Noreen is a writer and member of Carte Blanche women’s writing group. As well as writing poetry (published in Iron Press and Northern Voices) she has had two children’s books published, and several short stories. She is also a playwright—plays performed include Not Some Kind of Sideshow (Northumberland Theatre Company) and Tynemouth Pageant. She also won the People’s Play competition in 2001 with Bloodlines. In 2023 she published a memoir on Kindle of her working holiday in Switzerland in the 1970s, A Wolf on the Footpath. She has worked as a writer on community projects for several organisations, including New Writing North, Equal Arts and the Cedarwood Centre (in North Shields). She has been writing articles for I Love North Shields since the beginning of 2025, mostly covering stories about community and history.
Your role within ILNS-Writer
What ILNS means to you personally-I had come to a point in my writing career where I wasn’t sure where I was going next. In the past I have written articles for local papers and magazines, and enjoyed the experience of research, interviewing people and putting a story together. I feel that writing for I Love North Shields has now given me a new focus. The group, and particular the editors are so encouraging, which is so very often not the case when submitting work. I also feel that the look of the magazine for me is key. I’m proud to be associated with a publication which has such high production values.
I feel that I’ve helped to get the message out about North Shields being a positive place. This was particularly true when I recently ran through North Shields and beyond in a 10K race wearing an I Love North Shields T shirt. Many people took photos or shouted out that they loved North Shields too!
I have written the following articles for the magazine-
March 2025 issue Cynthia Neptune, Magician
May 2025 (website) MHA Communities: Elderly People and their Carers
Autumn 2025 Ducks to Water (about Tynemouth Rowing Club)
Winter 2025 (with Sue Wilkinson) An Interview with the Iron Man-Literary Legend Peter Mortimer
March 2026 (website) Checking out the engines above Asda (about Blyth and Tyne Model Railway Society
Spring 2026 Everyone Welcome -a Free Meal at a North Shields Church
