March 11, 2012

Ben Roberts left school at 18 with poor ‘A’ level results and absolutely no idea of what he was going to do with his life. Just two years later he is a Royal Marine Commando with the world at his feet. IT starts with a terrifying 70ft death slide and ends with a desperate rope Read More

Jules Quinn does, but she believes many of us are missing out on the pleasures that a real cup of tea can bring. ANYONE for tiffin this afternoon? It’s a good excuse to get the best china out of the cupboard and make a proper pot of tea isn’t it? Mind you… what ever Read More

Andy’s quick meal: Pan fried pheasant/chicken breast warm salad with sautéed potatoes, cherry tomatoes and black pudding Serves 2 – approximate time 25-30 minutes Ingredients Pheasant / chicken breast 2 slices of black pudding 8 cherry tomatoes 6 new potatoes 1 packet of water Read More

Chef Andy Smith is rarely out of the kitchen, because he runs not one, but two of them. One’s in a luxury hotel and the other’s in village pub and although the cuisine differs, Andy’s underlying ethos to use fresh, seasonal produce remains the same. TASTE, texture and Read More

The owners of an historic 17th century cottage have embraced a range of eco-friendly measures in their home which have reduced their electricity bills by around 80 per cent. THE North Wind doth blow within the ancient stone walls of Woodside Cottage near Ridley Hall on the edge Read More

Former Northumbria Police detective chief superintendent Eric Lewis could never see himself enjoying a pipe and slippers retirement. Today, he’s following a new vocation as a vicar. IT’S 1963 and schoolgirl Alison Carter has vanished from a remote Northumberland village called Read More

If only walls could talk. What would Hexham Abbey’s say after watching people come and go for more than 13 centuries? Many of the building’s secrets will never be told. But some of its more recent stories, recounted by people young and old, are being gathered together for an oral Read More

Otterburn lies in the wilds of Redesdale – and it’s certainly a wild place when the shells rain down on the Army ranges. But it’s also home to a tight-knit community which pulls together to get things done. THIS is Mary White’s Otterburn. Or should that be this is her valley? Read More

You can’t put a good book down – or a bookbinder for that matter – whether they’ve taken it up as a full-time job like Valerie Levitt, or turned it into a hobby like Shaun Arkley. Either way, as their two stories show, the skill and passion involved is still as strong today as it Read More

2012 marked the 75th anniversary of the death of North Tyne photographer Walter Percy Collier – the man who left us a fascinating pictorial archive of life in the early 20th century. BROKEN clouds scudded above the tower of the 12th century church of St Cuthbert’s in Bellingham Read More