I'm starting some tentative research around this, so trying to trace bits of info. I'll probably pull together a blog post or similar, before making plans for more systematic work.
Even though you can't actually bet on this, the Online Betting Guide is tracking odds on winners of the UK Town of Culture competition, with Huddersfield frontrunners, and my home town - North Shields - coming in joint third.
www.olbg.com/news/uk-town...
That would be great - thank you! You should be able to easily find me Newcastle email address, but let me know if now. Thanks!
Just seen this, after our parallel conversation!
My particular focus is very much on children & young people, and specifically play, but would be interested too in wider critical perspectives. I've been involved a bit in Jarrow and trawling through emerging plans/documents in other places, but not systematically.
A couple of questions:
1) Can anyone recommend any (critical, early) reviews of Pride in Place that I might not have found?
2) Is anyone familiar with examples of Pride in Place boards talking about or engaging with space for play? I have found a few but guess there are more.
Thank you!
capybara, wikimedia commons, Karoly Lorenty, CC BY 2.0
Children are writing about capybaras more than ever, according to Oxford University Press. The annual Children's Language report is compiled from 500-word stories sent into the BBC. 'Book', 'comic' and 'novel' all appear more than in 2015, while 'Kindle' is down 77%.
corp.oup.com/feature/oxfo...
The building currently trading as the Fishnet Tavern is one of the oldest continually licenses premises this side of North Shields.
Building on our play sufficiency work in Jarrow - will try to catch you up soon!
Party Total reported Donations accepted (excl. public funds) Public funds accepted Total accepted in this quarter Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland £65,140 £20,538 £44,602 £65,140 Conservative and Unionist Party £4,216,224 £2,401,452 £1,614,729 £4,016,181 Co-operative Party £131,180 £131,180 £0 £131,180 Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. £104,320 £0 £104,320 £104,320 Green Party £294,069 £189,010 £98,764 £287,773 Labour Party £2,043,007 £1,943,824 £31,836 £1,975,660 Liberal Democrats £2,190,101 £1,314,139 £749,173 £2,063,312 Open Party £197,151 £155,067 £0 £155,067 People Before Profit £8,605 £0 £6,453 £6,453 Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales £63,967 £30,000 £33,967 £63,967 Reform UK £5,473,000 £5,456,000 £0
The funding gap between Reform UK and the Greens is astounding.
New Electoral Commission stats today reveal the reportable donations in Q4 2025:
🟢 Green Party: £189,010
🟣 Reform UK: £5,456,000
Greens are bringing in barely 3.5% of Reform UK's large donations - but still polling around 20%.
A screenshot of a PowerPoint presentation about play and youth sufficiency in Jarrow, with an image of a colourful graffiti art and the word “Jarrow”.
Spent the morning exploring play and youth sufficiency with Jarrow Forward’s Better Futures Working Group, as part of their Pride in Place programme. Excited to hear the commitments and possibilities around play that are part of the plan.
Lovely to see children off to school in costumes imagining what playful things they’ll get up to today.
Morning!
I've added the lovely North Shields Fish Quay to the site this morn, with a nice short history before and during its peak operations. Think we should just be fortunate this is an active port unlike many...
Link below
The view into Shiremoor Adventure Playground at dusk, with a tall wooden tower and various other wooden structures
The view into Shiremoor Adventure Playground at dusk, from under a canopy with various other wooden structures
Shiremoor Adventure Playground at dusk; the kids have gone home and the trustees are making plans…
A snake (toy) on seat on the Tyne and Wear Metro (with branded moquette)
Beware! Unexpected dangers on the metro today 🐍
Thinking about how the 1973 oil crisis in the Netherlands led to petrol rationing, driving bans, parties and playdates on freeways, and the opportunity to imagine an alternative future…
I’m almost 55 - that imagery is awful!
Hope Not Hate research finds: '54% of Reform members thought non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, while one in five (22%) also supported it for non-white citizens whose parents were born in the UK.'
Rank racism.
1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health
Two cranes with blue and red lights, and the full worm moon
The worm moon, with cranes in Newcastle city centre
A diagram showing how a 2 minute delay to an active travel trip reduces the accessible area from a 15-minute trip by 25%
As I was made to wait 2.5 minutes to cross a road this morning, let's again do the maths simple.ghost.io/lets-do-the-...
Greens now in second place ahead of Labour for the first time in a new YouGov poll, and just two points behind Reform.
Lowest ever rating for Keir Starmer's party
REF: 23% (-1)
GRN 21% (+4)
LAB 16%(-2)
CON 16%(-2)
LDEM 14%(nc)
Hannah Spencer being sworn into parliament as an MP
Three very cool and impressive ladies in Parliament yesterday
Can't wait to see what Hannah's going to do
Pinky-blue-cloudy skies over Silverlink, North Tyneside, with the corners of silhouetted buildings and lampposts.
Pinky-blue-cloudy skies over Silverlink, North Tyneside, with the corners of silhouetted buildings and lampposts.
Sunset over Silverlink -
Local Facebook intel suggests this was caused by a bus (driver), on Sunday afternoon.
Indeed. These were evidently easily crashed by a driver travelling at considerable speed. Would have protected no one.
18 months after North Tyneside Council withdrew from plans to create safe cycling infrastructure and improve Preston Road, North Shields (and after 18 months of everyday aggression and risk for those on foot & bike), this happened - a driver had crossed the carriageway and through the “guard” rail.
Bridges across the Tyne, photo by Sally Ann Norman.
But at least it’s a Basil basket!
