Christmas and New Year special - Newcastle City Council

Ruby
celebrations
for Civic
Centre
This year marks the 40th
anniversary of the opening of
Newcastle Civic Centre, which
took place on Thursday 14
November 1968.
This historic event was celebrated when King
Olav V of Norway visited the city to officially
cut the ribbon on the now Grade II listed
building which was designed by city architect
George Kenyon.
The building’s first foundation stone was laid
on the 30 November 1960 by Alderman
Gladys Robson who was the Lord Mayor at
the time.
The city’s relationship with Scandinavia was
marked with ‘Swans in Flight’, a bronze
sculpture outside the Civic Centre, which
represents Norway, Denmark, Sweden,
Finland and Iceland.
Have a witchy
Christmas with
Tynebridge Publishing
‘Walking with Witches’
by Lynn Huggins-Cooper
(£5.99)
When Eleanor and Isabel find a
mysterious book in the library, they
are drawn into an exciting and spooky
adventure set in Newcastle.
Can the girls outwit a shadowy villain
from the past and save a ghostly
friend? Maybe they can…but they’ll
need the help of a cat, a crow, and a
powerful magic pendulum.
Competition
Newcastle’s friendship with Norway is also
reflected in some of the materials used in the
construction of the building including
Norwegian Otta slate which is found in the
Grand Entrance Hall.
As well as designing ‘Swans in Flight’, artist
David Wynne created the ‘Tyne God’ which
hangs from the Civic Centre before you get
to the Grand Entrance.
Follow the friends as they unravel the
mystery in our gripping story for
young people aged nine or older – if
you dare!
Find out lots more at
www.tynebridgepublishing.co.uk
For a chance of winning a copy, tell us where Walking with Witches is set?
New York Newcastle Newfoundland
Name ...............................................................................................
Address ............................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
Postcode ............................ Telephone ...............................................
Please send your entries to Freepost Citylife by Friday 28 November.
Please put all coupons and entries into one envelope.
✁
Christine
At a visit to her local job centre
she was told about ‘Shop for
Jobs’ - a partnership between
the council and businesses
across the city that helps local
people find work in retail,
hospitality and catering.
After registering, Christine was
given basic customer service
training and help with an online
application form. She went
through a food hygiene course
and is now happily employed in
the new Waitrose store in Eldon
Square.
The organisation can also help
with a range of other skills you
And if you’ve been in town on a Saturday
afternoon and have heard music coming
from the Civic Centre, you might want to
know it’s coming from the Edith Adamson
Memorial Carillon. This was given to the city
by James Wilfred Adamson in June 1967 in
memory of his late wife Edith and for his
appreciation of the city.
finds a future
in retail
Christine Maylia of Spital Tongues was
unemployed and bored with her usual temporary
cleaning or catering work.
might need to work in a shop.
Mainly working on the checkout
but also helping in other areas on
the shop floor, Christine now has
the chance of a real career. She
said; “it was great, I was given
great advice and training which
really helped when it came to the
interviews for Waitrose. I work
15 hours a week which suits me
and I love it!”
Anyone interested in a career
in retail, hospitality or
catering can contact Shop for
Jobs on 0191 261 7205 or pop
in to the office at 45 Eldon
Gardens.
Remember, remember
the third of November
Two brand new customer service centres are opening their doors to the
public in November.
A customer service officer advises a local resident
On 3 November, at 8.30am the new East End
Customer Service Centre will open for business. This
will be followed two weeks later by the West End
Customer Service Centre and Library, which opens at
8.30am on 17 November.
These new centres are the final two in a citywide
network of six customer service centres developed to
provide you with a range of services and information
‘under one roof’. The centres ensure that the majority
of Newcastle residents are within 1.5 miles of at least
one customer service centre.
Introducing the West End
Customer Service Centre and
Library
People across Elswick, Benwell and Scotswood will
soon get a unique, modern centre where they can
access a vast range of council library and housing
services.
Our younger customers enjoy the children’s
library books
We have involved local people in its development
with an active and enthusiastic community focus
group helping us make decisions about use of the
centre, including promotion of its services and
accessibility issues.
At the customer service centres you can get help
with over 90 different council and Your Homes
Newcastle (YHN) services. You can also choose from
thousands of brand new books in the library.
There are also facilities for people who are deaf or
hard of hearing. And, for customers whose first
language isn’t English, there’s access to a telephone
interpreting service to help us sort out problems they
may have with the council, and to give advice about
council services.
Your Homes Newcastle makes the move
The new centre will be home to Benwell and Scotswood
Community Housing Service, which will provide YHN
services. The existing housing offices on Armstrong
Road and Adelaide Terrace will close in November and
relocate into the new centre on Condercum Road.
Customers at one of our existing centres
The new East End Customer
Service Centre
This new centre replaces the temporary customer
service centre on Shields Road.
It has been designed in consultation with local
residents and will include:
• a more spacious waiting and seating area
• more computers for you to use with free internet
access
• more cashiering positions and, for the first time,
PayPoint, so that you can top up your mobile phone
and pay any bills which show the PayPoint logo
• more private interview rooms
• a community meeting room
• a range of information and leaflet displays, and
community noticeboards where you can advertise
your event or group.
For more details about the centres visit our
website at www.newcastle.gov.uk/customers
Digital TV - a new way
to get services and
information
Our digital TV site contains information on
local services and organisations in
Newcastle. The site is interactive and you
can report issues and make comments as
well as finding information.
Our digital TV site is available if you:
• subscribe to Sky and Virgin TV (ntl: Telewest); or
• have a mobile phone that can connect to the
internet (mobile network charges may apply)
You will find the following categories of information
on the site.
• Contact us
• Advice and information
• Services
• Your area
• Report it – an interactive form to let you report
issues to us
• Job shop
You can access the site as follows
Sky Active
• Press the Interactive button on your remote
• Select Sky Active from the menu
• Select Services
• Select Looking Local
Virgin TV (UK2) (ntl:Telewest)
• Press the Interactive button on your remote
• Select News and Info
• Select Looking Local
Freeview (with modem or broadband)
• www.digitv.gov.uk/digitv/cds/LookingLocal/
Netgem/home
3 Mobile handset
• Services
• Websites
• Look up Stuff
• Looking Local
GPRS WAP phone
• www.digitv.gov.uk/digitv/cds/lookinglocal/
mobile/home
We hope to develop the site further; this may
include discussion forums and a prescription
ordering service. Please let us know if you have any
suggestions for new services that you would like to
see on the site. Contact Julie Scotland on
0191 211 6621 or Gill Smith on 0191 211 6574.
10 www.newcastle.gov.uk
Citylife: November/December 2008
Citylife: November/December 2008 Use the internet free at all Newcastle libraries 11