The QT

Monday 2 December 2024
02/12/2024

11 April 2024

Lifelong learning in a myriad of ways

The chair of one of the UK’s biggest member organisations insists it’s time to modernise, publicise and prioritise after setting out a bold vision for the future. Liz Thackray arrived in the North East on Monday and will wrap up her first visit to the region with trips to Saltburn and Guisborough tomorrow [Friday April …

Review: The Donkey, the Whippet & the Giant Leek

You’d normally expect to pay top dollar to be entertained by international opera stars at a  premiere. But last Saturday a Northumberland audience got real value for money. Swap a box at La Scala for the stalls of Blyth’s Phoenix theatre, get the performers to wrap their powerful vocal cords around broad Geordie lyrics and …

Brew lips from Amsterdam

A blue bicycle is tethered to a lamppost outside Whitley Bay’s newest pub. Random act or product placement? Let’s go for serendipity. The pub is Café Amsterdam and anyone who knows the slightest thing about the Dutch capital will recognise that every hitching post at every bar and canal bridge is a pedal-pusher’s depository. Café …

Insight into our data dilemma

In my column for The QT last week I explored where the North East’s tech sector fits into the wider narrative of a region set to embrace deeper devolution.  In the piece I talked about how we must assess the size of the sector and understand the strength of its constituent parts if we are …

The enduring wonder of Woolies

Boxing Day, 2008. Cool and blustery, it was a typical winter’s afternoon on Whitley Bay promenade, ideal for a festive stroll. Turning into Whitley Road, however, all was far from typical. In a cacophony of red, yellow and turquoise, a shop window was proclaiming its “Last 4 Days!” If a CD, babygrow or Christmas tree …

A diamond in the ruff

High on a hillside, in beautiful Bannau Brycheiniog — until recently known as the Brecon Beacons —  one man and his dog are justifiably feeling on top of the world. Border collie, Gem, has just passed the biggest test of her young life and her handler, Tim Cain MBE, is beaming with pride in the …

Videos promote faith in community cohesion

Later this week Newcastle’s Sikh temple — the Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha — will welcome thousands of followers who will be celebrating Vaisakhi, one of their most important festivals.   There are only around 7,000 Sikhs living in the North East and to help local children gain a better understanding of this religion — which …

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