Lorna Brown
From the collection of
Johnny Taws
- North Shields
- 1994
Lorna Brown (In Profile)
The legendary 'Death Spiral' creator has a lot to say about a career built on Whitley Bay ice.
Built in 1955 by the Smith family, Whitley Bay ice rink is one of only two surviving permanent public ice rinks in a region which was once known for them.
John 'Icy' Smith founded a dynasty of frozen businesses when he opened an Edwardian ice factory in Barnard Castle. His ultimate ambition was to create an ice-skating rink, but it would take him more than 30 years to develop the necessary ice-mastery.
John's innovative designs harnessed renewable energy, and elements of the local environment to create rinks which were, and in the case of Whitley Bay, still are sustainable. The Whitley Bay rink uses frozen brine piped from the North Sea to maintain a rink fit for world champions.
Tags
Local Characters in the North East
Land of Vikings, prince bishops, literary greats and local legends; the North East has always been full of character.
The North East is famed for its home-loving people, close-knit communities, strong work ethic and immense industry. People in the North East are proud of their heritage, and embrace high and low culture in equal measure. Pub entertainers and Hollywood stars alike are local heroes in the North East hall of fame. In this series of films, lesser-known legends are captured for posterity as part of the NEFA collection.
9 videos in this collection
1
Johnny Taws
2
Lorna Brown
3
Maxwell Deas
4
The King of South Tyneside
5
Dissent
6
Alan Robson
7
Ingrid Hagemann
8
Five Miles High
9