NO doubt boardroom executives of Samsung will not be removing from their homes the framed pictures of themselves with Her Majesty the Queen. "That's me with the Queen of England'' (chances are they will say England) "when she opened a plant of ours over there.''

"How's it doing now?'' "Er, we shut it down after nine years.''

"Did the Queen come to pull the plug?'' "Don't be crazy.''

Still, a picture of oneself alongside the most world's most famous woman isn't a bad trophy to take away from the inglorious enterprise at Wynyard, not least since the Queen's government put up at least £10.5m, the lowest unchallenged figure, to lay out the reddest of red carpets.

Not for the Queen, needless to say, but the South Korean electronics group. As local MP Frank Cook has put it: "They were given every kind of consideration. They had every possible convenience provided for them.'' Naturally including the Queen.

Of course it has happened before. In 1991 the Queen opened Fujitsu's micro-chip plant at Newton Aycliffe. Seven years later it was gone. In her reflective moments the Queen might conclude she has been taken for a ride.

The North-East certainly has. The comings and often quick goings of "inward investment'' have punctuated almost the last 40 years. Siemens on Tyneside was a big one. But the pioneer was Courtaulds. Now a dim memory, it was heralded as the new face of the North-East, or at least Spennymoor, back in the 1960s.

Eminently predictable if always denied, the eventual demise of Nissan will cause more ripples. But none likely to disturb the equilibrium of our top man, Tony Blair. Contemplating the closure of Samsung, just down the road from his constituency home, he blithely says: "This is part of the world economy in which we live. There will be occasions when companies close plants.'' Just like that. Well, he should know. Fujitsu was on his doorstep as well.

The tragedy of the "world economy'' is that it denies workers the chance to safeguard their own futures. They can do everything asked of them and more, but the scrapheap will still beckon. Except at general elections, when all politicians have the answers.

Most still come down to bribing large foreign companies with huge grants and greenfield sites, crowned for a select few with an opening by the Queen. Perhaps at one of her meetings with the Prime Minister, the Queen might like to present a list of these glossy ventures that have turned to dust. And tell him that making a monkey out of a monarch pales beside the betrayal of citizens encouraged to see a new dawn of hope and rising expectation, which, time after time, never comes.

OF course we all hope that Scarborough will become giant killers in their momentous FA cup tie with Chelsea. But when did the "Seasiders" become the "Seadogs" - a nickname I have never heard until now? And I was once shown round the McCain stadium by the then chairman Don Robinson.

A picture of a young Betty Boothroyd graced one of the papers the other day. Clutching a microphone she looked the spit of Alma Cogan - the pop singer with the giggle in her voice, remember?