IT’S hard to believe that a year has passed since Ali Brownlee, “Voice of the Boro” and a friend to many of us, passed away.

Today (Tuesday) is the first anniversary of Ali’s death from bowel cancer at the age of 56. He is greatly missed and it’s still hard to get used to not hearing his impassioned voice on BBC Tees.

The sad anniversary inspired an excited telephone call from North-East mum Viv Pow to say she’d been granted a place in the London Marathon in April and would be running for the “Beating Bowel Cancer” charity.

“I really want to raise awareness of the symptoms of bowel cancer and the anniversary of Ali’s death seemed a good time to bang the drum,” she said.

Indeed, it would he hard to come up with a better ambassador for Beating Bowel Cancer than Viv, who lives in Hurworth-on-Tees, near Darlington.

She first found out she had the disease in 2012 and had surgery before embarking on a gruelling course of chemotherapy. Incredibly, just 16 weeks after her treatment ended, she completed the Yorkshire Marathon.

The cancer was found to have returned in 2014 and she had her entire colon removed, meaning she needed to be fitted with an ileostomy bag. Within three months of the operation she tackled the Darlington 10k, recording a personal best time, before going on to run the Rome Marathon.

These days, at 52, she is a committed bowel cancer campaigner and counsels others who need to wear an ileostomy bag. Running has become part of her life – before and after cancer – and London will be her eighth official marathon, having also covered the 26 miles in Paris, Edinburgh twice, Kielder twice, as well as Rome and Yorkshire.

“The truth is that I’m still here, running marathons and living life to the full because my cancer was diagnosed early,” said Viv. “That is absolutely the key, and the more we can do to get the message out about the symptoms, the more lives will be saved.”

A former policewoman, Viv now works as a receptionist at Darlington’s BMI Woodlands Hospital, which is supporting her efforts to raise funds and awareness.

So, for my part, here are some facts Viv asked me to publicise: n Around 41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK every year, leading to 16,000 deaths.

  • 95 per cent of bowel cancer cases occur in people over 50 but it can affect all ages.
  • Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer after lung cancer.
  • If diagnosed early, 90 per cent of bowel cancer cases can be treated successfully.

Therefore, anyone experiencing one or more of the following symptoms should see their doctor without delay:

  • Bleeding from the bottom or blood in your poo.
  • A persistent change in bowel habit, especially going more often or looser stools.
  • Abdominal pain, especially if severe.
  • A lump in your tummy.
  • Unexplained weight loss or tiredness.

The seemingly unstoppable Viv Pow is proof that early diagnosis is the key to surviving bowel cancer.

You might spot her out on the streets, training six days a week in preparation for the London Marathon on April 23.

She’d love to break her personal best time for a marathon of four hours, nine minutes, and 40 seconds – but she’s just happy to running and living life to the full.

If you’d like to support her, go to www.justgiving.com/Vivianne-Pow1.

TO be honest, I’ve never been a great fan of the Eurovision Song Contest and I suspect the United Kingdom has got even less chance to winning now following the Brexit decision.

Nevertheless, it was a great pleasure to host a junior version of the competition in Darlington on Friday night.

Twenty one primary schools took part in the Mayor’s Darlington Schools Eurovision Song Contest which took place at the Dolphin Centre while the town’s theatre is having its historic makeover.

Congratulations to St Augustine’s on singing beautifully to win in the colours of Italy.

The humblest apologies are due to the little girl who was interviewed on stage after Red Hall Primary School had performed Waltzing Matilda in colourful costumes representing Australia.

“What’s it like being a kangaroo?” I enquired in front of an attentive audience.

“I’m a koala,” she replied with a slightly cross frown.

WHERE to place the barcode is always a bone of contention on newspapers.

It can get in the way of an artistic design but chaos ensues in the shops if it’s ever left off by mistake.

I couldn’t help smiling at the positioning of the barcode on the latest edition of The New European. Obviously, just a slip...

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