There are so many places serving cocktails in Newcastle now that it's hard to know where the best places are, well if you want something completely different and a little bit science themed or even science fiction themed, you need to head down to the Science Bar which is just next to central station in Newcastle upon Tyne.

I went along to sample a preview of their new cocktail menu which launches this Thursday, yes that's right, only 2 more days to go and then you too can get down there and sample the wonders of the Einstein or the Asimov.

The Science bar is just a little bit geeky and you know what, I love that, in a world where all cocktail bars look exactly the same I love the fact that there's really nowhere else quite like it.

I can quite imagine hanging out with friends on an impromptu Sunday evening night out and whiling away a couple of hours chatting about life over the coolest cocktails in Newcastle.

I love science and science fiction, I would say I love it but i'm not a geek if that makes sense, well maybe I'm a little bit geeky, I'm certainly a Whovian, I adore Doctor Who, I love sci-fi movies and watch lots of sci fi on tv, oh wait, maybe I am a geek after all?!

One lady who certainly knows her science fiction from a science fact is one of my very best friends Harriet and she came along as my last minute plus one and watched closely judging whether the science facts about each drink were truth or just a little made up.  I'm pleased to report that mostly of their science fact is actually well researched and if they have been just a little creative it's all in a good cause.

I'm going to leave you now with some photos of cocktails, the green one with the lime in had tequila in it and that was the only one I managed to bag all to myself, I'm a huge fan of tequila as anyone who knows me well will know.  I only ever get accidentally drunk these days as I am way too old for hangovers but if it does happen you can guarantee there was tequila involved (Holly Ball at As You Like It, I am looking at you!)

I always think that cocktails are an art form, well when you decide to mix that with science and chemistry it's another thing completely, these drinks take months and months or research (and hangovers no doubt) to get just right so the least we mere mortals can do is get down to the Science Bar from this Thursday and check them out!!

Need a photographer during April?

Once again I find myself half way through the month before I've had a chance to actually sit down and write my list but that day has come, Looby finally returned to school today and I returned to a desk which looks like it's got a mountain under it, so much going on that I am willing myself to catch up on, collaborations with Resmed (can I just say how much I adore their  S+ sleep monitor and the sleep mentor is helping me get a better nights sleep every single night) and I'm whipping up my own personal list of things to do with some amazing coconut oil sent to me by the lovely people at Vita Coco, Rome, as they say was not built in a day though and it's very much a one day at a time thing currently.

April though, the month of showers, also the month when spring really hits the North East of England, I noticed on my daily walk with Holly yesterday that the buds were starting to open on the trees, there are daffodils in Heaton Park carpeting the ground and the sound of the birds chirruping is almost deafening when compared to the stillness of the winter months.  Everywhere I travel to I see lambs gambolling in the fields, new life is all around, the magic of spring.

Now it may be that you are looking for a photographer in Newcastle, maybe you are getting married and still deciding on who you might want to shoot your wedding or maybe you're finally getting around to organising those family portraits you keep putting off, well it just so happens that I know a very good North East photographer, yes of course it's me and I have 3 little offers if you need one.

15% off all midweek weddings, I'm looking to shoot just a couple more this year so if that's you get in touch.

For the rest of the month you can get a 45 minute session at Tynemouth, Jesmond Dene or Saltwell Park for only £30 instead of £45, it's the perfect excuse to get outdoors!

I've also extended the all inclusive mini sessions to run until the end of April, just £125 for 30 minutes with all of the edited images via a digital download, a most splendid offer if ever there were one.

To enquire about any of those offers email me 

Looby, after successfully returning to school yesterday is about to depart for Wales on a farming trip from the 22-29th April and so I am looking to fill that week with a suitable travel assignment, if you are looking in and you think you may be able to use either my writing or photography skills for your travel based assignment please Get In Touch!

If you've just found yourself melting in a pile of cute from some of the adorable newborns at home sessions above you'll understand why I love my job so much, newborns at home covers any babies under the age of 6 months, they're unlimited in time although as a guide they can take anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on the individual babies, I really do specialise in capturing babies with their older siblings, not an easy task and I've likened it to being a police negotiator and it's definitely a skill I have which others might not so if you have a new baby due and you've already got kids then I might just be the photographer you need to capture the early days at home.  Photographing toddlers with their new siblings is so special when it works and in the end it always works.


I hope your April is full of springy lambs and floral arrangements or ranunculus and anemones, I often lament that I can't get any in February and March whilst the people of the south are welcoming spring, every year it seems I forget just how long spring takes to get from one end of the country to the other.  One thing is certain though, spring always comes...

