The Port of Tyne’s strapline is “No Ordinary River”. I used to love this, but it’s tainted now by the response of the port to the nurdle spill. What is the future of this extraordinary river?

One of the biggest reasons I love North Shields is the river. The port, the ships and boats, the histories and connections. In this photo, you can see the nurdle spill site (on the south bank), but also the ferries, the wider port, and North and South Shields.

During the Tyne nurdle crisis, I’ve been thinking a lot about the beaches and the sea, but my colleagues’ research and local conversations, aspiring to a clean Tyne, draw attention not only to the millions of nurdles that remain, but also post-industrial pollution and present-day sewage.

I think if I could be bothered to leave the house and go to the sea, I’d see something. Times like this I miss the extra storey and the attic windows!

These popped up on my Facebook memories…

Can’t see the aurora from my well-lit street, but the sky is clear and the stars are impressive

Aurora, from Seaton Sluice. 1945.

Beautiful pics! Is it visible with the naked eye, or through your phone?

Reform UK Councillor Mick Mahoney, representing Kenton on Newcastle Council. Who are ‘they’, Mick? What’s more, we also have Councillor Michael Vincent Fitzpatrick, also of Newcastle City Council liking it.

I talk a lot about major transport investment, but one of the biggest bangs for the buck policy-wise would be a full pavement parking ban and more rigid enforcement of traffic rules. Enforcement is so lax that this stuff is just completely normalised now, and it's unacceptable.

As The Guardian suggests, Peter Fonagy's Foreword, which reflects on his own teenage mental health and the support he received, and includes an empathetic acknowledgement of what many young people today are dealing with, is well worth a quick read.

Peter Fonagy's report is here:

“There is increased uncertainty – financial pressures, insecure work, unaffordable housing – but perhaps more important, a lack of hope among young people that their lives will be better than their parents, and that’s the first time since the second world war that surveys have noticed that.”

“I am in awe of their courage. Young people are contending with more powerful forces than I ever faced. They are not fragile. They are outnumbered.”

what a grim and mean little quote