Street Scenes & Silverware.
Being born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, I’ve always supported the local team, Newcastle United. It’s never been the easiest journey, with plenty of ups and downs—more downs than ups if I’m honest. Especially during Mike Ashley’s time at the club, when it felt like it was run more as a business than a proper football club.
I’ve watched us reach finals in the FA Cup and reach the Champions League. I still remember working down on the Isle of Wight when Tino Asprilla scored that hat-trick against Barcelona. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I remember Keegan arriving as a player, and then coming back as manager. There were so many brilliant memories, but when it came to actually winning something, we always fell short.
There was the time we lost a 12-point lead in the Premier League to Manchester United. We lost two FA Cup finals. We lost to Sunderland in the 1990 play-off semi-final. And all anyone ever seemed to talk about was our 1969 Fairs Cup win—the year before I was born.
I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest Newcastle supporter. I don’t go to away games and I don’t have a season ticket, though I’ve been lucky enough to watch a few matches at St James’ Park over the years. But when Newcastle finally won the Carabao Cup this year, I, like thousands of others, couldn’t quite believe it.
To give that some context—if you’re a Newcastle and England supporter born any time after 1970, you’ve probably never seen your team win anything. Aside from a couple of First Division titles, there’s been a lot of heartbreak. I know other clubs have had it rough too, but Newcastle and England have come so close so many times. It felt like it was never going to happen.
So when the club announced a cup parade, I felt like I had to go along. Even if it was “just” the Carabao Cup. As a photographer, I’d usually take a proper camera with me to capture the moment, but this time I wanted to relax, enjoy the day and have a few beers.
We got into Newcastle around 1pm and headed to The Lowther. The atmosphere was already buzzing. After a few pints, we made our way to Stowell Street to catch the start of the parade. As soon as I saw the size of the crowd, I regretted not bringing my camera. There were loads of photographers around, but I still wanted to grab a few photos as a keepsake.
All I had with me was my iPhone. But there’s a well-known quote in photography that says, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” It’s true. Modern smartphones are incredibly powerful. You can get decent portraits, wide-angle shots and even shoot in cinematic mode.
I made my way through the crowd, taking photos as I went. I wouldn’t call myself a street photographer—I just wanted to capture the atmosphere from where I stood, from within the crowd. In the end, I was actually really pleased with the images I got.
Are they world-class photos? No. But for me, they’re a perfect memory of a day that meant something. Photography, after all, is about capturing moments. And this was definitely a moment worth keeping.
