Newcastle Upon Tyne’s Side Photographic Gallery now has a complete archive of its exhibitions stored online. The gallery and its founder Amber Films have a history of documenting - in photography and film - life in the North East of England during the boom and subsequent decline of heavy industries such as ship building and coal mining. It is these industries that have shaped the architectural landscape of the North East and to view these images is to have a better understanding of working class life here.

The archives can be listed by exhibition, photographer or theme. My favourite series is Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen’s Writing in the Sand, a series of photographs taken on the beaches of North Tyneside. In fact, you can almost see my flat in a couple of them.