The QT

17/06/2024

As TechNExt began today, Dan Sheridan looks ahead to what the region’s biggest tech event, being held across five days week, has to offer. https://theqt.online/international-spotlight-on-north-east-tech/

16/06/2024

The QT has been campaigning on child poverty and the crisis in the social care. If, as expected, Sir Keir Starmer is our next Prime Minister it sounds like our campaigning will have to continue. https://theqt.online/please-sir-can-we-have-some-more/

15/06/2024

With Eufa Euro 2024 underway, Miles Starforth speaks to former Newcastle United manager and current Scotland assistant coach, John Carver: How injury shaped career of Coach Carver https://theqt.online/how-injury-shaped-career-of-coach-carver/

15/06/2024

🦅🏀"In 2024 the show’s still in town. And the undeniable star of that show? Darius Defoe."

Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Fabulous Flournoy tells The QT about the one that nearly got away. This fascinating first-person piece is storytelling at its finest as the New Yorker details what it took to persuade Newcastle Eagles forward Darius to commit his future to the club.

Twenty years later and Darius will be joined by a raft of friends and former colleagues at the Vertu Motors Arena this weekend to celebrate the most decorated — and loyal — player in British basketball history.

Here's a snapshot of what Fab has to say. Read the full story in The QT.

"Let’s not beat around the bush here — when it comes to loyalty and longevity, Darius Defoe is part of a dying breed. We may never see his like again.
His legacy, his achievements and his contribution to the North East will live on long after he finally calls time on his decorated playing career.
But he’s still going strong, by the way!
He was a kid when he first came to Newcastle Eagles. Now, he’s a pillar of the organisation. Darius is one of a kind.
How many modern-day athletes commit 20 years to one club? How many of those athletes win 27 trophies in that time? It just doesn’t happen. In basketball or in any other sport.
Darius could — and possibly should — have moved on many times since 2004 and I don’t mind admitting that I found him some incredible opportunities overseas during my time as coach of the Eagles.
There were occasions when he promised me he’d consider a great offer here, or an even better offer there, and, for the sake of his career, I wouldn’t have stood in his way had he wanted to leave.
But I’d always find him back at practice the following day after he’d decided to stay put. He has always loved Newcastle, has always loved playing in front of the Eagles fans and has always found plenty of reasons to stick with what he knows. He just couldn’t walk away.
Darius takes immense pride in wearing the Newcastle jersey and in representing the city. Some guys are just like that. When he came up here for the first time from London, the only thing he wanted to do was go home again. Now, you couldn’t pay him to leave the North East." Fab Flournoy, June 2024

15/06/2024

Feel overwhelmed by political bias in media? The QT offers a breath of fresh air: news that’s free from political spin. In these crucial times leading up to the election, it’s vital to have a source that presents the news as it is, not how some want you to see it.

Join our free newsletters to be kept in the know: https://theqt.online/free/

14/06/2024

“You think ‘OK, what’s the best thing in the world? Being a footballer. I can’t do that now, what’s the next best thing? Being a coach, because you’re back involved’. I just took to it.”

⚽ 🇩🇪 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 As a reported 150,000 visiting fans flood Munich ahead of tonight's UEFA EURO 2024 opener between Scotland and hosts Germany why not warm up for the tournament with a revealing long read on John Carver, courtesy of long-time Newcastle United F.C. reporter Miles Starforth?

John, now assistant to Steve Clarke at the Scotland National Team, could and should have been a top flight star in his own right. But injury robbed the proud Geordie of a career with the Magpies and in his early 20s he was finished as a footballer. Finished in football? Far from it.

Read the full story at The QT — it's one of this week's FREE reads. And talking of free stuff, we have a weekly newsletter that brings you up to speed with everything that's going on in the North East.

Pic credit: SFA

13/06/2024

It's Edition Day! And QT19 includes the following must-reads:

👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 Child poverty:
Child poverty and the crisis in the social care sector are two issues The QT has been campaigning on. If, as expected, Sir Keir Starmer is our next Prime Minister, it sounds like our campaigning will have to continue...

🔵 🔴 General Election:
As the General Election drags on to its seemingly inevitable conclusion, Paul Linford looks at the political impact of decisions and musings made in the campaign so far.

🚗 Parking crisis:
Dan Sheridan investigates the provision of disabled parking and finds most of the region’s councils are failing to follow Department for Transport guidance meaning a shortage of designated spaces.

📚Philanthropy:
Approaching its 200th anniversary, the independent library The Lit & Phil has won the backing of one of the region’s best-known businesses. David Whetstone reports

📚 Publishing:
Somebody should write a book about the remarkable story of publishing boss Mary Cannam. Simon Rushworth is gripped by the life and times of Faber Books County Durham-born chief executive.

