The French composer Pierre Boulez once remarked he had become a conductor because he felt there was no one who could wield the baton over his work. He may have had fewer concerns were Thomas Zehetmair at hand then. Zehetmair, musical director of The Northern
The French composer Pierre Boulez once remarked he had become a conductor because he felt there was no one who could wield the baton over his work. He may have had fewer concerns were Thomas Zehetmair at hand then. Zehetmair, musical director of The
A new production of perennial favourite Peter Pan is being staged in his spiritual home in London’s Kensington Gardens. Steve Pratt makes a flying visit to the capital to experience the show. LOOKING out of the window from my room on the 16th
Viv Hardwick looks at the long-awaited Nolans’ reunion tour, now destined for the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle.THE Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, has nipped in to take a potential sell-out appearance by The Nolans after negotiations between the singing
Viv Hardwick talks to Maddy Kerr of Heartbreak Productions who will be playing an outdoor venue near you during the summer. THE Heartbreak has lasted 18 years for married couple Peter Mimmack and Maddy Kerr in terms of becoming one of the UK’s
THE fifth season of the now-annual Shakespeare show at Ripley Castle, near Harrogate, springs a surprise. Instead of following the actors around the grounds in a promenade production, The Tempest is staged on an island in Ripley Lake. A newly-constructed
HOME interior design expert Laurence Llewelyn- Bowen is talking about television. Not about what’s on it, but where to put it. And what he looks like on it. One of the latest introductions on the viewing scene is HD – high definition – TV which
THE Williams duo of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima scored a one-two in final practice to end Sebastian Vettel's domination of the build-up to tomorrow's British Grand Prix. Rosberg finished on top in final practice at Silverstone, and for the 11th
Valiant efforts by the Methodists to recruit more people have largely failed, but they haven’t quite given up yet. DOUBTLESS all of them were familiar with the biblical verse about two or three gathered together. Catterick Village Methodist church
FOLLOWING some publicity, and to its credit, Stockton Borough Council has informed tenants that it has decided to reduce its increase in rent, which will be backdated to the beginning of this financial year – April. However, it is important to
MORE than a week after Prime Minister Gordon Brown made what was widely taken as a promise to consult the public on electoral reform I still haven’t received an invitation to participate. This is in spite of the fact that I am quite willing to
RE Geoff Carr’s letter about lenient prison sentences (HAS, June 16). While there are many recent examples of the British judicial system being too lenient on convicted killers I felt that justice was served in the case against Dano Sonnex and
WHAT a delight to see that Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades’ Union (HAS, June 17), has mastered “PC speak” in relation to the British National Party: ie, chanting the words “racist” and “fascist” with the same monotonous regularity
THE Queen’s Birthday Honours List, when baubles are handed out like packets of Dolly Mixtures to the good and sometimes the not so good, was published recently. In these desperate times must we have “Orders of the British Empire” and “Members of
THE Red Paw was a tiny badge worn by dog handlers alongside their regimental badge when working as part of the Army Dog Unit Northern Ireland (ADU NI) from 1973-2007. An association of handlers was formed last October and has been an overwhelming
RE your story about the directors of Remploy receiving more than £1.7m in bonuses in the same year as 2,500 of its workers lost their jobs (Echo, June 15). The standing of any nation is how we care for the sick, the disabled, the young and the
I UNDERSTAND that the Government is getting very concerned about the decline in the bee population. I have recently been in several garden centres looking for rose sprays, and I find that they are all very toxic to bees. Perhaps this is an important
THERE is a great debate about the creeping nanny state. Just this week we’ve had calls for smoking to be banned in cars carrying children, and there has been a major attempt to get adults in the North-East to face up to the amount they drink so
THE main media saw the European election as being all about Gordon Brown, a little about the BNP and about the expected low voting turnout due to our anger over MPs’ expenses. Actually, I’m surprised the voting turnout wasn’t worse. On election
THE House of Commons has spent more than £2m on a cover-up after publishing details of MPs’ expenses. Yards of print have been blacked out. The Daily and Sunday Telegraph have revealed many thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money spent on items
New movie Telstar takes audiences back to the Sixties, with the story of record producer Joe Meek. Actors Ralf Little and JJ Feild tell Steve Pratt about recreating the era and playing real-life pop stars. ACTOR JJ Feild was bemused when approached
