3 June: Newcastle Upon Tyne

On this date in 1882 Newcastle Upon Tyne granted city status. 10 things you might not know about Newcastle:

1. It was once a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius ("Hadrian's bridge"), which consisted of a Roman fort and bridge across the River Tyne. The name Newcastle derives from the castle.

2. People from the area are sometimes referred to as ‘Geordies’. This might be because during the Jacobite rebellion, Newcastle refused to let the rebels into the city because they supported King George II and that is where the nickname comes from. There’s an alternative theory that it came from George Stephenson of Newcastle, inventor of the miner’s lamp.

3. Newcastle is believed to be the coldest major city in England, but it is also one of the driest cities in the UK, because it is in the Rain shadow of the North Pennines.

4. The city is home to the first covered train station in the world, which was opened by Queen Victoria in 1850. Newcastle Central Station is today one of only six Grade I listed railway stations in the UK.

5. The cathedral was built in 1448 and is dedicated to St Nicholas. It was also used as a Lighthouse. A fire would be lit in the tower to help sailors navigate up the river.

6. The Geordie accent has been voted the friendliest accent in the UK, and the city also boasts the most different shades of red hair (47) in the world.

7. Windscreen wipers were invented in Newcastle, by one Gladstone Adams, who was the official photographer of Newcastle United Football Club. On his way back from photographing the FA cup final in London in 1908 it was snowing and he had to stop several times to clear his windscreen, which led to the idea. Though he filed for a patent, though, it was never manufactured. American inventor Mary Anderson invented the wiper we use today.

8. Grainger Town is the historic heart of Newcastle. It was built by Richard Grainger, a builder and developer, between 1835 and 1842. The buildings include Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. Richard Grainger was said to 'have found Newcastle of bricks and timber and left it in stone'. There are a lot of listed buildings here: of Grainger Town's 450 buildings, 244 are listed. 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II.

9. Mosley Street was the first street in the world to be illuminated by electric light.

10. King Charles I was held prisoner here by the Scots for a year, between 1646 and 1647, in a building called Anderson House. The building is still there, and is now a branch of Lloyds Bank.

Character birthday

Cheshire Cat, aka Julian Lorimer. When he was a young teenager, Julian began to appear transparent, as if fading from view. His mother sought medical advice and was in due course referred to James Lovell (Unicorn) who confirmed that he was a genetic variant and that his natural state was to be invisible. He was given neutralising wristbands so he would remain visible and allow him to attend medical school. During his training, he met Superwil and became his student and apprentice as a medical practitioner for genetic variants. He would help with routine work at Superwil's surgery while continuing his studies to become a plastic surgeon. He met Tina Bryant (Two Tone) at a medical school dance. She had disguised her appearance by absorbing Harlequin's illusory power. When Julian discovered what she truly looked like, it did not change his feelings for her and they became a couple. However, aware that her birthmark bothered her, once he qualified as a plastic surgeon, he arranged for her to have it removed. He appears in the short story, The Cinderella Syndrome, in Sweet Karma.

Sweet Karma

More murder and mayhem along with moving statues, Ancient Egyptian magic pebbles, a World War II evacuee's diary and a bathtub full of marshmallows.

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