🎸 Music:
Twenty years ago Simon Rushworth found himself at a loose end in Lisbon. In the latest lookback on a colourful career in the media, The QT’s Associate Editor reveals how he ended up face to face with Lenny Kravitz in the Portuguese capital at the Super Bock Super Rock Festival.

Check out www.theqt.online for all of this and more.

12/06/2024

ISSUE 19 PREVIEW: Rome, Lisbon, Germany and the Greek isle of Symi provide a continental backdrop to Edition 19 of The QT.

We speak to the Geordie in the Scotland camp at Euro 2024 while Simon Rushworth reminisces about Euro 2004 and how he came to meet Lenny Kravitz.

Chris Stewart reports on an ancient sport making something of a comeback and Tony Henderson highlights some secrets from ancient Rome that are on public display.

Chris Jackson talks of the sad death of Michael Mosley and says Symi was the perfect place for him to relax and chill

10/06/2024

🚨 Urgent Conservation Alert 🌍
Experts from the North East warn of a looming catastrophe in wildlife and plant conservation. A major study by Durham University reveals a shocking lack of effort to protect species at risk of extinction. Discover why urgent action is necessary to prevent an irreversible loss of biodiversity.

🆓 https://theqt.online/conservation-crisis-could-end-in-catastrophe/

Don't miss out on these stories. Subscribe to The QT today for insightful journalism delivered weekly. Join us for as little as £1.54 a week.

09/06/2024

The QT is a weekly online news and features magazine. It is independent, politically-neutral but North East biased. Subscribing to The QT is an investment in quality regional journalism.

There are no obtrusive ads, pop-ups or clickbait headlines. Just quality stories told by quality storytellers. https://theqt.online/join/

08/06/2024

📰Saturday long read🔽

"I never actually set out to collect walking sticks. They just turned up: gifts from family, friends and work colleagues, a few inherited from the dear departed, plus one or two we picked up along the way."

Sit back and lose yourself in another wonderful tale from Michael Chaplin as he walks you through the contents of his porch. Stick with it... it's well worth a few minutes of your weekend.

Writer Michael Chaplin examines the contents of his porch and tells the intriguing tales of the walking sticks that have led him down the highway of life

07/06/2024

“It is important to remember that this poverty is not inevitable. It is because of policy decisions made by governments and it is possible to reverse this poverty. It has been a political choice not to do so."
Hannah Davies, exec director of Health Equity North

In this week's edition of The QT, we lead with a damning report which reveals that one in four children in most of the North East is growing up in poverty — a figure that is even higher in 10 of our constituency areas.

Report reveals that one in four children in most of the North East is growing up in poverty — a figure that is even higher in 10 of our constituency areas

07/06/2024

Lovely round up from Cultured. North East on this week's arts and culture offer in this week's edition of The QT 👇👇👇

07/06/2024

🇺🇸🗽

"For some reason he declined a chat with The QT — perhaps the North East’s home for reasoned debate and civilised conversation didn’t sit well with his one-sided and divisive stance."

Simon Rushworth shrugs off the jet lag and looks back on a colourful trip to the Big Apple...

The QT’s Associate Editor always expects the unexpected after 30 years in journalism but nothing could have prepared him for a big reveal in the Big Apple

06/06/2024

📣ISSUE 18 — OUT NOW!

Another Thursday and another jam-packed issue of The QT has dropped... featuring:

➡️Child poverty 👨‍👦‍👦
➡️Education 👩‍🏫
➡️Election debate 🔵🔴
➡️Social care 🧑‍⚕️
➡️Conservation 🌿
➡️Beer 🍻

All of this and more as our team of quality journalists and top class contributors cover the big stories and the big issues across the North East.

Not a subscriber? Sign up to our free newsletter for a flavour of what you're missing ⬇️

Why subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter? Every Thursday you’ll receive our ‘Eyes and Ears’ column, straight to your inbox. Written by The QT’s Editor, Brian Aitken, it’s a concise, curated selection of stories that have been published or broadcast in the past seven days. Ideal for busy...

06/06/2024

“You didn’t know what was going to happen or whether it might be your last, so you didn’t worry about tomorrow... You did your work, had a good time, and didn’t think too far ahead."

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 marked the beginning of the end of World War Two in Europe. Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) flight mechanic, Betty Punshon, recalls her wartime service to Jane Hall and reveals the role she played in D-Day 80 years ago

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 marked the beginning of the end of World War Two in Europe. Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) flight mechanic, Betty Punshon, recalls her wartime service to Jane Hall and reveals the role she played in D-Day 80 years ago

05/06/2024

ISSUE 18 preview: Coming tomorrow...