NORMA SHAW, perhaps the most successful North-East sportsperson of all time – certainly the most successful woman – has died suddenly. She was 72. And had been playing bowls just a few hours earlier. Norma had won 26 national and international
MARK Johnston continued his fantastic record in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot as Holberg stretched right away from his rivals under Joe Fanning. The Middleham handler has now saddled five of the last nine winners of the twomile contest, with
LUCA Cumani can get one on the board for the home team as Ialysos looks the pick in the Golden Jubilee Stakes, the feature event on the final day of Royal Ascot. Foreign raiders have dominated big-race proceedings this week, with Group One honours
Lawrence Dallagliot the former England skipper and three-time British Lion writes for The Northern Echo during the Lions’ tour of South Africa. WITH the warm-up games done and dusted, the British & Irish Lions now turn their attentions to the serious
ANNE Keothavong is determined to prove she can cut it on the big stage and put her French Open nightmare behind her. The British number one has made big strides this season, breaking into the world’s top 50 and reaching three semi-finals in her
Andy Murray and Anne Keovathong will carry the hopes of a nation as the Wimbledon Championships begin on Monday. But, as Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson explains, one of the biggest success stories in British tennis hails from here in the North-East
Local cricket round-up EVEN though the title race in the Dukes North-East Premier League is becoming more intriguing by the week as Chester-le-Street continue to chip away at South North’s lead, many eyes will be on the opposite end of the table
Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League A DOUBLE programme takes teams to the halfway stage of the season, with the battle at both ends of the table intensifying. Normanby Hall have a key role to play as they face two of the
IF Graham Onions felt he was in danger of being overhauled by Steve Harmison in the battle for an Ashes place, he produced the perfect riposte yesterday. With the squad to be announced next week, Harmison’s two successive five-wicket hauls had
AZEEM Rafiq launched the Worcestershire bowling attack to all parts at New Road in a sensational 92-ball maiden first-class hundred but Yorkshire failed to secure an unlikely win. “I’m delighted,” said Rafiq. “I tried to keep things nice and
WANT-AWAY striker Gregg Blundell could leave Darlington to rejoin his former club Chester City. The 31-year-old is out of contract but says he would not continue his Quakers career even he was offered a deal by manager Colin Todd to stay at
MICKY Nelson admits to going a bit “stale” during his time at Hartlepool United – and hopes a change of club and emphasis will kick-start his career. The central defender, who this week announced he would not be signing the contract on offer
CHRIS Hughton will resume his temporary position in charge of Newcastle if the four consortia currently involved in due diligence do not agree to the appointment of Alan Shearer and a deal for the club is not concluded next week. Hughton is the
JENSON BUTTON’S British Grand Prix party this weekend is poised to be gatecrashed by a Red Bull Racing revolution. In revamped cars, and sporting new front wings dubbed ‘duck breast’, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber crushed their rivals in practice
ASTON Villa boss Martin O’Neill is ready to test Middlesbrough’s resolve by tabling a £7m offer for centrehalf David Wheater. Having lost the recently-retired Martin Laursen, O’Neill’s top priority is to sign a top-class defender, despite the
WIGAN chairman Dave Whelan has told Sunderland to forget about signing Lee Cattermole this summer. Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has spent the week assembling a list of transfer targets after taking up his new post at the Stadium of Light on Monday
The future of Formula One looked as dark as the clouds gathering over Silverstone yesterday after a long-running feud between the teams and the sport’s governors ended in acrimony. Nigel Burton reports. SAVOUR this weekend’s British Grand Prix at
LEWIS HAMILTON may be enduring his most wretched period behind the wheel of his McLaren, but that will not stop him from adopting an all-guns-blazing approach at Silverstone this weekend. Nine wins and 13 pole positions from 35 races was Hamilton
THE BRITISH and Irish Lions are ready to paint Durban red this afternoon by backing their unshakeable belief that they can stun world champions South Africa. And England World Cup winner Phil Vickery, a member of the last Lions team to taste
DURHAM coach Geoff Cook lavished praise on strike bowlers Graham Onions and Steve Harmison as his reigning champions swept ten points clear at the top of the LV County Championship yesterday. Onions took seven for 38 to reach 52 first-class wickets
MAX MOSLEY expects the Formula One world championship to begin as usual in March with the eight FOTA teams involved. The FIA issued legal proceedings against Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso
ELDERLY residents of two villages are going without their pension payments after a Post Office outreach service was closed without warning. A long-running dispute between a subpostmaster and the Post Office was sparked after the villages of
