Yvonne Wancke is a lecturer in Maths, Accounting and Research Skills at INTO Newcastle University. She is a member of the Labour Party and coordinator for Mutual Aid, Jesmond. She regularly writes and directs local and student theatre productions. She has lived in Newcastle all of her life and is passionate about the North East and the local community.
A pop-up placard display on Brexit is happening today at 1pm in Brussels. The Brussels hub for pro-European UK grassroots networks, Pro-Europa is holding an event outside the European Council in support of a good outcome from EU-UK negotiations. They also plan to warn the UK Government against breaking their promises and ignoring the needs […]
The protests are being supported by Save British Farming. The group’s North Yorkshire organiser, Richard Sadler, said: “We want to shine the spotlight on Rishi Sunak and other North Yorkshire MPs who claim to support farmers but who have been quietly voting against their best interests.”
“It’s nice to have a platform on which to share our articles. It gives us an opportunity to write on varied topics. Publishing in a formal or academic journal is often very time consuming. North East Bylines is ready to roll with quite a fast turnaround. The paper has been well received and this boosts our confidence together as a team!” Jayne Hamilton, writer
This is not an exact kind of recipe; it’s more just some ideas to try out. I kind of started this dish as a way to use up some vegetables and then kept on adding…You can substitute as much as you want. If you want it to be veggie then leave out the tuna and […]
“Trendsetter is about how the media and modern-day trends affects narcissistic tendencies and allows a narcissistic person to believe they are perfect without any flaws. The song is written from a male perspective, expressing their experience with a significant other, and delves into how the narcissist cares a lot more about what other people think, and being accepted, rather than treating anyone who actually cares with respect and decency.”
Make Masks Matter aims to spread positive messages in our communities in a creative way, whilst also protecting each other. The idea is to wear a mask with a message, take photos and publish on social media. Lynne said: ”It’s easy to use a Sharpie permanent marker to write on a disposable or re-useable mask, working your message around the folds so that it is readable when the mask folds are opened while wearing it.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” (The Hobbit, JR Tolkein)
Be patient and confident if you can. It does take practice. However, the good news is that it can’t really go wrong. Thick jam and runny jam are both lovely!
“I come from quite a musical family, I started learning piano aged four and have sung for as long as I can remember. My parents were into a mixed bag of music, so I grew up listening to everything from the Beatles to Grieg. I started off studying classical music, both for piano and voice and then moved towards folk and jazz. I was gigging from the age of 15 and have worked as a professional musician since then. Music has always been an integral part of my life.”
The leader of Newcastle City Council, Nick Forbes said: “The evidence we’ve found from local testing is that it’s spreading in three main areas: in pubs, in people’s homes and in grassroots sports…[council leaders] have put together a series of requests to government for additional restrictions around these areas for a fixed period of time to try to prevent a damaging full lockdown.”
This is the Haymarket, Newcastle. Nowadays it is a metro station at the end of a busy shopping street. As the name suggests this area was for many years the scene of a market selling hay and straw, a reminder of our agricultural past. Long ago but still remembered and timely to do so in […]
“You are not alone” How do you feel about going back to school? That’s a question mainly for children but also for parents, teachers, carers. It’s been around five months since many of us were at school. You may feel excited, nervous, anxious and a whole range of emotions. Last week the Customs House set […]
In the last week coronavius cases have risen in parts of the North East, putting them into the government’s ‘red zone’ and causing fears over possible new local lockdowns.
There is that excited buzz that you always get in a theatre before a show. La vie en Rose plays on the sound system which seems strangely appropriate and people settle into their seats to enjoy the show. The difference tonight is that the seating is very spread out: one or two people and then […]
The head of Ofqual, Sally Collier, has resigned today. This follows the turmoil around the A level and GCSE results this year. Originally A level students were given teacher assessments in place of exams. This was replaced by the use of a controversial algorithm based mainly on two key factors: the student’s prior attainment (in […]
Today it was announced that the controversial ‘algorithm’ which decided A-level and GCSE grades would finally be abolished. This is a huge U- turn from the Westminster government. The algorithm was initially used as a way of standardising this year’s A-level results and was based largely on a student’s prior attainment as well as a […]
Algorithms have been mentioned a lot in recent days. We hear that it was an ‘algorithm’ that was responsible for the ‘downgrading’ of A level results this year. In fact, there is nothing wrong with an algorithm. Of itself it is neutral. Neither good nor bad. Let’s take a closer look. Firstly, what is an […]
Local residents from the North East held a socially distanced night vigil outside the Nissan factory in Sunderland (Washington) on Friday 14th August at 9.30pm. The group is concerned about the effect of a No Deal Brexit on industry and jobs throughout the North East and particularly at the Nissan plant in Sunderland. Members of […]
Today it was announced that A-level and GCSE students in England would be guaranteed to achieve a grade which was no lower than their ‘mock’ grade. This begs a number of questions. Firstly, how accurate is a mock grade? Many of us have heard countless times the expression “it’s only the mocks”. As one Newcastle […]
On graphs, statistics and misleading numbers We are bombarded with numbers, graphs and statistics every day. We turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper, click on a website and there they are, a vast array of images, figures and assumptions, so much to absorb and understand. It can be tempting to just soak it […]
This is a fantastic site with plenty of potential. We’ve waited 20 years for this development. We believe in a better Gateshead Quays, let’s make sure it’s worth the wait.
Pandemic Python have been a great success and in the words of one Jesmond resident: “Niceness breeds niceness”
A group of concerned local residents from the North East are planning a socially distanced protest outside the Nissan factory in Sunderland (Washington). The group will call on the government to reject a No Deal Brexit as members are worried that this would risk jobs and seriously damage the economy. The protest will take place […]
The beginning of lockdown saw a huge number of Covid-19 Mutual Aid groups spring up around the country. One of the first such groups to get started in Newcastle was Byker, an area close to the city centre. I talked to Silvie Fisch, local resident and group member to find out more. “The group was initiated […]
An interview with an activist If you take a walk in the centre of the pretty market town of Alnwick, Northumberland, you may stumble upon a community larder, in an old BT phone box…. It is clean and tidy, there is a good supply of well organised and presented food, and you can find hand […]
