Fewer people are reading books and newspapers. Those that are reading are not reading as much as they used to. This isn’t just dumbing down - it’s a threat to democracy says columnist James Marriott, a recent big-name addition to this year’s bill for the Durham Book Festival.
Andy Burnham is in listening mode and Hexham-based columnist Peter Hetherington has some words of advice for him on something that several prime ministers ago we would call levelling up.
Volunteers continue to do a brilliant job with the great nurdle clear-up - but when are we going to hear from the owners of the two vessels involved? One caused the environmental disaster at Port of Tyne four weeks ago and the other, under maritime law, is responsible for paying for the clean-up operation.
Also in today’s edition there’s the women who carry sprays on public transport because of safety fears, the struggling parents who are watering down baby milk powder and the mystery of Ginge, the Sunderland cat who went missing and was found a year later living in a feral cat colony near Leeds.
There’s also a new book out on Prefab Sprout, the North East band led by reclusive frontman and songwriting genius Paddy McAloon. The author even went to the lengths of tracking down “pop music’s most famous motorbike” - the Triumph featured on the cover of the band’s album Steve McQueen. As a read, it’s something of a great escape.
Brian Aitken
Editor
Listen and learn
Andy Burnham begins his ‘listening tour’ of the country today having already promised to deliver growth in every postcode.
“The prime minister’s ambitions are bold,” says Peter Hetherington in The Guardian. “But from where I’m writing, 282 miles north of London, in the Tyne valley, it’s clear that the priority of successive governments is sustaining the growth of the capital as it faces unprecedented demand for energy and water to service the more than 200 data centres operating, or under development, in this expanding city-region.”
He contrasts the decision of National Highways to build a massive tunnel boring machine as part of the £10 billion Lower Thames Crossing with the view that dualling 13 miles of the A1 in Northumberland, where six people have died recently, is poor value for money
“From such issues, seen as small in a national context, bigger resentments grow over London domination,” he said.
“And that could get worse. No matter what initiatives might be announced by Burnham on his travels, he faces one overarching challenge: squaring the seemingly unstoppable market-led growth of big tech and AI in and around London, with his wider ambition for a more balanced economy throughout England.”
Hetherington hopes that Burnham will listen to his suggestion for a reborn national agency to kickstart both neighbourhood renewal and business support - one that would work in partnerships and be able to draw on the Crown Estate’s £16bn and the National Wealth Fund’s £27.8bn.
“Beyond that, we need a new settlement for England – a country without a vision, still less a plan – where the demand for energy and water alone in the south-east, alongside the pressure for new housing, will have to force a rethink about national priorities. That thinking needs to start now.”
Questions remain
Another week has passed. Another week where I’ve seen no sign of the two companies responsible for the plastic pellet spill in the Tyne being questioned on their responsibility for “the worst incident of nurdle pollution in Europe”.
In case you need reminding, Cadeler is the company which owns the Wild Orca, the vessel which struck the berthed BG Orange and sliced open containers which contained ‘single bags’ of the nurdles, meaning a billion of them spewed out into our waters in just five seconds (Eyes & Ears 07.08.26).
Under maritime law’s ‘polluter pays’ principle, BG Freight Line, owner of the BG Orange, should be footing the bill for the clean-up and seeking redress afterwards. Is that happening? Is anyone asking? Why are we not being told?
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness reported on social media a couple of days ago that the shipping company insurers are going to double the size of their teams working to clean up beaches from Northumberland to Sunderland.
Good - although they shouldn’t need reminding that the environmental disaster happened four weeks ago. The welcome new arrivals will see the thousands of volunteers who have already been taking part in the clear-up across 17 of our beaches. Martin Brookes, chief executive at the voluntary organisations network VONNE, said the response has been, and continues to be, remarkable.
“This is more than a feel-good story about community spirit. It demonstrates the capacity, expertise, and the ability of the VCSE sector to mobilise quickly and effectively when emergencies happen.
“But volunteer goodwill should not be taken for granted,” he said. “The VCSE sector’s contribution has real economic value and organisations as well as informal groups supporting emergency responses need to be appropriately resourced and, if possible, paid for their time and expertise.
“We need the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, local authorities and the companies responsible to recognise the value of this contribution – not simply applaud it.”
Travel fears
Women are “weaponising” themselves on public transport by carrying hairspray and other sprays because they fear being attacked or intimidated. One woman told the BBC that she holds her keys in her hand and has a tracker app on her phone so her family knows where she is.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness launched a survey in May to understand how safe women and girls feel when travelling across the region, including walking and cycling. I’m not aware of those results being made public yet but a story by BBC political reporter Helen Richardson says there were 1,938 respondents with 87% saying they felt unsafe or uncomfortable while travelling.
Linda Kirk, who runs the Just for Women centre in Stanley, told her: “A man doesn’t think anything about just jumping on a bus, a woman’s different. They have to think about weaponising themselves. It’s ridiculous.”
Words matter
Books and newspapers are increasingly giving way to social media content as the habit of reading fades. This isn’t just dumbing down, it’s a threat to democracy, argues The Times columnist James Marriott.
