Struggling for the born identity

11:34am Tuesday 6th January 2009

It promotes itself as a ward where women can give birth without too much medical intervention – so why aren’t more people using it? Julia Breen visits the Bishop Auckland maternity unit...

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‘Wensleydale is my inspiration’

10:56am Monday 5th January 2009

Piers Browne is bursting with creativity and ideas. Ruth Campbell visits the Wensleydale artist at his remote hilltop studio where he paints, writes and composes music and is now busy working on huge seascapes which are full of light and movement

Runway success

10:10am Tuesday 30th December 2008

North-East designer Emma Bell has two shows at London Fashion Week under her belt at the age of just 25. Julia Breen speaks to her about her eclectic style.

Christmas without fear

11:44am Tuesday 23rd December 2008

Anita Nirere escaped the ravages of war and ethnic cleansing in her homeland of Burundi, only to have to fend off racist thugs in Middlesbrough. Now safe, she is preparing to spend her first Christmas as part of a family with her beloved husband and ten-week old baby Ethan, says Julia Breen.

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Money for Beginners: Remember Corporal Jones. Don’t panic!

11:12am Friday 19th December 2008

DON’T panic! Panic costs money. And at this time of year it’s easy to panic and spend a fortune. We get caught up in the sudden realisation that shops are going to be shut for – oh, at least a day – and feel we have to rush out to shop for England.

Making friends

9:38am Tuesday 16th December 2008

Cupcakes are not just delicious... in these gloomy times they could well be inspirational. Sharon Griffiths meets a woman of many parts who is baking her way to a new future.

Art and sole

11:20am Monday 15th December 2008

He’s a former pig farmer turned fine artist. There’s just one difference – Peter Longstaff was born with no arms.