Photo by James Appleby The People’s Theatre had no idea when they closed in March 2020 that they would be gone so long, but the spirit of the People’s has stayed alive and well. Members have supported each other online with events including Zoom quizzes and play readings, as wellContinue Reading
Polar ice loss is accelerating In a previous article I wrote about the importance of global ice in moderating the earth’s climate. Since that time, as predicted, things have become worse. The global albedo due to ice has reduced by more than 10% since 1980. In August 2020 Canada’s lastContinue Reading
Felice Ficherelli1603–1660 I have been mulling over the topical issue of violence inflicted on women and girls for some time now, and ever since reading Euripides’ Trojan Women many years ago, I have been interested in the fate, often suffered by women, in conflict. Sadly, things don’t seem to changeContinue Reading
Ruth Cohen’s biography of Margaret Llewelyn Davies (1861-1944) provides a warmly appreciative description of the life, politics, and activism of this outstanding woman. It also brings alive her genius, tenacity, and persistent abilities as a socialist, feminist, and leading activist within the Cooperative Movement. By all accounts, as Cohen records,Continue Reading
Parade of Nations Who is up for a ‘mini’ Parade of Nations through Billingham Town Centre on Saturday 14 August? This is part of The World in a Weekend event being staged in the town from 13-15 August. The event is being organised by the Billingham International Folklore Festival ofContinue Reading
Matt Vickers, MPPhoto from creative commons Matt Vickers, MP for Stockton South, has championed several causes in his time in office including tougher sentences for pet thieves and the protection of hedgehogs. Both undoubtedly worthy causes. He appears to dislike international aid, asylum seekers and gypsies. So, there seems toContinue Reading
Teesside International Airport Tees Valley Mayor seeks to protect Teesside Airport from ‘rogue’ politicians like himself, as the airport operator departs Teesside Airport operator Esken Ltd, formerly Stobart Aviation, has jumped ship and pulled out of its contract with the airport company (TIAL). Now, in place of Esken Ltd, theContinue Reading
Photo by Bobbi Bailey Save Our Steel Heritage Redcar Blast Furnace It is a sad day for Teesside that the Redcar Blast Furnace is being demolished today. The furnace as we envisaged would have been truly iconic. In our opinion, this is an act of cultural vandalism, a scorched earthContinue Reading
Boulogne, France Photo by Christopher Wancke The impact of Brexit and Covid As the number of holidays in Europe is increasing, we are coming to terms with the changes brought about by the end of the Brexit transition period and Covid-19. On arrival in Europe, we have to join theContinue Reading
The Troy maze Photo by Chris Humble Brendan is a bear. He would describe himself as a New Monastic Celt when he’s not too busy taking the mickey out of The Big Eejit or BE – his companion and sometime mentor. His association with Chris Humble began when the NorthumbriaContinue Reading