CAR production slumped again last month, but the fall was the smallest this year as the impact of the scrappage system begins to take hold. A total of 67,754 cars were made in the UK last month – a drop of 43 per cent on the May 2008 figure, the
HOUSE builders stormed ahead yesterday after Taylor Wimpey cheered sentiment with an upbeat assessment of the UK property market. The FTSE 250-listed Wimpey led a revival in investor interest in the sector as its shares rocketed more than nine
THE mother of a schoolgirl hospitalised after spending only 20 minutes under tanning lamps has welcomed calls for a sunbed ban for children. A Government-appointed committee yesterday demanded a change in the law after concluding that at least
EFFORTS to prevent redundancies at Weardale’s biggest employer have been unsuccessful with 30 workers facing losing their jobs. In February, Astrum (UK) Limited, based in Stanhope, County Durham, announced it might have to make 55 staff redundant
A HISTORIC seat of learning has received recognition for its work with young apprentices it employs. Durham University will represent the North-East in the National Apprenticeship Awards final after winning the large employer of the year category
A BUDDING actor was left speechless after receiving national recognition. Adam May, 19, from Bishop Auckland, has won a regional place with the National Youth Theatre after successfully auditioning in February. Dozens of youngsters applied for
POLICE in Bishop Auckland are trying to trace a pensioner who went missing from his home last night. Bob Shaw, 77, was last seen at the house he shares with his daughter and her family, in St John’s Walk, Escomb, just after 7am on June 18.
DURHAM County Cricket Club has launched a £500,000 foundation aimed at bringing it closer to the people of the region. Bosses at the Durham County Cricket Foundation have been charged with inspiring, motivating and raising selfesteem in the North-East
OFF-ROAD driving enthusiasts have overturned a ban on vehicles using green lanes in the Yorkshire Dales. The High Court has quashed four traffic regulation orders placed by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA). The decision means
YOUNG volunteers were yesterday doing their bit to help their village’s bid for gardening glory. Youngsters taking part in the Prince’s Trust volunteering scheme were putting the finishing touches to a floral display in Seaside Lane, Easington
WINNIE HUDSON was putting the final touches to her training programme today as the oldest entrant in Cancer Research UK’s Race For Life – at the age of 102. Mrs Hudson completed the 5km “run” for the first time last year. And she was
A UNIVERSITY has produced its latest crop of graduates – even though they are only four years old. Children from the St Mary’s Childcare Centre, at Sunderland University, graduated from pre-school after their happy years in the nursery. The “students
THE first steps to creating a Metro transport system for the Tees Valley will be taken in the near future, the Minister for the North-East has revealed. Nick Brown said that, subject to Department of Transport approval, £25m of firstphase work
THE father of chef Claudia Lawrence said yesterday he was convinced she did not go missing of her own accord. But he spoke of his frustration at the three months of silence since his 35-year-old daughter was last seen. Solicitor Peter Lawrence
HUNDREDS of workers at a North-East biomass power station could stage a second walkout next week if a resolution is not found in an oil refinery dispute, it was revealed last night. Up to 1,000 workers helping to build the £250m Ensus plant,
A SENTIMENTAL photograph of a woman and her two children which she gave to her late husband while he was serving as a soldier in Italy has been stolen by a callous pickpocket. The 90-year-old Darlington woman believes her purse, containing the
A WAR veteran has been presented with a new commemorative badge after his previous one went missing. Ron Bell, 91, of Darlington believes his previous veterans’ badge was stolen from the lapel of his jacket and asked the town’s MP, Alan Milburn
DRIVE carefully are the watchwords for enthusiasts setting off in an array of old vehicles on tomorrow’s annual test of reliability and endurance. The Beamish Run returns to its traditional home, the open-air museum after which it was named
THE region’s MPs were counting the cost of the expenses storm last night – as it emerged they have paid back nearly £10,000 to the Commons fees office. Eight North-East MPs are among nearly 200 across the country who have collectively returned
CONSTITUENTS have reacted angrily to news that their MP owns two flats in London which he has bought with the help of taxpayers’ money. Ashok Kumar, the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP, has defended his decision to let a friend live
MPs and peers who claimed thousands for mortgages that did not exist are to face a criminal investigation, Scotland Yard confirmed last night. Police were called in following public outrage at the way some MPs appeared to have abused the Parliamentary
PERSISTENT problems with dog fouling and nuisance hounds could be a thing of the past if a series of measures is brought in across Darlington. Darlington Borough Council is consulting on different ways it can implement Dog Control Orders across
