Ich bin ein Berliner

It seems (contrary to urban myth) that John Fitzgerald Kennedy got it spot on when he uttered this famous phrase beside the Berlin Wall on June 26th 1963. We have just returned from a wonderful visit to this amazing city, where recent history tugs at your sleeve at every street corner. Here is an image so resonant for many of us, the Brandenburg Gate, an entry point to a city where contention has been the name of the game for many years. Nowadays you can stand in front of it and get your picture taken (if that's your bag!) with mock Russian and American troops, complete with flags. This is of course to prove that since the Berlin Wall came down we are all buddies now. As Dick Gaughan once said; "maybe putting it there was our first mistake"! More pictures to follow in due course.

Off to The Land Of Gutenberg

Over the next few days I'll be visiting this man's homeland. Johannes Gutenberg was the remarkable inventor of printing from moveable type in Germany c1439. Hope some of that typographic magic dust rubs off during my visit.

Reading matter(s)

This book is next on my list. No doubt it will be the first of many as I embark on an interesting typographic journey over the next couple of years.

I know your Type #7 FF Meta

FF Meta is a humanist sans-serif typeface family designed by Erik Spiekermann. It was originally developed in 1984 as a commission for a corporate typeface for the Deutsche Bundespost (German Federal Post), but was never adopted for use. Meta was designed to be a readable, sturdy, basic sans serif typeface, working on the postage stamp scale, but also as livery for post boxes and Deutsche Bundespost vehicles. Attention was paid to creating a face that was easily readable from an angle, and in smaller point sizes. In 1989 it was digitised again using Fontographer in the Macintosh, and three styles were made by Just van Rossum. In the period 1991 to 1998 a larger typeface family was developed, adding small capitals. A serif companion, entitled FF Meta Serif, was completed in 2007. (Hat Tip: Wikepedia [sorry!])

Here's a little movie of the designer of FF Meta speaking about his relationship to the Mac, and the way it changed his trade. You will need to have some knowledge of the German language to fully appreciate it however. Speaking of which... I'm off to Germany on Saturday!

Weekend Bulletin

Great weekend! Starting on Friday when we took Leon over for a visit to Longstone lighthouse. Unfortunately this is an experience which he must wait for, as I had omitted to read that the place is closed on Fridays! We settled for fish & chips in a lovely little cafe in Whitburn, and ended up at South Shields market.


Saturday was the day of another reunion of friends from way back. A get together at The Rendezvous cafe was our starter for ten, followed by a meal at Picasso's. Great to be together with old friends and to welcome Sue and Bengt from Sweden. Lots of trips down memory lane and plenty of laughs into the bargain.


Today the sun finally appeared and we took Gracie out to Plessey Woods for a long and exhausting walk. A plunge into a mud pool resulted in a shower for her when we got home. Then it was sleeves rolled up and a spot of gardening to finish the weekend of nicely.

The Daylight Bakery

Driving back from Stockton last week I stopped to take a good look at the beautiful 'Daylight Bakery' building. The former home of the baker Ralph Spark Ltd is a gorgeous example of the Art Deco style. The signage font had me slightly baffled though. I was initially thinking Gill Sans, but then I spotted that strange 'G' and have come to the conclusion that this is a custom font, albeit based on Gill, that must have been designed especially for the building, which is on on Bishopton Lane in Stockton.

Whitleybunions #6 Bank Holiday Bike Trip

Bren was working yesterday, so it was a solo bike trip for me. The gardening was enticing, but hey.... priorities eh? I've done this trip a few times and it is also a bit of a trip down memory lane as you will see.Down through the fields from our house to Seghill then on past Proctor & Gamble at Seaton Delaval, emerging at Holywell village and entering Holywell Dene. This was a magical, unspoilt playground when I was a boy; a place to explore, find bird's nests and generally get up to all kinds of mischief.
Me and my pals could walk all the way along the railway line from Monkseaton to Blyth. The 'Blyther' as the train was known, would come rattling and puffing its steamy way along this track, where we would be lying in wait having placed pennies on the line. If the driver or fireman saw you there was a shower of boiling water coming your way, but we were far too clever to be caught out like that! Nowadays this line is a lovely green walkway for the posh people of Whitley Lodge and Red House Farm Estates.
The track comes out almost opposite my old school.... Valley Gardens. From here you can see the art rooms where I spent most of my last year, trying to fill my portfolio with enough decent stuff to get into Newcastle College of Art. Between Valley Gardens and the High School there's a track and two solitary trees. This track used to lead to Red House Farm, where Bren kept her pony, Rapide, when I first knew her.
Then on down Monkseaton Drive, which was waste ground known as 'The Common' when I was a kid. Out onto the Promenade, find a nice place to sit with a lovely view of Whitley Bay while I have my lunch.
Then back on the bike and on towards the lighthouse - another place of great adventures from my childhood. Then the long haul up towards the Delaval Arms and back into the bottom end of Holywell Dene, (it was nice to bump into the Riley family going the other way!) Finally completing the circuit before returning back home. What a fabulous trip!