EAST Coast says it expects to operate a "near normal" timetable between London King's Cross and Scotland tomorrow. A statement released by the train operator tonight said a broadly hourly service between Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds and London King's
Some interesting correspondence has been coming in about my decision this week to use pictures of deer which had frozen to death in a lake at Whitworth Hall, near Spennymoor. I thought the pictures of the deer - at least eight had died in the
Written in the wake of the First World War, the strains of Elgar’s Cello Concerto are laden with pathos and passion. And it was conveyed with due sensitivity by Britain’s pre-eminent cellist Steve Isserlis, performing in the middle of a concert
RAIL passengers escaped relatively unscathed by the extreme weather until today, when freezing temperatures brought a day of major upheaval. Damaged power lines on the East Coast Main Line caused cancellations and delays to dozens of services
This is a nice take on cheese on toast: the sharp, creamy Stilton is guaranteed to invigorate your tired tastebuds and the warm, sweet pear forms a delicious counterpoint. 4 slices brown or granary bread a little unsalted butter 1 ripe
Decorate your face to dazzling effect this Christmas. Lisa Haynes reveals the secrets to creating stand-out party looks. EVERYONE has a different definition of glamour. But one thing is pretty uniform when it comes to party time: we all dip
Every year Santa Claus stays awake for days and nights so he can deliver presents to children all over the world, but he could be putting his health at risk? Sleep experts Professor Franco Cappuccio, from the University of Warwick, discuss the
As Christmas rushes on, Jenny Needham visits a perfect little gift shop that’s just opened its doors in Barnard Castle. IT’S the last shopping weekend before Christmas and a mild panic could be setting in if you haven’t bought all your presents
THE doubters and doom-mongers have had another very disappointing year, having predicted Armageddon in 2010. These are the self-same people who stated there would be no recovery last year. Having dug themselves into a hole early in 2009, they
COMMODITY and banking stocks briefly pushed the FTSE 100 Index past the 5900 mark yesterday before it slipped back again. The FTSE shrugged off rising tensions in Korea and the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe to close 19.9 points higher
A UK FIRM has won the exclusive right to supply power for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London after its success at other major sporting events. Scottish firm Aggreko said it had also been signed up as a sponsor for the Games after
WHEN you’ve handed out your gifts this Christmas, have you anything left for charity? Although we give about £10bn a year to good causes, many fear the squeeze on household incomes will make us less concerned about the plight of others.
A SUCCESSFUL tree nursery has finished planting 150,000 acorns – 30,000 of which were collected from hedgerows and fields. Thorpe Trees has planted them in its nursery at Thorpe Underwood, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, where they should be
DAIRY farmers braved deep snow and ice to attend the Yorkshire County Milk Recording Herd competition awards dinner. Nearly 130 made it to the Millstones, at Felliscliffe, near Harrogate, although others sent apologies, having to stay on their
THREE men are to appear in court next week in connection with a serious pub fight that left one man critically ill. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit actual bodily harm following the large-scale disturbance at the Oddfellows Arms, in
WORKERS at a major North- East employer received some welcome news yesterday after being told they would get a Christmas bonus of up to £300. The Student Loans Company (SLC), which employs about 600 people in its Darlington offices, said staff
A SOLICITOR who has spent three decades advising bishops and archdeacons is about to play an important role at his new firm as the deadline on an ancient law approaches. Philip Wills is an expert in Anglican ecclesiastical law having worked for
DEMAND for its awardwinning sausages prompted one of the oldest butcher’s shops in County Durham to expand after it secured backing from its bank – but many small businesses continue to report problems accessing credit. Allison’s of Ferryhill
IF you are involved in a legal dispute it will cost you time and money – it may be a cliche, but it’s true. Lawyers are not cheap – they are (for the most part) highly qualified and intelligent individuals who are entitled to charge you for giving
MARIE FISHER is trying to find her old horse. She was Sheagre, a bay mare with a star and sock on her hing leg. She sold Sheagre about 10 years ago to a family in the Consett area, who included Barbara and her daughter Katie. Ms Fisher can be contacted
A staggering £46m worth of Christmas dinner is chucked out every year. Nutritionist Sarah Flower suggests some ways of cutting down on waste… and saving money into the bargain. MOST people stock up for Christmas as though it’s the start of
A FOUR vehicle accident has resulted in the closure of the A19 southbound between Middlesbrough and Kirklevington. The accident happened between the junctions for the A174 and A67 just before lunchtime. Police, fire and ambulance crews are on site dealing
A LOT of balderdash is being talked about these Wikileaks. I think the most astonishingly naive remark was in The Guardian where a columnist said we must decide whether we want to be treated as children or as adults: in his view, adults have a
WHAT on earth is The Northern Echo playing at by publishing such an horrific picture on its front page as yesterday’s, which showed drowned and frozen deer in a lake at Spennymoor? Inside the paper there was even a double page article complete
IN a fortnight’s time two pieces of information are going to be simultaneously released that will defy common sense. They are that globally 2010 has been the hottest year on record and that December 2010 has been the coldest ever recorded in the
WHATEVER you think about the student protestors, they should be admired for standing up for themselves and education in general. University students will be the future of our country and should not have to pay at all. We can spend billions on
AM I the only one who found the appalling nursery school behaviour of our latest secondhome “loophole” MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions? The finger-pointing, braying and howling mob – our representatives – was a disgrace, an insult to all who
YOUR columnist Ray Mallon raised some interesting points (HAS, Dec 17) highlighting the Government’s cuts in council budgets. If I were facing a £15m cut, I would look at staff levels; I would fight tooth and nail to keep employees who deliver
I WAS very disturbed to read (Echo, Dec 9) that the police are objecting to the licence renewal of The Beehive pub in Bishop Auckland. Your account seemed to suggest that any trouble occurred in or outside that particular establishment alone.
