One of the neat venues in Newcastle is the Castle. The eponymous New one, that is.

If you’ve never been, it is right in the city centre, visible from the train station platform. Small and square, it’s more like a child’s drawing of a castle than some of the more impressive English Heritage sites with their gardens and decor. Newcastle Castle is keep and a gatehouse, a stone fortress that means business. Or it did, once upon a time, not it’s quite a fun venue that shows movies and has lots of creative events.

We went last weekend to see Icy Sedgwick talk about the folklore of midsummer day and the solstice. I’ve been listening to the Fabulous Folklore podcast for a while now and having just visited the castle for the Late Shows reminded me how much I enjoy the vibe there. I was not disappointed and she delivered a talk that ranged from megaliths to love spells, most of the latter involving running around churchyards for some reason.