The View From Sutton Bank, North York Moors

This week has been long and damp and to be honest I'm looking forward to the return to work next week, Looby and I have managed some days out and it's been lovely with her being officially well again, 6 weeks of our lives we'll never get back, worse for her than me of course but we will certainly always remember this time in our shared history.

On Wednesday a trip to Yorkshire was just what the doctor ordered for me, I long to walk over hills and vales, as a travel writer who hasn't been anywhere for over 6 weeks I'm starting to feel a little stir crazy, you see I long for travel, my feet are perpetually itchy, I spend hours looking at destinations and trying to plan trips as well as pitching for assignments to companies and editors for travel writing/photography. But with 6 weeks behind us it's been difficult to do anything other than live in the moment from day to day never knowing what's around the corner and not daring to even think of a trip in case Looby got ill again.

Being at the top of Sutton Bank in North Yorkshire is like being at the top of the world, rolling hills and verdant sweeping countryside down below, the whole of North Yokshire lying at your feet, open to the elements it can be sunny down below and still it's windy and fresh so high up.  This bank of myth and legend where cars would get stuck driving up it during the 70's and 80's on day trips to Flamingo Land, I'd driven up it many times over the years but never had I actually taken a breath and stopped at the top to admire the beautiful views.  

I'm delighted to say that it did not disappoint, the day was stormy and the skies were threatening, petulantly stomping their feet wanting to release their contents over the valleys below.  I'm still not sure how we escaped a soaking but as I watched the clouds emptying as I stood on the highest point I felt at one with the heavens above, shafts of light cutting through the dark turbulence of the skies around me.

To take a moment in time just for me is a rare thing indeed but just for a while, I broke with the constraints of the day and simply enjoyed all that surrounded me and it left me re-engaged with nature, with the elements, it left me craving even more for travel and adventures new, near and far, we live in such a beautiful country that I'm always happy to write about British travel but at the moment my soul is craving for sunshine and new overseas horizons.  I had planned to take a break when Looby goes on her school trip to Wales but it's pretty much financially dependent, I have a couple of weeks to get business, life, schedules and finances back on track before my girl goes off to deepest darkest Wales for her farming experience week at Treginnis Farm, she's going to love every minute, she craves for animals and experiences of farming as much as I crave to travel.  We both are outdoor adventurers deep down I think.

I'm not a landscape photographer, I'm a travel photographer, there's a huge difference so if my landscape photographer friends are looking in then I apologise, I should have been there at dusk or dawn instead of two in the afternoon but just like the things I do differently when I am shooting portrait photography in Newcastle I think I bring the same to travel and landscapes, I simply shoot the way I see and, I always see in photographs.

Live a Life More Colourful #JBColourful

When Joe Browns got in touch to say that they wanted to work with me I did a little jump in the air, I've long been a fan of their quirky boho fashions, a brand who are all about living for the moment and enjoying yourself is most definitely something I can get on board with.

I've been wearing their clothes for a few years now but I'd never tried their shoes so when they told me I could pick anything for their #JBColourful campaign my eyes fell straight upon these beauties.

They're floral, vintage style, a perfect fit and... they're only £34.99

I loved shooting this series of images, it's great to do something completely different and being someone who loves a colourful life I feel they definitely chose the right photographer for this job.

I also had the perfect location with lovely coloured walls, it's just a shame that 55 Degrees North have repainted the pink wall blue, that pink wall was my favourite!

Luckily there's still the awesome yellow wall to add to the blue so I had a lot of fun with these pretty vintage shoes against all the various colours down there.

Now then, you may be wondering about how I managed to do this, was it a tripod and a remote trigger or did I simply detach my own ankles?

Luckily I had a secret weapon for this photo shoot, my lovely daughter Looby!  Looby as you know has had a rough time of it lately but we were delighted to get home from the hospital on Friday evening and she bounced out of the doors this time, I feel we have beaten the infection this time and so we finally went to shoot these images last night, I had backup feet on standby but I'm so glad I didn't need them as Looby had so much fun being a model, it's great when you can share shoes with your mum because they have the same sized feet.

When you look at her on these photographs you wouldn't realise that she'd had surgery a week ago and two rounds of surgery this month, kids are so very resilient and Looby is a lesson in just how brave we all should be in times of tension.

I think Looby exemplifies everything that Joe Browns is about, she certainly makes every day more colourful, she always lives life to the fullest and leaps and bounds through the weeks, there's always a cartwheel here and a handstand there, I don't know where she gets the energy from but I hope she always remains this way.

So go ahead now people, use Looby as your example and go live a life more colourful!

Mandy Charlton for Joe Browns #JBColourful

mandy@mandycharltonphotography.com