Conservation, education and celebration: Edition 18 of The QT is your one-stop destination for this week’s key talking points across the North East. Find out why Newcastle’s still key to the UK economy and take a wander through Michael Chaplin’s memory-filled front porch. From New York’s Trump Tower to Newcastle’s Morden Tower, our content continues to scale new heights. And we raise a glass to Vaux, 25 years after Sunderland’s famous brewery closed its doors.

02/06/2024

In the latest look back at a 30-year career in journalism, The QT’s Simon Rushworth, reveals how an undercover story almost cost him his marriage

In the latest look back at a 30-year career in journalism, Simon Rushworth, reveals how an undercover story almost cost him his marriage

02/06/2024

In this week's edition of The QT, Graeme Anderson reports on a project to support local communities connect with nature in an urban environment and help dads from challenged backgrounds become positive role models

Graeme Anderson reports on a project to support local community’s connect with nature in an urban environment and help dad’s from challenged backgrounds become positive role models

01/06/2024

David Scott Cowper is to set off on a gruelling voyage which will boost Tyneside cancer charity Daft as a Brush, having himself undergone treatment for cancer. Tony Henderson reports

David Scott Cowper is to set off on a gruelling voyage which will boost aTyneside cancer charity Daft as a Brush. Tony Henderson reports

01/06/2024

Francis and Claire Watson-Armstrong are the current custodians of the mighty Bamburgh Castle. They tell Jane Hall about the huge responsibility of caring for one of the UK’s most iconic landmarks – and what it’s been like for Claire becoming the latest in a long line of illustrious mistresses of the castle

Francis and Claire Watson-Armstrong are the current custodians of the mighty Bamburgh Castle. They tell Jane Hall about the huge responsibility of caring for one of the UK’s most iconic landmarks

31/05/2024

“Photography itself, its history always has links with political discourse. I think we need to think carefully about what we are doing when we make images.”

This week's My Life Through a Lens feature sees artist Joanne Coates choose 10 images from her archive - showing us the world as she's captured it.

Each week we’re asking a North East-based photographer to open up their archives and select two handfuls of images which encapsulate life as they’ve captured it

31/05/2024

In 1942 William Beveridge famously proposed a national health service, comprehensive social insurance and non-means-tested family allowances as the way to eradicate the five ‘giant evils’ of squalor, want, ignorance, idleness and disease.
Academics from Northumbria University warn today’s politicians that they need to match his transformative ambitions

In 1942 William Beveridge famously proposed a national health service, comprehensive social insurance and non-means-tested family allowances as the way to eradicate the five ‘giant evils’ of squalor, want, ignorance, idleness and disease. Academics from Northumbria University warn today’s poli...

30/05/2024

FREE TO READ: In this week's edition of The QT, master of the written word, Harry Pearson gives a moving account on the impact dementia is having on those closest to him.

Harry Pearson gives a moving account on the impact dementia is having on those closest to him

30/05/2024

Dementia, degrees, devolution and dads all feature in this week's edition of The QT.

Issue 17 of The QT brings you stories of resilience, heritage, and innovation. From an emotional account of dementia by Harry Pearson to a look at the forward march of devolution, and an 82-year-old yachtsman's charity challenge.

Discover the enchanting world of Bamburgh Castle, the evolving tech scene for women, and the latest cultural shifts at Bowes Museum + more

27/05/2024

Can hits by Porter, Gershwin and others patch up deep-seated differences? David Whetstone hears about Fiona Ellis’ new musical show bounds for stages all over the North East

26/05/2024

Poet and writer, Fox is saying goodbye to Hilda - 'the main motor' of what people think her freedom is - but there's time for one last trip.

https://theqt.online/kate-fox-freedom-to-be/

26/05/2024

The closure of Marks and Spencer stores in Sunderland and Hexham has left many sad and angry at the loss of their favourite shopping spot. Andy Cooper spoke to shoppers during the last few hours before Marksies checked out.

Andy Cooper meets customers making their last trip to M&S in Sunderland and Hexham finding them sad and angry at the loss of their favourite store

25/05/2024

A double-helping of good North East news came out of the BBC Comedy festival in Glasgow last week.

First up, new six-part sitcom Smoggie Queens - set in Middlesbrough with a cast including Mark Benton and Elijah Young - has been green lit following a successful pilot, which was supported by North East Screen's North East Production Fund. 👏👏👏

Second, North East producer, Zahra Zomorrodian was announced as one of 10 people to be offered a place on the BBC Comedy Collective 2024 - a 'supercharged' bursary scheme designed to catalyse the comedy careers of its annual cohort. 👏👏👏

Well done all.

Read both stories at https://theqt.online/news/