I’VE finally crawled out from beneath my hastily-assembled storm shelter to assess the damage of the ‘weather bomb’.

It turns out there was very little damage. Not in the North-East, anyway. The north-westerly side of the British Isles bore the brunt of the wicked winds heading east. Thanks, Scotland.

Weather warnings were bandied about like confetti in the run-up to the event. Schools and nurseries closed, people stocked up with supplies, sandbags, the lot.

“What about this weather bomb, eh?” was the conversation on people’s lips as they waited with dread for the worst storms for years.

Why such fear, anticipation, expectation? And what made this ‘weather bomb’ different to, well, weather befitting the season? Surely cold, wind, rain and snow is standard fare for December?

It has much to do with 24-hour rolling news. While in the past, a nasty weather forecast would have been worthy of a few words at the end of a bulletin, networks dedicated hours to it.

Experts were dragged out, set against a backdrop of squally rain and moody clouds – probably file pictures – as reporters set up camp waiting for the weather to arrive in far-flung areas of Britain.

When interviewed, the experts were wide-eyed, almost frothing at the mouths. They couldn’t wait for this event. This was a meteorologist’s Glastonbury.

It’s a fear factor that filters down to the viewers. As a result, they become more fearful of a serious event occurring. This isn’t a simple friendly warning, it’s plain scaremongering.

The North-East came out just fine. Yes, it was a little bit windy this week, but I can’t help thinking that the whole affair was, well, a little overblown.

WE’RE reminded this week about the Christmas Truce football matches, where German and Allied soldiers laid down their arms and contested a game of football on Christmas day in no man’s land during the Great War.

To mark the event, the Football Association encouraged competing teams to pose for a picture before all of last weekend’s fixtures, where both sides would join as one as part of their ‘Football Remembers’ initiative.

That culminated in the unveiling of a memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum by England manager Roy Hodgson, joined by FA chairman – and heir to the throne – Prince William.

The prince, an Aston Villa fan, lest we forget, made a speech that rang true, certainly in these parts.

"Football had the power to bring people together and break down barriers. It is vital that 100 years on we keep the Christmas truce story alive,” said William.

It’s hard not to compare this to next weekend’s Newcastle v Sunderland derby match at St James’ Park, where, for the first time in a long time, fans will be allowed to travel to the fixture without a heavy-handed police presence.

The police’s decision owes much to what can be described as an outbreak of peace between both sides following the tragic events of Malaysian flight MH17, the plane shot down over Ukraine that saw Newcastle United fans John Alder and Liam Sweeney lose their lives.

Sunderland fans set up an online appeal to raise money for flowers that ended up raising £30,000 for charity. John and Liam’s death could easily have been two Sunderland fans, and in the North-East, we take care of our own.

For too long, football fans on derby day are treated like cattle, being herded from train to stadium, and back again at the end.

Literally breaking down those barriers is a big step in finally treating this occasion as a football game - rather than a warzone.