IT is impossible to put a true price on the value of grassroots sport. Without it, public health problems would multiply, as would anti-social behaviour. And we believe that sport should be competitive right down to school level. Meaningful
Comic talent in the North-East has been challenged by TV executives to make them laugh. Steve Pratt reports on a BBC comedy initiative in the region launched by funny man Bob Mortimer. HELEN SPENCER is sitting behind a desk in an office in Newcastle
ALTHOUGH the cold snap continues to bite with no turf racing until Boxing Day at the earliest, the National Hunt horses still get their chance for an outing at Kempton. The Sunbury venue, who are due to stage the King George VI Chase the day after
SO to the final column of 2010, a time again to reach for the Dictionary of Superlatives in order to chronicle the latest, truly incredible, feats of Mr Arthur Puckrin. The Middlesbrough barrister, it may be recalled, is a man who takes going
HE has been to international cricket’s school of hard knocks for longer than he hoped but now Durham’s Liam Plunkett is ready to graduate as a regular England Test and limited overs international all-rounder. Plunkett has been in and around
TONY McCoy has thanked the racing industry after being crowned the 2010 Sports Personality of the Year winner on Sunday. There had been a concerted effort over the past few weeks to bring McCoy’s bid to the forefront of public consciousness,
TWO teenagers have been locked up after being found guilty of beating homeless man George Akers to death in the graveyard at St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington. The 15-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will both serve seven and a half
Aman Verma has wasted little time in setting a favourable impression at Darlington, and the midfielder hopes his displays will be enough to impress Leicester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. The 23-year-old is on loan to Quakers from the
ANTONY SWEENEY wants to prove he still has the goals in his boots that made him one of the hottest midfield talents outside the top two divisions five years ago. Sweeney's hat-trick in the FA Cup victory over Yeovil Town seven days ago too
NEWCASTLE boss Alan Pardew will rebuff any approaches for Andy Carroll and Joey Barton during the January transfer window. Pardew is expected to be an active participant in the transfer market as he attempts to improve the squad he inherited
WEST HAM UNITED have been told to forget about signing Gary O'Neil on the cheap as Middlesbrough look to bring in the cash to boost manager Tony Mowbray's transfer fund. Boro are keen to offload O'Neil during the January transfer window
CRAIG Gordon believes that having Simon Mignolet as an understudy has given him an extra incentive to perform as well as he can for Sunderland. Gordon, 27, made a man of the match performance against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, with his 45th
THE Government’s annual grant to two national parks in the region will fall by more than 28 per cent over the next four years, bosses fear. Both the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors national park authorities will see the funding they receive
THE Portuguese driver responsible for the death of a young soldier on leave may have spent too long behind the wheel, a court was told yesterday. Joao-Paolo Augusto Garcia drove the Mercedes Sprinter van that collided with a Suzuki Swift being
ONE of the men accused of helping fugitive gunman Raoul Moat evade justice is to appear in court charged with murder. Karl Ness will face a charge of murdering Chris Brown, who was shot dead by Moat outside Samantha Stobbart’s home in Birtley
THE father of missing chef Claudia Lawrence says he had bought a present for his missing daughter in the hope she will turn up on Christmas Day. Peter Lawrence, 64, said the only present he wanted to receive was the safe return of Miss Lawrence
A DEAL to build the next generation of high-speed trains in the North-East would generate more than £100m a year towards the country’s economy, campaigners said last night. Analysis by the Northern TUC found that the jobs created by Hitachi-led
EXPERTS believe they may have found a simple solution to the problem of deer falling through the ice and drowning in a North-East lake. The RSPCA is working with Whitworth Hall, near Spennymoor, where at least eight deer have perished after
Excelsis Aviation was not the first fraud committed by Nigerian businessman Victor Bassey – although it may have been the most ambitious. Joe Willis reports. VICTOR BASSEY was reluctant to be identified as the man behind the region’s newest airline
ENGLAND are unfazed by reports that Australia are considering dropping in a faster pitch in Melbourne, to try to prey on the tourists' perceived vulnerabilities. Ricky Ponting made much before and after his team's third Ashes Test victory in Perth of
SERVICES have been suspended on the East Coast mainline between Kings Cross and Peterborough, hitting travel plans for people intending to reach the North-East. East Coast advising passengers not to travel today due to the severe disruption. "East
CAMPAIGNERS were celebrating yesterday as the Government performed a U-turn on a key sports project. School Sports Partnerships (SSPs) will be saved, if teachers decide to keep them, Education Secretary Michael Gove announced as part of a new
COASTGUARDS have warned that money-saving plans to reduce coverage at a station that covers the region’s coastline will put lives in jeopardy. Humber Coastguard, which patrols the waters from the Scottish borders to Lincolnshire, including
THE Government has finally axed plans for regional fire control centres because of time and cost over-runs. The North-East centre would have seen the individual brigade control rooms of County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Cleveland