Marriott, one of the big names announced for this year’s Durham Book Festival, traces his own love of books back to summers spent browsing North Shields’ Keel Row Books as a teenager.
“Political discourse that was once conducted in print - with its remarkable capacity for sustaining logical thought and extended argument - now takes place in the moronic inferno of social media,” he writes in a Weekend Essay. “In the fragmented, trivialised and angry new world that is being shaped by the smartphone, conspiracy theories and mad ideas spread with terrifying fertility.
“If our politicians seem lightweights and our public discourse trivial to the point of dysfunction, it is in large part because books and newspapers have been replaced by ubiquitous screens.
“It is no accident that democracy as we know it today, in which all adults can vote regardless of sex or class, first arrived in the age of mass literacy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
The article previews the release of his forthcoming book The New Dark Ages which he will discuss with Durham University chancellor Fiona Hill at the book festival, which runs from October 9-11.
GP jailed
GP Muhammad Iqbal, 64, who sexually assaulted two women during physiotherapy sessions arranged by their insurers following road accidents, has been jailed for 18 months. Durham Police said the offences happened in Darlington and Sunderland in 2023. Iqbal had denied the offences but was convicted following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Runaway mystery
Meet Ginge. He’s now a world-wide celebrity after the story of his year-long disappearance and reunion with his owners was carried on social media.
No one knows how he got from his Sunderland home to a feral cat colony near Leeds. It was there that Lucy Roche, volunteer branch leader for a cat rescue charity, came across Ginge and noticed he was very tame. So she took him to the vets where Ginge’s microchip gave his home address - and let to an emotional reunion after 12 months apart.
Glass centre surveys
Two independent surveys will be commissioned to assess whether the National Glass Centre can be saved from demolition. Sunderland City Council will pay about £25,000 to check if the now-permanently closed facility can be flattened without the owner, the University of Sunderland, first obtaining planning permission.
Council leader Chris Enyon said: “As long as this building still stands there is a chance to save it.”
Baby milk fears
The founder of a baby bank in County Durham is calling for a cap on the rising cost of infant formula milk because struggling parents are turning to “unsafe” practices such as using less powder to make it last longer. Megan Sinden of Moorside Baby Bank in Consett said: “It’s not a luxury item, it’s a basic need for a baby.”
Infant formula is designed to provide the correct balance of nutrients for babies when mothers cannot or choose not to breastfeed, and adding extra water alters that balance.
A quick word
Staff at Beamish Museum have signed a petition calling on the board which runs the attraction to scrap a proposal to take about 88 workers out of the Local Government Pension Scheme - a move which could cost each staff member thousands of pounds. Kielder Forest will mark 100 years since its creation with a free weekend of live music, forestry demonstrations, cycling, vintage vehicles and family activities on September 5 and 6. Forestry England is hoping to bring together families, former forestry workers, contractors and the communities connected to the forest over the past century. South Tyneside councillor Alex Barr has resigned from Reform UK and will continue to represent his ward as an independent. The reasons behind the resignation remain unclear. Developer 11 Arches, the organisation behind Kynren, is seeking planning permission to convert Grade II-listed office space into flats as part of Bishop Auckland’s Market Place redevelopment. The Environment Agency has told swimmers they can bathe again at parts of Blyth South Beach after investigating reports of a possible fuel or oil spill. Congratulations to Darlington golfer Ellie Givens who won the Swiss Open, her first Ladies European Tour title in 210 attempts. NHS bosses are urging those celebrating A-level results to get their meningitis B vaccinations “sooner rather than later” as they prepare to start at university. This follows the deadly outbreak among students in Kent in March.
Four star to pop star
Paddy McAloon was happiest when he was working at his dad’s petrol station, writing songs between filling up cars with four star. He didn’t want to be a pop star who would have to get on stage and perform in front of thousands of people.
Stardom came his way, nonetheless, and if I say the words: “Hot dogs, jumping frogs, Albuquerque” then you will probably know who I am talking about.
For Paddy is the man behind the band Prefab Sprout and a highly-acclaimed reclusive genius who is happiest writing songs in his native North East.
Writer Nige Tassell has just released a book Truly Gifted Kids which pulls together stories, interviews, analysis, history and travelogue into a portrait of the band, with McAloon at its centre.
During his research, Tassell acted as a roadie for Paddy’s brother Martin and went in search of “pop music’s most famous motorbike” - the Triumph motorbike featured on the cover of the band’s album Steve McQueen. Those of you who remember The Great Escape will get it.
Public service
William Arnold, an artist and photographer living in Cornwall, took a 1,700-mile round trip to the Isle of Lewis to keep a public telephone box in service. Phone boxes have to be used at least 52 times a year to remain operational, so he travelled to the village of Einacleit with £36 in small change and made 52 calls to 52 different people. The 43-year-old, who has been working to save phone boxes since 2022, told the BBC it’s a “slightly ridiculous” project but that the lines can be “vital rural lifelines”.
And finally…
