As we approach devolution and the mayoral votes, there’s a lot of chatter about what it means to be part of our great region and how we can build a more resilient economy and society. But North East identity is complex. Our history is one of greatness, trauma and bitter sibling rivalry between cities, towns …
There are very few families in the North East who haven’t seen a loved one suffer because of smoking… So that is why this week Fresh has welcomed the first vote in Parliament by MPs to create a smokefree generation in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill — this would raise the age of sale for …
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 …
In the latest figures on UK house prices, new builds are particularly eye-catching. The price for such homes has increased by 17% in the past year, while the average price for existing homes cooled by 2.4%. While these figures may grab attention for a day or two, there is little awareness of the long-term trend, …
Is there one North East? Or are there many? There’s a tendency to talk about the North East as if every one of the 2.7 million of us experience it exactly the same. The North East needs X, we’ll confidently say, it wants Y. Reality is, of course, much different and quality of life and …
Between March 2020 and September 2021, millions of workers furloughed under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme lived what for many of us is a dream: being paid not to work. Through interviews, I’ve researched the impact of this time on 35 people who were furloughed under the scheme. I found that for some, furlough …
This Town, the new BBC drama from Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight, revisits the Midlands setting, also doubling as a somewhat backhanded tribute to the region and a paean to the Two-tone music — an amalgam of ska, punk and reggae — that emerged from it. The backdrop for Knight’s heroes is the aftershocks of …
Having observed the rise and fall of several governments over the course of my career, it seems to me that there always comes a point in the lifetime of an administration where all events conspire to the one end of inevitable electoral defeat. I witnessed it with the long, slow demise of John Major’s Government …
One of the most iconic locations in the region is the stretch of the River Wear in Durham City approaching Crook Hall. Linger for a while and enjoy the rhythm of the river. Little luck is needed to spot cormorants, herons, sand martins, swans, the perpetually hungry wild geese, and even the elusive otters. Glance …
If you’re someone who reads the news — maybe you even subscribe to a high-quality, regionally-focused online outlet — it’s easy to forget how little of what makes the headlines actually cuts through. To the average person on Stockton High Street on a Saturday afternoon, or at Morpeth Morrisons on a Wednesday evening, their knowledge …
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