The Boarding House

The Boarding House is a collaboration with photographer Peter Fryer to document aspects of the Yemeni community in South Shields, on the River Tyne, in the northeast of England. When Ali Said opened his South Shields boarding house for Arab seamen in August 1909, he connected the northeast of England to colonial networks that ran from Europe through Suez to India and beyond. Over time these lodgings in the Holborn district of the town marked a transformation in the character of the region. Although the boarding houses are nearing the end of their life, the Yemeni community continues to be an integral part of South Shields and northeast England. Produced in January 2009.