Reading Festival: an interview with an activist

Lots of interaction at Reading Festival Festivals are a traditional part of the great British summer. After over a year when it hasn’t been possible to host or attend festivals, some tentative steps have been taken in 2021 and festival goers have once more enjoyed a few days of camping,Continue Reading

Firefighters attacked on call out in Sunderland

Tyne and Wear Firefighters On Tuesday 7 September night at 20:31, a crew from Marley Park Community Fire Station responded to reports of a wheelie bin fire in the Carley Hill area of Sunderland. Whilst trying to locate the incident on foot, they were pelted with objects believed to beContinue Reading

The Cauld Lad of Hylton

North East Ghost Stories PART 3 I’ve known the story of the Cauld Lad of Hylton all my life. When he was cold, my dad wouldn’t simply say, “I’m freezing” or something like that, but he’d clasp his arms around himself and moan, in sepulchral tones, “Aa’m cauld! Aa’m cauld!”Continue Reading

Spa at Portavadie

Illustration by Katy Read On shingled shores of Loch Fyne Reflected through rock pools of time, Spewed from the bowels of the planet Titan’s marbles slung in granite Cushioned amid bruised heather, Cirrus sweeps as a feather Over Arran’s caldera looming large; An old god, re-forged. Gentle tides abandon jellyfishContinue Reading

Kizomba dance fusion at Saltwell Park

Local dance teacher, Lauren Rafferty, and her group of dancers recently recorded a dance video at Saltwell Park. The dance is a fusion of modern Western dance with Kizomba. Kizomba is an African dance, originating from Angola and is normally danced with a partner. Lauren explains: “Unfortunately due to theContinue Reading

What’s for dinner today?

There are foodless holes on my regular strolls around supermarket shelves, the wheels on my trolley having come off, and the folly is we did it to ourselves. We looked back rosily at war, at Normandy and Agincourt and opted for more strife. Now the irony is endless; we sitContinue Reading

Your Name: an emotional and memorable animated film

Your Name is streaming on Netflix Your Name is a stunning animated movie from director Makoto Shinkai that tells the story of two teenagers who find that they are swapping bodies frequently. They find a way to make the strange lifestyle work by keeping in contact virtually and guiding eachContinue Reading