Six of the best
I’ve got some quality reading for you this fine Sunday. Eyes & Ears has attracted a growing number of readers in the past few months - which means many people will have missed out on some of the journalistic gems that were published in the early days.
I’m putting that right today. I’ve selected six great reads that were published in the first few months - the kind of articles I’d like to bring you more of.
If that’s something you would like as well, then please pledge your support today - and share Eyes & Ears with family, friends and colleagues and encourage them to join the growing band of free subscribers.
The six articles can be enjoyed at the end of this edition. You don’t have to read them all today, of course. They’re there to be enjoyed whenever you get the chance to sit back and relax with a cuppa.
United against racism
Newcastle voted Remain, so I’m not sure why Ben Habib chose the city to launch his Advance UK party. He must be asking himself the same question today.
Yesterday’s launch event was supposed to take place at the council-owned Crowne Plaza Hotel but was cancelled a few days ago once word got out. Habib said the launch would go ahead anyway and, according to Socialist Worker, supporters instead congregated at the Aveika bar on the Quayside.
The Quayside is where a UKIP-organised march against illegal immigration started yesterday before making its way to the city centre.
The city centre is where thousands of supporters of Stand Up To Racism rallied to counter the hundreds of anti-immigration protesters. Three arrests were made, two women and a man, all in their twenties.
Banking myth exposed
The myth: It’s only older banking customers who want to be able to walk into a branch. The reality: Despite it being an increasingly digital world, it’s the younger generation who value face-to-face banking.
A survey commissioned by Newcastle Building Society found that 80% of people said they have reason to visit a bank or building society branch, and 60% regard branches as the go-to location to open a conversation about their money.
Younger adults were particularly likely to say they valued their branch for an honest conversation about finances, with around three-quarters (74%) of those aged 25 to 34 agreeing, compared with around 55% of people aged 55-plus, according to the survey of more than 2,700 people across the UK in June, carried out by Opinion Matters.
At a time when more and more bank branches are closing, Newcastle Building Society is moving in the opposite direction.
Ben Smith, head of commercial and product development at the society, said: “Clearly consumers still see value in their local branch, and crave human interaction when it comes to their money.
“Our members tell us they trust face-to-face conversations for financial planning, advice, reassurance and real-time problem-solving in ways that digital channels can’t fully replicate.”
Forest grump
There’s £5m of timber waiting to be felled in a remote Northumberland forest. The problem is it may be too remote, and getting the 260,000 tonnes of timber from Uswayford Forest via seven miles of narrow single-track road down the Upper Coquet valley to the village of Alwinton is causing problems - and division.
Bear in mind that the UK has to import 80% of its timber so 260,000 tonnes is not to be sniffed at. But the road needs to be strengthened, passing places created, bridges built and forest tracks upgraded. Then there’s the tourists to think about. And the red squirrels...
And all the while the trees are past the optimum time for felling and some are decaying on the ground following storm damage. Not to mention the company that invested £70m in a new sawmill because they knew what was due to come their way. The BBC’s Jo Lonsdale has been investigating.
New home for museum
The volunteer-run Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery has landed a £4.3m award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund which will see it expand its activities and bring back to full life the Grade I-listed Northumberland Hall in the Market Place in Alnwick
Chair of trustees Jean Humphrys said: “We are local people with a passion for Alnwick and Northumberland, its history and its culture, and we are delighted to have this unique opportunity to make an exciting contribution to revitalising the town for the community and visitors.”
More sunshine
Jet2 are adding three destinations that holidaymakers can fly to from Newcastle next summer: Olympus Riviera and Meganisi in Greece and Palermo in Sicily.
Richard Knight, chief operating officer at Newcastle Airport, said: “As part of their record summer programme, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will base a ninth aircraft at the airport and offer flights and holidays to more than 40 sun and city break destinations.”
Look out the window
Fair, accurate and balanced - the three words that were drummed into me as a young reporter. Balance is the most troublesome of the trio, it’s certainly something that the BBC struggles with.
Former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis criticised the corporation’s “due impartiality” rules during Covid, for example. They had dozens of scientists and medical experts agreeing on the evidence, but editors still felt obliged to find a single contrary view to “balance” the discussion - creating a false balance.
Then there’s a saying that has been popularised in journalism schools and media commentary over the years. It goes something like: “If one person says it’s raining and another says it’s dry, it’s not your job to quote them both. It’s your job to look out the window and tell people the truth.”
I was reminded of all of that last week after Donald Trump’s dangerous ramble, masquerading as a keynote address, to the United Nations - then seeing all the airtime and column inches it generated, something that was picked up by Dominic Ponsford, editor-in-chief of Press Gazette.
“Donald Trump is testing the nerve of news publishers and I fear we have become willing patsies in his game,” he said. “His latest pronouncement that vaccines given to babies and paracetamol taken during pregnancy cause autism repeats dangerous misinformation.
“The question is: should publishers be leading bulletins with information they know to be false even if it comes from the president of the US (perhaps especially if it does)?
“Trump’s constant barrage of bull$#!t is not only undermining faith in politics, but in the news media which provides him with a megaphone.”
Sit back and enjoy…
Michael Chaplin made an epic journey through time and space to celebrate perhaps the greatest gift made to the world by the North East— the railways: There’s an almost overwhelming temptation to write nostalgically about railways, especially those of the steam age, but there’s far more to them than sentiment. They opened up the world in an unprecedented way, turning the Industrial Revolution into a social revolution that transformed many other countries - and it all started by the Tyne.
David Whetstone talked to film-maker Paul Sng about why he was drawn to photographer Tish Murtha who died too young: Youth unemployment was a factor in her work but in the film we also see her photos of trade union members fighting for their jobs as Margaret Thatcher’s axe fell on traditional industries.
Chris Stewart reflected on the lasting bond between miners long after the industry closed down — embodied by the Durham Miners’ Gala and his own personal memories: How on earth Colin Stewart blagged his way into this kind of company has never been explained. Whenever he was asked, he would always reply: “Aye, well. It’s who ye knaa, not what ye knaa.”
Simon Rushworth recalled his days as a young journalist and incurring the wrath of his boyhood hero Kevin Keegan who took exception to his pun-filled column on David Ginola: Newcastle’s manager launched into a tirade questioning my credibility, loyalty and suitability for the role. I had loved this man. Now he was trying to make me cry.
Chris Jackson told the remarkable and tragic story of Edwin Bainbridge, the heir to one of Newcastle’s most famous stores, that he discovered on a trip to New Zealand: The fact Edwin was in the wrong place at the wrong time was itself the result of multiple tragedies within his own family. He’d escaped immense sadness at home by embarking on what was to be, literally, his trip of a lifetime.
Harry Pearson gave a moving account on the impact dementia was having on those closest to him: My father is ferociously loyal. To suggest that his wife’s grasp on reality was loosening would have been to him the act of betrayal. To this day he will not say “dementia”. He says “your mother’s condition” or “this thing your mother has”.
