garret71's Qype profile

I found it difficult to imagine how they would transform this movie to the stage without losing some of its magic. Boy did they manage it! This show was absolutely amazing, I loved every single minute of it! If you were a fan of the movie then this will not let you down. True to the script and with some amazing set designs the cast completely recreate the magic of the movie to the stage. The audience got so involved and it was very difficult to not join in with the songs and even the script. I think everybody shouted out 'Nobody puts baby in the corner’! Fantastic fun - go and see it!

Star Bowl is located in the Royal Quays area of North Shields, opposite to the Outlet Shopping Centre. This is a 10 lane bowling alley but also has lots of arcade games, pool tables, slot machines ets. It is a popular place with children and teenages and kids parties are regularly held there. It has a burger bar inside so hand for a snack but it’s not the cheapest place to dine so probably better to nip across the road to the Royal Quays for nicer/cheaper food there. Star Bowl is lots of fun and occassionally has special offers on so it’s worth looking out for those.

Home Bargains seems to be getting ever more popular with new branches popping up all over the place. This one is located in the Park View Shopping Centre in Whitley Bay but there are also large stores in North Shields and Cramlington etc. Not surprising this is a popular shop – the name says it all – Home BARGAINS!!! It is the best shop ever for everyday bargains, they charge a fraction of the prices most supermarkets charge – I always get my teabags there! It has its regular stock of items (like the teabags and several of the other food items and toiletries) but it also gets different brands of toys, gadgets, gifts, food, toiletries etc so it is always worth checking regularly to see what new stock they get. Now is the perfect time of year to load up on the stocking fillers!!

Card Factory seems to have an ever expanding chain of branches in the area. This one is located in the Park View shopping Centre in Whitley Bay but they also have other big stores in Killingworth, Cramlington, Wallsend – to name but a few! Not surprising it is so popular because it really truly does sell its cards and gifts at fantastic prices!! A huge range of cards are on offer for every occasion imaginable, they are fantastic quality and it’s very rare that you’d pay over 99p for a card, even the huge ones! The gift wrap, tissue paper and gift bags and boxes are equally great value. They also sell a small range of gifts, soft toys and stationery including, pens, diaries, sellotape, colouring sets etc. Why pay through the nose for cards when you can get some brilliant deals here?! Fab shop, highly recommended!!

The Metro Centre is located in the city of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. It is one of Europes largest indoor shopping centres with over 300 retailers and leisure attractions (bowling, cinema etc) and over 50 restaurants and cafes so there are plenty of places to stop and eat! Unfortunately the indoor fun fair (Metroland) has closed down but there is more than enough there to keep you occupied! The centre is easily accessible by public transport (Metro and Bus) and it also has nearly 10,000 free car parking spaces for anyone travelling by car. It does get really busy on weekends and on the lead up to Christmas it is an absolute NIGHTMARE to get parked. Weekdays throught the rest of the year though it is quite nice to shop there.

Eldon Square is located in the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne. It is an indoor shopping centre located right off the main shopping streets in the city (Northumberland Street, Grainger Street etc) it has over 140 shops within it, including; Marks and Spencers, Fenwicks, John Lewis, Boots, Clintons, Thorntons, Jane Norman, Monsoon, Beaverbrooks, Top Shop etc. Eldon Square is currently undergoing a redevelopment and will soon be adding new stores including Debenhams, Holland & Barrett, Carphone Warehouse etc. It has a multi storey car park and is very easy to get to by bus or by metro. It does get quite busy at weekends and really busy on the lead up to Christmas, it also has late night opening during that time of year.

Tynemouth Longsands beach is one of the best beaches I’ve been to. It is quite large and is always well maintained. The sand is clean and litter is always kept to a minimum as there are plenty of litter bins provided and the lifeguards are regularly tidying up. Plenty of lifeguards are on duty during the summer months so that helps give a safer feeling to it. This beach is really popular with surfers and regularly hosts competitions and it is also plays host to the Newcastle Falcons Rugby team to do some training. The views off the beach are brilliant, especially of Tynemouth Priory, the area has such a rich history! There is a fatastic café on the beach called Crusoes – they do a mean bacon sandwich! Well worth a visit here, be warned it does get busy in the summer!

The Parks leisure centre is located on Howdon Road in North Shields (not far from the Royal Quays shopping centre). This centre is owned by the local authority so it offers a pay as you go scheme but also annual ‘Contours’ membership which allows you access to any of the Council leisure centres in the area, it also offers discounts to people owning an ‘EASE’ card. The Parks is quite large, housing a creche, vast indoor bowling green area, several rooms upstairs and down for classes (such as pilates, step aerobics, spinning, boxercise etc), sunbeds, health suite (sauna, steam room, showers etc) badminton/basketball courts, indoor 5 a side football, outdoor football pitches, out door bowling greens and a gymnasium. Some of the equipment in the gym is looking a little worse for wear these days but other than that I always find the place to be well maintained and clean. Parties and coorporate events can be held here and it has a reasonable sized car park and an overflow car park for the busy periods. The nearest metro station is either Percy Main or Meadowell.

JJB sports have a chain of fitness centres and soccer domes around the country. The one I’m reviewing is located in the Royal Quays area of North Shields, next to the Royal Quays Retail Outlet shopping centre. This JJB is quite large, it has a very spacious gym with plenty of machines and weights to be used. It has an open and modern appearance and the machines are all in good condition, many of them have their own tv screens which is fantastic! There are a couple of large rooms upstairs that are used for classes, it also has a 20 meter swimming pool, 2 jacuzzis and a steam room. They offer peak and off peak memberships at reasonable prices. Also here is a soccer dome and a large JJB store upstairs which sells a huge range of sports clothing, footwear and equipment. There are hundreds of free parking spaces available and the nearest metro station is Percy Main (about 10mins walk away).

Sunderland Empire is a fantastic old theatre located on High Street West in Sunderland. It is easy to get to by Metro as it is only a couple of minutes walk from the metro station. It is situated near several restaurants so is perfect for those folks that want to make an occasion of it. The theatre gets some excellent shows throughout the year, often attracting the big names. I love this theatre, the seats are quite comfortable and the leg room is quite fair. I’ve always found the prices to be reasonable too. I highly recommend this as a great place to visit (regularly!)