bryson, who was enamoured by its lavish interior and stained-glass windows, before hopping on a train to continue his whistlestop tour of Blighty. Bumbling round the grand building today, ducking into its chapels and perusing its paintings, tombs, altars and thrones, it's hard not to agree with the ebullient American author. It is unquestionably stunning.Coincidentally or not, the city's popularity has skyrocketed in recent years and in September it was voted Britain's best tourist destination in the Conde Nast Traveller Awards.Unsurprisingly, 21st-century Durham throbs with life, but not just because of the recent increase in camera-carrying visitors. Thousands of students attend the city's university, which was founded in 1832 and is unofficially on the next rung below the world-famous Oxford and Cambridge campuses.They help create a buzz around the coffee shops, pubs and galleries in the old town streets, which are packed with listed buildings and cottages, while nearby is the modern Millennium Place - opened by the Queen in 2002.The focal point is the 500-seat Gala Theatre and Cinema, while next door is the Walkergate development that's home to a range of cafes, bars and restaurants.Across the Wear, the final touches are being added to a plush new hotel that will open early next year, ready to cater for the additional tourist numbers expected in 2008. However, despite its upturn in fortune, rather touchingly, the city isn't acting all superior to its neighbours. The annual Miners' Gala, a tradition that goes back more than a century, still takes place in Durham each July.Despite the closure of all the county's pits, former miners and their families and friends gather to hear speeches, enjoy a pint and attend a special service in the cathedral, while in the streets outside colliery bands lead processions and banners are proudly paraded.An excellent spot to discover more about the entire region's history, stretching back far beyond the mining years, is the Durham Heritage Centre, which can be found in the shadow of the cathedral.Set in a redundant old church, it contains a neat mix of exhibitions, models, hands-on activities and videos that tell a number of fascinating stories, including how the county became a point of high strategic importance for William the Conqueror. Keen to ensure the city wasn't invaded by the Scots or Anglo-Saxon rebels, the Norman king allowed the region to act as a separate entity from the rest of Britain, and gave the bishops of Durham the power to govern on his behalf, raising their own taxes, forming their own army and administering their own legal system.It's highly intriguing stuff and I left the building with my head spinning full of new information. But as nice and interesting as Durham is, after a couple of days here, boredom begins to set in.This isn't a major problem, though. Hemmed in between the North Yorkshire moors and dales and the bright lights of Newcastle upon Tyne, it's surrounded by several other treasures.A short drive north of the city is the outstanding Beamish Open-Air Museum, the largest of its type in the country and one that offers a fabulous insight into the grim realities of life in the industrial 19th and 20th centuries.Spread over 121 hectares, you can explore authentic underground passages, mining areas, a farm, an old school and cramped pit cottages, while thanking your lucky stars you eluded these times. North-west of here, meanwhile, is perhaps the most famous remaining Roman construction in Britain.Legend has it that the 118-kilometre-long Hadrian's Wall was erected to keep the Scottish barbarians out of England, although perhaps a more diplomatic explanation is that the Romans just wanted to mark their territory and stress that they weren't planning to extend their dominance further north.No matter, it's still a remarkable relic to look at, although, unlike many other tourists, I resist the temptation to walk or cycle alongside it.Instead, I headed east to one of Britain's most revitalised cities, Newcastle, which sits side-by-side with Gateshead, a place that's home to some incredible examples of modern architecture (the Angel of the North and Millennium Bridge), as well as Europe's largest indoor theme park (MetroLand) and one of the country's biggest shopping complexes (MetroCentre).The economy here is among the fastest growing in Britain - and it's arguably the funniest city in the country for a night out.Indeed, as I sunk a few bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale and laughed myself silly at the antics of the baudy Geordie lads and lasses, it was strange to think that this vibrant place was once caught up in the net of depression that has enveloped the likes of Easington.Today, unfortunately, the difference in mood between the two places couldn't be more striking.TRIP NOTES* Getting there: Emirates flies directly from Sydney to Newcastle via Dubai. * Staying there: To explore accommodation and dining options in the north-east, see www.visitcountydurham.com, www.visitnortheastengland.com or www.visitbritain.com .* Billy Elliot deals: Accor has hotel and show packages in Sydney starting from $370. Prices include one night's twin-share accommodation and two premium A-reserve tickets. Hotels include the Grand Mercure Apartments Darling Harbour and the Sofitel Wentworth. Phone 1300734108. Qantaslink has intrastate deals. Phone 131 313 or your travel agent.
© 2007 Sun Herald